Matt 14:13 ff

1.	13 Now when Jesus heard about John,

2.	He withdrew from there in a boat

a.	to a secluded place

b.	by Himself;

3.	and when the people heard of this,

4.	they followed Him

a.	on foot

b.	from the cities.

Facts:

1.	What did Jesus hear?

a.	News of John's death

2.	What did He do?

a.	Withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself

3.	To where? What kind of place?

a.	Secluded/solitary

4.	With whom or w/ some translations it would work better to ask, in what manner?

a.	By Himself/privately–not necessarily w/out the disciples–since they seem to be w/ Him later–there are many instances where this word refers to a 'private' group. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John aside 'privately or alone' in 17:1–although it certainly means alone in 14:23, having sent them all away, but there's an additional phrase that clarifies that.

Interp:

1.	Why did Jesus withdraw to a secluded place by Himself when He heard about John?

a.	Later it becomes apparent (v. 23) that He intended to pray.

2.	How badly did He desire to pray?

a.	He prayed almost all night.

3.	Why did He want to pray so badly under the circumstances?

a.	John had just been killed! This was a time of serious taking stock. He was headed in the same direction as John, and just as the Father's will was to let John die, so it would be for Jesus. That's cause to talk things over with the Father.

4.	Why does Jesus withdraw to a secluded place to pray–this seems to be His habit.

a.	He doesn't want to be interrupted in His communion with the Father by people seeking healing and such.

5.	That's interesting. He made space in His life away from doing good things–even miraculous healing–in order to have uninterrupted communion with His Father. Why?

a.	He operated and did miracles only in response to interaction with His Father–so He had to keep communication open.

Facts:

1.	What did the people hear?

a.	Either of John's death or more likely of Jesus' departure to the wilderness.

2.	What did they do?

a.	Followed Him on foot from the cities

3.	By what means?

a.	Foot

4.	From where?

a.	The cities

Interp:

1.	Why did they flock to Jesus from the cities at this time on foot traveling a great distance around the lake? Certainly it is not unusual for crowds to follow Jesus, but up to this time Matthew has portrayed Jesus' ministry as being largely in the cities and towns. This is the first mention of people following Him out to a deserted place when He was trying to find solitude.

a.	They seem to want to see Him urgently, to be with Him at this time.

2.	Why, what might they be thinking?

a.	Now He's going to raise John from the dead and take over!

b.	We don't want to miss the fireworks!

c.	Back in Chapter 11 (opposite this in the chiasm) John the Baptist was questioning Jesus' authenticity because of His inaction during John's imprisonment. This is just continuing the story. Now there's an expectation that Jesus will act.

Text:

1.	14 When He went ashore,

a.	He saw a large crowd,

b.	and felt compassion for them

c.	and healed their sick.

Facts:

1.	When Jesus went ashore, what three things did He do?

a.	Saw a large crowd

b.	Felt compassion for them

c.	Healed their sick

Interp:

1.	How does Jesus feel about large crowds w/ sick people in them?

a.	He's compassionate

2.	Even when He's on His way to pray?

a.	Yes.

3.	When Jesus shows His compassion, what happens?

a.	People are healed (Good news, Amen?)

Text:

1.	15 When it was evening,

2.	the disciples came to Him and said,

a.	"This place is desolate

b.	and the hour is already late;

i.	so send the crowds away,

ii.	that they may

(1)	go into the villages

(2)	and buy food for themselves."

Facts:

1.	At or near evening who came to Him?

a.	The disciples

2.	What kind of communication did they share with Jesus?

a.	They told him to send the crowds away.

3.	In other words . . what were they doing to Jesus?

a.	Telling Him what to do.

4.	What reasons did they give for their 'suggestion' to send the people away?

a.	The place is desolate

b.	The hour is late

c.	Once sent away, they can go into the villages

d.	And buy food for themselves

Interp:

1.	What is significant about the disciples coming to Jesus with this request?

a.	It seems very noble–they're so unselfishly concerned for the welfare of all these people who (one would assume) are all there by choice, know what hunger is, and are all perfectly capable of deciding to go into the nearby towns and get food for themselves without any help from Jesus or the disciples. I guess in that light it seems rather controlling.

b.	It also suggests that these people are so interested in hanging around Jesus that they won't go off and get food for themselves unless Jesus sends them away. That's a pretty focused crowd.

2.	What motivated them to come to Jesus with this request? Do they not believe that Jesus cares about these people and their need to eat? When did they become more compassionate than their Master?

a.	They seem to think that Jesus is missing something here, and that they know what should be done next. (It reminds me of when they urged Jesus to send away the Syrophoenician woman. They were quick to tell Jesus what to do because they thought they knew what should be done for their (and Jesus') best interests.

b.	If they have gotten swept into the crowd's interest in Jesus' response to John's death, they may be wondering why Jesus is letting this opportunity slip by. Everyone is up in arms about John's murder. It's the perfect time to openly gather a militant following against Rome, and Jesus is just healing people out in the wilderness.

3.	Why are they particularly interested in these people being well-fed?

a.	(An army travels on its stomach?) These guys were not military dummies. At least one was a Zealot. They knew that if Jesus was going to be successful at an uprising that the people would need to be well-fed.

Text:

1.	16 But Jesus said to them,

a.	"They do not need to go away;

b.	you give them something to eat!"

Facts:

1.	What are the two parts of Jesus' response to the disciples?

a.	"They do not need to go away;

b.	you give them something to eat!"

Interp:

1.	Why would Jesus say this?

a.	It seems like He's saying the one thing they weren't expecting!

2.	Why didn't He do what they suggested! It seems like He would gladly send them away if He is trying to avoid being crowned king, then He could slip off unnoticed–in fact He does send them away after the ensuing miraculous feeding.

a.	Apparently He saw this as a teachable moment for the disciples at least if not the crowds as well. Somehow He would accomplish more of His Father's purpose if He kept the crowd and fed them before sending them off than if He just sent them away.

3.	If He didn't want to send them off to get ready for battle, why not just say, "No, I'm not sending them away right now."

a.	Jesus seems to walk a tightrope between admitting that He's not the sort of leader they want and declaring Himself Messiah. He is both Messiah and not the leader they want, they just don't know what Messiah really should be, nor what sort of leader they really should want, so He doesn't say either openly, but tries to build up their confidence in Him through personal integrity and evidence of His identity which will not harden their hearts, but will give them confidence when He goes to the cross.

4.	Why didn't He just say plainly, "I'm not leading a military uprising against Rome right now, so I don't need them to be well-fed."?

a.	It really seems like He says the last thing they were expecting. If He had said, "No, I won't send them away," or something else they were expecting, they probably had a perfect comeback. As it was, they didn't know what to do with His instructions!

b.

5.	Why did Jesus take their instructions to Him and turn them around to give instructions to them? Why did He express such confidence in them? Why did He choose to demand a faith-building task of them at this time?

6.	Why did Jesus say, "they do not need to go away."? What assumption of the disciples' was He countering?

a.	That somehow what they most want and need is somewhere other than in Jesus.

b.