Big Idea: Matthew shows Jesus to be worthy of trust as the Son of God, as he acts in compassion and authority to heal the sick, feed hungry crowds, and even walk on the sea.
Understanding the Text
Matthew narrates Jesus healing the sick, feeding the five thousand, and walking on the water to demonstrate Jesus’ authority over sickness and even the natural elements. Through these miracles Matthew reaffirms Jesus’ identity as the Messiah (“Son of God” [14:33]). The evangelist has already emphasized Jesus’ authority and compassion through healings and miracles in chapters 8–9. In chapters 11–16 he makes more explicit Jesus’ messianic identity demonstrated through these actions (see 11:2–5). The feeding of a large crowd (five thousand men along with women and children) is the first of two such feedings (the second is in 15:29–39). These feedings echo the Old Testament stories of Moses as he provides food for the Israelites in their wilderness journeys. These feedings also provide an opportunity for Jesus’ disciples to put their faith and service into practice (see 14:16), although they fall short of Jesus’ expectations for them, exhibiting “little faith” instead (14:17–18, 31; cf. 6:30; 8:26; 16:8; 17:20).
Interpretive Insights
14:13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew. This is the second instance of Jesus withdrawing after controversy in 11:2–16:20 (see 12:15; 15:21). In this case he withdraws after hearing of John’s death at the hand of Herod. Given that Herod closely associates John with Jesus (14:1–2), it is not improbable that Herod’s violence against John could spill over into violence against Jesus. So Jesus withdraws from controversy and possible harm to focus on his healing ministry (as at 12:15; 15:21).
14:14 he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew provides several summaries of Jesus’ healing activity in this section (12:15–16; 14:14, 35–36; 15:29–31). In this particular summary Matthew makes explicit the theme of Jesus as compassionate Messiah (also 12:7; 14:14; 15:32), although this motif is implicit in many of the healing stories.
14:16 You give them something to eat. Jesus seems to expect his disciples to provide for the crowds in some miraculous way. This coheres with the Mission Discourse, in which Jesus grants authority to the Twelve to do the miraculous (10:1) by following the pattern of Jesus’ own ministry (10:7–8). Yet the disciples will fall short of Jesus’ expectations for them in this regard (see 15:33; 17:14–20). As Donald Verse put notes, in 14:17 the disciples focus “upon their limited means and [fail] to reckon with the magnitude of Jesus’ awesome power . . . an obvious expression of ‘little faith.’”1
14:17 five loaves of bread. This reference to bread (artos) begins a bread motif that ties together the two feeding miracles (14:13–21; 15:32–39) and connects to Jesus’ warning to the disciples about the “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (16:6), which recapitulates the lessons of the two feeding miracles (16:8–10; see also 15:26).
14:19 he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples. The specific language that Matthew uses here foreshadows his narration of the Passover celebration that Jesus shares with his disciples the night before his death (26:26–29). The common language between the passages includes four verbs and two nouns: taking the bread, giving thanks (eulogeo), breaking it, and giving it to the disciples. A similar composite of terms is also used in the feeding of the four thousand (15:36). By tying together the two feeding miracles with the Passover celebration, Matthew signals that these miracles should be understood as echoing Israel’s experience in the wilderness (see comments on 14:20). Jesus is portrayed as the one who inaugurates the new exodus in line with Isaiah’s related theme.
14:20 They . . . were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces. This feeding miracle evokes Yahweh’s miraculous provision of manna for Israel in the wilderness (see Exod. 16; Deut. 8:1–5). Not only is the connection offered by the implicit comparison between Yahweh’s provision for Israel and Jesus’ provision for the same; the verbal links between Jesus’ actions at 14:19 and the Passover celebration of 26:26–29 also highlight connections with Exodus. Additionally, the mention of “twelve basketfuls” of leftovers from the miracle evokes the provision for Israel’s twelve tribes. While the number “twelve” would not in itself be enough to evoke the Old Testament story, its combination with the other features in 14:13–21 supports the Exodus allusions.
14:23 he went . . . by himself to pray. Although Jesus’ praying is not thematic as in Luke (who often mentions Jesus’ prayer life), Matthew does show him praying here and at 19:13–15, where he blesses and prays for children. In Gethsemane Jesus is shown in concerted prayer as he anticipates his coming death (26:36, 39, 42, 44).
14:25 Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. As at 8:23–27, where Jesus calms a storm at sea, Matthew portrays him as one with authority over the natural world.
14:26 they were terrified . . . and cried out in fear. The fear experienced by the disciples is understandable, given the appearance of Jesus on the water. This story functions in similar ways to theophanies in the Old Testament, in which the Lord or an angel of the Lord appears to a person. In these instances fear is an expected response, and comfort in the form of an exhortation not to fear is commonplace. For example, when Daniel experiences a vision of a supernatural being, he trembles in fear but is comforted with the words “Do not be afraid” (Dan. 10:4–12 [see also Gen. 15:1; 26:24; Judg. 6:23; Luke 1:13, 30]). Jesus’ words to his disciples in 14:27 are similar.
14:29 Then Peter got down out of the boat. Peter is the most prominent of the disciples in Matthew’s Gospel. He often functions as their spokesperson (e.g., 15:15; 16:16; 17:24–27; 18:21; 19:27). At other points in the narrative he is portrayed in somewhat distinctive terms. For example, here and elsewhere he appears as rash or impulsive (16:22; 17:24–25; 26:33).
14:31 You of little faith . . . why did you doubt? Jesus refers to Peter as one with “little faith,” the same description that Jesus uses for the twelve disciples across the narrative (6:30; 8:26; 16:8; 17:20). At other points “little faith” is defined by the presence of worry (6:30), fear (8:26), and lack of understanding (16:8); in this passage it is further explicated by Peter’s “doubt” (distazo, also rendered as “waver”). This word is used in the New Testament only in Matthew and only two times (14:31; 28:17). In both cases it describes a wavering of faith in the disciples. Little faith is a faith that does not hold firm in the midst of adversity or confusing circumstances.
14:33 those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” This is the first time in the story line that the disciples respond to Jesus in worship. It parallels the final scene of the Gospel, where the eleven disciples respond to the resurrected Jesus with both worship and doubt (distazo [28:17; as at 14:31]). The confessional statement “You are the Son of God” by the disciples here is a fitting answer to their rhetorical question at 8:27: “What kind of man is this?” It also parallels Peter’s confession at the end of this section of Matthew: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16). In first-century Judaism “son of God” language could be used for the Messiah (e.g., 2 Esd. 7:28–29), and this seems to be the way Matthew uses it (16:16 as appositional; 26:63; see comments on 4:3, 6).
14:34 Gennesaret. Gennesaret is a region on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. The last location specified in Matthew was Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown (13:54–58). The setting for the feeding miracle that has just occurred is an unspecified “solitary place” (14:13) set apart from a number of towns and villages (traditionally, it is associated with Tabgha and/or Bethsaida [cf. Mark 6:45; Luke 9:10]). In 14:22 Jesus then sends the disciples in a boat across the Sea of Galilee. They land at Gennesaret, on the other side from where they started out.
14:35 when the men. The Greek andres typically refers to a group of men, as in 14:21 (as opposed to anthropos, which is typically generic); but andres may also indicate a group of people, as the quite general nature of the activity of the subsequent verbs would seem to suggest (“they [the people vs. the men] brought all their sick to him” and “they begged him” [cf. NRSV; CEB; CEV]).
14:36 begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak. Jesus’ power and compassion are implicitly communicated in this description of people coming to him for healing. The power of Jesus that comes through simply touching the edge of his cloak is reminiscent of an earlier incident in which a woman with chronic bleeding touches the edge of Jesus’ cloak (9:20) and is healed. Reference to the “edge” of Jesus’ cloak renders the Greek kraspedon, which refers to the tassels worn by Jewish men on the corners of their robes (see comments on 9:20).
Teaching the Text
1. By fostering connections with the Exodus narratives, Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ authority and compassion toward Israel in line with a similar portrait of Yahweh from Exodus. At a defining moment in the story of Israel from the Old Testament, God establishes a covenant with them after redeeming them from Egypt. In the giving of the covenant stipulations, Yahweh is revealed as a God who is gracious as well as powerful to redeem Israel: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Exod. 34:6). This picture of this God of all authority who compassionately brings Israel out of Egypt by signs and wonders and then feeds them in the wilderness provides a fitting backdrop for Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus. As Jesus has acted with compassion and authority to heal and save (chaps. 8–9; 11:2–5), now he acts with compassion and authority to feed and provide. Preaching a God who has all authority but no compassion would offer a terrifying divine portrait, and preaching a God who has great compassion but no power to save would offer an anemic one. The beautiful good news, as Matthew tells it, is that Jesus, like Yahweh, is compassionate and powerful to save. This is the good news that we are invited to preach and teach.
2. Matthew 14:22–33 focuses primarily on Christology, not on discipleship. It is easy to focus our attention in preaching and teaching on the figure of Peter. His impulsive actions in jumping out of the boat are captivating and fit nicely with our cultural propensities to glorify risky behavior. Matthew, however, provides no indications that Peter’s behavior is particularly commendable. Peter is neither criticized nor praised for attempting to do what Jesus does. Instead, the focus of his role in the story is on his faith, which is compromised by his fear of the elements. He succumbs to fear; his faith wavers. In the end, he is portrayed as one with “little faith,” in line with the disciples generally in Matthew. The right action of the disciples is clearly their worship and confession of Jesus as “Son of God” (Messiah) at the end of the story (14:33), which points to Matthew’s christological focus of the story. When preaching or teaching this passage, we might well emphasize Jesus as one with authority over even the forces of nature. As such, he is worthy of our faith and worship.
Illustrating the Text
By fostering connections with the Exodus narratives, Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ authority and compassion toward Israel in line with a similar portrait of Yahweh from Exodus.
Film: The Ten Commandments. Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 classic movie offers a famous scene in which Moses stands at the water’s edge just as God parts the sea, making a way of escape for the Israelites from Egypt’s army. This scene captures the imagination and emphasizes God’s authority over creation—an authority that Jesus demonstrates in this passage.
Matthew 14:22–33 focuses primarily on Christology, not on discipleship.
Quote: The focus of this passage is primarily on Jesus’ identity and authority and not so much on Peter’s trust or lack of it. By focusing on Jesus, Matthew commends trust in Jesus’ authority to his reader. In The Reason for God, Timothy Keller notes,
The faith that changes the life and connects to God is best conveyed by the word “trust.” Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and begin to fall. Just beside you as you fall is a branch sticking out of the very edge of the cliff. It is your only hope and it is more than strong enough to support your weight. How can it save you? If your mind is filled with intellectual certainty that the branch can support you, but you don’t actually reach out and grab it, you are lost. If your mind is instead filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved. Why? It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch.2
Education: “Show and tell” is a favorite part of most children’s experience in elementary school. They hunt through the house for something unique to bring to show their classmates. To simply describe one of these personal treasures with words without bringing it to class would defeat the purpose of show and tell. In analogous fashion, Matthew shows what Jesus does in order to lead his readers to respond in worship. To simply say that Jesus has power over God’s creation and so is worthy of our worship falls short of showing this power through scenes such as the one in 14:22–33. Just as the disciples are led to worship when they experience Jesus’ authority (“Truly you are the Son of God”), so Matthew draws his readers into worshiping Jesus by showing his power over wind and wave.