馬太花了一點時間告訴我們有關希律和他將施洗約翰斬首的事，然後就詳述耶穌使五千人吃飽的奇蹟。耶穌從事與人密集接觸的事工，祂似乎有無限的能力對人不斷付出，祂更表現出一種無窮盡的憐憫，到一個地步，奇蹟似的用五餅二魚分開餵飽了五千人。但，接著，祂也不怕請眾人離開。耶穌上了一條船，到湖的那一邊，只為了遠離眾人。祂吃完了就走，並沒有顧忌。　

        耶穌遣散眾人後，自己上到山上禱告。祂一次又一次將與天父單獨相處擺在第一位。耶穌禱告時，祂的門徒坐船在湖上，突然他們看見耶穌走在水面上，他們的頭一個反應是：「是鬼！」但耶穌對他們說：「放心，是我，不要怕。」衝動的彼得便說：「主啊，如果是您，請您叫我從水面上走到您那裡去。」耶穌就對他說：「你來吧。」彼得下了船，在水面上走，要到耶穌那裡。但走到一半，他明白過來自己在做什麼，心一虛便開始往下沈，彼得連忙喊叫：「主啊，救我！」如果彼得真的信心十足的一直走到耶穌那裡，再與耶穌一起走回船上，那一定很有趣。不過，彼得的反應也提醒我們，他和我們一樣是人。

         耶穌的門徒對這件事的反應是：「您真是上帝的兒子！」祂的確是。當耶穌到了湖的那一邊，那裡的人認出是耶穌，就傳話給周圍所有的城鎮，把所有的病人帶到耶穌那裡，只求耶穌准病人摸祂的衣裳繸子。摸著的人就都好了。

         注意耶穌的事工與人性的關聯。祂解決人飢餓的問題，安撫受驚的門徒，滿足許多需要神蹟援助的人。耶穌的事工萌自與人類生存息息相關的事上。

         主啊，我們發現門徒和我們一樣是人（有人性的軟弱），但您仍大大的使用他們，這使我們感到安慰。主啊，求您也使用我們，因您的能力在我們的軟弱上顯得完全。奉主耶穌基督聖名，阿們！

English

         Matthew takes a moment to tell us about Herod and his beheading of John the Baptist, then he gets into the remarkable miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus, who was involved in a very people-intensive ministry, seemed to have limitless capacity for giving out more and more, and showing a kind of inexhaustible compassion, to the point of actually and miraculously dividing five loaves of bread and two fish into enough to feed five thousand. But then, He also has the self-confidence to be able to dismiss the crowd. He gets into a boat and goes to the other side of the lake just to get away form them. He eats and runs!

         After Jesus dismisses the crowd, He goes up by Himself into the hills to pray. Jesus placed priority again and again on quiet time with His Father. While He’s praying, His disciples are out on the lake. Suddenly they look up and see Jesus walking on the water. Their first reaction is, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus speaks to them and says, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” And Peter, the impulsive fellow that he is, says, “Lord, if it is You tell me to come to You on the water.” Jesus says, “Come.” Peter gets out and walks on the water toward Jesus. But then, half way there, he realizes what hi is doing and, beginning to sink, cries, “Lord, save me!” It would have been interesting if we had seen Peter walking all the way to Jesus and then turning around and walking back to the boat with Him. But, on the other hand, there is something refreshingly human about Peter’s reaction.

         The response of the disciples to Jesus walking on the water is, “Truly, You are the Son of God.” And truly He was. When they got to the other side of the lake, the people there recognized Jesus and sent word to all the surrounding country, and brought all their sick to Him and begged Him to let the sick just touch the edge of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.

         Notice the human contest out of which Jesus’ ministry sprang. He dealt with hungry people, frightened disciples and needy, demanding miracle seekers. His ministry sprang out of the very stuff of human existence.

         It is with great relief, Lord, that we find the disciples were as human as we are, yet You used them so mightily. Use us, oh God, as Your strength is made perfect in our weakness.