NOTES for Mat 11:2-19
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, |
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? |
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: |
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. |
6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. |
7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? |
8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. |
9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. |
10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. |
11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. |
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. |
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. |
14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. |
15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. |
16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, |
17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. |
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. |
19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. |
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Traditionally, it is held that John did not doubt Jesus' messianic calling and sent his doubting disciples to Him so that they could see for themselves. Other interpreters allow that John himself may have doubted it. Be that as it may, it is hardly accidental that he sent two of his disciples to Jesus: they were to become witnesses to Christ's words, and under Jewish law there had to be at least two witnesses. And then they heard an answer that still puzzles some readers of the Gospel: why did Christ say neither yes nor no? Why instead did He need to speak a long phrase listing His works?
Apparently, He answered this way so as not to confuse ahead of time those who were not yet ready to hear a direct confirmation. But the verbal message that Jesus asks them to convey to John contained a list of the signs of the Messiah's coming that had been foretold in the Old Testament, and this means that Jesus was quite definitely confirming that He is the very One who was to come.
Christ gives John a high evaluation. But next to it stands the indication that the least in the Kingdom of Heaven will be greater than John. Such a definition may sound like belittlement. But anyone who, confident of his own salvation, decides on that basis to exalt himself above John will be deeply mistaken. Those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven transformed will surpass John as he was on earth. But he himself in the Kingdom of Heaven will surpass himself as he was in the earthly world.
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