Kingdom Responses | Matthew 14:1-14

INTRODUCTION

As Christians, we belong to a kingdom that is not of this world, and we will be looking into the cost of being in the kingdom and the responses that differ from the people who are not of the kingdom.

CONTEXT

Now as we come to the fourteenth chapter of Matthew.

Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah, the King in the line of David, and Immanuel God with us.

• 1-3 Connect Jesus to the OT: Genealogy, son of David, Abraham. Birth narratives.
• Matthew presents Jesus as the new Moses, greater than Moses.
• 4-7 Announce the arrival of God’s Kingdom.
• 8-10 Brining the Kingdom into reality into the lives of the people broken or hurting. Miracles.
• 11-13 How people are responding to Jesus. Some respond positively, some neutral (John), some reject him (Israel’s leaders).
• Matthew presents 5 teaching blocks which parallels the 5 books of Moses.5:1-7:29; 9:35-10:42; 13:1-53; 18:1-35; 24:1-25:46

The Messiah has been rejected, but His disciples, continues to preach the kingdom.

In Matthew 14, we have the beheading of John the Baptist, Jesus feeding the 5000, and walking on water. This is the story of the murder of John the Baptist by Herod Antipas. Here is an amazing picture of how a man Antipas, through fear, rejected the kingdom of God, and forfeited the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The Bible says the fear of man brings a trap, or a snare; and we see how true that is in this account.

Matthew 14:1-14

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

John the Baptist Arrested

Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

John the Baptist Beheaded

On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much  that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Now, the story here is told in a flashback. We look, first of all, at the reaction in verses 1 and 2, and then the story in flashback from verses 3 and following. Let’s look at the reaction in verses 1 and 2.

Matthew 14:1

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus..

Remember now, Christ is preaching, the twelve are trained, and they’re out two by two, preaching, proclaiming the kingdom. The message is going out. Signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds, miracles, healings, casting out of demons, raising the dead – all of this is going on; and the word finally reaches Herod the tetrarch, and we see his reaction.

And now we meet this main character, the one who is the rejecter in the passage, the one who is the stony ground..

Herod The Great

Now the name “Herod” immediately is familiar to us, because if we go back in Matthew 2, when Christ was born, we remember that there was a king then by the name of Herod. That was a different Herod. That was Herod the Great.

Herod the Great who was so fearful when he heard the word that a King had been born; and as a result, slaughtered, in a massacre, all of the babies, in order that he might eliminate anyone who would pose a threat to his throne.

Herod the Great has long been dead. This is one of his sons. History tells us that he was known as Herod Antipas. When Herod the Great died, his dominion, which was all of Palestine was divided among three of his many sons.

But he had three sons: Archelaus, Philip, and Herod Antipas who took the rule.

Archelaus was assigned the area of Judea and Samaria, over which he ruled.

Philip was given Trachonitis and Iturea, which was the northernmost part of the land of Palestine.

Herod Antipas got the middle, which was Galilee, and into the east of Galilee, the area known as Perea. He married the Nabatean king’s daughter, and thereby got the place called PEREA.

Herod Antipas was married to the daughter of King Aretas of Nabatean Arabia (where Paul went after his baptism). Aretas had a daughter; Herod married the daughter of Aretas, that was his wife.

So this man had become a small-time king, a subordinate ruler of Roman kingdom, there to leave some kind of imprint of power and control on the society of Jews.

Herod Antipas is in his 32^nd year of rule. So he is the one who ruled Galilee and the area during the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Herod Antipas lived in Tiberius.

Now what is interesting about this is that Jesus, in all of His ministry in the Gospels, at no time is indicated to have ever visited Tiberius. You could walk from Nazareth to Tiberius., and yet Jesus is never indicated to have gone there.

Therefore, the man was not particularly aware of the ministry of Jesus at first. And by the time, it says in verse 1, that he heard of the fame of Jesus, it’s about one-and-a-half years after Jesus’s baptism.

But finally, he heard of the fame of Jesus; this after the Lord is out ministering. He has trained the twelve. They are out ministering, so the word is spreading rapidly, and the hostility is growing; and the conjunction of all of those things brings this to his attention.

Now his reaction is very startling reaction:

Matthew 14:2

and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Now this was a great concern to him, because he had murdered John the Baptist. And I suppose the fear of any murderer would be most realized in the possibility of the one he murdered coming back from the dead. I have heard of those who have done such things, and been haunted in the nights for years after with the image of that person rising before their consciousness. And the tremendous guilt that he had for murdering John the Baptist, that guilt, added to his amazing curiosity, brought him to the conviction that this was John the Baptist raised from the dead.

Now let’s look at the reason for that reaction: Now comes the flashback.

Matthew 14:3-6

³Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, ⁴for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

Now Matthew gives s flashback to the event that caused him to react the way he did to Jesus. This is how it happened. In order for us to understand this story, I want to introduce you to the characters.

John the Baptist.

The last Old Testament prophet. A great, holy, righteous man of God. Matthew 11:11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

An incredible man; the forerunner of the Messiah; the cousin of the Lord. This man’s job in the world was to announce and introduce the Christ.

In Luke 1, it says he would be great in the sight of the Lord. He would drink neither wine nor strong drink. He would come in the spirit and power of Elijah and would turn many of the hearts of the people to the Lord their God; and he did.

And when he came, his message was very clear: “Repent.” And what does repentance presuppose? Sin. He was a confronter. He called people to confess their sin. Matthew 3:6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

And so he confronted sin, and he called with a strong message for holiness, to prepare a people for the arrival of the Messiah. He was very popular. The whole country was going out to see him, and multitudes responded to his message.

Herod Antipas

Now in contrast to this man of God, we meet Herod.

Here was a man with tremendous popularity. Here was a man to whom the multitudes of people were moving. John the Baptist really disturbed him because John confronted him.

So he puts John in prison, it says in verse 3; and behind this was his wife, Herodias, pushing the issue.

Herodias

Herodias in verse 3 is introduced as Herod Antipas’s brother’s wife. She is not designated as his wife; however, she was married to him. So the Scripture refuses to recognize her marriage to Herod.

Now the facts are mind boggling.

Herod also had a brother named Philip. Not Philip the tetrarch; that was another brother named Philip. This is another Philip, by a different woman, but the same Herod the Great father.

The Situation

Well, Herod went to Rome to visit his brother Philip, because Philip lived in Rome. He was a private citizen. He lived over there and had a wife named Herodias. And while he was there, he seduced Philip’s wife; apparently she responded positively to the seduction, he said to her, “Why don’t you divorce Philip and come be my wife? And I’ll divorce the daughter of Aretas. When we get our decks cleared of our present spouse, we’ll get married.” And that is exactly what happened.

Now it’s somewhat complicated at this point, folks. Herodias was the daughter of another brother of Herod. So she married her uncle. Now that’s incest.

This is a really dysfunctional family. Well, they decided to go through with their divorces, come together in marriage.

And Aretas was really upset. He was so upset he came in and destroyed Herod’s entire army, and Herod would have been killed, except the Romans saved him.

That’s the basic cast of characters. But all of this wretchedness was brought to John’s attention, and he comes before Herod.

Now John the Baptist confronted the situation.

You know what he says? “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And he didn’t just say it here; that Greek text kind of indicates he kept on saying it. He probably said it all over every place.

Now that is what I see as confronting the issue head-on. It did not make Herod happy to hear that; and it made Herodias furious, and as a result, they threw him in prison.

This is the mark of the man of God: fearlessly confronting the sins of men. When there is sin to be confronted, you confront it. They hold your life in their hands, but that’s okay. Christ confronted it; Stephen confronted it; Paul confronted it; Peter confronted it; John the Baptist confronted it. It’s the only right thing to do.

We Are To Live Holy And Confront Sin.

Preacher, A. T. Robertson said, “It cost him his head; but it is better to have a head like John the Baptist and lose it, than to have an ordinary head and keep it.”

Matthew 14:5

Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

This guy lives by fear. He fears his wife. He fears the loss of his throne to John the Baptist; but he’s afraid to kill him, because he is afraid of the people. He’s paralyzed. He’s afraid of everything. So he just keeps him in prison just to try to buy time.

But something very interesting happens. As he’s got John the Baptist in prison, Herod becomes fascinated with him. He’s afraid of him; but because he’s incarcerated and he can’t do him any harm, his fear turns to fascination. He was so drawn to him, that he began to have rather regular conversations.

Mark 6:20

because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

He knew John was a righteous man, a holy man. He was responding to John; he was listening to John.. And so his fear was turning to fascination.

Just Being Fascinated About Jesus Is Not Enough.

Herod was fascinated by John but Herodias was vindictive. She nursed her wrath to a boiling point; she wanted revenge. She wanted him dead.

That introduces us to the last character:

Herodias’ Daughter:

Matthew 14:6-7

⁶On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much ⁷that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

In those days, the Romans held stag birthday parties; only men came – and they were gluttonous, and they were drunken brawls, and they were climaxed by women who came in and danced immoral, seductive dances; and then the thing became an orgy; and that was Herod’s birthday.

“So it was Herod’s birthday” – in verse 6 – “and the daughter of Herodias” – Josephus tells us her name is Salome – “danced before, them and pleased Herod.”

Can you see the level a mother can degrade herself to in sin and revenge?

When it’s time for the dancing girls, the immoral, women to come in in their dances, she brings in this young, probably 16 or 17-year-old daughter of hers to do this dance to really accomplish her goal.

And when it says, at the end of verse 6, “It pleased Herod.” He fell to the lust and the lewdness.

And he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.”

He was really trapped into this. In this drunken, gluttonous stupor, in his state of sexual seduction, he lost all dignity, he lost all sensibility, he lost all wisdom to do what was right and sane; he makes a horrible promise.

“First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (book)

Mark 6:22-23

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

Matthew 14:8

Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

Herodias didn’t want to wait till Herod sobered up; she wanted it now.

And the fool, Herod Antipas was too proud to break his oath. He wanted everybody to think his word was valid, and hadn’t made a foolish statement. And so out of fear of losing his reputation, out of the fear of losing face with the captains, and the chiefs, and the famous men that were at the party, he ordered the John’s assassination.

Matthew 14:9-10

⁹The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted ¹⁰and had John beheaded in the prison.

He was trapped; but his pride wouldn’t let him do what was right. He was just like Pilate. Pilate was trying to hold on, until they said to him, “Well, if you don’t kill Jesus, you’re no friend of Caesar.” And afraid of losing his name and reputation and throne, he killed the Son of God. So does this man kill the messenger of God, for fear of losing his face.

Cut off his head. Silently, privately, in the depth of that dungeon, John the Baptist was murdered.

In those days, it was not uncommon to bring the head of one who had been slain to the person who ordered it as a sure proof that the command had been obeyed. A godly, faithful man, had his head severed from his body.

That’s the extent of rejection that comes under the pressure of the fear of man. He was afraid to lose his throne. He was afraid of John and was afraid of his wife. Herod was afraid of the people around him. And under the intimidation of that, he murdered an innocent man.

So after a year of imprisonment, John the Baptist is dead.

Matthew 14:12

John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

You can imagine how it was to pick up that headless body of that man whom they loved, who was the voice of God to them, the greatest man they’d ever known, who made such a profound impression, who preached repentance, under whose preaching they had confessed their sins, repented, and been baptized in preparation for the Messiah. They took his body, and they buried it.

Here was the first preacher and he was killed. Christ would be the second, and He would be killed. And the majority of the twelve would be martyred for their faith as well.

ILLUSTRATION

During Roman kingdom reign organized persecution took 3000-3500 Christians as martyrs. Graham Staines

Matthew 11:12

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence.

What kind of world are we living in? Matthew gives us the portrait of the world as we know it. This is human history. Somehow when humans have power, it is against God’s kingdom. It has got ego, pride, power, and we see it being misused. The kingdoms of the world will do what it has always done, it is about money, power, land, and sex. John the Baptist is the victim.

Jesus hears this sad news and he knows that he is next in the line to die. What did Jesus do? Jesus was filled with grief, pain, sadness, fear, wondering what is ahead of him.

Matthew 14:13

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.

And so this was a very important time to be together to talk about the price, the cost; and a time of instruction.

Crowds came and he ministered to them.

Matthew 14:15-21

¹⁵As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” ¹⁶Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” ¹⁷“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. (Mt. 26 Last Supper) Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Has Compassion On People. This is in the midst of his sorrow and grief.

The disciples are upset because of the beheading but they give their food. The Kingdom Costs Everything. You begin to care about people when you immerse yourself in Jesus’ story.

Again Jesus wanted to be alone.

Matthew 14:22-23

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone.

Now this final note. Listen very carefully; here’s the climax of the whole thing. Herod wanted to see Jesus. He thought He was John the Baptist risen from the dead, and he really wanted to see Him. He wanted to resolve in his mind that anxiety, and he wanted to see the power of Jesus.

Luke 9:9

But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.

There was that curiosity with the miraculous and the supernatural, and that incredible guilt and anxiety over who it might be that made him want to see Him.

You know something? Jesus never saw him, never saw him. In the intervening period of time, He ministered, but he never saw the man.

Once Jesus sent a message to Herod when the Pharisees said Herod wants to kill Jesus.

Luke 13:32

He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’

He called him a fox; and He never saw him. And He left him to his guilt; and He left him to his unresolved fear; and He left him to his sin; and He left him to the woman who was his doom, until one fateful day. Luke 23:

This is the trial of Jesus. This is the only time Jesus went into the presence of Herod.

Luke 23:6-7

⁶On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

Pilate did not know what to do with Jesus and now he hears that Herod Antipas is in Jerusalem, and he sends Jesus to Herod. And now, finally, the two meet.

Luke 23:8-9

⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. ⁹He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.

He never said one word. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him

Luke 23:10-12

¹⁰The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. ¹²That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.

Listen, Herod rejected Christ, and Christ rejected Herod – hard, stony ground. For fear of a woman, for fear of a reputation, for fear of his peers, for fear of his throne, he damned his soul forever. John the Baptist lost his head, but lives forever in the presence of God.

CONCLUSION

Christ wants to reveal Himself to you, but if you proudly are holding onto your reputation for fear of what others may think, for fear of the loss of face or reputation, for intimidation by evil people, you have forfeited Christ; you damn your soul. And the day will come when you ask the questions and get no answers. Whereas those in the kingdom will time and again be met with the violence of this world. The kingdom of this world is going to do what the kingdoms of this world will do. The world is unstable. But what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Give your resources, show compassion, and serve God by serving people.

LIFE APPLICATION POINTS

Just Being Fascinated About Jesus Is Not Enough, Make A Commitment To Follow Him

Jesus Is Moved With Compassion For You

The Kingdom Costs Everything

Serve God By Serving People