Matthew 14:1-14 - The Heart of the Gospel - November 10, 2021
Matthew 14:1-14, NIV - At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in
prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for John had been saying
to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid
of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for
the guests and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her
whatever she asked. Prompted by her
mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his
oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had
John beheaded in the prison. His head
was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her
mother. John’s disciples came and took
his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat
privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot
from the towns. When Jesus landed and
saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Three mini-lessons in this pericope. First, the ruler Herod was obviously REALLY
rattled by John the Baptist. He feared his
subjects’ reaction if he executed John, but he had to fulfill a foolishly made
oath to give the daughter of Herodias anything she wanted. What she said she wanted (after her mother
whispered in her ear) is John’s head on a platter. But it’s clear Herod would not have done it
otherwise. It haunts him so much that when the tetrarch hears about the commotion
being raised by Jesus, he believes it is John back from the dead to cause him
more problems. Doing the wrong thing for
the right reason is still doing the wrong thing.
Next, Jesus is obviously affected
deeply by the news of John’s death.
Anyone who has been blindsided by such grief understands why Jesus “withdrew
by boat privately to a solitary place.”
He just wanted to be alone to grieve.
This is important for us to see.
Jesus knows he hasn’t lost John forever.
In fact, Jesus knows more than anyone around him that He and John will
be reunited in heaven pretty soon. But
still, Jesus grieves. He has perfect
faith and an eternal perspective and yet, the Son of God still intentionally withdraws
to grieve. Too many of us try to
suppress our grief. Jesus engages his
grief, so why do we think we don’t need to do so?
Unfortunately, despite Jesus’s
intention to engage His grief, he doesn’t get long to do so. When he comes back from his solitary boat
trip, he sees that the crowd has followed him along shore. At the end of this sad day, there are people
longing for more healing. It must have
been tempting for Jesus to say something like, “come back tomorrow.” I can even
imagine myself, in the same situation, getting a little frustrated. Instead, he chooses compassion and responds to
their needs. Compassion is always a choice.
It is because Jesus intentionally
took some time to engage his own grief that he is able to then have compassion
for others who are suffering. Getting in
touch with His own suffering allows him to “suffer with” (which is the root
meaning of the word compassion) others. At
the heart of the Gospel is a God that is willing to enter into human suffering and
then heal our deepest wounds. This story
is a microcosm of the entire book of Matthew and the other Gospels. God knows our suffering and chooses to enter
into it and heal it. I need to hear that….a
lot. Perhaps you do too.
Question: What is a
place of suffering in you that perhaps, before now, you have not been willing
to invite God into?
Prayer: Jesus, you
entered into my sorrow, shame, and suffering willingly. I open my heart and receive your presence so
that I can receive Your divine compassion.
Amen.
Prayer Focus: Spend
some time today praying for your own healing.
It’s not selfish; it’s necessary.
Song: I Remember – Lauren
Daigle
No comments:
Post a Comment