Matthew 14-20

Matthew 14: Meanwhile, King Herod, overseer of John the Baptist’s captivity, has a bad dinner party involving his brother Philip, and more importantly, Philip’s wife Herodias. Herodias turns on Herod, who had imprisoned JTB for suggesting Herod’s lusting after his brother’s wife was unlawful. Herodias (I’ve heard something like this one before) suggests that her mother would like to see the head of JTB on a platter. She had been promised anything she wanted by Herod during a sexy dance, so JTB is beheaded, the disciples bury him, inform Jesus, who responds by feeding thousands with a couple of fish and walking on water during a tempest.

Matthew 15: JC defends not washing hands when eating. Healing and blessing and parablising, He is building quite a following. After eating with his unwashed hands, JC advises the Pharisees and scribes to watch their mouths. A Canaanitish woman’s daughter is cured, and multitudes gather. JC doesn’t want to send the crowd home hungry, so after three days he feeds 4000(women and children uncounted) with seven loaves and a few small fish.

Matthew 16: Pharisees and Sadducees demand a sign, but JC won’t deliver because they wouldn’t know it if they saw it. JC tells the 12 to stay away from their kitchens’ leaven, and he wasn’t talking about yeast. At Caesarea Philippi, Simon Peter identifies JC as true prophet. Peter named rock of JC’s church by JC. JC tells the twelve to get ready for his death in Jerusalem and subsequent three-day revival.

There remains much doubt whether or not popcorn necklaces were a topic of discussion on the mountain of Galilee.

Matthew 17: Six days later, JC takes Peter, James (also called Jacob), John (James’ brother) up a high mountain, for a party with Elijah and Moses. JC turns white as the light up there, and Peter offers to make three tabernacles right then and there, but Jehovah intervenes, stating pride in his Son. The three disciples prostate, but when JC touches them, they are left alone. JC insists the three tell no one about the God party on the mountain until after the rising (second notice of rising). JC informs the three that JTB was Elijah, fulfilling prophecy. The party happens upon an epileptic boy’s dad, and JC suffers the crowd to heal the man’s son. (The disciples had tried to heal the kid, but failed) JC informs the disciples their faith wasn’t up to snuff, as the epileptic displayed through an easy on-site healing by JC. From Galilee they came to Capernaum, where I think JC tells a tollkeeper to get the toll from the fish. It’s kind of a rambling end to what by all appearances should be a quite important little passage of literature.

Matthew 18: Teachings of JC: The simple are in good shape in heaven. When stumbling blocks arrive, remove the physical manifestations that transferred sin into your body. When people are sinning, address it individually, then as a small group, then tell it to the congregation. Forgive sinners against their sins 4900 times. Forgive debts as you would have your debtors forgive you.

Matthew 19: JC and posse depart Galilee to Judea, where crowds gathered for healings. The Pharisees ask JC, an unmarried man by these accounts, questions about the legitimacy of divorce, and questioned Moses’ need to put away his wife. (Dt. 24-1-4) JC dodges the question by claiming Moses suffered to harden their hearts, and steered the train off the tracks with a longwinded and confusing treatise about eunuchs. JC warns again that riches won’t buy anyone’s way into heaven.

Matthew 20: Moral of the vineyard laborers parable: Put off until the eleventh hour what you could have started at dawn. Pays the same. Son of man again foretold of deliverance to Gentiles for mocking, scourging, and crucifixion. The mother of the sons of Zebedee (James/Jacob & John) requests JC should place those two at his right and left hand, but this is poorly received by JC. No one is first in line in JC’s world. The two blind men at Jerico just want to see, JC satisfies the multitude there by granting sight.