14:11 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of
Jesus,
(1) Here is
in John, an example of an invincible courage, which
all faithful ministers of God's word ought to follow:
in Herod, an example of tyrannous vanity, pride, and
cruelty, and in short, of a refined conscience, and of
their miserable slavery, who have given themselves
over to pleasure:
in Herodias and her daughter, an example of whore-like
licentious women, and womanly cruelty.
14:2 And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is
risen from the dead; and therefore mighty a works do shew
forth themselves in him.
(a) By works he means that force and power by which works
are performed, and not the works which are often seen
before.
14:6 But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of
Herodias danced before them, and pleased b Herod.
(b) There were three Herods: the first of them was
Antipater's son, who is also called Ascalonius, in
whose reign Christ was born, and it was he that caused
the children to be slain. The second was called
Antipas, Magnus his son, whose mother's name was
Malthaca or Martaca, and he was called Tetrarch, because
he enlarged his dominion, when Archelaus was banished
to Vienna in France. The third was Agrippa, Magnus his
nephew by Aristobulus, and it was he that slew James.
14:142 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and
was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their
sick.
(2) Christ feeds a great multitude with five loaves and two
little fish, showing by it that they will lack nothing who
lay all things aside and seek the kingdom of heaven.
14:243 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed
with waves: for the wind was contrary.
(3) We must sail even through mighty tempests, and Christ will
never forsake us, so that we can go wherever he has
commanded us to go.
14:25 And in the c fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto
them, walking on the sea.
(c) By the fourth watch is meant the time nearer to day
break: for in ancient times they divided the night
into four watches in which they posted watches.
14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they
were troubled, saying, It is a d spirit; and they cried
out for fear.
(d) A spirit, as it is taken here, is that which a man
imagines to himself vainly in his mind, persuading
himself that he sees something when he sees nothing.
14:284 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou,
bid me come unto thee on the water.
(4) By faith we tread under our feet even the tempests
themselves, but only by the power of Christ, which helps
that faith, which he by his mercy has given.
14:34 And when they were gone over, they came into the land of
e Gennesaret.
(e) This Gennesaret was a lake near Capernaum, which is
also called the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias; so the
country itself grew to be called Gennesaret.
14:355 And when the men of that place had knowledge of him,
they sent out into all that country round about, and
brought unto him all that were diseased;
(5) In that act where Christ heals the sick, we are shown that
we must seek remedy for spiritual diseases at his hands:
and that we ourselves are bound to not only run to him, but
also to bring others unto him.
