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[00:00]
A
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord is made for your faith in his excellent way.
[00:18]
B
Did you know that of all the miracles Jesus performed, only one is recorded in all four Gospels? Well, welcome to through the Bible as Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells us about the importance of this miracle in this study of Matthew, chapter 14. I'm Steve Schwetz, and while you turn there in your Bible, Greg is here. And we've got some time to share a few of the stories that have come in recently from users of our through the Bible app.
[00:43]
C
We are so excited about this. We love the fact that you're communicating with us through the very simple, very elegant feedback mechanism in our app.
[00:53]
B
Yeah, it's super easy. Just go in and find the feedback section and you can actually hit the microphone on your phone and just kind of speak the feedback. That's the way I usually do it.
[01:02]
C
You could take a picture and attach it. In fact, I was in Nicaragua demonstrating this to some ministry leaders and I took a picture, I dictated the feedback, sent it. Two days later it showed up through our team in my inbox.
[01:15]
B
Wow. Pretty cool.
[01:16]
C
So please share your responses and here's a great one from a listener who chose not to give us their name, which is perfectly okay. It is my joy in Christ to be able to write to you. I've been traveling on the Bible bus off and on since 1991. The road of life has had many potholes, but God has always provided the Bible bus for the journey. I started out listening to an AM station on my way to work in la and now I am blessed to listen on the app. I love it. I can listen to the message over and over again, which is a true blessing since my eyesight has gotten poor. May God bless all of you, dedicating yourselves to make sure Dr. McGee's message still gets out while where the rubber meets the road and always placing the cookies on the bottom shelf. God bless you all.
[02:01]
B
Yeah, I love especially how this listener said, life has had many potholes.
[02:05]
C
I know that's a quotable quote.
[02:07]
B
Yeah, it's very good. This is a letter from Angie, who has actually a prayer request. I love this ministry. I need some Bible bus passes, please. And will you pray that I'll find the right opportunities in which to pass them out? I'm feeling really desperate to get God's word out to the whole world, especially in my community. Thank you from a faithful writer.
[02:27]
C
Oh, we love that. Love that energy to share through the Bible to hand out Bible bus passes. That's fantastic. Now Jack wrote to us again through the app and said this. We just finished our first five year tour on the Bible bus. So many things were completed during this time. One son got married, one son finished college, one son finished high school. One daughter and her husband moved from Mississippi to Northern California. We were blessed with our first grandchild and so much more. Wow. Now let me just stop and say we can't. Promise, promise all that'll happen in your life if you listen through the five years.
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B
Yeah. But it is amazing that in five years how many things can happen and through the Bible can be really a part of that.
[03:07]
C
Yes.
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B
Don Henley from the Eagles in his concerts a couple years back says that, that the Eagles is a, is a part of the soundtrack of their lives, of the lives of the listeners. And really I thought that's appropriate for through the Bible people listen consistently and it becomes the soundtrack of their lives.
[03:23]
C
I've literally had people say that to me that it was the soundtrack of their childhood or what have you. Now this, this letter goes on. My wife and I listened together when we could. Mostly I listened during my drive to work. At least one of our kids also completed the five year tour. Wow. God did a great work in that sun. We were blessed by this great ride and we will continue on the next tour putting gas and new tires on the bus. Thank you, Steve and Greg, for your leadership in sharing of the gospel in so many languages. Praise the Lord.
[03:55]
B
Wow. J, thank you. Thank you for sharing your testimony and being so faithful as a listener. We do appreciate it.
[04:01]
C
And Steve, I just love the. How invested these folks are in their journey and, and what a privilege it is for us to be alongside. Now Angie was asking for Bible bus passes. You want to tell people about this?
[04:13]
B
Yeah, we haven't talked about that in a while. And the Bible bus passes, they come in packs of 10. They're about the size of a business card. I always keep a couple in my wallet and a couple in my backpack. And as the conversation comes up and you can just share openly with somebody and say, hey, can I share something with you that's really meant a to me? Who's going to say no to that?
[04:30]
C
Absolutely.
[04:31]
B
And so you just go here and it's a Bible bus pass, got a QR code. It's a great way to introduce people with low friction to through the Bible. Greg, why don't you pray for us as we begin our study?
[04:41]
C
Father, what a joy to see your word changing lives as people go down the road of life. And we pray that even today as we face all of the challenges of our own lives, that your word will speak to us in Jesus name. Amen.
[04:57]
B
Now turn to Matthew 14 as we go through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
[05:02]
A
Our study today brings us to the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. And we continue to see the opposition against the Lord Jesus. It keeps mounting. It's finally going to break like a mighty crescendo upon his head and he'll be arrested and taken to the cross. But in the Gospel of Matthew it's quite evident that he's in charge of all the circumstances. And that'll become even more evident as we get closer to the cross. Now we find here this incident that actually pertains to John the Baptist and also his trip on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. However, they started out alone and he came to them. Now we want to read again verse one. At that time Herod the Tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus and said unto his servants, this is John the Baptist, he's risen from the dead. And therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. You see, he didn't question the mighty works. And old Herod was as superstitious as he possibly could be. This incident that's being recorded here is a playback, a flashback of what had happened previously. This and it was the way in which he had killed John the Baptist. Now he associates and identifies the Lord Jesus with him. He thinks it's John risen from the dead. You say, well, that's superstitious. It certainly is. Here's one of the most superstitious men that you've ever met. Brutal, a murderer. And he's a murderer of the forerunner of Christ. And he's prepared to murder the Lord Jesus himself. Actually, Herod was a weakling. He was a debased, depraved and drunken sot. When he heard of the preaching of Jesus, immediately he's filled with superstition. He was a superstitious man and his fear would change to frenzy because he wanted to eliminate John altogether. Somebody says, well of course today we're not superstitious like that. Aren't we? You go down to your 5 and 10 cent store and see how they're doing with these astrology charts. The month that you're born in. My, how people are falling for that today. And the pagan religions of the Orient are having a tremendous influence with young people today. The human race is superstitious, friends. And the minute you get away from from the word of God, you become superstitious. That is the thing that characterizes man today, a great many call themselves atheistic, and yet they are turning by the scores into these different cults and isms that are just about as pagan as anything possibly could be. And you actually wonder how intelligent people could become involved in it. You remember that the Word of God said again and again the Lord Jesus himself said that though they would reject him if another came in his own name, why they would receive him. That, of course, is Antichrist who is yet to come. But they will take on any leader today that promises anything. I don't think human nature has really changed much. We think we are civilized because we have transistor radios. But that doesn't mean we are civilized by any means. Now you will notice that Herod here is the one who put John to death. And these are the circumstances which had happened previously to this incident. Now let me read it. For Herod had laid hold on John that was in the past, and bound him and put him in prison for Herodias's sake, his brother Philip's wife. Now notice how this man is influenced by others here. It'll be for her sake later on. It'll be for their sake. Everything he did, he was motivated, like a politician. It's just to get votes, the approval of the others. Now will you notice? For John said unto him, it's not lawful for thee to have her. John the Baptist, you see, had spoken out. He wasn't a very good politician. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude because they counted him as a prophet. Now he's afraid of the crowd. You see this man, Herod, he's a rascal. Verse 6. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. He's a lascivious, lustful old creature living with his brother's wife at the time. And John the Baptist had condemned him. The dancing of this young girl had really won him over. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And. And he expected she had asked for some material thing, and something in reason, by the way. And she, being before instructed of a mother, said, give me John Baptist's head in a charger. This woman hated John because he of course, condemned her, and the king was sorry. Nevertheless, for the oath's sake and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. Now imagine a man motivated by that. He was afraid of what the others there might think of him having promised something and then not make good. And he Sent and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger and given to the damsel. And she brought it to her mother. Isn't this a sadistic, sad, sordid, sorry account of what took place in that day? And it reveals the type of society that existed then. I don't think again, human nature has changed, has it? You look at our contemporary culture, I tell you, murdered and lust, all of these things. Of course, today why we call evil good and good evil. This is described in other language, but the Bible still describes it as this. And his disciples came and took up the body and buried it and went and told Jesus. Now this caused the Lord Jesus to withdraw because the fear of this man Herod would break out into a frenzy. And he would do something quite dastardly. The Lord Jesus, of course, knew this man. And he withdrew, because this hour had not yet come. Verse 13. When Jesus heard of it, he departed fence by ship into a desert place apart. And when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. He went by ship across the Sea of Galilee. But the crowd went around the shore walking. It reveals how popular he was with the crowd. And Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude. And he was moved with compassion toward them. And he healed their sick. And notice that again they had brought the sick out to him. Literally. There were thousands of people he had healed in that day. It's interesting. Again, I call attention to it, not in an ugly way, but I can't find the results of all of this healing that's going on today. You wouldn't have had any problem in the day when our Lord was here. And I think it's blasphemous to compare with what he did. It casts a reflection of him. Because what he did, my friend, was up and above boid. And it is altogether different than the healing cult of the present time. Now, verse 15. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him saying, this is a desert place and the time is now past. Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves victuals. He actually asked his disciples really what he should do. And their advice was, better send them into the villages. But Jesus said unto them, they need not depart. Give ye them to eat. Now this miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is recorded in all four Gospels. It's the one miracle that is recorded. And for that reason alone, it's an important miracle. As you can see, these apostles now point themselves on the board of directors to tell him what to do. And the Lord Jesus now says to them, they need not depart. You give them to eat. And they say unto him, we have here but five loaves and two fishes. That's the sad state of the church today. Right now people are saying we need to send the multitude away. There are natural ways of doing this. Well, my friend, we have spiritual bread to offer folk. And unfortunately the church doesn't have but five loaves and two fishes. But the thing that's lacking is the power of the Lord Jesus. If we only had that power, you wouldn't need to send the multitudes away. But we feel that they must be sent away and that the psychiatrist can help them probably. And they need to be sent to the government for relief. The solutions are not in God today. They're in government and in human machinations. That's the way it's being done. No wonder the church is powerless now. He said, bring them hither to me. I love that he's the king, friends. And he says here, bring what you've got to me. And I don't know what you've got in the way of five loaves and two little fishes. Now don't get the impression these are great big loaves of bread. Actually there were little buns. They were 5,000 out there and five little buns. This little boy had brought them. It was his lunch. He could have eaten every bit of it. And the fish was in there, five little sandwiches. And he said, bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass. And actually they sat down according to families. Someone has called attention to this, which I'm sure most of us would have passed it by out there on that green grass. And these people wore colorful clothes. Here would be one group. They'd have on red, another brown, another blue, another orange, purple, and a great deal of purple. I imagine the dye was in that area. What a sight it would have been over on the other hill. And to look over on this hillside to see that looked like one of these old fashioned quilts, I imagine. What a picture we have now. He has them sit down on the grass in order. Our Lord did things orderly. And he took the five loaves and the two fishes. And looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. These fellows that had appointed themselves on the board of directors to tell him what to do. They find themselves now waiters waiting on the crowd. And that is really the particular ministry of apostles, disciples, ministers, evangelists and Christians today we are to feed the multitude, not tell him how to do it. There are too many people in the church that want to tell how it should be done. There are so few that are willing to do it. As one preacher said to me, he said, in my church, everybody wants to be head of something, on a committee, doing something, places of leadership. What we need, friends, we don't need more of that today. Need these waiters to give out the bread of life. And that bread is the word of God. That's our business. We're just waiters passing it out. And we need more people today to help in passing it out. And they did all eat and were filled and they took up of the fragments that remained, 12 baskets full. Now when they took up fragments, I formally thought that it meant somebody bit into a sandwich, maybe saw a bigger one and put that down. And the fragments was that here are 12 baskets of sandwiches that weren't even touched. What a lesson this year. It's hard for us who live in the midst of supermarkets to understand that most of the people of the world went to bed hungry last night. And these people, this is the first meal many of them had ever had when their tummies were really filled. The 12 baskets of fragments indicate everybody had had enough. I have a notion some had had too much. And they that were eaten were 5,000 men beside women and children. Well, wouldn't you be willing to put one woman and one child with each man? If that's true, then he fed 15,000 there that day. And I think that's the minimum. Now we have this wonderful incident of our Lord walking on the water on the Sea of Galilee. And straightway, and that's a word of urgency and swift movement. And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and go before him unto the other side while he sent the multitude away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray. When the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. The picture that's before us, he's up yonder in the mountain in the place of prayer. They are down on the Sea of Galilee in a storm and in darkness. And they are in the place of peril. That's a picture of today. He has gone on to the Father, the Father's right hand. And we are down here today on a storm tossed sea in the place of peril. I love though this next one here and in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them walking on the See, in the fourth watch he came to them. Now that's the morning watch. That is from three in the morning until daylight. And that's the watch that he's coming at the sunrise before he comes, he's the bright morning star for the church and he'll take the church out of the world. I don't know. I can't say specifically. I know there are men that seem to know a great deal more than I know. And that of course, is not unusual. But they seem to know when he's coming. I don't know. All I know is I believe we're in the fourth watch of the night now. Verse 26. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it's a spirit. For they cried out for fear. This is the picture. He's up there. And he saw them, as Mark says, toiling and rowing. We're going to come to this in the other gospels and I'll go into little more detail there. But the important thing here is that he saw them. But he came to them in the fourth watch. And when they saw him, they said, it's a spirit. And they cried out for fear. Somebody's going to say, well, they're superstitious. Well, I think there's a certain amount of superstition in them. But what would you think, fellow? Many years ago over in Tennessee, he said, I didn't believe in ghosts either until I saw one. And that's the position of these folk here. They had never seen a spirit before, but they're seeing what they think is one now. But straightway Jesus spoke unto them saying, be of good cheer. It's I be not afraid. And the incident that is recorded here that I want to emphasize, I'll come back to this in the other gospels, but notice straightway Jesus spoke unto them, saying, be of good cheer. It's I be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. This man has certainly been criticized for this. Well, I think that I'd rather admire the man. They say he shouldn't have asked this. Well, it was John Wesley said, expect great things of God. And I'm afraid many of us are satisfied with little things notice. And he said, come, our Lord didn't rebuke him for it. He told him to come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. And I hear people say well, this man failed. That's not the way my Bible has it here. It says he walked on the water to go to Jesus. He walked on the water. It says it here I'm reading it. He did walk on the water. This is amazing. This man asked this tremendous thing. No wonder God could use him such a wonderful way afterward. No wonder he was chosen to preach the sermon on the day of Pentecost. Now notice verse 30. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid beginning to sink. He cried, lord, save me. You see that he got his eyes off of Jesus, but he walked on the water. And when he did, he began to sink and he cried out, lord, save me. That is the shortest prayer in the Bible. Well, as someone has said, Simon Peter prayed this prayer like some of us preachers pray, Lord, thou who art the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent one. He'd have been 20ft underwater before he'd have got to what he wanted. He got right down to business. And I think this is the type of praying we need today. Lord, save me. Now notice again and immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand, caught him and said unto him, o thou little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? You see, his problem was he took his eyes off Jesus, got his eyes on those waves rolling. You and I today are in a world where we see the waves rolling. And this is the time when we need to keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus. It is that today that's all important. When they would come into the ship, the wind ceased verse 33. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying of a truth, thou art the Son of God. Now he performed this miracle for his own, that they might be brought into the place of faith. And when you see even Simon Peter, who was audacious enough to say, lord, bid me come to you on the water. Yet when he began to walk, that should have encouraged him. But he got his eyes off Jesus on that water. And I don't want to criticize him, because that's been my problem. Maybe it's been your problem. I've stepped out many times by faith and then take my eyes off of him. That's the tragedy of the hour for us. But this was done that they might worship him and know that he's the Son of God. And this is the time they need to know it. When they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. When the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out unto all that country round Abraham, and brought unto him all that were diseases, and besought him that he might only touch the hem of his garment, and as many as touched were made perfectly whole again. I must call your attention now in closing is look at the multitudes he healed in that day. We have a record of only very few. Matthew makes it very clear there were multitudes in that day. How impressive this should be to us today. Until next time. May God richly bless you, my beloved.
[24:45]
C
Foreign.
[24:51]
B
The power Jesus used to heal the people, to calm the wind and waves, or to rescue Peter from the storm is the same power available to us through the Holy Spirit today. If you're overwhelmed and maybe you feel that the storms of life are about to sink your boat, then turn to Him. For more on God's power and grace, visit our library of resources in our app or@ttv.org or call 1-865-Bible and then be sure to join us next time, won't you? As we continue to make our way
[25:20]
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through the Bible, Jesus made it home all to be my home. Sin had left the crimson save he worshipped white as snow.
[25:46]
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Today's study is always available free to stream or download thanks to the generous and faithful investments from your fellow Bible bus travelers. Just go to ttb.org or download our app to listen again anytime. As always, we'd love to know what's God teaching you.

Summary5 min read

Podcast Summary: Thru the Bible Daily – Matthew 14

Host: Jason Collins (featuring Dr. J. Vernon McGee’s teaching)
Date: August 3, 2026
Episode Theme:
A deep, verse-by-verse walk through Matthew 14, focusing on the mounting opposition to Jesus, the beheading of John the Baptist, the miracle of feeding the five thousand, and Jesus walking on water. The episode draws out lessons on faith, the dangers of superstition, and the sufficiency of Christ’s power for all situations.

Episode Overview

This episode explores Matthew 14, delving into three pivotal moments in Jesus’ ministry:

Herod’s superstition and the beheading of John the Baptist
Jesus’ compassion—feeding the five thousand
Jesus walking on water and rescuing Peter
Dr. McGee’s teaching reveals connections between then and now, inviting listeners to recognize timeless struggles with fear, faith, and dependence on Jesus.

Notable Quotes & Moments

On Life as a Journey:

“Life has had many potholes, but God has always provided the Bible bus for the journey.” (Listener letter, 02:01)
On the Importance of the Gospel’s Impact:

“People listen consistently and it becomes the soundtrack of their lives.” – Steve Schwetz (03:08)
On Why Human Nature Hasn’t Changed:

“We think we are civilized because we have transistor radios. But that doesn’t mean we are civilized by any means.” – Dr. J. Vernon McGee (05:41)
On John the Baptist’s Boldness:

“John the Baptist … wasn’t a very good politician.” – Dr. McGee (07:22)
On Feeding the Five Thousand:

“What you’ve got in the way of five loaves and two little fishes, bring them hither to me.” – Dr. McGee quoting Jesus (11:51)
On Just Being a Waiter:

“We are to feed the multitude, not tell [Jesus] how to do it … Our business: we’re just waiters passing it out.” – Dr. McGee (15:28)
On Peter’s Step of Faith:

“It says he walked on the water to go to Jesus. This is amazing.” – Dr. McGee (18:45)
On Prayer in Crisis:

“That is the shortest prayer in the Bible: ‘Lord, save me.’ … He got right down to business. This is the type of praying we need today.” – Dr. McGee (19:54)
On Failures and Faith:

“His problem was he took his eyes off Jesus, got his eyes on those waves rolling. … That’s been my problem. Maybe it’s been your problem.” – Dr. McGee (21:12)

Detailed Breakdown with Timestamps

1. Listener Engagement & Letters [00:17 – 04:40]

Listeners share testimonies about how Thru the Bible shapes their lives.
Praise for the interactive feedback feature and desire to spread God’s Word (e.g., Bible bus passes).
Encouragement to share faith simply and boldly.

2. Introduction to Matthew 14 [05:01 – 05:58]

Dr. McGee sets the context: mounting opposition against Jesus, foreshadowing His journey to the cross.
Human nature and society’s ongoing struggle with superstition highlighted.

3. The Beheading of John the Baptist [05:59 – 09:40]

Herod’s fear and superstition exposed—believes Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead.
John is arrested for condemning Herod’s unlawful marriage; Herodias’s daughter’s dance leads to John’s execution.
Dr. McGee comments on how society’s standards and responses to evil haven’t changed (“Today we call evil good and good evil.”).
Jesus withdraws following John’s death to avoid confrontation before His appointed time.

4. Jesus' Compassion & Feeding the Five Thousand [09:41 – 16:15]

Jesus seeks solitude, but crowds follow Him; He heals and has compassion on them.
The disciples suggest sending the crowd away; Jesus challenges them: “Give ye them to eat.”
Dr. McGee draws parallels to the Church’s lack of spiritual resources and over-reliance on worldly solutions.
Jesus multiplies five loaves and two fishes; emphasis on the miracle’s uniqueness (recorded in all four gospels).
12 baskets of leftovers show God’s abundant provision.

5. Jesus Walks on Water – Faith and Doubt [16:16 – 22:56]

Jesus sends His disciples ahead; He prays alone, illustrating present reality of believers’ separation and dependence.
The disciples are caught in a storm (“place of peril”); Jesus appears in the early dawn, walking on water.
The disciples are terrified, thinking they see a ghost—Dr. McGee: “I think there’s a certain amount of superstition in them.” (18:16)
Jesus reassures them: “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” (18:38)
Peter’s bold request and step of faith—he walks on water until overwhelmed by the storm, prays “Lord, save me.”
Dr. McGee affirms Peter’s faith but notes the danger of taking eyes off Jesus in life’s storms.
Jesus rescues Peter and calms the storm; the disciples worship Jesus, proclaiming Him the Son of God.

6. Jesus Heals Multitudes in Gennesaret [22:57 – 24:40]

On arrival, word spreads; many come seeking healing.
“As many as touched were made perfectly whole.” Emphasis on the abundance and completeness of Jesus’ miracles compared to modern-day claims.

7. Key Takeaways & Application [24:50 – 25:19]

The power Jesus demonstrated—healing, calming storms, saving Peter—is available to believers today through the Holy Spirit.
Listeners encouraged to turn to Him amid life’s storms.

Episode Highlights & Lessons

Timeless relevance: The same human flaws—superstition, fear, seeking worldly solutions—persist today.
Jesus’s sufficiency: No matter how little we have, bring it to Jesus. He supplies abundantly.
Active faith: Step out, just as Peter did, but keep your focus on Christ.
Prayer: Simple, direct prayer—“Lord, save me”—is powerful and sufficient.
Ministry focus: Believers, like the apostles, are meant to serve and pass out the “bread of life,” not just strategize or seek leadership roles.

Conclusion

This episode of Thru the Bible Daily offers rich spiritual perspectives on Matthew 14, urging listeners to trust Jesus in scarcity, storms, and opposition. Dr. McGee’s teaching is direct, encouraging, and laced with practical applications, making ancient scriptural truths come alive in today’s context.

For further study:
Full episode and additional resources available at ttb.org or on the TTB app.

Loading summary

Transcript27 lines

[00:00]
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How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord is made for your faith in his excellent way.
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Did you know that of all the miracles Jesus performed, only one is recorded in all four Gospels? Well, welcome to through the Bible as Dr. J. Vernon McGee tells us about the importance of this miracle in this study of Matthew, chapter 14. I'm Steve Schwetz, and while you turn there in your Bible, Greg is here. And we've got some time to share a few of the stories that have come in recently from users of our through the Bible app.
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We are so excited about this. We love the fact that you're communicating with us through the very simple, very elegant feedback mechanism in our app.
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Yeah, it's super easy. Just go in and find the feedback section and you can actually hit the microphone on your phone and just kind of speak the feedback. That's the way I usually do it.
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You could take a picture and attach it. In fact, I was in Nicaragua demonstrating this to some ministry leaders and I took a picture, I dictated the feedback, sent it. Two days later it showed up through our team in my inbox.
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B
Wow. Pretty cool.
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So please share your responses and here's a great one from a listener who chose not to give us their name, which is perfectly okay. It is my joy in Christ to be able to write to you. I've been traveling on the Bible bus off and on since 1991. The road of life has had many potholes, but God has always provided the Bible bus for the journey. I started out listening to an AM station on my way to work in la and now I am blessed to listen on the app. I love it. I can listen to the message over and over again, which is a true blessing since my eyesight has gotten poor. May God bless all of you, dedicating yourselves to make sure Dr. McGee's message still gets out while where the rubber meets the road and always placing the cookies on the bottom shelf. God bless you all.
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B
Yeah, I love especially how this listener said, life has had many potholes.
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C
I know that's a quotable quote.
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B
Yeah, it's very good. This is a letter from Angie, who has actually a prayer request. I love this ministry. I need some Bible bus passes, please. And will you pray that I'll find the right opportunities in which to pass them out? I'm feeling really desperate to get God's word out to the whole world, especially in my community. Thank you from a faithful writer.
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C
Oh, we love that. Love that energy to share through the Bible to hand out Bible bus passes. That's fantastic. Now Jack wrote to us again through the app and said this. We just finished our first five year tour on the Bible bus. So many things were completed during this time. One son got married, one son finished college, one son finished high school. One daughter and her husband moved from Mississippi to Northern California. We were blessed with our first grandchild and so much more. Wow. Now let me just stop and say we can't. Promise, promise all that'll happen in your life if you listen through the five years.
[03:02]
B
Yeah. But it is amazing that in five years how many things can happen and through the Bible can be really a part of that.
[03:07]
C
Yes.
[03:08]
B
Don Henley from the Eagles in his concerts a couple years back says that, that the Eagles is a, is a part of the soundtrack of their lives, of the lives of the listeners. And really I thought that's appropriate for through the Bible people listen consistently and it becomes the soundtrack of their lives.
[03:23]
C
I've literally had people say that to me that it was the soundtrack of their childhood or what have you. Now this, this letter goes on. My wife and I listened together when we could. Mostly I listened during my drive to work. At least one of our kids also completed the five year tour. Wow. God did a great work in that sun. We were blessed by this great ride and we will continue on the next tour putting gas and new tires on the bus. Thank you, Steve and Greg, for your leadership in sharing of the gospel in so many languages. Praise the Lord.
[03:55]
B
Wow. J, thank you. Thank you for sharing your testimony and being so faithful as a listener. We do appreciate it.
[04:01]
C
And Steve, I just love the. How invested these folks are in their journey and, and what a privilege it is for us to be alongside. Now Angie was asking for Bible bus passes. You want to tell people about this?
[04:13]
B
Yeah, we haven't talked about that in a while. And the Bible bus passes, they come in packs of 10. They're about the size of a business card. I always keep a couple in my wallet and a couple in my backpack. And as the conversation comes up and you can just share openly with somebody and say, hey, can I share something with you that's really meant a to me? Who's going to say no to that?
[04:30]
C
Absolutely.
[04:31]
B
And so you just go here and it's a Bible bus pass, got a QR code. It's a great way to introduce people with low friction to through the Bible. Greg, why don't you pray for us as we begin our study?
[04:41]
C
Father, what a joy to see your word changing lives as people go down the road of life. And we pray that even today as we face all of the challenges of our own lives, that your word will speak to us in Jesus name. Amen.
[04:57]
B
Now turn to Matthew 14 as we go through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
[05:02]
A
Our study today brings us to the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. And we continue to see the opposition against the Lord Jesus. It keeps mounting. It's finally going to break like a mighty crescendo upon his head and he'll be arrested and taken to the cross. But in the Gospel of Matthew it's quite evident that he's in charge of all the circumstances. And that'll become even more evident as we get closer to the cross. Now we find here this incident that actually pertains to John the Baptist and also his trip on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. However, they started out alone and he came to them. Now we want to read again verse one. At that time Herod the Tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus and said unto his servants, this is John the Baptist, he's risen from the dead. And therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. You see, he didn't question the mighty works. And old Herod was as superstitious as he possibly could be. This incident that's being recorded here is a playback, a flashback of what had happened previously. This and it was the way in which he had killed John the Baptist. Now he associates and identifies the Lord Jesus with him. He thinks it's John risen from the dead. You say, well, that's superstitious. It certainly is. Here's one of the most superstitious men that you've ever met. Brutal, a murderer. And he's a murderer of the forerunner of Christ. And he's prepared to murder the Lord Jesus himself. Actually, Herod was a weakling. He was a debased, depraved and drunken sot. When he heard of the preaching of Jesus, immediately he's filled with superstition. He was a superstitious man and his fear would change to frenzy because he wanted to eliminate John altogether. Somebody says, well of course today we're not superstitious like that. Aren't we? You go down to your 5 and 10 cent store and see how they're doing with these astrology charts. The month that you're born in. My, how people are falling for that today. And the pagan religions of the Orient are having a tremendous influence with young people today. The human race is superstitious, friends. And the minute you get away from from the word of God, you become superstitious. That is the thing that characterizes man today, a great many call themselves atheistic, and yet they are turning by the scores into these different cults and isms that are just about as pagan as anything possibly could be. And you actually wonder how intelligent people could become involved in it. You remember that the Word of God said again and again the Lord Jesus himself said that though they would reject him if another came in his own name, why they would receive him. That, of course, is Antichrist who is yet to come. But they will take on any leader today that promises anything. I don't think human nature has really changed much. We think we are civilized because we have transistor radios. But that doesn't mean we are civilized by any means. Now you will notice that Herod here is the one who put John to death. And these are the circumstances which had happened previously to this incident. Now let me read it. For Herod had laid hold on John that was in the past, and bound him and put him in prison for Herodias's sake, his brother Philip's wife. Now notice how this man is influenced by others here. It'll be for her sake later on. It'll be for their sake. Everything he did, he was motivated, like a politician. It's just to get votes, the approval of the others. Now will you notice? For John said unto him, it's not lawful for thee to have her. John the Baptist, you see, had spoken out. He wasn't a very good politician. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude because they counted him as a prophet. Now he's afraid of the crowd. You see this man, Herod, he's a rascal. Verse 6. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. He's a lascivious, lustful old creature living with his brother's wife at the time. And John the Baptist had condemned him. The dancing of this young girl had really won him over. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And. And he expected she had asked for some material thing, and something in reason, by the way. And she, being before instructed of a mother, said, give me John Baptist's head in a charger. This woman hated John because he of course, condemned her, and the king was sorry. Nevertheless, for the oath's sake and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. Now imagine a man motivated by that. He was afraid of what the others there might think of him having promised something and then not make good. And he Sent and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger and given to the damsel. And she brought it to her mother. Isn't this a sadistic, sad, sordid, sorry account of what took place in that day? And it reveals the type of society that existed then. I don't think again, human nature has changed, has it? You look at our contemporary culture, I tell you, murdered and lust, all of these things. Of course, today why we call evil good and good evil. This is described in other language, but the Bible still describes it as this. And his disciples came and took up the body and buried it and went and told Jesus. Now this caused the Lord Jesus to withdraw because the fear of this man Herod would break out into a frenzy. And he would do something quite dastardly. The Lord Jesus, of course, knew this man. And he withdrew, because this hour had not yet come. Verse 13. When Jesus heard of it, he departed fence by ship into a desert place apart. And when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. He went by ship across the Sea of Galilee. But the crowd went around the shore walking. It reveals how popular he was with the crowd. And Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude. And he was moved with compassion toward them. And he healed their sick. And notice that again they had brought the sick out to him. Literally. There were thousands of people he had healed in that day. It's interesting. Again, I call attention to it, not in an ugly way, but I can't find the results of all of this healing that's going on today. You wouldn't have had any problem in the day when our Lord was here. And I think it's blasphemous to compare with what he did. It casts a reflection of him. Because what he did, my friend, was up and above boid. And it is altogether different than the healing cult of the present time. Now, verse 15. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him saying, this is a desert place and the time is now past. Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves victuals. He actually asked his disciples really what he should do. And their advice was, better send them into the villages. But Jesus said unto them, they need not depart. Give ye them to eat. Now this miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is recorded in all four Gospels. It's the one miracle that is recorded. And for that reason alone, it's an important miracle. As you can see, these apostles now point themselves on the board of directors to tell him what to do. And the Lord Jesus now says to them, they need not depart. You give them to eat. And they say unto him, we have here but five loaves and two fishes. That's the sad state of the church today. Right now people are saying we need to send the multitude away. There are natural ways of doing this. Well, my friend, we have spiritual bread to offer folk. And unfortunately the church doesn't have but five loaves and two fishes. But the thing that's lacking is the power of the Lord Jesus. If we only had that power, you wouldn't need to send the multitudes away. But we feel that they must be sent away and that the psychiatrist can help them probably. And they need to be sent to the government for relief. The solutions are not in God today. They're in government and in human machinations. That's the way it's being done. No wonder the church is powerless now. He said, bring them hither to me. I love that he's the king, friends. And he says here, bring what you've got to me. And I don't know what you've got in the way of five loaves and two little fishes. Now don't get the impression these are great big loaves of bread. Actually there were little buns. They were 5,000 out there and five little buns. This little boy had brought them. It was his lunch. He could have eaten every bit of it. And the fish was in there, five little sandwiches. And he said, bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass. And actually they sat down according to families. Someone has called attention to this, which I'm sure most of us would have passed it by out there on that green grass. And these people wore colorful clothes. Here would be one group. They'd have on red, another brown, another blue, another orange, purple, and a great deal of purple. I imagine the dye was in that area. What a sight it would have been over on the other hill. And to look over on this hillside to see that looked like one of these old fashioned quilts, I imagine. What a picture we have now. He has them sit down on the grass in order. Our Lord did things orderly. And he took the five loaves and the two fishes. And looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. These fellows that had appointed themselves on the board of directors to tell him what to do. They find themselves now waiters waiting on the crowd. And that is really the particular ministry of apostles, disciples, ministers, evangelists and Christians today we are to feed the multitude, not tell him how to do it. There are too many people in the church that want to tell how it should be done. There are so few that are willing to do it. As one preacher said to me, he said, in my church, everybody wants to be head of something, on a committee, doing something, places of leadership. What we need, friends, we don't need more of that today. Need these waiters to give out the bread of life. And that bread is the word of God. That's our business. We're just waiters passing it out. And we need more people today to help in passing it out. And they did all eat and were filled and they took up of the fragments that remained, 12 baskets full. Now when they took up fragments, I formally thought that it meant somebody bit into a sandwich, maybe saw a bigger one and put that down. And the fragments was that here are 12 baskets of sandwiches that weren't even touched. What a lesson this year. It's hard for us who live in the midst of supermarkets to understand that most of the people of the world went to bed hungry last night. And these people, this is the first meal many of them had ever had when their tummies were really filled. The 12 baskets of fragments indicate everybody had had enough. I have a notion some had had too much. And they that were eaten were 5,000 men beside women and children. Well, wouldn't you be willing to put one woman and one child with each man? If that's true, then he fed 15,000 there that day. And I think that's the minimum. Now we have this wonderful incident of our Lord walking on the water on the Sea of Galilee. And straightway, and that's a word of urgency and swift movement. And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and go before him unto the other side while he sent the multitude away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray. When the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. The picture that's before us, he's up yonder in the mountain in the place of prayer. They are down on the Sea of Galilee in a storm and in darkness. And they are in the place of peril. That's a picture of today. He has gone on to the Father, the Father's right hand. And we are down here today on a storm tossed sea in the place of peril. I love though this next one here and in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them walking on the See, in the fourth watch he came to them. Now that's the morning watch. That is from three in the morning until daylight. And that's the watch that he's coming at the sunrise before he comes, he's the bright morning star for the church and he'll take the church out of the world. I don't know. I can't say specifically. I know there are men that seem to know a great deal more than I know. And that of course, is not unusual. But they seem to know when he's coming. I don't know. All I know is I believe we're in the fourth watch of the night now. Verse 26. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it's a spirit. For they cried out for fear. This is the picture. He's up there. And he saw them, as Mark says, toiling and rowing. We're going to come to this in the other gospels and I'll go into little more detail there. But the important thing here is that he saw them. But he came to them in the fourth watch. And when they saw him, they said, it's a spirit. And they cried out for fear. Somebody's going to say, well, they're superstitious. Well, I think there's a certain amount of superstition in them. But what would you think, fellow? Many years ago over in Tennessee, he said, I didn't believe in ghosts either until I saw one. And that's the position of these folk here. They had never seen a spirit before, but they're seeing what they think is one now. But straightway Jesus spoke unto them saying, be of good cheer. It's I be not afraid. And the incident that is recorded here that I want to emphasize, I'll come back to this in the other gospels, but notice straightway Jesus spoke unto them, saying, be of good cheer. It's I be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. This man has certainly been criticized for this. Well, I think that I'd rather admire the man. They say he shouldn't have asked this. Well, it was John Wesley said, expect great things of God. And I'm afraid many of us are satisfied with little things notice. And he said, come, our Lord didn't rebuke him for it. He told him to come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. And I hear people say well, this man failed. That's not the way my Bible has it here. It says he walked on the water to go to Jesus. He walked on the water. It says it here I'm reading it. He did walk on the water. This is amazing. This man asked this tremendous thing. No wonder God could use him such a wonderful way afterward. No wonder he was chosen to preach the sermon on the day of Pentecost. Now notice verse 30. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid beginning to sink. He cried, lord, save me. You see that he got his eyes off of Jesus, but he walked on the water. And when he did, he began to sink and he cried out, lord, save me. That is the shortest prayer in the Bible. Well, as someone has said, Simon Peter prayed this prayer like some of us preachers pray, Lord, thou who art the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent one. He'd have been 20ft underwater before he'd have got to what he wanted. He got right down to business. And I think this is the type of praying we need today. Lord, save me. Now notice again and immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand, caught him and said unto him, o thou little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? You see, his problem was he took his eyes off Jesus, got his eyes on those waves rolling. You and I today are in a world where we see the waves rolling. And this is the time when we need to keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus. It is that today that's all important. When they would come into the ship, the wind ceased verse 33. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying of a truth, thou art the Son of God. Now he performed this miracle for his own, that they might be brought into the place of faith. And when you see even Simon Peter, who was audacious enough to say, lord, bid me come to you on the water. Yet when he began to walk, that should have encouraged him. But he got his eyes off Jesus on that water. And I don't want to criticize him, because that's been my problem. Maybe it's been your problem. I've stepped out many times by faith and then take my eyes off of him. That's the tragedy of the hour for us. But this was done that they might worship him and know that he's the Son of God. And this is the time they need to know it. When they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. When the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out unto all that country round Abraham, and brought unto him all that were diseases, and besought him that he might only touch the hem of his garment, and as many as touched were made perfectly whole again. I must call your attention now in closing is look at the multitudes he healed in that day. We have a record of only very few. Matthew makes it very clear there were multitudes in that day. How impressive this should be to us today. Until next time. May God richly bless you, my beloved.
[24:45]
C
Foreign.
[24:51]
B
The power Jesus used to heal the people, to calm the wind and waves, or to rescue Peter from the storm is the same power available to us through the Holy Spirit today. If you're overwhelmed and maybe you feel that the storms of life are about to sink your boat, then turn to Him. For more on God's power and grace, visit our library of resources in our app or@ttv.org or call 1-865-Bible and then be sure to join us next time, won't you? As we continue to make our way
[25:20]
A
through the Bible, Jesus made it home all to be my home. Sin had left the crimson save he worshipped white as snow.
[25:46]
B
Today's study is always available free to stream or download thanks to the generous and faithful investments from your fellow Bible bus travelers. Just go to ttb.org or download our app to listen again anytime. As always, we'd love to know what's God teaching you.