18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year A)

(Mt 14:13–21)

Matthew 14:13 On hearing this, Jesus left that place by boat and withdrew to a deserted spot on his own. But the crowds, having learnt of this, followed him on foot from the towns.

Matthew 14:14 When he stepped out of the boat, he saw a large crowd; he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 

“Having heard this...”. Jesus had heard of the execution of John the Baptist; it was a delicate moment. By remaining in Galilee, Jesus might have feared persecution from Herod Antipas, and since his hour had not yet come, he “withdrew” to a “deserted place”.

The verb anachoreō literally means: to go back, to retreat, to withdraw, to move away, to keep one’s distance from, and is generally associated with situations of danger. It is like the good retreating in the face of evil. The good seems to recede in the face of advancing evil. In a certain sense this is true: evil seems to prevail over good. Out of prudence, Jesus withdraws to a solitary place, off to one side. The verb *anachoreō* is the root of our word ‘anachoresis’, which refers to the withdrawal characteristic of the monastic and hermitic traditions, present in the Church almost from the very beginning. Where does this experience stem from? From the confrontation with evil, from the realisation that in the face of this evil one can withdraw, and that this evil can be entrusted to God’s care through prayer.

The other key figure is the crowd, which follows Jesus on foot. What characterises the crowd is that they follow Jesus from a distance, along the shore, whilst he travels by boat. Only the disciples, though not named, are in the boat with Jesus. By remaining silent on the disciples in the boat with Jesus, Matthew achieves two things: on the one hand, he places the figure of Jesus at the centre; on the other, he suggests how the disciples identify with Jesus himself. A fundamental distinction is thus drawn between those who are in the boat with Jesus and those who, instead, follow him on foot. The crowds’ thirst for Jesus is great. It is sad to realise that the crowds are so thirsty for God and that often the wells to which they rush are dry.

The act of following and serving is preceded by the phrase apò tōn póleōn, ‘from the towns’. Following, therefore, presupposes stepping out of one’s familiar routines of life, leaving behind one’s familiar places and relationships, setting oneself apart and thus creating a wilderness around oneself.

“When he stepped out of the boat, he saw a large crowd; he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Jesus steps out of the boat and sees “a large crowd”. The Greek verb used here to express Jesus’ act of seeing is “horaō”; a verb which, in biblical language, denotes a particular kind of seeing, a profound seeing that goes beyond mere physical perception. Greek uses three verbs to denote ‘seeing’ or ‘looking’: ‘Blepō’, which denotes physical looking, a mere sensory perception; ‘Theoreō’, which means to observe, examine or scrutinise, and refers to a way of looking that questions and seeks to understand. ‘Horaō’ denotes a spiritual kind of seeing, a form of knowing or perceiving, and expresses an awareness of that which transcends the physical realm. In this sense, we might say that ‘horaō’ is the exact opposite of ‘blepō’. Jesus’s way of seeing, therefore, is not merely a matter of looking, but rather of embracing that crowd with his gaze—a crowd that belongs to him because it follows him.

Jesus feels “compassion for them”. The Greek verb used here is esplagchísthē and denotes a profound emotion that touches the person to the very depths of their being. The verb, in fact, is derived from the noun splágchnon, meaning “bowels”. What Jesus feels, therefore, is something that springs from the depths of his very being. Jesus, therefore, sees and is deeply moved. These two verbs, ‘to see’ and ‘to be moved’, are interdependent; one follows from the other, and together they create a profound communion between Jesus and the object of his sight and feeling. The use of this verb expresses the full depth of God’s visceral love for humanity.

When we speak of God’s mercy, of Jesus’ mercy, of his compassion, of this visceral stirring from the very depths of his being, all this is well represented by the images of Byzantine crucifixes, which depict Jesus with a very prominent belly. Why? Because the intention is to emphasise figuratively that he has ‘bowels of mercy’, that is, the capacity to feel the needs of humankind.

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation – an exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers – Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, in the mystery of the Trinity

Jesus’ prophetic discourse (Matthew 24–25)

All Generations Will Call Me Blessed

 Catholics and Protestants Compared – In Defence of the Faith

 The Church and Israel According to St Paul – Romans 9–11

(Available on Amazon)