14:1-12
Herod the tetrarch had had John the Baptist beheaded. However, he felt guilty and knew that he had done wrong, so he thought that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead, and now with miraculous powers. John had called our Herod’s sin. He had taken Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Herodias was as guilty as he was, and she saw and took the opportunity to have John killed. John’s disciples knew thatJohn had been preaching about Jesus, so they told Jesus what had happened.
14:13-21
The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is contained in all the gospels. Jesus withdrew to a solitary place, after hearing the news of John, but the crowds followed Him. Jesus had compassion on them and healed the sick. Note that while the healings were a sign, they were also done out of compassion for people. The disciples saw a practical problem, how to feed the people, and saw the only solution was to send the crowds away. Jesus saw a different solution. So He got the disciples to organise the people. There was enough for everyone, and twelve baskets of left overs were collected.
