NOTES for Mat 14:1-21
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, |
2 And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. |
3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. |
4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. |
5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. |
6 But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. |
7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. |
8 And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. |
9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. |
10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. |
11 And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. |
12 And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus. |
13 When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. |
14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. |
15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. |
16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. |
17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. |
18 He said, Bring them hither to me. |
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. |
20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. |
21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. |
Hide
Christ gathers enormous crowds of people and feeds them with bread. There is enough bread for everyone, and each of the apostles even manages to gather a whole basket of leftovers. And this is the same Christ who said that a person lives "not by bread alone" and refused to engage in social reforms!
To understand this event, it is necessary to turn to the biblical parallels for such a mass feeding of people: the manna that God gave Israel in the wilderness. And also to the prophecies that in the triumph of God's Kingdom people will be filled with bread. For the first readers and hearers of the Gospel, the allusion to these sacred texts meant that God's Kingdom was already being realized in Jesus; in Him God had already come to people.
This story was undoubtedly associated for them with their own experience of divine life, into which they entered through the breaking of the bread: thanksgiving, blessing, breaking, distribution of bread, and gathering of leftovers were all actions involved in the celebration of the Eucharistic meal. In that meal, as in this story, the basic human concepts - bread, life, God - are forever connected with the person of Jesus.
Readings for 29 April 2026
After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan. Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free. | ||
