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Matthew 14:1–2. At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard a rumor about Jesus and said to those serving with him: this is John the Baptist; he rose from the dead, and therefore miracles are done by him. One 299 of the interpreters belonging to the Church asks why Herod suspected so much that he thought that it was John who rose from the dead and that therefore miraculous powers were revealed in Him. But should we give an account of someone else's error? and can a basis be derived from these words for the idea of ​​the transmigration of souls (μετεμφύχωσις), when it is certain that at the time of the beheading of John the Lord had thirty years of life; and the doctrine of the transmigration of souls says that souls are installed in various bodies after very many years. Matthew 14:3–4. For Herod, having taken John, bound him and put him in prison for Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; because John said to him: You must not have her [as a wife]. Ancient history tells that Philip, the son of Herod the Elder (during whom the Lord fled to Egypt), was the brother of Herod, under whom Christ suffered, took the daughter of King Arethas, Herodias, as his wife. And a little later, due to the emergence of some suspicions against his son-in-law, the father-in-law kidnapped his daughter and, to the regret of the first husband, arranged a marriage alliance with his enemy, Herod. Who is this Philip? So, John the Baptist, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah, with the same authority with which he denounced Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 21:19-25), exposed Herod and Herodias, who had entered into an illegal marriage, of the fact that one should not marry his wife during the life of his own brother: he preferred to be in danger from the king, so as not to appear to be forgetting the commandments through flattery God's. Matthew 14:5. And he wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people, because they revered him as a prophet. Herod feared that the people would be upset because of John because he had learned that many crowds had been baptized by him. But he was motivated by his wife's love; because of his ardent passion for her, he neglected even the commandments of God. Matthew 14:6. During the celebration of Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced in front of the congregation and pleased Herod. We do not know that anyone else celebrated his birthday except Herod and Pharaoh, so those who are equal in their wickedness celebrate the festivities in the same way. Matthew 14:7. [beginning of 8th] Therefore, he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. She, at the instigation of her mother. I do not excuse Herod for the fact that he regretfully and reluctantly committed murder as a result of his oath, because he may have sworn in order to prepare the means for the due 300 murder. On the other hand: if he claims that he did this as a result of an oath, then [it is asked:] did he intend to do so or not, in the event that she demanded of him the death of his father or mother? If he denies this, he will have to treat the murder of the prophet with contempt. Matthew 14:8. [end of the 8th, beginning of the 9th] 301 She said: give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter. Out of fear that Herod would never repent and become a friend of his brother Philip and that her illegal marriage would not be dissolved, Herodias convinces her daughter to immediately, during the feast, ask for John’s head: a worthy bloody reward for a worthy dance! It is characteristic of Holy Scripture for the narrator to depict the thought of many as it seemed to everyone at one time. And just as even Mary herself calls Joseph the father of Jesus (Luke 2:48), so in the present case Herod appears to be saddened, because those who lay with him thought so. In fact, the hypocrite and culprit of the murder of a person preferred to show sadness on his face, although he was rejoicing in his soul. Matthew 14:9–10. But, for the sake of the oath and those reclining with him, he ordered it to be given to her. And he sent to cut off John’s head in prison. He justifies the crime by this oath, so that he commits an unholy deed under the guise of piety. And the addition: “For the sake of those reclining with him” means that he wanted all those present to be accomplices of his crime and for the bloody dish to be brought to a luxurious and unclean feast. Matthew 14:11. And they brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and she took it to her mother. In Roman narratives we read that the Roman leader Flaminius, who during a feast yielded to his mistress, who participated in the feast and said that she had never seen a beheaded man, and who agreed that one criminal should be executed during the feast, was removed by the censors from the curia because he mixed food with blood and, for the amusement of another, imagined the death of a man, although dangerous to others, so that at the same time, he allowed the confusion of lust and murder. How much more criminal is Herod, Herodias and the girl who danced and demanded the head of the prophet as a reward, so that she could have at her disposal a tongue denouncing an illicit marriage. This was the case according to the literal meaning of the story. And even to this day, in the chapter of John the prophet, we see Christ killed by the Jews, Who is the Head of the prophets. Matthew 14:12. His disciples came and took his body and buried it. Josephus [Flavius] reports that John was beheaded in a certain city in Arabia. And the following words: “And his disciples arrived and carried away his body,” can be attributed to both the disciples of John and the disciples of the Savior. Matthew 14:13. [end of 12th and beginning of 13th]: And they went and told Jesus. And when Jesus heard, he departed from there in a boat to a deserted place alone. They announce the murder of John; Jesus, having heard about him, withdrew into a deserted place. Not out of fear of death, as some believe, but sparing his enemies, so that they would not add a new murder to the murder. Or maybe He postponed his death until the day of Passover, when the lamb was to be mysteriously sacrificed and when the lintels of the doors of the houses of believers were to be sprinkled with blood (Ex. 12). It may also be that He withdrew because He wanted to show us an example of how we should avoid the unreasonable haste of those who give themselves up to persecutors, because not everyone shows the same inflexibility during torment that they show when giving themselves over to suffering. For this very reason He commands us in another place: “When they persecute you in one city, flee to another” (Matthew 10:23). Moreover, the Evangelist uses a skillful (eleganter) expression: he does not say: “fled,” but: “left,” so that He rather moved away from his pursuers than was afraid of them. Otherwise. After the prophet was beheaded by the Jews and the king of the Jews and prophecy lost its language and its voice among them, Jesus withdrew into a deserted place of the Church, which had previously had no husband. And the people, having heard about this, followed Him from the cities on foot. Having heard about the death of John, He could have retired to a secluded place for another reason - namely, to confirm the faith of those who believed. Finally, crowds of people followed Him on foot, not on pack animals, not on carts of various kinds, but on their own feet, to show the ardor of their souls. If we want to discover the meaning of individual expressions, we will have to go beyond the limits of the short work we have assumed. Nevertheless, it must be said in passing that after the Lord retired into the wilderness, very large crowds of people followed Him; for before His departure into the wilderness of paganism, He was revered by only one people. Matthew 14:14. And Jesus went out and saw a multitude of people; and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. In gospel speeches, the spirit is always connected to the letter, and what at first glance seems cold, if you touch it, turns out to be flaming. The Lord was in the wilderness; Crowds followed Him, leaving their cities, that is, their former behavior and variety of teachings (dogmatum). Jesus, having gone out, shows that the crowds, although they had the desire to go, did not have the strength to reach the end; Therefore, the Savior leaves His place and goes to meet him, just as, according to what is depicted in another parable, He runs out to meet his son bringing repentance (Luke 15:20). And seeing the crowds of people, He had mercy on them and healed the sick among them, so that complete faith would be immediately followed by a reward. 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. Everything is full of mystery (mysteriis). He left Judea and came to a deserted place; Crowds of people followed Him, leaving their cities. Jesus went out to them, had mercy on them, and healed the sick among them: and He did this not in the morning, not at daybreak, not at noon, but in the evening, when the Sun of righteousness had rested. Matthew 14:16. But Jesus said to them, “They need not go.” They do not need to look for different foods and buy unknown bread for themselves, since they have the heavenly bread. He calls the apostles to break bread, so that the greatness of the miracle would be more clear, since they were witnesses to the fact that He himself does not have bread. Matthew 14:17. They said to Him: We have here only five loaves and two fish. From another evangelist we read: “A certain boy here has five loaves of bread” (John 6:9). Under him, in my opinion, is Moses. And by two fish we mean either both Testaments, or the number “two”, relating to the law (or: the law and the prophets). So, the apostles, before the suffering of the Savior and the shining of the lightning Gospel, had only five loaves of bread and two fish, which rotated in the salty waters and waves of the sea. Matthew 14:18. He said: Bring them here to Me. Listen to Marcion, listen to Manichaeus! The Lord commands us to bring five loaves of bread and two fish to Himself in order to sanctify and multiply them. Matthew 14:19. And he ordered the people to lie down on the grass. In the literal sense, the meaning of this is quite clear; Let's reveal spiritual understanding. They received the command to sit down on the grass, or, according to another evangelist, on the ground, in fifties and hundreds (Luke 9:14), 302 so that, having trampled upon their flesh and its splendor, and the lusts of this world, and like dry hay having enslaved them to themselves, through the repentance of Pentecost (quinquagenarii numeri) they could rise to the perfect peak of a hundredfold number (i.e. brought forth a hundredfold fruit). And taking the five loaves and two fish, he looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples. He looked up to heaven to teach that eyes should be turned there. He took the five loaves and two fish in his hands and broke them and gave them to the disciples. In the breaking of the Lord there was a multiplication (seminarium - nursery) of bread. If the loaves had not been broken, had not been divided into pieces and into numerous crumbs, then they could not have fed such a great crowd: a crowd of people with children and women. In this way the law is broken along with the prophets, divided into pieces, and mysteries (mysteria) are introduced into their midst, so that remaining whole, and in its previous state could not feed people, after being divided into parts it feeds many pagans (gentium-peoples.) Matthew 14:20. [end of 19th and 20th): And the disciples to the people. And they all ate and were filled. Many people receive food from the Lord through the apostles. And they picked up the remaining pieces, twelve boxes full. Each of the apostles fills his basket from what was left of the Savior 303, either in order to then have something from which to serve food to the nations, or in order to clearly show with the remains that the multiplied loaves were real (veros) loaves. Investigate at the same time how in such a vast desert and in a solitary place only five loaves and two fish were found, and twelve baskets were found so easily. Matthew 14:21. And there were about five thousand people who ate, besides women and children. According to the number of those who ate the five loaves, the number of people who ate was five thousand. Indeed, their number had not yet reached the sevenfold number [of loaves] - as reported elsewhere in the narrative - there were four thousand who ate (Matt. 15:38; Matt. 16:10), drawn [mysteriously] together with the four Evangelists. And five thousand such men ate, who grew into a perfect man and followed the One about whom Zechariah says: “Behold the Man, His name is East” (Zech. 6:12). 304 But women and children, or the weaker sex and the younger age, are not worthy of being counted. Therefore, in the Book of Numbers, whenever the priests and Levites, the army or the multitude of those fighting are described, slaves remain without indicating the number, women, minors and common people. Matthew 14:22. And immediately Jesus prompted His disciples to board the ship and go before Him across the bay until He sent the people away. 305 He ordered the disciples to cross the bay and caused them to board the ship; 306 these words show that they reluctantly left the Lord, since they did not want, out of love for the Mentor, to separate from Him even for one moment. 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. If the disciples Peter and James and John had been with Him, seeing the glory of [His] transfiguration, then perhaps they too would have ascended the mountain with Him. But the crowd can follow 307 heights only when He teaches them on the shore near the sea, or when He feeds them in the desert. And you do not attribute the fact that He alone went to pray to the One who [according to Divinity] fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread, excluding women and children, but to the One who [as a man], having heard about the death of John, withdrew into the desert; but this does not mean that we share the face of the Lord, but that His works are divided between God and man. Matthew 14:24. And the ship was tossed about by the waves in the middle of the sea, because an unfavorable wind was blowing. 308 Quite rightly, the apostles, as if with reluctance and hesitation, left the Lord, so as not to suffer shipwreck in His absence. Indeed, while the Lord was spending time in prayer on the top of the mountain, an unfavorable wind arose, agitated the sea, and the apostles were afraid, and the terrible ghost of a shipwreck appeared to them until Jesus appeared. Matthew 14:25. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. The deployment of soldiers and military guards are separated by three intervals of hours. Thus, when he says that the Lord appeared to them when the fourth watch of the night had come, he shows that they were in fear throughout the whole night and that help would be given to them at the very last part of the night and at the end of the world. Matthew 14:26. But seeing Him walking on the surface of the water, they were confused, saying that it was a ghost. 309 If, according to Marcion and Manichaeus, our Lord was not born of the Virgin, but was visible only as a ghost, then how do the apostles at the present moment express fear that a ghost has appeared to them? A cry due to embarrassment 310 and an uncertain voice are evidence of intense fear. Matthew 14:27. And Jesus immediately spoke to them like this: Be sure that it is I, do not be afraid. 311 Initially, He removes what was the cause [of fear] and commands those in fear, saying: “Be confident, do not be afraid. 312 And from the following words: “It is I” [or: “I am”], although they do not add an indication of who He is, they could understand from His voice, already known to them, who it is who speaks in the darkness of the night; on the other hand, they might have thought that it was the One who, as they knew, said to Moses: “Thus say to the children of Israel: He who is” [qui est who is] “has sent me to you” (Ex. 3:14). Matthew 14:28–29. Peter said to Him: Lord, if it is You, then command me to come to You on the waters. And He said: Go 313 In all places Peter appears to have the most ardent faith. To the question put to the disciples, who do people think Jesus is, he confesses in Him the Son of God. He prevents His desire to go into free suffering and, although he is mistaken in mind, he is not mistaken in the movement of the feeling of love, for he does not want the death of Him whom a little earlier he confessed to be the Son of God. Among the first, he is the first to enter the mountain with the Savior, and during suffering only he alone follows [Him], and the sin of renunciation, into which he fell as a result of sudden fear, he immediately washed away with bitter tears. After suffering, when they were on Lake Gennesaret and fishing, and the Lord stood on the shore, he [Peter], while others were swimming up little by little, could not withstand the slowness of their movement, but immediately threw himself into the water, throwing on his outer clothing. With the same fervor of faith, as always, he now, when others are silent, considers it possible to do, by the will of the Teacher, what He could do only by the nature of his nature. “Command me to come to You on the waters.” You led, and let the waves thicken there, and let the body, heavy in itself, become light. And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to come to Jesus. Those who think that the body of the Lord was not a real body, because it moved easily and like air on light waves, let them answer how Peter walked [on water], for such, of course, will not deny that he was a real person. Matthew 14:30. But, seeing the strong wind, he got scared and, starting to drown, shouted: Lord! save me. Faith burned in his soul, but the corruption of his body carried him into the depths. Therefore, he is subjected to temptation for a short time, so that his faith increases and so that it becomes clear to him that he is saved by the power of the Lord, and not by his easily fulfilled desire. Matthew 14:31–32. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand, supported him and said to him: you of little faith! why did you doubt? And when they entered the boat, the wind died down. If the Apostle Peter, about whose faith and fiery spirit we spoke above, and who confidently asked the Savior with the words: “Lord! if it is You, command me to come to You on the water,” it says: “O you of little faith! Why did you doubt? since he showed fear for a short time; what should it say to us, who do not have even the slightest particle of this small (modicae - moderate) faith? Matthew 14:33. Those who were in the boat came up, worshiped Him and said: Truly You are the Son of God. When at one sign [of the Lord] there came silence, which sometimes comes after a terrible storm and by chance, the shipmen and rowers confessed that He is truly the Son of God, and yet Arius preaches in the Church that He is a created being. Matthew 14:34. And having crossed over, they arrived in the land of Gennesaret. If we know what the word “Gennesaret” means in our language, then we will understand how Jesus, under the image of the apostles and the boat 315, brings the Church to the shore, freed from the shipwreck of persecution, and gives it the opportunity to calm down in the quietest haven. Matthew 14:35. The inhabitants of that place, recognizing Him, sent [notification] to the whole surrounding area. They recognized Him by hearing, and not by appearance; or perhaps they recognized Him by the greatness of the signs that He performed among people, but in appearance He was even completely unknown to many. And look how great is the faith of the inhabitants of the land of Gennesaret: after all, they are not content with healing only those who are present, but they also send to other surrounding cities, from where everyone flocks to the Doctor. Matthew 14:36. [end of 35th and 36th]: And they brought to Him all the sick, and asked Him just to touch the hem of His garment; and those who touched were healed. Those who have weakness should not touch the whole body of Jesus and all His clothing, but only the hem 316 of His clothing; those who touch it will be healthy. By the hem of a garment, understand either the smallest commandment, the one who transgresses it will be called lesser in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 11:11), or the dormition of the body, as a result of which we come to the Word of God and after that we enjoy His greatness. In the translation: The Gospel of Matthew - ed. The text of the “Interpretation” gives a different breakdown into verses than in the new Synodal Russian translation of the Gospel - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “He said to His disciples: seat them in rows of fifty” - ed. In the lane: from the remnants of the Savior - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Behold the Man, His name is BRANCH” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And immediately Jesus forced His disciples to get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, until He let the people go” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: into the boat - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And the boat was already in the middle of the sea, and it was beaten by waves, because the wind was contrary” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “And the disciples, seeing Him walking on the sea, were alarmed and said: this is a ghost” - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: anxiety - ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “But Jesus immediately spoke to them and said: Be of good cheer; It’s me, don’t be afraid” – ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Be of good cheer; don’t be afraid” – ed. According to the new Synodal Russian translation: “Peter answered Him: Lord! If it is You, command me to come to You on the water. He said: go" - ed. In the lane: valid - ed. You might be interested in: