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Matthew 14 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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0:00Matthew 1 through13 is really focused on
0:04the introduction of the kingdom and the
0:07difference in the way the kingdom is
0:09going to come about and the nature of
0:11the kingdom from how they were
0:12expecting. And now we get into a little
0:14bit more narration of events that were
0:17happening at that time in [music]
0:19Jesus's life.
0:21Matthew 14:1
0:24At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard
0:27the news about Jesus and said to his
0:30servants, "This is John the Baptist. He
0:33has risen from the dead, and this is why
0:36miraculous powers are at work in him."
0:39For when Herod had John arrested, he
0:42bound him and put him [music] in prison
0:45because of Herodiius, the wife of his
0:49brother Philillip.
0:50For John had been saying to [music] him,
0:53"It is not lawful for you to have her."
0:58Although Herod wanted to put him to
1:00death, he feared the crowd because they
1:02regarded John as a prophet. But when
1:06Herod's birthday came, the daughter of
1:08Herodiius danced before them and pleased
1:11Herod
1:13so much that he promised with an oath to
1:16give her whatever she asked. Having been
1:19prompted by her mother, she said, "Give
1:22me here on a platter the head of John
1:25the Baptist."
1:28Although he was grieved, the king
1:30commanded it to be given [music]
1:32because of his oaths and because of his
1:35dinner guests.
1:38He sent and had John beheaded in the
1:41prison. And his head was brought on a
1:44platter and given to the girl, and she
1:48brought it to her mother. His disciples
1:51came and took away the body and buried
1:53it. and they went and reported to Jesus.
2:00This is a gruesome story of just the
2:06climate of abuse
2:09and atrocity that the Jews were living
2:12under with Herod.
2:15And John the Baptist, you remember in
2:18previous chapters, has sent and asked
2:20Jesus a question while he was in prison
2:24before he's beheaded.
2:26And it's the last exchange between Jesus
2:29and John. He says, "Are you the one or
2:31do we look for another?" And Jesus says,
2:34"Go tell John what you see and what you
2:37hear." and he quotes from Isaiah 35.
2:40Behold your God comes and these are the
2:43things that happen when he comes.
2:45That's the last John hears. And this
2:49incredible ministry ends pretty
2:51tragically
2:53when the whims of a teenager
2:57result in the brutal martyrdom of John
3:01the Baptist.
3:03to humor the the whims of of a mother
3:07who is committing a sin with a
3:09brother-in-law. It's just debauched.
3:12It's despicable. And it's very typical
3:15of how the the powerful, how the elite
3:19ruled in that day.
3:22And John's disciples come and they
3:24report this to Jesus. You have to
3:26picture how Jesus is hearing this news.
3:29And it's it's right at this time that
3:32he's getting ready to perform one of his
3:35greatest miracles.
3:37You could say that all of this puts a
3:39lot of pressure on Jesus.
3:42And the pressure is, are you going to
3:44save us from these people? Are you going
3:47to get us out of this system? Are you
3:49going to vindicate the injustice that we
3:52are suffering?
3:54And so it's a lot of courage and it's a
3:56lot of persistence on Jesus's part to
3:59keep doubling down and saying, "What I'm
4:02trying to save you from is not the
4:04external oppression, but the internal
4:07tyranny of fear and pride and sin by
4:11which the devil holds people in bondage.
4:13And if you can be freed from that, then
4:16no power or kingdom or Herod or Caesar
4:18on earth can stop the miracle that's
4:21going to spread to the uttermost ends of
4:23the earth. Now when Jesus heard about
4:26John, he withdrew from there in a boat
4:29to a secluded place by himself. And when
4:33the people heard of this, they followed
4:36him on foot from the cities.
4:38The feeling is that Jesus is going to
4:41mourn. He wants to be alone. He wants to
4:45wrestle in his humanity. He wants to
4:48wrestle with how this thing is
4:50happening. How the one who opened the
4:52way for him, who prepared the way of the
4:55Lord, this Elijah has just been
4:59slaughtered in this most disgusting,
5:02capriccious manner.
5:04But Jesus can't even grieve the death of
5:08his cousin and this prophet. Instead,
5:11the people are pressing in. The needs
5:14are too urgent.
5:17When he went ashore, he saw a large
5:20crowd and felt compassion for them and
5:22healed their sick.
5:25When it was evening, the disciples came
5:27to him and said, "This place is desolate
5:29and the hour is already late. So send
5:32the crowds away that they may go into
5:35the villages and buy food for
5:37themselves."
5:40But Jesus said to them, "They do not
5:42need to go away. You give them something
5:46to eat."
5:48They said to him, "We have here only
5:53five loaves and two fish." And he said,
5:56"Bring them here to me."
5:58ordering the people to sit down on the
6:00grass, he took the five loaves and the
6:03two fish. And looking up toward heaven,
6:07he blessed the food. And breaking the
6:10loaves, he gave them to the disciples.
6:13And the disciples gave them to the
6:15crowds.
6:17And they all ate and were satisfied.
6:20They picked up what was left over of the
6:23broken pieces, 12 full baskets.
6:28There were about 5,000 men who ate
6:31besides women and children.
6:34Matthew wants us to understand if there
6:36are 5,000 men and they had their wives,
6:40that would be 10,000.
6:42And does each of them have an average of
6:44two children? That'd make it 20,000. How
6:46many people are there? It's thousands
6:49upon thousands upon thousands of people.
6:53But this is such a powerful insight.
6:56This is what it looks like when
6:59sacrifice and mission and ministry are
7:02hurting internally, under crisis,
7:06hearing [snorts] bad news, and Jesus
7:10goes to grieve and he can't do so
7:12because of the urgency of the needs
7:15around him.
7:17And then the disciples have a measure of
7:19compassion for the people and they say,
7:23"They're hungry. Send them away." And
7:26[snorts] this is one of the first times
7:27Jesus doesn't do it all himself. He
7:30tells the disciples to feed them.
7:34He tells them to do something that's
7:36impossible.
7:39Love asks us to do what we cannot do
7:42without God.
7:44Love invites us to reach and serve in a
7:48way that we cannot do apart from a
7:52grace, an anointing, a multiplication
7:55that God will provide if we move in love
7:59in faith. This would be faith expressing
8:02itself through love.
8:04So they bring the limitations of their
8:07provision. They bring five loaves and
8:09two fish. It's poultry. It's not enough.
8:14They bring it to him. In their hands,
8:17it's a joke. In their hands, it's a
8:20mockery of the need. It's like, "Oh,
8:23brother, we can't do this." But when it
8:26comes into his hands, he starts to break
8:29it. And in the breaking and the giving,
8:33it becomes more than it was before it
8:36was broken, before it was given. in the
8:39serving it starts to become what is
8:42needed and people are eating and they
8:45pull in 12 baskets. That's the exact
8:50number of the disciples who didn't have
8:52the faith to perform the miracle. So,
8:55it's like each of them needs to carry a
8:58full reminder that their faith is the
9:02problem
9:03and [snorts] that if they would yield to
9:05God, God would multiply
9:08who and what they are and can be and the
9:11gifts he he's given them would become
9:14enough when they are broken. You see,
9:18the miracle is an example of what's
9:20happening to Jesus. Jesus is
9:23heartbroken.
9:24And yet in his brokenness, he's still
9:27giving. In his grief, he's still
9:30ministering. He's still speaking. He's
9:32still loving. And therefore, it's
9:35enough. Even though he feels hurt, even
9:38though he feels alone, it's enough for
9:41him to give as he's as he's able in this
9:44in this crisis. And so, he's like an
9:47example of that broken bread. But the
9:50disciples, they don't want to be broken.
9:52They want to analyze and say, "This
9:54isn't sufficient, so we're not going to
9:56give."
9:58So many times when God is prompting us
10:00to serve, prompting us to speak,
10:03prompting us to reach out and touch and
10:05support, to give his grace to someone,
10:09we analyze what is in our basket, and we
10:12analyze the magnitude of the need, and
10:14we say, "I'm not going to give." And if
10:17Jesus had done that, he never would have
10:19come ashore.
10:22But Jesus was breaking himself and he's
10:24trying to teach the disciples, your
10:26problem is not how much you have, but
10:30your willingness, your readiness, your
10:33reluctance to break and give and let God
10:37stretch it while it's being handed out.
10:41So he performs this miracle and Matthew
10:44connects this miracle to the next event.
10:49That's a key. Verse 22 begins like this.
10:53Immediately he made the disciples get
10:58into the boat and go ahead of him to the
11:01other side while he sent the crowds
11:04away.
11:07So something happens. They're carrying
11:0912 baskets of reminders of their
11:11faithlessness.
11:13And he doesn't feel that the lesson is
11:16finished.
11:18He's not happy with their processing of
11:21what's just gone on. So he says to them,
11:24"I want you to get in that boat. I'll
11:27dismiss the church. You get in the boat
11:30and start moving across to the other
11:32side."
11:34What is going to happen in this next
11:36event that's going to complete
11:39the learning and the lesson that they
11:41missed in the last event?
11:45Immediately he made the disciples get
11:47into the boat and go ahead of him to the
11:50other side while he sent the crowd away.
11:53After he had sent the crowd away, he
11:55went up on the mountain by himself to
11:59pray.
12:01And when it was evening, he was there
12:04alone.
12:06But the boat was already a long distance
12:10from the land,
12:12battered by the waves, for the wind was
12:16contrary.
12:19And in the fourth watch of the night, he
12:21came to them walking on the sea. When
12:26the disciples saw him walking on the
12:28sea, they were terrified
12:31and said, "It is a ghost."
12:34And they cried out in fear. But
12:37immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,
12:40"Take courage.
12:42It is I.
12:44Do not be afraid."
12:47Peter said to him, "Lord, if it is you,
12:52command me to come to you on the water."
12:57And he said, "Come."
13:01And Peter got out of the boat and walked
13:04on the water and came toward Jesus.
13:08But seeing the wind, he became
13:11frightened and beginning to sink, he
13:14cried out, "Lord, save me."
13:19Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand
13:20and took hold of him and said to him,
13:23"You of little faith, why did you
13:27doubt?"
13:30When they got into the boat, the wind
13:32stopped,
13:34and those who were in the boat worshiped
13:36him, saying, "You are certainly God's
13:41son."
13:43When they had crossed over, they came to
13:45the land of Guanesserat.
13:48And when the men of that place
13:49recognized him, they sent word into all
13:53the surrounding district and brought to
13:55him all who were sick.
13:58and they implored him that they might
14:01just touch the fringe of his cloak and
14:04as many as touched it were cured.
14:08What we need to understand
14:11is that God's motivation in feeding the
14:145000
14:16was not simply to take care of supper
14:19that night. It was a potluck and the
14:23only luck they had was one boy's basket,
14:26five loaves and two fish. And he did
14:29bless it and it became more than a luck.
14:31It was a multiplication and a blessing.
14:34But it was more than that. He was trying
14:38to open their eyes,
14:41open their eyes that they could start to
14:44participate in miracles.
14:47And they didn't act on it. They didn't
14:50participate in it. All they could do was
14:52pick up the baskets, one for each of
14:55them, reminding of their faithlessness,
14:59showing that God's grace was enough,
15:02God's power was enough, and they were
15:05they could have participated in it, but
15:08their faith was not enough. And so
15:11because of their unbelief, because of
15:14their blindness toward the
15:17multiplication of the loaves and fishes,
15:19and we learn this from the other
15:21gospels, because of that, he sent them
15:24into a storm.
15:26And they again think it's an accident.
15:28They think it's a mistake. They think
15:30it's a fluke. But he's up there on the
15:33mountain praying. And I think he's
15:36praying that their eyes will be opened.
15:40I think he's praying that they will find
15:42the faith to begin to act on what God is
15:45giving them. I think he's praying that
15:48their little faith will turn into enough
15:52faith to begin to fulfill the ministry
15:54God is giving them.
15:56And so he waits. He's on the hillside.
16:00He's praying and he's waiting. And he
16:03sees that the wind is contrary. And
16:05that's exactly where he wants them. He
16:08wants them in a situation where they
16:11don't have a choice.
16:14They're not holding a basket deciding
16:16that it's not enough. They're in a
16:19situation where they've got to move in
16:21faith.
16:24And so he comes to them and again their
16:27eyes are closed. They don't immediately
16:29assume this is God. They assume this is
16:32a confirmation of their fears. They
16:34don't say ah the Lord. They say ah a
16:37ghost.
16:40But he says do not be afraid. It is I.
16:43He's saying these things that you think
16:46are problems are actually my providence
16:50creating an occasion for a miracle. It
16:52is I. I knew this storm was coming and I
16:57knew you had what it takes to get
16:59through it. I knew this hunger was
17:03coming and I knew you had in your hands
17:05what it took to satisfy it. You're more
17:09than you think you are because I am with
17:11you. I'm I'm there in the storm. And
17:15Peter fulfills the prayers that Jesus
17:18was praying
17:19before he walked on the water. Peter
17:23wants to get out of the bondage of his
17:27unbelief.
17:28And so he says,"Lord, if it's you, make
17:32me become more than I am. Make me
17:36transcend my fears. Make me get out of
17:39this boat and step into this miraculous
17:43power that you seem to be inviting us
17:45into, but that seems so scary to me."
17:48And the Lord just says it, "Come." And
17:51so Peter starts walking. And as long as
17:54his eyes are on Jesus, as long as he's
17:56obeying that command, he has power over
18:00the circumstance, he has power over the
18:03situation that seems impossible. He has
18:06power [music] to become more than a mere
18:09man, more than he is alone in his fears,
18:12in his circumstances.
18:14But then as soon as he looks at the wind
18:17and starts thinking about the waves and
18:19the water and the circumstance again, he
18:22starts sinking. And this is the lesson.
18:25You can't walk in miracles if your eyes
18:28are on the problem. You need to walk in
18:30miracles when your eyes are on the Lord,
18:33his grace, his calling, his [music]
18:35purpose, his mission. So he starts to
18:38sink and Jesus doesn't pat him on the
18:40back and say, "Hey, Peter." That's only
18:43the second time in human history that a
18:45human has walked on water. At least you
18:48did it for a few good steps. He says,
18:50"You of little faith. Why did you
18:53doubt?"
18:55He doesn't like how small their faith
18:58is. And he thinks that we're past the
19:01point where you need to be doubting. You
19:03don't have any grounds for doubting any
19:05longer. And when he gets into the boat,
19:07everything changes. And and they begin
19:10to worship him. Now, this is the first
19:12time this is happening. The disciples
19:14are not looking at him merely as teacher
19:16or miracle worker, but they're looking
19:18at him as the son of God. They're
19:21accepting that this is a whole lot more
19:23than we were thinking. And that's the
19:26point.
19:27And in seeing who he is, they're seeing
19:30how much more power they have when they
19:33start to act at his command. They can
19:35get out of the boat. They can walk on
19:37the water. the boat of their
19:39limitations, the boat of their fears,
19:42the boat of thinking that this is a
19:44mistake and this shouldn't be happening,
19:47the boat of analyzing the problem and
19:50saying it's we don't have enough. We're
19:51not strong enough. The boat of the
19:54smallalness of their faith and they can
19:56begin to become what God's asking them
19:58to be when they realize who he is.
20:13>> [music]

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