First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Lord’s Day March 14, 2004 Anno Domini

Matthew 14:1-21

Two Banquets: God’s feast and Herod’s feast.

I. Herod Antipas: terrified by a guilty conscience.

A. The public man and the private man [v. 2, v. 7]

B. True guilt for Herod’s conscience.

C. Fear and guilt wrestle with pride and power.

II. Two banquets: one hosted in pride the other hosted in mercy.

A. The royal birthday party: wine, women and the power of man.

B. The holy picnic: bread, fish, the power of God.

C. It’s not the food nor the occasion, but the host that defines the purpose of the banquet.

III. The puzzling turns of life in a fallen world.

A. Herod and Herodias ended their lives in exile.

B. John the Baptist ended his life in Herod’s dungeon.

C. Jesus lived his life surrounded by people who were either puzzled or hostile and ended his life nailed to the cross.

IV. The solitude of Christ.

A. Alone righteous in a corrupt world.

B. Alone conscious of the weight of responsibility upon him.

C. Alone always able to bring comfort and help to needy people.

D. Who is Jesus?

Who do you say that he is?

Pastor Christian Adjemian,Dipl.Div.,Ph.D.

phone:617.864.3185