Matthew 14 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible - Matthew) Free Bible Online

Matthew 14

1 - At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus,

2 - and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him."

3 - For Herod had laid hold of John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

4 - For John said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

5 - 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 came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod.

7 - Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask.

8 - She, being prompted by her mother, said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer."

9 - The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths, and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given,

10 - and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.

11 - His head was brought on a platter, and given to the young lady: and she brought it to her mother.

12 - His disciples came, and took the body, and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.

13 - Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.

Now when Jesus heard [it], He withdrew from there in a boat, to a lonely place by Himself; and when the multitudes heard [of this], they followed Him on foot from the cities.

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14 - Jesus went out, and he saw a great multitude. He had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

15 - When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, "This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food."

16 - But Jesus said to them,"They don't need to go away. You give them something to eat."

17 - They told him, "We only have here five loaves and two fish."

18 - He said,"Bring them here to me."

19 - He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes.

20 - They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces.

21 - Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

22 - Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, and to go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

23 - After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone.

24 - But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

25 - In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.see Job 9:8

26 - When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It's a ghost!" and they cried out for fear.

27 - But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,"Cheer up! It is I!Don't be afraid."

28 - Peter answered him and said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters."

29 - He said,"Come!"Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus.

30 - But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"

31 - Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him,"You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

32 - When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased.

33 - Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, "You are truly the Son of God!"

34 - When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.

35 - When the people of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region, and brought to him all who were sick;

36 - and they begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole.

The Book of Matthew

Matthew 2:2 - Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Matthew 18:3 - And Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

Painting of St. Matthew with Angel by Rembrandt

The Word Gospel. The first book of the English Bible that most of us read from is the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew is the first of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of the Book of Matthew

Brief Summary. Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the long awaited Messiah King of he Jews as foretold by the ancient Jewish prophets. He came to reveal how to enter the "Kingdom of Heaven."

Purpose. It is very obvious that the Gospel of Matthew was written for the purpose of revealing that the man Jesus of Nazareth was actually the King of the Jews, the long awaited Messiah, the sovereign Lord Jehovah who came from heaven to this world revealing to mankind the "kingdom of heaven". The King of the Jews, the Messiah Jesus fulfilled every prophecy that was spoken about Him in the ancient Jewish Scriptures, in the Old Testament. The prophecies that spoke of the "Kingdom" that the Messiah would bring would be a spiritual Kingdom that would never be destroyed.

Audience. When reading the book of Matthew it becomes clear that the writer was speaking to a Jewish audience. One of the obvious reasons is that the "Kingdom of Heaven" is mentioned over 30 times and never the Kingdom of God. This is because the Jews do not speak the name of God and this could be the very reason that Matthew used this phrase. There are many times while reading the book that an event happens and a prophecy is cited. The event is mentioned as the direct fulfillment of a promise made to the Jews by one of their Jewish prophets, and the fulfillment of the prophecy was happening before their very eyes. It is clear that the audience of people are the Jews, they were awaiting their King, and Matthew records that the King had come and they rejected their King.

Authorship. Early Christian writings and traditions have attributed the authorship of the Gospel of Matthew to the apostle Matthew. Many scholars question whether or not Matthew was the true author of the first Gospel, but there is no way at this current time to be absolutely positive based on historical evidence. Most agree that Matthew was the author. The Bible reveals that Matthew, or Levi, as he was sometimes called, collected taxes for the Romans. One day Jesus passed by and called Matthew to come and follow him, and Matthew did so. The Bible also records that Matthew held a banquet at his house with several of his tax collector friends and Jesus being invited to the banquet was the guest of honor (Mark 2:14-15). The Bible also provides a list of the 12 apostles and Matthew was named among them.

Date. There is no way to determine with absolute certainty the date that the book of Matthew was written. Most scholars agree that the book of Matthew was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., this is because Jesus spoke of many events as though they had not happened yet. A large number of scholars do not believe in the miracle of prophecy and therefore insist that the Gospel of Matthew was written after the fall of Jerusalem because of the accuracy of the predicted events.

Language. There are many references among the books in the history of the early church that state that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written by Matthew in the biblical Hebrew language, and he was writing to an audience of  Jews throughout the world who had become followers of Jesus. Unfortunately there is no evidence whatsoever of a Hebrew or Aramaic manuscript, so many scholars have agreed that the Gospel of Matthew is not actually a translation from Hebrew into Greek, but was actually written in Greek. The whole subject of the Gospel of Matthew being written in Hebrew must remain speculation rather than fact.

Outline of the Book of Matthew

The King Comes and His Kingdom is Rejected - Matthew 1-12
The Rejection of the King's Teaching and Ministry - Matthew 13-25
The King's Trial and Crucifixion - Matthew 26-27
The King's Victory and Resurrection - Matthew 28
The King's Commissioning of His Apostles - Matthew 28

Matthew - Interesting Notes

Matthew mentions four women in his genealogy which is not typical for Jewish genealogical records: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheeba who were all associated with some sort of immorality. Tamar (incest), Rahab (harlotry), Ruth (a descendant of Moab who committed incest) and Bathsheba (adultery). Christ's greatness was in Himself not his genealogy.

There are many intimations for the word "King" in Matthew if one takes the time to look. For example in chapter one there is a royal genealogy mentioning king David at the start. Chapter two reveals the kingly gifts of the Magi. Chapter three calls John the Baptist a "herald" which is a cultural term that represents a herald for a king. Etc. 

There are similarities with the number four. The four colors in the veil of the Temple were purple, scarlet, white, and blue. The four faces of the cherubim are the lion, ox, man, eagle. The four Gospel accounts are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. 

Quick Reference Maps - Matthew

Israel in New Testament Times

The Kingdom of Herod the Great

The Divisions of Herod's Kingdom

The Flight into Egypt

The Baptism of Jesus

The Beginning of Christ's Ministry

Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee

Jesus Ministers in Galilee

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem

Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus

Jesus Journeys from Nazareth to Jerusalem

The Final Journey of Jesus to Jerusalem

The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

Matthew Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire