Matthew 14:32 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Matthew 14:32

Comments

Marks has some additional text: ‘And they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. ⁵² For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened’ (Mark 6:51-52). The King James Version labours this, and rightly so – modern versions tend to telescope this into one word – ‘They were amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.’ That’s tremendous. It takes so many words in the original to say it. That gets across their full astonishment. Realisation is dawning on them about who he is.What does that mean? ‘They considered not the miracle of the loaves’, the feeding of the five thousand? That creation miracle, whereby Christ just broke the loaves, and they multiplied, in his hand, and in the baskets, presumably, carried by the disciples. The loaves and the fishes went on multiplying, until everybody was fed. They didn't consider it. They said – and this is modern terminology – ‘Wow, what a marvellous thing’, but they didn't think about it, so it didn't speak to them. They didn't get the lessons of the miracle: that Christ had created a vast amount of food, that he was God and Creator and had all power. He had commanded the people to sit on the ground when there was no food in sight. They were in a remote desert place, where they could obtain no food, and yet once he began to distribute it, it went on and on, and everybody obeyed him, everybody who sat down was fed. Not one was left out, not one was disappointed, not one was turned away. If they had thought about that – he is God; he will be faithful to his promise. If he has called us, and told us we shall be fishers of men, and we shall train others, he cannot fail. They saw the miracle – what a spectacle! How astonishing he is! – but they didn't learn from it. Christ expected his disciples to think about the wonderful things they saw him do, and to draw conclusions from them. If they had considered the implications and the lessons of the miracle, they would not have been shattered by the apparent phantom, ruling out the possibility that this was Christ who had come to them.

Application

There are some who are seeking Christ, and you have repented of your sin, and you've believed in him, and you’ve felt that first wave of assurance, that you are forgiven, and that you are his, and you have experienced such happiness. And then you have got up a morning or two later, and it's gone. Perhaps you stumble and fall, and sin in some way, and Satan comes and he says, ‘Yes, but if you had been converted, you wouldn't have done that; you wouldn't have said that. You are not converted. What has happened is that you have just assented to Christ. You have said you believe in him, but he hasn't accepted you; he hasn't changed you.’ You are in the position the disciples were in. He is the one we are following; he does great things and marvellous things. But you are not appreciating him. When you had that first wave of assurance and you believed in him, from that time onward, your assignment was to trust in him. He has received you. The one who has moved in your heart, and who has called you; he has forgiven you; he has received you. Think of him. He is God; he is faithful, faithful to his promise. ‘I have believed; I have repented, therefore he will save me, because he is infallible and faithful and God.’

We have got to think! Faith has to be grounded on something. It isn’t just something that floats about in the mind and is ready at hand when you are in trouble, or in need, or you are serving the Lord and you need strength. You must put things together: ‘This is the Lord I serve, who has all power. He is the Lord, who has commanded me to do this. He is the Lord, who saved me and millions of others. Lord, I put these things together and though my situation seems desperate or unpromising, I remain confident in you.’ I ground my faith on what he has done, who he is, and what he has promised to do.

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Matthew 14:32 Commentary and Bible Study