Mission 66 (English podcast)
Matthew 14 Seeing Yet Unbelieving
many people are extremely interested when it comes to miracles deep inside many are just aching to see something extraordinary happen this is mission 66 I'm Rob Dempsey today we continue our focus on the gospels mission 66 originates from the ministry of Bible teacher and pastor Dr. Louise Seow and is produced and heard in multiple languages around the world in partnership with trans world radio I want to encourage you to take advantage of a valuable resource you can enhance your understanding of the gospels by downloading our free study guide this guide will deepen your experience with God's word and complement our daily teachings from John Matthews and Esther Sezulu to access your free study guide of the gospels simply visit mission 66.org pick up this valuable resource and also support the ministry of mission 66 your gift helps sustain this program locally and globally John Matthews is our teacher his co-host Esther Sezulu gets us started today as we open up Matthew chapter 14 which is an account of two of Jesus's most famous miracles in his earthly ministry in Old Galilee firstly it's the feeding of the 5,000 and then it's the walking on the water yet in spite of these spectacular miracles performed by our Lord and Master there were those who witnessed it and still did not see who Jesus really was well our speaker John Matthews will present this study with the theme seeing yet unbelieving yeah Esther thank you and warm welcome to you and a very warm welcome as well to all of you listening to mission 66 wherever you are today it is so good to be with you and you know it's not often you get to say this about any program but because we are stepping into the book of life mission 66 could change your life at any moment so I just ask open your heart to what God has in store for you today and here we are in Matthew and in the last few chapters we saw Jesus well into his earthly ministry he's chosen his disciples he's teaching in the region of Galilee he's healing the sick the blind and lame people and he's telling parables to people that convey the values of the kingdom of God and he's attracting these big crowds they're following him as word gets around to see what on earth he's gonna do next yet up to this point Jesus is not recognized as the Messiah in fact far from that he's scorned by some as a a deceiver and a devil worshipper in fact some of his worst critics were the scribes and the Pharisees who were known as the religious elite of that day and these were actually the educated ones who'd handled the law of Moses and the prophetic writings and were best placed to recognize Jesus as Messiah but they did not and here we are at the tail end of chapter 13 and we see that Jesus arrives in Nazareth which is the city where he grew up and he goes to the synagogue and he begins to teach and it says that everyone was awestruck by his teaching and they look at each other you can picture the scene this is a guy who grew up in in their town in their city and they begin asking each other where where does his wisdom and this miraculous power come from isn't this the the carpenter son isn't his mother's name Mary aren't his brothers James Joseph Simon and Judas aren't actually all his sisters here with us where then did this man get all these things from you know Tom what can we actually say about Jesus his family I mean he seems to have had lots of siblings a very big family is what he came from yeah the passage mentions Jesus his brothers James Joseph Simon and Judas that's not Judas a scarier and that's a different Judas Jesus his brother and also mentions the fact that he's got sisters no reason for us to question the fact that Jesus had brothers and sisters there it is in historical text the words brother and sister are being used with the most obvious natural and regular meaning here and the words brother and sister are being used as we would understand them to be the most obvious and natural regular meaning so the gospels we know say Jesus the Christ was born of Mary was father by the Holy Spirit but Mary and Joseph were duly married in the natural course for them to have other children and after his brother James actually wrote the New Testament book of James so this was Jesus his human family in the book of Matthew lays it out here and Jesus is later also going to say in another passage whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother so Jesus himself considers his kinship to his believers to be even more important to him than his earthly family relationships anyway the people thought he was just another regular guy in the town just as they were says in verse 57 they took a fence at him actually but Jesus says to them a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household and he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief says the Bible see Jesus was rejected by those of his own hometown because those who knew him best who grew up alongside him knew his family saw the works that he did yet didn't recognize who he really was and notice here it looks like Jesus would have done miracles for them but because of their unbelief they forfeited any benefit Jesus might have had to them right so does this indicate that God needs human help in order to do miracles no I don't think it's that the first doesn't doesn't mean to say that Jesus needed any help from from those around him so that miracles could be performed he doesn't need human face to help him perform miracles but he performs miracles in order to achieve certain certain ends if you like these miracles are called signs in the Bible and they all have a purpose now Jesus didn't perform miracles for fun as though he was a circus performer but instead to show everyone that he was indeed who he says he was which is the long-awaited Messiah sent by God and yet because Jesus knew the people who lived in Nazareth were not ready to receive the Messiah and so the miracles then were withheld from them now there seems to be a growing animosity doesn't it against John the Baptist and when we get to Matthew chapter 14 at that time Herod the Tedarch heard about the fame of Jesus and he said to his servants this is John the Baptist he's been raised from the dead that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him now Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias his brother Philip's wife because John had been saying to him it's not lawful for you to have her though he wanted to put him to death he feared the people because they held him to be a prophet says the passage wait John is this the same Herod in the Christmas story who killed all those babies no this this is actually a different Herod the one in the Christmas story was Herod the Great and you might remember he ordered all the infants to be killed didn't he and he actually died shortly after that and the Romans then divided his territory up among his sons Herod the Great sons Herod Arkelius was put in charge of Judea Samaria and Idumia this Herod is Herod Antipas now Herod Antipas became Tedarch of Galilee so he's the one that we're dealing with here and he was the one who was a rebuke from lawfully marrying his brother Philip's wife okay so and I also noticed that it seems that Herod Antipas was intrigued by John the Baptist but sent him to prison and death anyway I guess it's because he didn't like to be preached at well I guess Herod's like many people in our world seemed keen on miracles and prophecies but perhaps jump ship when it starts to interfere with their personal plans or the way they live their lives and and Herod was going to have his brother's wife even though it was a sin and nobody not even God was going to interfere with that that was his intention to here's the rest of the story as it goes in Matthew 14 but when Herod's birthday came the daughter of Herodius danced before the company and pleased Herod so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask prompted by her mother she said give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter and the king was sorry but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given he sent and had John beheaded in the prison and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl and she brought it to her mother and his disciples came and took the body and buried it and they went and told Jesus can you imagine Herod heard the prophet but did not listen he saw but did not believe not really he didn't kill John only because he feared stirring up a rebellion among the people but he didn't fear being eternally damned for killing God's prophet at the request of a dancing girl and it seems that parties and banquets are at times convenient times for for joking and and speaking lightly and maybe even even against God's people but many people are extremely interested aren't they when it when it comes to miracles deep inside they're just a king to see something extraordinary happen yet when it comes to God's truth and his moral law many turn away fast and as Herod was fickle toward John the Baptist we're going to see the people soon turning against Christ as well in spite of the miracles that they saw with their very own eyes verse 13 says now when Jesus heard this what had happened to John he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself but when the crowds heard this they followed him on foot from the towns and when he went to shore he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them and healed their sick I'm sensing that Jesus got tired here as well didn't he John yes to you can imagine it can't you the crowds pushing in following him clinging to him yeah he must have gotten really tired and he would often go off the Bible says to to a deserted place or a desert place to commune with his father in heaven you know Jesus knew that he needed to get proper rest and suggested it from time to time to his disciples as well and yet you can see that Jesus was never too tired to try to ease human suffering and when sick people came and begged for help it's not written anywhere else in the gospels that he ever turned anybody away he never said on not now now this is my day off just need a bit of me time this was the compassion at Jesus you can picture him can't you the warmth of his smile with his arms open wide to all who recognize their need of him what a beautiful Savior this is and in verse 15 it says when it was evening the disciples came to him and said this is a desolate place in the day is now over send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves but Jesus said they need not go away you give them something to eat we know don't we from another gospel that he was testing the disciples to see what their answer might be and I think he was dramatically trying to get them to realize the impossibility of of the situation so that they would rest assured that provisions for this this crowd this huge crowd would have to come from God Almighty and nowhere else verse 17 says that they said to him well we we've only got five loaves and two fish and he said bring them here to me and then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the crowds and they all ate and were satisfied and they took up 12 baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over and those who ate were about 5,000 men plus women and children if Jesus were not God in human form he would not have been able to do this miracle and yet I wonder how many of the people who even dined on that miracle bread that day on the mountain would soon be calling for Jesus's crucifixion this is Mission 66 and my name is Esther and as you heard our teacher John Matthews is currently commenting on two of Jesus's best known miracles in chapter 14 of Matthew yeah we've read haven't we about that the feeding of the 5,000 where Jesus miraculously multiplies a small donation by one of the fellows in the audience five loaves of bread and two probably smoked fish and gives thanks to God for the food and then begins breaking them into pieces and just keeps breaking and breaking and breaking and before their very eyes the food multiplies in his hands and the number of people who ate were more than 5,000 probably many more because it was men plus 5,000 men plus women and children and they all had more than enough to eat and there are many lessons that we could learn aren't there from from this miracle such as God can multiply in use even the smallest donation when we give it to Jesus well another lesson is to not waste food don't throw away the scraps yeah that's what we're told growing up isn't it don't waste any food rightly so isn't it and you know those disciples who helped him in this ministry well they worked hard didn't they to organize this this great event on the mountain and they worried that they were going to run out of food and each of them there they are carrying away this this basket full of leftovers 12 in the end I think so when God blesses he blesses abundantly you know everybody walks away more than satisfied and so important you know not to miss the point here that is Jesus made enough bread for everyone to eat there on the mountain so also he is the bread of life who gives eternal life and sustenance to anyone who believes in him and then to verse 22 where it says immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds and after he had dismissed the crowds he went up on the mountain by himself to pray and when evening came he was there alone but the boat by this time was a long way from land beaten by the waves for the wind was against them and in the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the sea but when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified and said it is a ghost and they cried out in fear but immediately Jesus spoke to them saying take art it is I do not be afraid I can tell you that if I was one of those fishermen I would be freaking out myself but it really doesn't seem that these brave fishermen would be afraid of ghosts well yeah it's an interesting point Esther you know in ancient times and in some places and cultures nowadays the people commonly believe in spirits and ghosts and it's usually associated with the occult remember also that these men had been through some pretty harrowing experiences they were really tired and attributed this figure out on the water to demonic activity but actually it turns out to be Jesus and this is how it is sometimes with us isn't it we're in impossible perhaps terrible circumstances and we blame the devil and and maybe it turns out that the Lord is with us all the time well actually the Bible says that God never leaves us or forsakes us so we know that if we believe in him he is with us all the time there's no doubt about that but watch here how Jesus turns the event around for the glory of God as verse 28 says and Peter answered him Lord if it is you command me to come to you on the water Jesus said come so Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus but when he saw the wind he was afraid began to sink and cried out Lord save me and Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him saying to him oh you of little faith why did you doubt and when they got into the boat the wind ceased and those in the boat worshipped him saying truly you are the Son of God so actually there were two people in history that walked on top of water during a storm it was Jesus and the Apostle Peter yep and you've got to give Peter some credit as well you know as we know according to the gospels you could describe him as perhaps the most impulsive disciple he says Lord if it's really you tell me to come to you on the water you know he must have been shouting that over the waves and the wind and then at the Lord's invitation Peter gets down out of the boat and actually walks on the water and comes towards Jesus just imagine dear listeners how extraordinary it must be to walk on top of water can you imagine the faces of the disciples in the boat watching what they were seeing unfortunately when Peter takes a look away from the eyes of Jesus and looks at the wind he's distracted and begins to sink but the Lord catches Peter and says you of little faith why did you doubt oh yeah absolutely and you know perhaps the message that is here is that with the Lord we are capable of doing more than what we think but we do become afraid in the storms of life you know when we see the winds and we see the waves of our situation we we start to doubt yeah absolutely Esther you know we let's be honest we all identify with Peter and then what Jesus said in return why did you doubt and sometimes we're guilty of this all of us and you see up to this point not even actually his disciples really knew who Jesus was but Jesus knew who they were Jesus knows who we are every single one of us the disciples were of little faith just like us at times he knew they were frail he knew they were subject to weariness that they couldn't show proper compassion on the multitude unless they were ordered to do so they called him master and rabbi but they didn't yet know who their master really was and I think Jesus was beautifully dealing with them wasn't he was just dealing with them gently revealing himself to the disciples little by little starts with the water into wine miracle at the marriage feast in Cain and then the healings and his teachings all brought the disciples along to a better understanding of of his deity the feeding then of the five thousand was a lesson that just moved them a little bit further along in their faith walking on the water certainly must have gotten Peter a little further along in his faith and the day would soon come when all the disciples would understand that he was more than just a miracle worker that he was Messiah God in the flesh who had come not just to perform miracles but perform the ultimate miracle and that is he'd come to save the world with his great sacrifice on Calvary followed by his resurrection and you know before it was over the awakened disciples would fearlessly proclaim the gospel to the world and many of these once petrified men would courageously lose their lives for doing so for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his own soul and up to this point here in chapter 14 all they could say was that he was the son of God and he is that but he's more than just that let's finish the chapter reading from verse 34 and when they had crossed over they came to the land at Genesarete and when the men of that place recognized him they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment and as many as touched it were made well and it was not the hem of his garment that did the miracle you know it was the faith of the one who reached for the hem well that was Matthew 14 now look at this Jesus his family rejects him Herod wants to kill him his disciples don't realize who he really is and Jesus reveals himself not only to be capable of multiplying the bread and the fish but also that he has this power to control the wind the waves and the sea after all it was he who created it because he's the author of salvation he is the son of the living God he is God with us what if we could begin to grasp that and I mean really grasp that anew that God is with us because of Jesus Christ Matthew listener do you see it yet Jesus to many is only some sort of special political or religious figure a champion of the needy and mistreated or maybe Jesus is is only a prophet a great social reformer or a man who taught people how to love one another to others he's a mere statue on the wall the truth is that this carpenter's son this man of Nazareth was the son of God the long-awaited Messiah the great Savior the author of salvation for you listening where you're listening right now and for me hallelujah hallelujah glory to God wow I can see that there's a lot for us to grasp in this chapter John so what are some of the most important takeaways from this chapter well as to the theme today was seeing yet unbelieving and as we've seen Jesus was rejected misunderstood and despised by many of his own people by the religious elite by Herod who witnessed his miracles yet still turned away in unbelief even his own disciples not fully understanding who he really was at first but they're starting to get there now and he's revealing his deity to them little by little by means of his virtuous life his parables by the many miracles of healing but in this chapter he just cranks up the volume a bit with amazing miracles that only God could do multiplying the loaves and the fishes to feed more than five thousand people then he walks on the water of the Sea of Galilee during a storm he not only does it himself but he empowers Peter to do the same and soon the disciples were to move from just seeing to really believing believing that Jesus was the one and only Messiah the only one who could save us from our sins now let me put it differently as well the only one who can save us from our sins well my dear friend it is on that note that we conclude today's episode we'll be here again to bring you the rest of the amazing account of the life of Christ with our teacher John Matthews on mission 66 so please tune in next time for our next study in this series in the gospel of Matthew I'm your host Esther and until next time God bless you let me remind you to download your free study guide of the gospels you'll be able to go deeper into God's word and follow along with each day's program it's a great companion resource of the audio teaching of John Matthews and Esther Sussulu to get your free study guide of the gospels visit mission 66.org that's mission 66.org it's a great resource you can also support the ministry of mission 66 when you visit the site you'll help continue the program here and around the world mission 66 is a ministry of trans world radio in partnership with dr. Louise Ciao I'm Rob Dempsey you