Bible Study series: Matthew 11:1-19. John was in prison. He has room for doubt. Jesus reassured him.
A warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together. I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 11:1-19
1 And so it happened that when Jesus ended his directions to his twelve disciples, he went on from there, teaching and preaching in their towns.
2 While in prison John heard of the works of Christ, and he sent word through his disciples 3 and said to Jesus: “Are you the Coming One, or should we expect someone else?” 4 In reply, Jesus said to them: “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind see again and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who does not fall away because of me.”
7 As they went, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in luxurious clothes? Look! Those wearing luxurious clothes are in the palaces of kings! 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, even much more than a prophet. 10 This is the one of whom it has been written:
‘Look! I send my messenger before you, who prepares your road before you’ [Mal. 3:1; cf. Exod. 23:20]
11 I tell you the truth: among those born of women has not risen one who is greater than John the Baptist. But the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of God suffers violence, and violent people plunder it. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied up to John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is about to come. 15 Anyone who has ears—let him hear!
16 To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market place who call out to the others, 17 saying,
We played the pipe for you and you did not dance!
We sang a sad song and you did not mourn!
18 For John neither ate nor drank and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look! A man who is a glutton and a wine-drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by its actions.” (Matt. 11:1-19)
Comments:
1:
Please note that most translations attach this verse to the previous pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-coh-pea) or section or unit of Scripture in Matt. 10:40-42.
“their towns”: the towns of his fellow Jews.
Let’s not skip over this transitional verse. Jesus had just instructed or ordered or commanded or directed (all sound translations of the one word I translated as “directions”) his disciple about how to do mission work, and now he went out to do mission work! I must say that he was fearless. Imagine what kinds of needs were awaiting him: unclean, dirty lepers, the blind, the deaf, the lame and even the dead. He was totally confident that he could, by the Spirit and the Father’s will, meet those needs. And he did not set up a big building and make people walk to it, but he went to the people. Also, his religious enemies often tagged along just to catch him in some minor flaw (as they perceived things).
He was physically fit and mentally strong and spiritually built up with faith in his Father. He was not lazy. He really was a man of action—not guided by his soul and or soulish “bright ideas,” but by the Spirit and his Father. He did not shrink back from his mission. Often I wonder whether I would have taken two weeks off and gone to the beach on the Mediterranean Sea (beautiful, by the way). I’m pretty sure I would have. But he didn’t. He had to be about his Father’s business.
I don’t mean to belabor the point, but this verse really moved me. Amazing, on a human level.
2-3:
John was in prison. Matthew will tell this story a little later in his narrative (14:1-12). Any story teller can arrange his story as he sees fit. Osborne notes that Herod imprisoned John in his fortress at Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea. This is a hot desert. He was there for about a year (comment on 11:2). His mind and heart must have worn down, so he doubts the true identity of his relative, Jesus.
“Coming One”: this is the Messiah. Will Jesus answer him directly? Not directly, but clearly enough (vv. 4-6).
“expect”: Osborne suggests “look for.”
John had said the one coming after him will baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11-12). John had baptized Jesus and saw the Spirit in bodily form of a dove, descending on Jesus. He heard the voice from heaven (3:16-17). Why would John now send the emissaries to ask if Jesus was the Coming One? Luke already reported that John had been locked up in prison (4:12). It is likely that John was discouraged in prison. He was not doing his ministry. It is like a welder who is laid off (made redundant). He feels empty and discouraged. Let’s not see John as a super-saint. He lost track of his ministry and who Jesus was. His clear perspective dimmed a little, while he sat in the literal dark. I am glad his disciples never abandoned him. But some of them followed Jesus around and reported back to him. Jesus did not stand on a rooftop and announce, “I am the Messiah! I am the Lord!” He slowly unveiled his identity, and most did not catch on.
4-5:
Jesus answered John’s question. Here’s how: At that period of time healings and miracles happened, beyond the healing from a distance of the centurion’s servant and the resurrection of the widow’s son.
One sign of the Messianic Age was the healing of diseases and broken bodies. Is. 35 describes this age. After God comes with a vengeance to rescue his people, these things will happen:
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy” (Is. 35:5-6).
Is. 26:19 says of the Messianic Age: “But your dead will live, LORD, their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout with joy” (Is. 26:19, NIV).
The phrase “in that day” refers to the age that the Messiah ushers in: “In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll and out of gloom and darkness the eyes will see” (Is. 29:18, NIV).
The Lord’s Chosen Servant will do many things. Here are some: “I am the LORD: I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for my people, a light for the nations, to open they eyes that are blind, to bring the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Is. 42:6-7, ESV). Is. 42:18 connects hearing and seeing with walking in God’s ways, and deafness and blindness with national judgment. As for leprosy, Jesus referred to the time when Elijah the prophet healed Namaan the Syrian of his skin disease, and the return of Elijah was a sign that the Messiah was here (Mal. 4:5-6; Luke 9:28-36).
Here are the miracles so far:
Blind healed (9:27-31)
Lame walking (9:2-8)
Lepers cleaned (8:1-4)
Deaf hearing (9:32-33)
Dead raised (9:18-26)
The poor enjoy the good news preached to them (4:17, 23; 5-7, particularly the Beatitudes which begins with the kingdom of heaven belonging to the poor in spirit.
The list is scattered in Isaiah: 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1.
Turner puts them in a list:
1.. Blind people see (cf. 9:27-28; 12:22; 20:30; 21:14; Is. 29:18b; 35:5a; 42:7a, 18b).
2.. Lame people walk (cf. 9:1-8; 15:30-31; 21:14; Is. 35:6a)
3.. Lepers are cleansed (cf. 8:2; 10:8)
4.. Deaf people hear (cf. 9:32-33; 12:22; 15:30-31; Is. 29:18a; 35:5b)
5.. Dead people are raised (cf. 9:18-26; 10:8; Is. 26:19
6.. Poor people hear the good news (cf. 4:14-17, 23; 5:3; Luke 4:18; Is. 61:1c)
Healing points to the Messianic Age, ushered in by the Messiah himself. The list of miracles is people-centered. Jesus did not perform miracles in the sky. He was interested in helping people.
Jesus was not going to reform Judaism, like the Reformers intended to reform Christianity, though they did (up to a point). No, Jesus was going higher and farther. He was ushering a New Age, but this New Age was going to take time and expand gradually. It was starting out to be as small as the mustard seed at first but grow big enough for birds to light in its branches (Matt. 13:31). He was no Messiah riding on a white horse with a sword in his hand, shouting “I shall heroically defeat the Romans with the sword of God!” as he stormed Jerusalem with a large army behind him. He intended, instead, to restore people’s minds and bodies and deliver them from evil spirits and teach them what life in the kingdom looked like.
6:
Turner quotes another scholar: In the eyes of the first-century observers, “John is too holy; Jesus is not holy enough” (comment on 11:6).
“blessed” The more common adjective, which appears here in v. 6, is makarios (pronounced mah-kah-ree-oss) and is used 50 times. It has an extensive meaning: “happy” or “fortunate” or “privileged” (Mounce, pp. 67-71).
The Greek word for fall away gives us our word scandal. But the meaning of the word back then meant “stumble” or “trip.” In this context, it means “fall away” even to be repelled by someone (BDAG). If he did not meet their expectations, then they tripped over him.
Don’t be scandalized by him. Don’t abandon Jesus. He was unassuming and meek and mild, except in some situations, when he took authority over bad ideas and oppressive people and death and disease.
This warning must mean something. It must not remain hypothetical or empty. The potential of falling can become actual: a true follower of Jesus can actually fall away, when the conditions are right. It may be difficult to fall away. Consider John, who languished in prison, out in the hot desert. But God sustained him, just like he can sustain you, if you are tempted to fall away.
Possible Apostasy or Eternal Security?
Remaining a Christian or Falling Away?
God will put roadblocks in your wandering, drifting. His Spirit will woo you towards the Father. The good news is that if you do drift away, you can return, just like the Prodigal Son came to his senses and ran back home (Luke 15:17-19). Peter was restored (John 21:15-19), even though he denied Jesus (Matt. 27:69-75). God can redeem you too.
What Is Redemption in the Bible?
7:
Jesus asks a series of question to the crowds. Did you go out to the Jordan River to look at reed plants swaying in the wind? In other words, did you just go on a nature walk, just to see reeds in the wind? No, of course you didn’t. That would have been ridiculous, and I know you did not.
Alternatively, the question could mean that John was more than a reed shaken by the wind. He had firm convictions. But that moves us from plant life to humanity in the next verses. The leap may be too far, so it is best to interpret this question as his asking about an absurd nature tour. But you decide which interpretation is better.
8:
Then Jesus asked a related question. Did you go all the way out to the Jordan River to find a man looking aristocratic, dressed in fine clothes? If you did, then you were being absurd. No, you did not go out there expecting a rich man, because they live in king’s palaces. I know you did not go out there for that reason. It was a rhetorical question.
“look!” it is an updated translation of the older “behold!” It means “Observe!” Pay attention!” Or some use a verb for a mental activity “Consider!”
9-10:
But why did you go out there, then? To see a prophet? Now we’re getting warmer. Yes, but he was more than a prophet. Then Jesus quoted a verse from Malachi, which foretold the spirit of Elijah would come and prepare the way.
“This is a paraphrase of Mal. 3:1, though many believe the first line, ‘I am sending my messenger ahead of you’ conflates Mal 3:1 with Exod 23:20 (where God sent an angel before Israel as they headed toward the Promised Land), made possible by the fact that the two were quoted together in synagogue readings. If so, there is a further parallel as God sent an angel to guide his people into Canaan, so Jesus sends John to prepare the entrance into the promised kingdom (Osborne, comment on 11:10).
11:
John is the transition from the OT to Jesus, who was the greatest man born of women before Jesus’s new kingdom. John was part of the old order, the old covenant. In contrast, the least one—literally “the smallest”—in the new kingdom is greater than John. People who are reborn, spiritually, into the kingdom are greater than John, who was the greatest born of women. This movement from one “dispensation” to the next does not exclude John from the kingdom, because all the prophets will be in the kingdom (Luke 13:28).
“I tell you the truth”:
“born of women”: a Semitic way of saying “human” (Blomberg, comment on 11:11).
“kingdom of heaven”: Matthew substitutes “heaven” (literally heavens or plural) nearly every time (except for 12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43, where he uses kingdom of God). Why? Four possible reasons: (1) Maybe some extra-pious Jews preferred the circumlocution or the roundabout way of speaking, but this answer is not always the right one, for Matthew does use the phrase “kingdom of God” four times; (2) the phrase “kingdom of heaven” points to Christ’s post-resurrection authority; God’s sovereignty in heaven and earth (beginning with Jesus’s ministry) is now mediated through Jesus (28:18); (3) “kingdom of God” makes God the king (26:29) and leaves less room to ascribe the kingdom to Jesus (16:28; 25:31, 34, 40; 27:42), but the phrase “kingdom of heaven” leaves more room to say Jesus is the king Messiah. (4) It may be a stylistic variation that has no deeper reasoning behind it (France). In my view the third option shows the close connection to the doctrine of the Trinity; the Father and Son share authority, after the Father gives it to him during the Son’s incarnation. The kingdom of heaven is both the kingdom of the Father and the kingdom of the Messiah (Carson). And, since I like streamlined interpretations, the fourth one also appeals to me.
5 The Kingdom of God: Already Here, But Not Yet Fully
Bible Basics about the Kingdom of God
Questions and Answers about Kingdom of God
Basic Definition of Kingdom of God
1 Introducing the Kingdom of God (begin a ten-part series)
12:
Now we come to a difficult verse, because the meaning seems open-ended within limits. I have moved my commentary to this post:
“The Kingdom of God Suffers Violence, and Violent People Plunder It.”
13-15:
Why did Matthew write “Elijah who was about to come” when John, who represented Elijah in spirit (so to speak), was here already? Matthew is simply repeating a standard formula. He was not being extra-precise.
John fulfilled biblical prophecy, along the same pattern that Jesus was in the process of fulfilling his Messianic prophecies. John pointed to Jesus, and so did his ministry.
John is in fact Elijah in spirit. However, this is not reincarnation, because in no way would a spirit wait that long to be reborn into the world. Reincarnation teaches rebirth after death, not centuries in some sort of limbo. The Bible says that when a man dies, he faces judgment; he is not reborn (Heb. 9:27). So please don’t use the Bible to justify a belief in reincarnation that the Bible does not support.
Ten Big Differences between Christianity and Other Religions
16-17:
This pericope or section uses the old-fashioned simile. This is similar to or like that. (Note that the word simile is related to similar.) To who or what will Jesus compare the people of his generation? Who are the children who play and sing and who the unresponsive?
Three interpretations, the first two of which borrow from Luke’s version (Luke 16:31-35):
First, when the Pharisees and legal experts play their two tunes, the people don’t respond. They don’t weep or dance, or they do so at the wrong times. The problem with this interpretation is that the next verses about Jesus’s celebratory lifestyle and John’s austere lifestyle seem out of place, too abrupt, as it jumps from one idea to the next.
Second, the unresponsive are Jesus and John. When the children (Pharisees and legal experts) played the sad song, Jesus did not mourn but celebrated with food and wine, with sinners and tax collectors. The Pharisees and legal experts accused him of being too festive, too relaxed. When they played the happy song, John did not dance, but he maintained his ascetic life. They blindly claimed he had a demon, not knowing what they were talking about. Neither John nor Jesus listened to either tune, but the tune of the Spirit. The Pharisees and the legal experts just wanted control. John and Jesus slipped out of their grasp. The religious leaders never had them in the first place.
Third, Jesus played the joyful tune because he did not hold back from living a joyous life and associating with less-than-desirable people, but the people (this generation) did not respond. Then John played the sad song because he lived the ascetic life, but the people did not respond to him either in any significant way.
I like the second and third interpretations.
Keener says that the better interpretation says that the children are the spoiled brats of the entire generation. They piped to John, and he would not dance. They wailed to Jesus, and he did not mourn (p. 341).
This latter interpretation has support from a chiastic structure embedded in vv. 17-19 (Osborne’s comments on 11:17). Celebrations and dancing were played at weddings, and Jesus enjoyed himself. And mourning songs were played at funerals, so John fits in with this austere and severe situation.
Here is the chiastic structure:
A Jesus inviting to a wedding (17a)
B John preaching a message of judgment (funeral, 17b)
B’ The people rejecting John’s ascetic ministry (18)
A’ The people rejecting Jesus’ joyous kingdom ministry (19)
You can choose which interpretation of the three is best here.
18-19:
The people so badly misjudged John that they actually said he had a demon. Then the people so badly misjudged Jesus that they accused him of being a drunkard and a glutton.
“has a demon”: the Greek really does read “has.” “Demonized” is not the only verb to express a demonic attack (see Mark 3:22, 30; 7:25; 9:17; Luke 4:33; 7:33; 8:27; Acts 8:7; 16:16; 19:13). But I see no substantive difference between the two verbs and are used interchangeably in Luke 8:27, 36. What is more relevant is the soul of the person being attacked and how deep the attack goes because the person gives the demon access.
“wine-drinker”: it could be translated, in context, as a drunk or drunkard. A false accusation, of course. Wine was thoroughly diluted by adding two-thirds water (at least). So it was weaker than grape juice. In the ancient world, people made fun of those who who did not dilute their wine.
Associating with sinners like them could get him stoned in certain circumstances (Deut. 21:20-21). Those verses in the old law speak of a rebellious son who hangs out with gluttons and drunkards. The remedy is to stone him to death.
Note: if you used to be a drug user or alcoholic before you were saved, then God will call you to be like John the Baptist. No more alcohol or other chemicals! Be austere. However, if you have been beat down by oppressive legalism as you grew up in a strict church, then God may call you to enjoy your life, by drinking a little wine, though without intoxication. Either way, let your Spirit-filled, Bible-inspired conscience be your guide.
“Son of Man”: it both means the powerful, divine Son of Man (Dan. 7:13-14) and the human son of man—Ezekiel himself—in the book of Ezekiel (numerous references). Jesus was and still is in heaven both divine and human. It could rightly be translated as “Son of Humanity.”
4. Titles of Jesus: The Son of Man
“tax collectors”: You can learn about them here:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
“sinners”: it means as I translated it. It is someone who does not observe the law, in this context: “unobservant or irreligious person … of one who is especially sinful.” BDAG, a thick Greek lexicon, defines the adjective hamartōlos as follows: “pertaining to behavior or activity that does not measure up to standard moral or [religious] expectations (being considered an outsider because of failure to conform to certain standards is a frequent semantic component. Persons engaged in certain occupations, e.g. herding and tanning [and tax collecting] that jeopardized [religious] purity, would be considered by some as ‘sinners,’ a term tantamount to ‘outsider.’” Non-Israelites were especially considered out of bounds [see Acts 10:28].)” “Sinner, with a general focus on wrongdoing as such.” “Irreligious, unobservant people.” “Unobservant” means that he did not care about law keeping or observing the law.
Do you fail to conform to certain standards? Maybe you did break the demands of moral and religious law. Pray and repent, and God will accept you.
Bible Basics about Sin: Word Studies
Human Sin: Original and Our Committed Sin
“wisdom”: John and Jesus lived their lives so wisely that they are vindicated in the eyes of God, in front of the people.
Let’s define wisdom broadly. BDAG translates the noun sophia (pronounced soh-fee-ah and used 51 times) as “the capacity to understand and function accordingly—wisdom.”
So biblical wisdom is very practical. It is not like the wisdom of the Greek philosophers, which was very abstract. But let’s not make too much of the differences. In the classical Greek lexicon, sophia can also mean: “skill in handcraft and art … knowledge of, acquaintance with a thing … sound judgment, intelligence, practical wisdom.” In a bad sense it can mean “cunning, shrewdness, craft” (Liddell and Scott).
Wisdom is personified in the OT (Prov. 8-9).
“vindicated”: Jesus and John are vindicated (or proved right) by their actions. Jesus and John produced righteous action and influenced numerous people for the better.
GrowApp for Matt. 11:1-19
1. John was going through a really tough time, languishing in prison. He doubted his relative Jesus’s mission. When you went through a tough time, did you doubt? How did you overcome it?
2. Jesus and John were falsely accused, but they continued on their mission. How would you respond if you were falsely accused?
RELATED
9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom.
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