Fresh Look at Matthew: Matthew 14

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--> After Jesus is rejected in Nazareth, the next episode is the sordid story of Herod and Salome, a pretty disgusting but common account of tyrannical behavior.  Afterward Jesus wanted to be alone, but the crowds wouldn’t allow it.  Consequently he did the stand-out miracle of the five loaves and two fish.  Now, despite their invading his privacy and grief, he bestowed compassion on them.  He did not berate them or feel sorry for himself for being bothered—not sure that was possible, anyway, since feeling sorry for oneself comes from feeling not in control and he always was. He did what needed to be done.

Here we must turn the pages to John 6, where he follows the miracle with seeking to separate the real followers from those just looking for a handout.  Things were going to get tough for the real believers (as John’s beheading showed), so they might as well know what they were in for—all or nothing.

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