Matthew 14:1-5 – Herod feared John the Baptist. He had beheaded John and was afraid that he had come back from the dead. John was killed for telling the truth about Herod’s adultery.
Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1, 3, 7, 12-13, 15-16, 19; Luke 1:5)
Named “Procurator of Judea” after murder of Julius Caesar
Mark Antony gave him title “king of the Jews”
Rise to power was due to his connection with Mark Antony and Cleopatra
Killed two of his ten wives, three of his sins, a brother-in-law, and grandfather of one of his wives
Augustus said, “I’d rather be Herod’s hog than his son.”
The family of Herod
Philip – married Herodias, his niece
Philip the Tetrarch – married Salome, his niece
Herodias – married two uncles
Aristobulus – married Salome
Drucilla – left husband to marry Festus, Roman governor
Antipas – killed John, married Herodias
Salome – married to her uncle and cousin
Bernice – married uncle Calchis, lived with her brother
Agrippa II – lived with his sister
Matthew 14:13-21 – Feeding five thousand
Matthew 14:13 – The crowd was determined to follow Jesus as best they could.
Matthew 14:15 – The disciples had their priorities wrong. The need for spiritual food was much greater than that of physical food.
Matthew 14:17 – The disciples still did not have confidence in Jesus’ abilities.
Matthew 14:21 – There were 5,000 men. Adding women and children, this is like 10-15,000 people or more.