The miracles of the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand as well as the healings and teaching of our Lord confirmed His Messiahship.
Matthew 14: The Death of John the Baptist
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,
2 and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him."
3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,
4 because John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.
6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod,
7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter."
9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given.
10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison,
11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves."
16 But Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."
17 They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish."
18 And he said, "Bring them here to me."
19 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. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
26 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.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick
36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
Matthew 15: Traditions and Commandments
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."
3 He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
4 For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.'
5 But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God,"
6 he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"
What Defiles a Person
10 And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand:
11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person."
12 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"
13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."
15 But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us."
16 And he said, "Are you also still without understanding?
17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?
18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."
23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us."
24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
26 And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28 Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Jesus Heals Many
29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.
30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,
31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."
33 And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?"
34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."
35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,
36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
Things to think about…
1. Herod thought Jesus was a resurrected John the Baptist whom he had killed. Jesus was performing many miracles and hence Herod’s conclusion in Mt 14:2 “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”. It is interesting that John the Baptist never performed any miracles, yet such was his testimony before the people including Herod that they mistook Jesus for John, Mt 14:2. May we have such a powerful testimony before unbelievers that they see the works of the Saviour and the power of the gospel in our lives.
2. The Lord Jesus and the disciples would have been exhausted, Mt 14:13-21. They had ministered all day, Jesus performs a miracle and the crowd of perhaps up to 10000 – 15000 people are fed, then the disciples depart in a boat, only to be frightened for their lives at around the fourth watch (3am in the morning) by Jesus walking on the water when the winds and waves pick up. Ministering and doing the Lord’s work often has seasons of exhaustion, but there are great spiritual blessings when they occur. In this situation the disciples see the deity and power of Jesus who is in control over the elements.
3. Peter steps into the water when he asks Jesus to call him and give him that ability. Peter starts to sink when he looks at the winds and the waves. But Peter stepped into the water when the wind and waves were already high and beating against the boat, Mt 14:24. What was the difference? He was looking at Jesus when he stepped out of the boat, but he looked at the surrounding circumstances once he was on the water. This can be the case with us. We have an initial faith when we start out in Christ, but our eyes get distracted away from Christ and we start to sink in this world’s waves.
4. Jesus calms storm and the disciples declare “truly you are the Son of God”, making Him equal with God. This was of course true but considered blasphemy by the religious hierarchy. The disciples have seen with their own eyes and know the truth. This is the case for every believer whose eyes have been opened by grace.
5. In the morning after lots of ministry and a night of no sleep – more ministry, Mt 14:34-36. What are your limits? Do you feel at breaking point at times? Jesus will deliver, but in His time, not yours. His word to Peter remains the same for us “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Mt 14:31. The people, like the woman with the flow of blood, Mt 9:20-22, simply touch the hem of Jesus’ garment and are healed, Mt 14:36.
6. In Mt 15:1-9 Jesus says the Pharisees break the commandments through their man-made laws. In this case it is the 5th commandment “honour your father and mother” which was discarded because they justified it by their giving to God rather than by providing for their parents. In what ways do we grieve the Spirit of God by ignoring our neighbours or our unsaved family, whom we are called to love, by being too busy to show them love? May we be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and fulfill even more than the letter of the law.
7. What defiles a person, Mt 15:10-14? Jesus explains it through a parable about food and plants. I think we can be like the Pharisees and have our own man-made laws as Christians whether written or otherwise that effectively nullify the Word of God. We often justify what we spend our money on, or what doctrine we want to believe, or what we spend our time and energies on without seriously considering the Word of God or how it affects the gospel we are called to share. People watch us, including how we live out our religious convictions. Our Lord wants our faith to be in agreement with the Spirit and truth, rather than our own corrupt personal biases or opinions.
8. Peter does not understand what Jesus meant, Mt 15:15, Jesus reaffirms to Peter and the other disciples the meaning of the parable, Mt 15:16-20 that it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles. This happens when the heart is not motivated by grace. Why? Because they are plants that have not been planted by the Lord, vss 13, 14. Unwashed hands don’t defile us, but what comes out of the heart – “evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander”, vs 19. It is a tragedy when these things are named in the body of Christ. These people are not true Christians. How do we know? Their fruit. Jesus has already explained previously in Matthew’s gospel, Mt 7:15-20.
9. Look at the faith of this Canaanite woman, Mt 15:21-28. She was essentially called a Gentile dog by Jesus. Yet her response is gold. She says to Jesus that even the dogs are fed with the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Jesus of course already knew her heart and was merely drawing out her faith as an example for others. He acknowledges her all too uncommon faith. She is blessed as a result. She had a humble heart. Unlike Israel at the time – the legitimate children, many of whom lacked true faith. The reality is, we are all sinners (dogs) saved by grace. Merely saying you’re a Christian does not make it so. Faith must be seen and acted upon. Let us never be so full of pride that we forget the height from which we have fallen.
10. The abundance of Christ’s healing ministry would have been a wonder to behold, Mt 15:29-31. Here he sits down and people come to Him to be ministered to. When the Lord is using people in ministry, people will travel and do whatever it takes to receive healing and comfort in Jesus’ name. Pray we can be ministers of His message, power and grace without limit or compromise. In the same way after the Sermon on the Mount, people wondered, vs 31 and gave glory to God.
11. The feeding of the four thousand is no less a miracle than the feeding of the five thousand, even though here in Mt 15:32-38 there were seven loaves instead of five and a few fish instead of two. What do you have at your disposal; do you have more or less than others? Regardless, it requires a miracle to multiply and make disciples for the kingdom of God. Let’s never look at our own provisions in this work but look to the Provider. May signs and wonders follow the preaching of Your Word Lord, Mark 16:20; Acts 14:3.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer. This week we consider Psalm 8 – O Lord our Lord how majestic is your name.
Prayer Points
1. A new finance officer for CBC. Pray for God’s choosing in this role.
2. Prayer for Israel, Gaza and Lebanon for peace to descend over the region.
3. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
4. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
5. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
6. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
7. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
8. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Admin person sorted. Thanks Maddie
2. AGM was a joy. New member added. More to come
3. 2 more baptisms in the new year.
4. More new visitors on Sunday. Pray they feel welcomed in the church
5. Café, music, sound and technical team every week
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. PlayPatch Friday mornings – 9:30am. Contact Anna for details
2. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
3. Carols Sunday 22nd Dec starting from 3pm.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for November...
Q. 26. Who tempted them to this sin? A. The devil tempted Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam.
