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14:3 John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, preparing his way. His death foreshadows the passion of Christ. Herod has arrested John, but he cannot come to a decision about executing John. He consents because he does not want to appear to go back on a promise in front of his guests. John’s disciples take his body away, just as the disciples of Jesus will take his body down from the cross after the cruci xion.
14:15 The miraculous feeding of the multitude is mentioned in all four Gospels. The miracle reveals Jesus’ power as he feeds a huge crowd with a very small amount of food. The abundance is such that there are even leftovers! The miracle also foreshadows the Last Supper, when Jesus will again take bread, bless it, break it, and give it to his disciples. And it looks to the heavenly banquet, the ful llment of the kingdom of God: “On this mountain the LORD of hosts / will provide for all peoples / A feast of rich food and choice wines, / juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines” (Isaiah 25:6).
MATTHEW  Herod’s Opinion of Jesus. 141* a At that time Herod the tetrarch* b heard of the reputation of c2 Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
The Death of John the Baptist. 3d Now Herod had arrested John, bound [him], and put him in prison on account of Herodias,* the wife of his brother Philip, 4e for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5f Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. 6But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod 7so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. 8Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, 10and he had John beheaded in the prison. 11His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. 12His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.
The Return of the Twelve and the Feeding of the Five Thousand.* 13g When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. 14When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. 15When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”16[Jesus] said to them,“There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” 17But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” 18Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” 19and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking* the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over*— twelve wicker baskets full. 21Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
* [14:1–12] The murder of the Baptist by Herod Antipas pre gures the death of Jesus (see Mt 17:12). The Marcan source (Mk 6:14–29) is much reduced and in some points changed. In Mark Herod reveres John as a holy man and the desire to kill him is attributed to Herodias (Mk 6:19, 20), whereas here that desire is Herod’s from the beginning (Mt 14:5).
* [14:1] Herod the tetrarch: Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. When the latter died, his territory was divided among three of his surviving sons, Archelaus who received half of it (Mt 2:23), Herod Antipas who became ruler of Galilee and Perea, and Philip who became ruler of northern Transjordan. Since he received a quarter of his father’s domain, Antipas is accurately designated tetrarch (“ruler of a fourth [part]”), although in Mt 14:9 Matthew repeats the “king” of his Marcan source (Mk 6:26).
* [14:3] Herodias was not the wife of Herod’s half-brother Philip but of another half-brother, Herod Boethus. The union was prohibited by Lv 18:16; 20:21. According to Josephus (Antiquities 18:116–19), Herod imprisoned and then executed John because he feared that the Baptist’s in uence over the people might enable him to lead a rebellion.
* [14:13–21] The feeding of the ve thousand is the only miracle of Jesus that is recounted in all four gospels. The principal reason for that may be that it was seen as anticipating the Eucharist and the nal banquet in the kingdom (Mt 8:11; 26:29), but it looks not only forward but backward, to the feeding of Israel with manna in the desert at the time of the Exodus (Ex 16), a miracle that in some contemporary Jewish expectation would be repeated in the messianic age (2 Bar 29:8). It may also be meant to recall Elisha’s feeding a hundred men with small provisions (2 Kgs 4:42–44).
* [14:19] The taking, saying the blessing, breaking, and giving to the disciples correspond to the actions of Jesus over the bread at the Last Supper (Mt 26:26). Since they were usual at any Jewish meal, that correspondence does not necessarily indicate a eucharistic reference here. Matthew’s silence about Jesus’ dividing the sh among the people (Mk 6:41) is perhaps more signi cant in that regard.
* [14:20] The fragments left over: as in Elisha’s miracle, food was left over after all had been fed. The word fragments (Greek klasmata) is used, in the singular, of the broken bread of the Eucharist in Didache 9:3–4.
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a. [14:1–12] Mk 6:14–29. b. [14:1–2] Lk 9:7–9.
c. [14:1] Lk 3:1.
d. [14:3–4] Lk 3:19–20. g. [14:13–21] 15:32–38; Mk 6:32–44; e. [14:4] Lv 18:16; 20:21. Lk 9:10–17; Jn 6:1–13.
f. [14:5] 21:26.