Year of the Bible
Matthew 14
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Commentary upon the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 14:
Feeding 5,000 men, plus additional women and children, signifies the Mass, in which Jesus gives to his followers the bread of heaven, his very body, as food. Matthew beautifully describes the way that God invites men and women to participate in his supernatural work on earth. In the fourteenth chapter of Mathew’s Gospel, the disciples recognize that the crowds are hungry. Their solution to the problem is to suggest that Jesus send the crowds away to buy food. Jesus no doubt surprises his disciples when in Matthew 14:16 he rather bluntly replies: “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” After realizing how little they have, the disciples turn over to Jesus five loaves and two fish. They soon learn that if they give their own meager resources to Jesus, this will be more than enough to meet any challenge.
The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 14:
The Death of John the Baptist
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus; 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison, for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; 4 because John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.
Feeding the Five Thousand
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Sea
22 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; 30 but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent round to all that region and brought to him all that were sick, 36 and begged him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.
Daily Lectio Divina Question:
“They all ate and were satisfied” (v. 20). The crowds followed Jesus into a “lonely place” (v. 15) without food and they chose to stay there with him. They knew what they really needed and that by itself food would not satisfy. Lord, what did the crowds see that I don’t fully see yet?
Bible Commentary by Scott Hahn and Mark Shea, Gospel of Matthew, ed. Jennifer Phelps, Catholic Scripture Study (Charlotte, NC: Catholic Scripture Study International, 2007), 131.
Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this. If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further
Mateo 14
1 En aquel entonces oyó el tetrarca
Herodes la fama de Jesús, 2 y les
dijo a sus cortesanos:
–Éste es Juan el Bautista, que ha resucitado
de entre los muertos, y por eso
actúan en él esos poderes.
3 Herodes, en efecto, había apresado
a Juan, lo había encadenado y lo había
metido en la cárcel a causa de Herodías,
la mujer de su hermano Filipo,
4 porque Juan le decía: No te es lícito tenerla
5 Y aunque quería matarlo, tenía
miedo del pueblo porque lo consideraban
un profeta.
6 El día del cumpleaños de Herodes
salió a bailar la hija de Herodías y
le gustó tanto a Herodes, 7 que juró darle
cualquier cosa que pidiese. 8 Ella, instigada
por su madre, dijo:
–Dame aquí, en esta bandeja, la cabeza
de Juan el Bautista.
9 El rey se entristeció, pero por el juramento
y por los comensales ordenó
dársela. 10 Y mandó decapitar a Juan en
la cárcel. 11 Trajeron su cabeza en la bandeja
y se la dieron a la muchacha, que
la entregó a su madre. 12 Acudieron luego
sus discípulos, tomaron el cuerpo
muerto, lo enterraron y fueron a dar la
noticia a Jesús.
13 Al oírlo Jesús se alejó de allí en
una barca hacia un lugar apartado
él solo. Cuando la gente se enteró le siguió
a pie desde las ciudades. 14 Al desembarcar
vio una gran muchedumbre y se llenó de
compasión por ella y curó a los enfermos.
15 Al atardecer se acercaron sus discípulos y
le dijeron:
–Éste es un lugar apartado y ya ha
pasado la hora; despide a la gente para
que vayan a las aldeas a comprarse alimentos.
16 Pero Jesús les dijo:
–No hace falta que se vayan, dadles
vosotros de comer.
17 Ellos le respondieron:
–Aquí no tenemos más que cinco
panes y dos peces.
18 Él les dijo:
–Traédmelos aquí.
19 Entonces mandó a la gente que se
acomodara en la hierba. Tomó los cinco
panes y los dos peces, levantó los ojos al
cielo, pronunció la bendición, partió los
panes y los dio a los discípulos y los discípulos
a la gente. 20 Comieron todos hasta
que quedaron satisfechos, y de los trozos
que sobraron recogieron doce cestos llenos.
21 Los que comieron eran unos cinco
mil hombres, sin contar mujeres y niños.
22 Y enseguida Jesús mandó a los discípulos
que subieran a la barca y que se
adelantaran a la otra orilla, mientras él
despedía a la gente. 23 Y, después de despedirla,
subió al monte a orar a solas. Cuando
se hizo de noche seguía él solo allí.
24 Mientras tanto, la barca ya se había alejado
de tierra muchos estadios, sacudida
por las olas, porque el viento le era contrario.
25 En la cuarta vigilia de la noche
vino hacia ellos caminando sobre el mar.
26 Cuando le vieron los discípulos andando
sobre el mar, se asustaron y dijeron:
–¡Es un fantasma! –y llenos de miedo
empezaron a gritar.
27 Pero al instante Jesús les habló:
–Tened confianza, soy yo, no tengáis
miedo.
28 Entonces Pedro le respondió:
–Señor, si eres tú, manda que yo
vaya a ti sobre las aguas.
29 –Ven –le dijo él.
Y Pedro se bajó de la barca y comenzó
a andar sobre las aguas en dirección a
Jesús. 30 Pero al ver que el viento era muy
fuerte se atemorizó y, al empezar a hundirse,
se puso a gritar:
–¡Señor, sálvame!
31 Al instante Jesús alargó la mano, lo
sujetó y le dijo:
–Hombre de poca fe, ¿por qué has
dudado?
32 Y cuando subieron a la barca se
calmó el viento. 33 Los que estaban en la
barca le adoraron diciendo:
–Verdaderamente eres Hijo de Dios.
34 Acabaron la travesía y llegaron
a tierra a la altura de Genesaret. 35 Al
reconocerlo los hombres de aquel lugar
mandaron aviso a toda la comarca
y le trajeron a todos los que se sentían
mal, 36 y le suplicaban poder tocar
aunque sólo fuera el borde de su manto.
Y todos los que lo tocaron quedaron
sanos.
Pregunta de Lectio Divina para el día de hoy
"Todos ellos comieron y quedaron satisfechos" (v.20). Las multitudes siguieron a Jesús hasta un "lugar apartado" (v.15) sin alimentos y ellos eligieron quedarse ahí con él. Ellos sabían que lo que en realidad necesitaban y la comida por sí misma no lo podía satisfacer. Señor. ¿qué vieron las multitudes que yo no veo aún del todo?
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