Matthew
11:2-24
Lesson 21
11:2-24
Lesson 21
Matthew 11:2-24
Jesus assures John the Baptist 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. 20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. |
Margin notes:
"Art thou he that should come?" (11:3) - God promised in The Old Testament that a Savior would someday come (Genesis 49:10; Deuteronomy 18:15). Because of God's promise, Jews were waiting for the Messiah. "Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see." (11:4) - Jesus' miracles are proof that He is the Messiah (see verse 11:5). "The poor have the gospel preached to them." (11:5) - "The poor in spirit have the good news taught to them" (Isaiah 61:1). "A man clothed in soft raiment?" (11:8) - "A man dressed in nice clothes?" Remember, John the Baptist, God's messenger, wore clothes made of rough camel hair (Matthew 3:4). "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." (11:10) - This is a paraphrase from Malachi 3:1, which predicted the coming of John the Baptist 500 years before he was born. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence." (11:12) - Bible scholars disagree over the meaning of this verse. Many believe it refers to the persecution John the Baptist, Jesus, and His followers suffered. Others are convinced Jesus is talking about the damage done to the "Kingdom of Heaven" by the corrupt religious leaders of His day. Some scholars feel Jesus is referring to the large number of believers pressing into heaven after hearing John the Baptist preach (Luke 16:16). Still others mistakenly believed that Jesus was a political/military leader. They claim this verse tells us that the "Kingdom of heaven" would arrive immediately after Jesus overthrew the Roman empire. "All the prophets and the law prophesied until John." (11:13) - All the prophets sent by God, and the Mosaic Law prophesied the things that would happen before John arrived." "If ye will receive it, this is Elias." (11:14) - "If you can believe it, this is Elias (Elijah)." John the Baptist was not literally Elias/Elijah (Matthew 17:12-13). In this verse, Jesus tells us that John played the same role as Elias. He prepared people for Jesus (Isaiah 40:3), just as Elias prepared them for God (Luke 1:17). "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." (11:15) - Jesus repeatedly asks us to listen to God's message and promises eternal life to those who do (Revelation 2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:29). "Calling unto their fellows." (11:16) - "Calling to their friends." "We have piped unto you." (11:17) - "We played music for you." "A winebibber." (11:19) - "A drunk." "Wisdom is justified of her children." (11:19) - "Wisdom is verified by the results." "Began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done." (11:20) - "He began to denounce the cities where most of His miracles were performed." "The kingdom of heaven, announced as at hand by John the Baptist, by the King Himself, and by the Twelve, and attested by mighty works, has been morally rejected. The places chosen for the testing of the nation, Chorazin, Bethsaida, etc., having rejected both John and Jesus, the rejected King now speaks of judgment. The official rejection was later (Matthew 27:21-25)." ("The New Scofield Reference Bible," published by Oxford University Press, New York, New York; page 1010) "Tyre and Sidon." (11:21) - Two Gentile cities (see above for more information). The Gentiles in Tyre and Sidon didn't have the advantage of seeing Jesus' miracles like the Jewish population in Chorazin did. "It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment." (11:22) - Jesus is confirming that there will be a judgment day. See "Today's Question" below. |