Be Careful What You Ask For!

So Matthew 14 starts out like a soap opera, doesn't it!?!  It took me a while to figure out who was who, but here's what I learned:

• Herod (the tetrarch) was the son of Herod the Great (the one who ordered all the babies killed in Bethlehem in Matt 2:16).  Oh yeah, and a "tetrarch" is one of four rulers over the four districts of Palastine.
• Philip was Herod's half brother, and his wife was Herodias.
• Herodias (Philip's wife) left him to live with Herod (her brother in law).
• John the Baptist condemned Herod and Herodias for living together immorally.

Soooo, when we see in verse 6 that on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for him...that was his niece!  Then Herod makes a promise he can't refuse, and the slighted Herodias sees her chance to get rid of John the Baptist.  I wonder if the daughter/niece was at all upset about seeing that head on a platter?  The verses explain it so calmly, that she just took the platter and delivered it to her mother.  I wonder if it was more traumatic than that...

Anyhoo...after that we see that Jesus wanted to be alone for a while as he grieved.  However, when the people found him he had compassion on them and continued with his ministry, healing the sick, and feeding a massive crowd.  One thing I noticed here, which I never caught before, is that the number of people fed by 5 loaves of bread and two fish was about 5,000 men "besides women and children".  My Bible explained that the total number of people Jesus fed could have been closer to 10-15 thousand...in Jewish culture of the day, men and women usually ate separately when in public, and the women would eat with the children.

I've always loved this story, about how Jesus did so much with so little.  It reminds me that what very little I have to offer Him, when I put it into His hands He can turn it into so much more than I ever imagined.