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| Chapter 11 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. 2 Now when John had heard in prison of the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 and they said unto Him, "Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?" 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, "Go and show John again those things which ye 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 to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what went ye out 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, who 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 Elijah, who was to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 16 ¶ "But to what 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 gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children." 20 Then He began 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." 25 ¶ At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight. 27 "All things are delivered unto Me by My Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. 28 "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." |
Matt 11:1 - 12:50 The claims of Jesus. We now are given two chapters of teaching, showing the nature of the Messiah and unbelief of the Jewish nation. John’s disciples visit Jesus and listen to His teaching and ask questions about Him. v1 is connected to the previous chapter. v2 John was put in prison by Herod Antipas, Matt 4:12. John is having doubts about the deeds and possibly the teaching of Jesus. v3 "Are you the one?" John’s message had been that the Messiah was coming, prepare yourself, Matt 3:1ff; Luke 3:2ff. John does not have any doubt that the Messiah was coming, only about the identity of the Messiah. "Is it You?" they ask. Perhaps John had expected a more "leader, judgmental Messiah" who would release him from prison. v4,5 The disciples are told to go and tell John what they have heard and seen being done. "Do I fulfill the prophesies?" asks Jesus, Isaiah 29:18ff; Isaiah 35:5ff; Isaiah 61:1. v6 Jesus could understand the problems of John, because Jesus was not as many had expected the Messiah to be. John was reminded not to be offended or hurt by not understanding that the Messiah came first with mercy. v7-10 Jesus now makes a tribute to John, John’s message who did not wave about like a reed, John did not follow popular opinion, and was strong in faith. Neither did he seek an easy life. He was God’s messenger, he was more than a prophet, for he came with the final warning of the coming Messiah. (Malachi 3:1). v11 As a result of this divine task, John is the greatest man born, yet he belongs to the Old Testament covenant and as a result those who come under the New Covenant through Christ have greater position in the kingdom of heaven than John, they are heirs of Christ. v12 There is much discussion on the meaning of this verse. Luke 16:16 is similar but spoken at a different time. It is thought that this is referring to the attitude of the people, being violent from the announcements of John of the coming Messiah. v13-15 John was the last of the Old Covenant prophets foretelling of the coming Messiah. This included the coming of Elijah, John 1:21 to open the Day of the Lord. Though John denied that he was Elijah resurrected. Jesus tells us that if the Jews had accepted John’s message then he would have fulfilled the Old Testament prophesy. Since this did not happen, John did not fulfill the prediction, does this mean that the coming of Elijah is still to happen? Matt 17:10-13; compare Luke 1:17. v16-19 Jesus now examines the ‘hearers,’- "This generation," those around since the coming of John and Jesus, those who were privileged to hear the words of the New Covenant directly. "Like unto children," these people are like a group of children in a public place, not able to decide what to play or do. v17 suggests that they talked about playing ‘weddings’ (piped) or ‘funerals’ (mourned) but were not willing to ‘play’ with John or Jesus, nothing appealed to them, so they did neither. John’s ministry brought the charge that he was demon controlled, but Jesus, because He had contact with sinners, was a "winebibber," always drinking wine, or a "glutton," always eating, so becoming as evil as those he was with. v19 The actions of John and Jesus were proof of the message they came with. v20-25 The effect of the Gospel being refused. The cities and towns, where most of miracles of Jesus were done, are rejecting the message from God through Jesus. The Gospel’s do not have any record of miracles being done in Chorazin, which was about 3 miles north of Capernaum, or Bethsaida, 3-4 miles to the East of Capernaum. Because of their position being near to the main town of Capernaum they would have been able to witness all the miracles performed there. Tyre and Sidon were major towns of the Phoenicians on the coast, often shown as very evil towns in the Old Testament. They had been under judgement during Nebuchadnezzar, Ezekiel 26-28. v21 "Sackcloth and ashes," the common Eastern way of showing regret and sadness for personal behaviour. Jesus tells the crowd that if these Phoenicians cities had heard the message they would have repented, turned away from their wrong life. v22 Jesus then points out that it will be easier on the day of judgement for the evil town of Sodom, which rejected the messengers from God. The people of Capernaum, where many miracles had taken place, will have no excuse and will be sent to Hell. v25-30 Men’s unbelief. The following verses are the result of this previous discussion. "I thank Thee, O Father,.- ," a confession of full acceptance, acknowledgement and praise. The Father has complete authority in heaven and earth. "Hid from ...wise and prudent,," spiritual understanding does not come by intelligence, a person has to become like a baby, willing to learn. v26 All revelation to the people is subject to control and pleasure of God. See Eph 1:5; Phil 2:13. v27 Jesus now claims that the Father has given Him all the authority, so separating Him from other people. See Matt 28:18. The Father and the Son are one in knowing and understanding each other, but it is through the Son only that the Father has chosen to speak, it is only through the Son that we can see the Father. v28 Because of His position we can come to the Father through Him for help, guidance and forgiveness. v29 "Take my yoke," a Jewish way of describing a person becoming a follower and disciple, taking on the guidance and control. It is Christ, through His position, who can teach us of the Father and give rest from the guilt of sin. He can supply all the power and strength to take on this yoke. |
Easy English Translation
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