Matthew 11:1-19
New American Standard Bible
John’s Questions
11 (A)When Jesus had finished [a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there (B)to teach and [b]preach in their cities.
2 (C)Now while in prison, (D)John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, 3 and said to Him, “Are You (E)the Coming One, or are we to [c]look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 (F)those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the (G)poor have the [d]gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is [e]any person who (H)does not [f]take offense at Me.”
Jesus’ Tribute to John
7 As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into (I)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 [g]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ [h]palaces! 9 [i]But what did you go out to see? (J)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it [j]is written:
11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And (L)from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is (M)Elijah who [l]was to come. 15 (N)The one who has ears to hear, [m]let him hear.
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not [n]mourn.’ 18 For John came neither (O)eating nor (P)drinking, and they say, ‘(Q)He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a [o]heavy drinker, (R)a friend of tax collectors and [p]sinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 11:1 Or commanding
- Matthew 11:1 Or proclaim
- Matthew 11:3 Or wait for
- Matthew 11:5 Or good news
- Matthew 11:6 Lit whoever
- Matthew 11:6 Or stumble over Me
- Matthew 11:8 Or Well then,
- Matthew 11:8 Lit houses
- Matthew 11:9 Or Well then,
- Matthew 11:10 Lit has been written
- Matthew 11:10 Lit before Your face
- Matthew 11:14 Or is going to come
- Matthew 11:15 Or hear! Or listen!
- Matthew 11:17 Lit beat the breast
- Matthew 11:19 Or wine drinker
- Matthew 11:19 I.e., irreligious Jews
Matthew 11:1-19
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
After Commissioning The Twelve, Jesus Moves On To Teach In Other Cities
11 And it came about that when Jesus finished giving-directions to His twelve disciples, He passed-on from there that He might teach and proclaim in their cities.
John The Baptist Asks, Are You The King? Jesus Points Him To His Works
2 Now John[a], having in prison heard-of the works of the Christ, having sent through his disciples, 3 said to Him, “Are You the One coming[b], or should we be looking-for a different one?” 4 And having responded, Jesus said to them, “Having gone, report to John the things which you are hearing and seeing[c]— 5 blind ones are seeing-again and lame ones are walking. Lepers are being cleansed and deaf ones are hearing. And dead ones are being raised and poor ones are having-good-news-announced[d] to them. 6 And blessed is whoever does not take-offense[e] in Me”.
Jesus Says John The Baptist Is The Fulfillment of The Prophecies of Malachi
7 And while these ones were proceeding, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John— “What[f] did you go out into the wilderness to look-at? A reed being shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man having been dressed in soft garments? Behold— the ones wearing the soft garments are in the houses of kings! 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 This one is about whom it has been written [in Mal 3:1]: ‘Behold— I am sending-forth My messenger ahead of Your presence, who will make Your way ready in front of You’. 11 Truly I say to you, a greater[g] one than John the Baptist has not arisen among ones born of women. But the least[h] one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater[i] than he. 12 But the kingdom of the heavens is being treated-violently[j] from the days of John the Baptist until now, and violent ones are snatching it away. 13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he himself is Elijah— the one going-to[k] come. 15 Let the one having ears hear[l].
But This Generation Rejects Both The One Preparing And The One Who Came
16 “But to what will I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces who, calling to the others, 17 say ‘We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We lamented[m] and you did not beat-your-breast[n]’. 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking[o], and they say ‘He has a demon’. 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say ‘Behold— a man who is a glutton and drunkard[p], a friend of tax-collectors and sinners’. And wisdom was vindicated[q] by her works[r]”.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 11:2 Matthew now uses John to ‘prepare the way’ again by asking the key question, Are You the One? What follows details how Jesus both hid and revealed the answer as He responded to opposition and continued His words of revelation, culminating in the response of Peter in 16:16.
- Matthew 11:3 Or, the coming One. That is, the Messiah.
- Matthew 11:4 As His answer, Jesus lists things Isaiah prophesied that Messiah would do. His works answer John’s question.
- Matthew 11:5 Or, are being evangelized, are being told good news.
- Matthew 11:6 Or, is not caused to fall by Me.
- Matthew 11:7 Or, Why. In this case the three questions would be punctuated this way: Why did you go out into the wilderness? To look-at a reed...?
- Matthew 11:11 That is, greater in character, in obedience to God; or, greater in what John would know and do with regard to the Messiah.
- Matthew 11:11 Or, lesser.
- Matthew 11:11 That is, in privilege, as adult family members, co-heirs with the King. John belongs to the OT period of childhood.
- Matthew 11:12 treated violently... violent ones are snatching it away. That is, the kingdom is being attacked by enemies like Herod and the Pharisees, who are snatching away the people and the message of the kingdom; or, the kingdom is ‘forcefully advancing’ (or passively, is being forced, taken by storm), and the ‘forceful’ (in a positive sense, the spiritually bold) are ‘seizing hold’ of it; or, the kingdom is ‘suffering violence’, and the violent ones (like the Zealots) are trying to establish it by force.
- Matthew 11:14 That is, according to Mal 4:5-6.
- Matthew 11:15 If John is Elijah, then Jesus is Messiah.
- Matthew 11:17 Or, sang a funeral song.
- Matthew 11:17 That is, in mourning.
- Matthew 11:18 That is, John did not socialize with them. Jesus did the opposite, eating and drinking with all the people. The Jews rejected them both.
- Matthew 11:19 Jesus associates with people who eat and drink too much, so He must be guilty of the same! Yet He was no more guilty of this than that John had a demon.
- Matthew 11:19 Or, declared right.
- Matthew 11:19 That is, the results it produced.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
