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Matthew 11

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1
And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities. ​

John the Baptist Questions Jesus 2–6

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Now when John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent by his disciples ​
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and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another? ​
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And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye hear and see:
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the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them. ​
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And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. ​

Jesus’s Testimony about John 7–15

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And as these went their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind? ​
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But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft raiment are in kings’ houses.
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But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
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This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee. ​
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Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ​
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And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. ​
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For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
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And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come. ​
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He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

The Unresponsive Generation 16–19

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But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows ​
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and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not mourn.
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For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon.
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The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! And wisdom is justified by her works. ​

Woes Pronounced on Unrepentant Cities 20–24

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Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. ​
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Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ​
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But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you.
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And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades: for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day. ​
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But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

Jesus Praises the Father and Offers Rest 25–30

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At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes: ​
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yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
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All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him. ​
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Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ​
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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. ​
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For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Matthew 11

Verse 1

made an end of commanding — Diatasso, to arrange thoroughly, appoint: the charge to the twelve in ch. 10 is complete. Jesus then goes on 'to teach and to preach in their cities', the pair didasko and kerysso of Matt 9:35, 'teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel'.

Verse 2

heard in the prison — Desmoterion, a place of bondage. Herod had bound John 'for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife' (Matt 14:3). The 'works of Christ' (ergon) are the deeds of chs. 8–9; Christos is 'anointed', the Messiah, and John sends two of his disciples.

Verse 3

he that should come — Erchomai, 'to come', used as a title of the expected one; compare 'he that shall come will come, and will not tarry' (Heb 10:37). 'Look for' is prosdokao, to await. 'Another' is heteros, one of a different kind, not merely one more.

Verse 5

the poor have the gospel preached — The list gathers Isaiah's signs: 'the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped' (Isa 35:5), the lame leaping (Isa 35:6). It ends with euangelizo to the ptochos, the destitute, as in Luke 4:18, which applies Isa 61:1 ('good tidings unto the meek').

Verse 6

not be offended in me — Skandalizo, to trip up, from skandalon, the trap or stumbling-block. Isaiah had said the LORD would be 'a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence' to Israel (Isa 8:14). Makarios, 'blessed', is the word of the Beatitudes.

Verse 7

A reed shaken with the wind — Kalamos is a reed, saleuo means to shake or waver. Jesus asks what the crowds went out to see three times (vv.7–9), after John's messengers have gone. The crowds that went out to John (Mark 1:5) found no wavering man.

Verse 10

my messenger — Angelos, messenger. The words are from Mal 3:1, 'Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me'; here the pronoun becomes 'thy face', addressed to Christ. Mark opens his gospel with the same citation (Mark 1:2).

Verse 11

he that is least in the kingdom of heaven — Mikros, small, set against meizon, greater. John is the greatest 'among them that are born of women', yet stands at the threshold: 'the law and the prophets were until John' (Luke 16:16), and the kingdom is now preached.

Verse 12

suffereth violence — Biazo, to force or press; biastes, 'violent', is a forcer; harpazo is to seize. The parallel says 'since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it' (Luke 16:16), the same verb biazo in the passive or middle.

Verse 14

this is Elias — Elias is the Greek form of Elijah. The promise is Mal 4:5, 'I will send you Elijah the prophet'; Gabriel said John would go before him 'in the spirit and power of Elias' (Luke 1:17). John's own 'I am not' (John 1:21) denies the person, not the office.

Verse 16

children sitting in the markets — Agora, the town square, a place of public resort and trade. The children call to their fellows with a pipe and a lament (v.17); Luke records the same comparison (Luke 7:31–32). 'This generation' is the people who heard both John and Jesus.

Verse 19

Wisdom is justified of her children — Dikaioo, to show or regard as right. John's fasting (v.18) and the Son of man's eating are both charged against them; telones, 'publicans', are tax-farmers (Matt 9:10–11). Luke gives the same saying (Luke 7:35).

Verse 20

upbraid the cities — Oneidizo, to reproach. 'Mighty works' is dynamis, miracles of power; 'repented' is metanoeo, to think differently afterwards. The charge is not wrongdoing alone but no change of mind after such works (Luke 10:13–15).

Verse 21

Chorazin… Bethsaida — Ouai, woe, an exclamation of grief. Bethsaida ('fishing-house') was Philip's town (John 12:21). 'Sackcloth' (sakkos) and ashes mark repentance and mourning (cf. Job 42:6); Tyre and Sidon are set beside them in Luke 10:13.

Verse 23

exalted unto heaven — This is the language of Isa 14:13, 'I will ascend into heaven', and Isa 14:15, 'brought down to hell', spoken of Babylon's king. Capernaum was where Jesus 'dwelt' (Matt 4:13). 'Hell' is hades; Sodom is named again in v.24.

Verse 25

hid… revealed — Apokrypto, to hide away, and apokalypto, to uncover. 'I thank' is exomologeo, to acknowledge openly. 'Babes' is nepios, an infant, the word Jesus uses in quoting Ps 8:2, 'out of the mouth of babes' (Matt 21:16). Luke records the same prayer (Luke 10:21).

Verse 27

All things are delivered unto me — Paradidomi, to hand over, entrust; compare 'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth' (Matt 28:18). 'Knoweth' is epiginosko, to know fully. Only the Son knows the Father (cf. John 17:25), and reveals him by choice.

Verse 28

labour and are heavy laden — Kopiao is to toil to weariness; phortizo is to load with a burden. 'Give you rest' is anapauo, to refresh. The invitation resembles 'come ye to the waters' (Isa 55:1) and 'let him come unto me, and drink' (John 7:37).

Verse 29

Take my yoke — Zygos, the yoke, also the figure for a law or obligation. 'Learn' is manthano, the root of mathetes, disciple. 'Meek' is praus, 'lowly' tapeinos. 'Ye shall find rest unto your souls' echoes Jer 6:16, 'ye shall find rest for your souls'.

Verse 30

my yoke is easy — 'Easy' is chrestos, good, kind, serviceable; 'light' is elaphros; 'burden' is phortion, the noun kin to phortizo, 'heavy laden', in v.28. John says likewise that God's 'commandments are not grievous' (1 John 5:3).