The Bible Recap - Day 290 (Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9) - Year 5

Episode Date: October 17, 2023

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Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible recap. John the Baptist has been in prison since approximately the start of Jesus' ministry. Herod Antipas arrested him after he rebuked Herod for marrying his brother's wife who is named Herodius, because she's actually the granddaughter of King Herod the Great, which means both of her husbands are also her uncles. Okay. She wants JTB dead, but Herod is torn. When Herod's birthday party rolls around, the daughter of Herodius does a little dance for him as a part of the event.

In ancient Greco-Roman culture, the dances done at these parties tend to be more on the seductive side if you catch my drift. So it's super inappropriate that Herod's stepdaughter slash great niece is the entertainment. Herod loves it, of course, and makes the grand gesture of offering her anything she wants. It seems likely that Herodius was using her own daughter as a pawn in order to achieve this very outcome.

Herodius tells her daughter, hey, I know you had your heart set on a pony, but hear me out. How's about? You asked for the head of a prisoner instead. Can you imagine? So because of the sins of the king and the selfish plotting of his wife, John the Baptist is beheaded in prison. He dies an unjust death. The very one Jesus hinted at, not long ago, when JTB sent him a

message asking him if he really was the Messiah. After Herod kills JTB, he starts getting worried of all the miraculous things Jesus is doing and he's super confused, because he sees a lot of similarities in these two guys. He's left wondering if Jesus is the ghost or the resurrection of JTB because of how their ministries run along the same trajectory. Some people even suggest that Jesus is the resurrected Elijah because of the types of miracles he's performing. When Jesus gets word of JTB's death, he and the disciples set off in a boat to be alone. I imagine he wants to grieve and talk to the Father about everything that's happening, but all the people see them out on the water and run to meet him when he docks. Scripture records the 5,000 men, but there were also women and children to account for.

They're probably there for a variety of reasons. Some probably just want healing, and others have likely heard about what happened to JTB, and their first thought is to go to Jesus. Maybe to offer him condolences, or maybe they want to know what the plan is for moving forward now that one of the leaders of this new kingdom has been executed. For them, this must be kind of like a presidential assassination. Rome just killed one of their Jewish leaders. I don't know what Jesus was thinking or feeling in this moment, but if I were him, I would

feel emotionally exhausted. He just got the news of the unjust death of the man who was his forerunner, whose entire life was dedicated to preparing the way for him and pointing people toward him. And in the not too distant future, the same government responsible for that will play a role in his own death. And on top of that, 15,000 people want something from him. Despite all that, he leans in. He doesn't send the crowd home as the disciples suggest.

Instead, he tells the disciples to do something impossible. Feed them. Then, as they begin to take steps of obedience, they see that he is actually the one doing the feeding. He does the miraculous in the face of the impossible. Jesus gives thanks to God the Father for the food, then breaks it and gives it out. And suddenly, there are 12 baskets of food left over when it's all said and done. I love that Jesus arranges for a to-go box for each of the disciples. It's not like he can't make more, but maybe he's thrifty. These leftovers not only serve as evidence of his power,

but they also serve a practical purpose to feed them on their journey. The whole story shows that Jesus isn't just concerned with spiritual provision, but practical provision, too. Then Jesus wants more alone time to pray, so he sends the disciples on ahead by themselves. This seems to be another account where he is growing their faith. Last time they were in the boat together, they almost died in a storm that he calmed. And since then, he has given them authority and power over some things. Will they walk in that power? Or will they be afraid? Another storm hits and they're struggling. It's about

3 a.m. and Jesus can see them from the spot where he's praying, so he decides to pull a fast one on them. I bet he loved this miracle. It's not a wady miracle like a resurrection. To me, it just sounds like fun. But then again, I'm the person who makes awkward jokes at a funeral because it's how I cope. So maybe that's why I think Jesus needed to have some light-hearted fun in the midst of everything being so heavy. While the wind is giving them a one-two punch,

Jesus strolls past their boat, walking on water, then he looks back over his shoulder at them like, oh, hey, I didn't see you guys there. I was just out for a stroll, need some help with this wind? Up until the moment they realize it's him, they're terrified. I would be too. Even after he pulls the reveal on them, they still seem kind of uncertain.

Peter, being the testosterone-laden teen that he is, decides he wants a turn at water levitation. So he says, if it's really you, invite me out there. And Jesus does. Peter's probably thrilled about it, but it turns out you, invite me out there. And Jesus does. Peter's probably thrilled about it, but it turns out that the moment he begins to pay more attention to the scary things around him, then to the God who is sovereign over those things,

his fears begin to overtake him. This is the second time he's been caught in a storm with Jesus and seen Jesus demonstrate authority over nature, but Peter's faith is still fragile. Jesus rescues him. they get in the boat, and immediately the wind stops. Then the apostles acknowledge that he is certainly the son of God.

When they land in Ganesher, they're swamped by people in need of their healing, and Jesus heals them. One thing I find interesting about this passage is that this appears to have happened after Jesus gave the apostles the authority to heal. But scripture indicates that he's the one who does all the healing here. I don't have any conclusions about that, I just thought it was interesting.

By the way, the place where they docked their boats and healed people, Ganesarit, it's called Ginosar today. And in 1986, when there hadn't been much rain and the waters had receded from the shoreline, two brothers walking along the beach discovered a nail in the mud that turned out to be part of a complete first-century fishing boat intact. No one knows for sure if Jesus ever sailed in this boat, but if not, he certainly sailed in boats like it. Check the show notes for a link to pictures if you want to get a visual for the kind of boat Jesus

and his apostles would have sailed in. On our Israel trips We always stop at the Jesus boat museum in Guinness, Arbacus See it in person really helps you imagine just how vulnerable you'd feel if you were in this boat during a storm My God shot today was in that boat in that storm in the middle of the night For the disciples the storm itself is bad enough The storm plus being sleep deprived and emotionally exhausted from serving people and mourning the death of John the Baptist is worse. So they're tired, they're sad, and now their lives are in danger.

Just when they think things can't get worse, they see a ghost coming toward them. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. This is petrifying. But what they perceive as tragic or terrifying was actually God moving in their lives, to show them he's with them, to show them he's powerful, and for a moment to bring them some joy. Peter especially got to experience this. Even in our storms in the middle of the night, he's where the joy is! D-group International is the partner ministry of TBR. In D-group that stands for Discipleship Group, we really value being able to meet each other

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That's why we decided to make D-group available online, not just in person. If you want to learn more about this, check out mydeggroup.org forward slash slash online or click the link in the show notes. I know life can be overwhelming, but you don't have to go through it alone. It sounds like it's just a small thing, but sharing a prayer request is actually an exercise of faith. You're trusting that God listens and that others will pray for you.

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