Matthew 14, 15, 16

January 7, 2011

Matthew 14, 15, 16

Overview:  Chapter 14 begins with the story of how Herod has John the Baptist killed.  From there the story turns to Jesus and various interactions with people in need of healing, people who need to be fed and to conflicts with the Pharisees.  There are two feeding miracles along the way as well as the pivotal declaration that Peter, in a moment of insight, makes about who Jesus is - "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."(16:15)

Another group of chapters that, I think, are enhanced, or at least experienced in a different way, when taken as a whole.  It becomes less of a series of disconnected scenes and more of a coherent whole.
John the Baptist is killed by Herod.  John's disciples go to Jesus to tell him what has happened.  Jesus, we are told, hears the news and withdraws to a deserted place.  I think it's safe to assume that at least a part of that is that Jesus is troubled by the violent death of someone he cares about.  And yet here come the crowds, very much needing Jesus.  I think we see some of Jesus' humanity here as he is going through a very difficult moment in his web of personal relationships and yet he also has great demands on him from those who may not have much interest in his backstory, but know that he has something they need.  Jesus seems much more human in that context, much closer to the way we experience life.  Very few things happen just in and of themselves.  Conversely, much of what we experience in life happens in bunches and we are left to mourn and work and celebrate and serve all at the same time.
There is a theme that runs through these chapters about Jesus trying to move things to a deeper level, while those around him are often stuck on the surface.  Best crystallized perhaps by the discussion that Jesus has with the Pharisees and with the disciples about being less concerned about what goes from outside to inside and more concerned with what comes from inside to outside.  The Pharisees are worried about the disciples washing their hands.  Jesus tries very hard to point out that there are larger things in the world to be concerned with than ritual purity...actual purity being  chief among them.
There is also a nice thread about bread, the kind one eats after a long day in the wilderness and the kind that sustains your soul.  Jesus feeds large groups of people a couple of times, both stories with a strong miraculous element.  Jesus then has an exchange in chapter 16 with the disciples warning them about the "yeast of the Pharisees".  The dsiciples wonder if maybe they forgot to buy bread - is that what he's talking about.  Jesus, a little exasperated, points out to them that if they remember what just happened in a big way twice that loaves of bread are not a big issue.  He's talking about something deeper, something more fundamental to their being, the yeast that will make or break what rises from within them. 
Finally we have the wonderful moment when Peter gets it right.  It is followed, naturally, by a moment when Peter gets it way wrong, but shows again one of Peter's most endearing qualities, his complete lack of reservation about being the kid in class who has no fear at all about raising his hand and taking a shot.