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Matthew 14:1. At that time Herod the tetrarch heard a rumor about Jesus Matthew 14:2. and he said to those who served with him: This is John the Baptist; he rose from the dead, and therefore miracles are done by him. This Herod was the son of Herod, who killed the infants in Bethlehem. Hence understand the pride of despotic life. That’s how long it took Herod to hear about Jesus’ activities! Powerful persons will not soon find out about this, since they do not pay attention to those shining with virtue. He apparently feared the Baptist; Therefore, I decided to speak not with anyone else, but with the youths, that is, with the slaves. Since John did not perform miracles during his lifetime, Herod thought that after his resurrection he had received from God this gift - the gift to perform miracles. Matthew 14:3. For Herod, having taken John, bound him and put him in prison for Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, Matthew 14:4. because John said to him: You must not have it. Matthew 14:5. And he wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet. In previous accounts of the life of John, Matthew did not mention this because his purpose was to describe only those things pertaining to Christ. Even now he would not have mentioned it if it did not refer to Christ. John exposed Herod as having illegally married his brother. The law commanded a brother to take his brother's wife if he died childless. Here Philip did not die childless, for he had a daughter who danced. Some say that Herod took away both his wife and the tetrarchy while Philip was still alive. But one way or another, what he did was illegal. Herod, not fearing God, was afraid of the people, and therefore refrained from killing, but the devil presented him with an opportunity. Matthew 14:6. During the celebration of Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the assembly and pleased Herod, Matthew 14:7. Therefore, he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Matthew 14:8. She, at the instigation of her mother, said: Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter. Look, what shamelessness! The princess is dancing! And the better she dances, the worse it is, for it is a shame for the princess to do anything obscene with cunning. Look at Herod's other folly. He vowed to give the princess whatever she asked if she danced well. But if I asked for your head, would you give it? “Give me John’s head here on a platter.” Why did you add “here”? She was afraid that Herod, having come to his senses, would not repent later. Therefore, he hurries Herod, saying: “Give it to me here.” Matthew 14:9. And the king was saddened, but, for the sake of the oath and those reclining with him, he commanded to give her, Matthew 14:10. and sent to cut off John's head in prison. Matthew 14:11. And they brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and she took it to her mother. Matthew 14:12. His disciples came and took his body and buried it; He was saddened because of virtue, for the enemy is surprised at virtue. However, by virtue of his oath, he gives an inhuman gift. Let us learn from this that it is better to break an oath than to do something wicked because of an oath. The body of the Baptist was buried in Sebastia of Caesarea, and his venerable head was first laid in Emes. and they went and told Jesus. What did they tell Jesus? Not that John died, for the story about John spread everywhere, but that Herod considers Him to be John. Matthew 14:13. And when Jesus heard, he departed from there in a boat to a desert place alone; Jesus leaves because of the murder of John by Herod, teaching us not to be exposed to danger; He also leaves so that they do not think that He was incarnated ghostly. For if Herod had taken possession of Him, he would have made an attempt to destroy Him, and if Jesus in this case had snatched Himself from the midst of danger, because the time of death had not come, then they would have considered Him to be a ghost. So that's why He leaves. “He goes into a deserted place” to perform a miracle over the loaves. and the people, having heard about this, followed Him from the cities on foot. Matthew 14:14. And Jesus went out and saw a multitude of people, and had compassion on them, and healed their sick. The people show the faith by which they follow the retreating Jesus. Therefore, as a reward for faith, he receives healing. They follow Him on foot and without food. It's all from faith. Matthew 14:15. When evening came, His disciples came to Him and said: This is a deserted place, and the time is already late; send the people away so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves. Matthew 14:16. But Jesus said to them, “They need not go; you give them something to eat. The disciples are humane, for they care about the people and therefore do not want them to go hungry. What about the Savior? “Give,” he says, “to them you are.” He says this not because he did not know what poverty the apostles experienced, but so that when they say “we have not,” it turns out that He begins to perform a miracle out of need, and not out of love for glory. Matthew 14:17. They said to Him: We have here only five loaves and two fish. Matthew 14:18. He said: Bring them here to Me. Matthew 14:19. And he ordered the people to lie down on the grass and, taking five loaves and two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed Bring Me the loaves here, for although it is late, I am the Creator of time; although the place is desolate, I am the One who gives food to all flesh. From here we learn that even if we have little, we must use it for hospitality, for the apostles, having little, gave to the people. But just as this little has multiplied, so will your little. Places the people on the grass, teaching simplicity, so that you too do not rest on expensive beds and carpets. He raises his eyes to heaven and blesses the loaves, perhaps in order for them to believe that He is not an adversary to God, but came from the Father and from heaven, and also in order to teach us that when we touch the table, we give thanks and thus eat the food. and breaking it, he gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the people. Matthew 14:20–21. And they all ate and were filled; and they took up the remaining pieces, twelve baskets full; and those who ate were about five thousand people, besides women and children. He gives bread to the disciples so that they always remember the miracle and so that it does not leave their thoughts, although they soon forget about it. So that you do not think that the Lord performed a miracle only in a ghostly way, for this purpose the loaves are multiplied. The twelve boxes are provided so that Judas can carry them and not be led to betrayal while thinking about the miracle. And He multiplies the loaves and the fish, to show that He is the Creator of the earth and the sea and that everything that we eat every day, we eat because He gives and the food is multiplied by Him. There was a miracle in the desert so that no one would think that He bought loaves from a nearby city and divided them among the people; for there was a desert. This is consistent with the story. By guidance, learn that when Herod, the carnal, rude mind of the Jews (for this means the word Herod in translation), beheaded John, the head of the prophets, that is, he did not believe those who prophesied about Christ, Jesus for the future goes to a deserted place, to the pagans, a desert in relation to God, and heals the sick in soul, then feeds them. If He does not forgive us our sins and does not heal illnesses through baptism, then He will not nourish us with the communion of the Most Pure Mysteries, since none of those who have not been baptized receive communion. Five thousand are five senses that are in a bad state and are healed with five loaves. For since the five senses hurt, so many wounds, so many bandages. Two fish are the words of the fishermen: one fish is the Gospel, the other is the Apostle. But some by the five loaves mean the Pentateuch of Moses, that is, the book of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Twelve boxes were taken by the apostles and carried. For what we, the common people, could not eat, that is, understand, was carried and contained by the apostles. “Except wives and children,” for a Christian should not have anything childish or effeminate and unmanly. Matthew 14:22. And immediately Jesus forced His disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, until He sent the people away. Pointing to the inseparability of the disciples, Matthew said “compelled,” for they wanted to always be with Him. The Lord lets the people go because He did not want them to accompany Him, so as not to appear ambitious. Matthew 14:23. And having dismissed the people, He went up to the mountain to pray in private; and in the evening he remained there alone. Matthew 14:24. And the boat was already in the middle of the sea, and it was beaten by waves, because the wind was contrary. Showing us that we must pray with concentration, the Lord ascends the mountain. For He does everything for our sake, but He Himself did not need prayer. He prays until late, teaching us not to give up prayer too soon, but to especially perform it at night, for then there is much silence. Allows the disciples to be exposed to danger so that they can learn to endure temptations with courage and know His power. A boat in the middle of the sea - this shows that the fear was great. Matthew 14:25. In the fourth watch of the night Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. Matthew 14:26. And the disciples, seeing Him walking on the sea, were alarmed and said: this is a ghost; and they cried out in fear. Matthew 14:27. But Jesus immediately spoke to them and said, “Be of good cheer; it is I; do not be afraid.” He did not immediately appear before them in order to tame the storm, teaching them not to quickly ask for the removal of troubles and to endure them courageously, but about the fourth watch, for the night was divided into four parts by the soldiers guarding in turn, so that each watch lasted three hours. So, the Lord appeared after the ninth hour of the night, walking on the surface of the water, like God. The disciples, in view of the unusualness and strangeness of the matter, thought that there was a ghost before them, for they did not recognize Him by sight, both because it was night and because of fear. The Lord, first of all, encourages them, saying: “It is I” who can do everything, “do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:28. Peter answered Him: Lord! If it is You, command me to come to You on the water. Out of a feeling of the most ardent love for Christ, Peter wants to immediately and before others approach Him. He believes that Jesus not only walks on the waters Himself, but will also give it to him: he did not say “command me to walk,” but “to come to You.” The first would be a sign of boasting, but the second is a sign of love for Christ. Matthew 14:29. He said: go. And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to come to Jesus; Matthew 14:30. but, seeing the strong wind, he got scared and, starting to drown, shouted: Lord! save me. The Lord spread the sea over Peter, showing His power. But look: Peter, having conquered the greater, I mean the sea, was afraid of the wind. So weak is human nature! And immediately, as he got scared, he began to drown. For when faith weakened, then Peter began to drown. This prompted him not to think highly of himself, and calmed the other disciples, for they may have envied him, Peter. But it also showed how superior Christ is to him. Matthew 14:31. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand, supported him and said to him: you of little faith! why did you doubt? Matthew 14:32. And when they entered the boat, the wind died down. Matthew 14:33. Those who were in the boat came up, worshiped Him and said: Truly You are the Son of God. Showing that it is not the wind that causes the drowning, but cowardice, Christ does not reproach the wind, but the cowardly Peter. Therefore, he picked it up and placed it on the water, allowing the wind to blow. Peter did not doubt completely, but somewhat, that is, partially. For as much as he was afraid, he did not believe. When he shouted: “Lord! save me,” then he healed his unbelief. That’s why he hears: “of little faith” and not “infidel.” So those in the boat also were freed from fear, for the wind ceased. Having come to know Jesus through this, they confess His Divinity. For walking on the sea is not characteristic of man, but of God, just as David says: “Your way is in the sea, and Your path is in the great waters” (Psalm 76:20). According to guidance, the ship is the earth, the disturbance is life, disturbed by evil spirits, the night is ignorance. “In the fourth watch,” that is, towards the end of the ages, Christ appeared. The first watch is the covenant with Abraham, the second is the law of Moses, the third is the prophets, the fourth is the coming of the Lord. For He saved those who were overcome when He came and lived with us, so that we, knowing Him as God, would worship Him. Pay attention also to the fact that what happened to Peter at sea foreshadowed his denial, then conversion and repentance. As he boldly said there: “I will not deny You,” so here he says: “Command me to come to You on the water”: and just as there the Lord allowed him to deny, so here he allows him to drown; here the Lord gave him his hand and did not allow him to drown, and there, through repentance, he rescued him from the depths of renunciation. Matthew 14:34. And having crossed over, they arrived in the land of Gennesaret. Matthew 14:35. The inhabitants of that place, recognizing Him, sent to the whole surrounding area and brought to Him all the sick, Matthew 14:36. and they asked Him just to touch the hem of His garment; and those who touched were healed. Since Jesus lived for a long time in the land of Gennesaret, people, recognizing Him not only by appearance, but also by miracles, showed ardent faith, so that they wanted to touch the hem of the garment, and those who did this received healing. So you, too, touch the hem of Christ’s garment, that is, the end of His life in the flesh, for if you believe that Christ ascended, you will be saved, since His flesh is a garment, and its hem is the end of His life on earth.