Matthew 11:2

Mat 11:2-6. Now when John had heard in the prison (into which he had been cast by Herod Antipas, a little after he began his public ministry, chap. Mat 4:12, and Mat 14:3, &c.) of the works of Christ — That is, of some of his many miracles, &c. — He sent two of his disciples — Not, as is probable, because he doubted himself, but to confirm their faith. And said, Art thou he that should come — Namely, the Messiah? Or look we for another — Under that character? “Considering what clear evidence John had received by a miraculous sign from heaven that Jesus was the Messiah, (see Joh 1:33,) and what express and repeated testimonies he himself had borne to this truth, it cannot reasonably be supposed that he now doubted of it. But some of his disciples, offended and discouraged by his long imprisonment, as well as the freedom of Christ’s conversation, so different from the austerity used by their master and his disciples, might begin to call it in question, and therefore John might think it necessary to put them in the way of obtaining further satisfaction.” — Doddridge. Now at this very time, according to Luke, (Luk 7:21,) Jesus cured many of their infirmities and plagues, &c. He therefore said to these disciples, Go and show John those things which ye hear and see — Which are a stronger proof of my being the Messiah than any bare assertions can be. Comp. Isa 35:5-6; Isa 61:1. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me — Or brought to doubt my being the Messiah on account of the mean circumstances in which I appear. For many will be induced to question it, notwithstanding all the evidences I have given, and shall give of it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§ 39. — THE MESSAGE OF JOHN TO JESUS, vv. AND THE SAVIOUR’S ANSWER, Mat_11:2-7.

Matthew here inserts, not in its chronological order, a narrative, possessed of special interest, of a message sent by John from the solitude of his prison to Jesus. It possesses a marked completeness in itself, and should be read as one whole. See remarks at the close of the chapter.

John was imprisoned probably in the fortress of Macherus in Perea, east of the Dead Sea. At what time precisely this message was sent is not certain, but earlier than the events of the last chapter. Jesus was probably at Capernaum.

2. John — John the Baptist was like his prototype Elijah. See notes on Mat_1:1; Mat_17:10; Mat_17:12. As the former was driven by Ahab into the wilderness, so the latter was shut up in prison; and as the former at a certain period (1Ki_19:1-13) bore his solitude impatiently, so the evangelist now shows us of John that he bore his imprisonment impatiently.

John had heard… works of Christ — Near eighteen months now had John remained in prison, a period about as long as the exercise of his active ministry. His disciples, apparently, had access to him, and through them the rumours of our Lord’s works might reach his ears. Successively he might have heard how Jesus had organized his twelve apostolates — one for every tribe of Israel; how he had healed the servant of the centurion of Capernaum, had lately raised the widow’s son at Nain, and had filled Palestine, and even Syria and Idumea, with the renown of miracle and preaching. These were indeed mighty works; but why did not the reign of righteousness and glory commence its era?

Sent two of his disciples — In regard to this message of John to our Saviour, there are at least two opposing opinions. One view, that supported by Watson and by Stier, and held by orthodox commentators more generally, is that John sent his message to Jesus not so much to satisfy any doubts of his own, as for the instruction of his disciples in the true character of Jesus from the lips of the Lord himself. This view is sustained by these commentators on the ground of John’s character. They dwell on the high office of John as the official witness for Jesus, and expatiate on the scandal upon Christianity arising from the supposition that he doubted the genuineness and truthfulness of his Lord. In spite, however, of all these opposing arguments, which appear to us to misapprehend the opinion they controvert, we are compelled to adopt the view that John sent his inquiry for the satisfaction of his own mind.

The doubts in John’s mind were not such as tended in the slightest degree to invalidate his previous testimonies to Jesus, or the evidence on which they rested. John’s misgivings were not in their nature skeptical, but anxious. He doubted not the divinity of Jesus, but queried what was to be his future course. Like others, he expected a more rapid development of the Messiah’s kingship; and as Jesus seemed to be permanently a peaceful prophet, he questioned whether a different royal Messiah was not yet to appear. The very fact that he sent to Jesus himself for relief, as the fountain and oracle of truth, shows that he still acknowledged him as one the latchet of whose shoes he was unworthy to unloose. The import of his message was: “I acknowledge thee profoundly as ever as the Son of God, ‘the way, the truth, and the life,’ whose unworthy harbinger and messenger I am. But thy present acts and words indicate that thou art to be a teacher and a worker of miracles. Art thou also the predicted King of the glorious divine reign about to come in, or must we wait for another?” John then did not retract or doubt the past; he only queried the future.

There is something severe in the whole of our Lord’s demeanour and language, as if reproving this shaking of John’s higher faith in God. Just so at a time when the firmness of Elijah’s faith was shaken, (1 Kings xix,) the Lord rebukes him, and instructs him with signs and miracles.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 11:2-19.

Message From John The Baptist, And Resulting Discourse

Having given a general account of our Lord’s journeys about Galilee, with some important specimens of his teaching and his miracles (compare on Mat 8:1), and having added an account of his sending out the Twelve, with much preparatory instruction, Matthew now advances to other topics. Before introducing examples of the Parables (Matthew 13), he mentions a remarkable message from John the Baptist, and our Lord’s discourse thereupon, (Mat 11:2-30) and then gives instances of avowed opposition to him on the part of the Pharisees. (Matthew 12.) The paragraph noted above (Mat 11:2-19) includes so much of the discourse occasioned by John’s message as relates to John himself. This is also given, and with unusually little difference of phraseology, by Luke; (Luk 7:18-35) and from the connection of his narrative it appears probable, (compare Luk 7:1, Luk 7:11, Luk 7:18) that this message from John was sent shortly after the delivery of the Sermon on the Mount. We have heretofore seen that the arrangement of Matthew, in Matthew 5-13, is not chronological but topical, a course not uncommonly pursued by historians and biographers.

I. Mat 11:2 f. The Message

Now when John had heard in the prison. As to John’s early life and ministry, see on "Mat 8:1 ff." It has been stated in Mat 4:12, that he was ’delivered up,’ in the way familiar to Matthew’s first readers, and afterwards described. (Mat 14:3 ff.) He had now been confined in the Castle of Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea (see on "Mat 14:3"), for probably not less than twelve months, during which time Jesus has been pursuing his ministry in Galilee. John was allowed some intercourse with his followers, (Mat 10:2 Luk 7:18) who brought him accounts of what was going on in the outer world. Yet this year of imprisonment must have been for him a dreary time. He had indeed been accustomed to comparative solitude for years ’in the deserts’; (Luk 1:80) but at that time life was before him with its high hopes, and he doubtless felt himself to be preparing for a great mission, the nature of which was gradually growing clearer to his mind. Then came some eighteen months of public labours, during which he was attended by vast crowds, and his ardent nature must have revelled in the high excitement of his work. And now he is shut up, he, a "son of the wilderness," in one of the deep, dark, and frightfully hot dungeons of Machaerus, deprived of fresh air and bodily exercise, of cheerful mental employment and opportunity to do good, and dependent for any future opportunities on the caprice of a weak king and a cruel woman. As Elijah sometimes got sadly out of heart, so John, who in many respects closely resembled him (see on "Mat 3:4"), would be likely to grow desponding, in this season of enforced idleness and uncertain danger. (Compare the occasional depression of Moses also.) This state of things may account for the perplexity which John’s message of enquiry seems to indicate. He heard from his disciples, (Luk 7:18) who would learn the report, circulated throughout the country, (Luk 7:17) and some of whom had at least on one occasion heard Jesus themselves. (Mat 9:14)

The works of (the) Christ. Matthew’s narrative usually employs our Lord’s proper name, Jesus; but in introducing John’s question whether Jesus was the Messiah, he implies the answer by calling him ’the Christ,’ i.e., the Messiah. (Compare on Mat 16:21 and on Mat 1:1): For the importance of the article, ’the Christ,’ see on "Mat 2:4". His ’works’ signify his general activity (which would include teaching), but especially his miracles. This seems to be suggested by the answer, (Mat 10:4 f.) which points to the things they ’bear and see,’ to his miracles and the good tidings he preached. Likewise ’all these things’ in Luk 7:18, would naturally include not merely the two miracles which there immediately precede, but some account of his remark. able teachings, as in the Sermon on the Mount, which had just occurred. Even in John, who usually employs the term ’works’ to mean miracles, (Joh 5:36, Joh 10:38, etc.) in Mat 9:4 ’work the works of him that sent me,’ can hardly be restricted to miraculous works. Sent two of (properly by) his disciples, (compare Rev 1:1) was in many manuscripts and versions altered into ’sent two of his disciples’ (simply changing to), so as to be like Luk 7:19. The true reading in Matt. ’by’ or ’through’ implies all the more strongly that John sent the message of enquiry for his own satisfaction. We still know from Luke (Luk 7:19) that the number of messengers was two; they would be company for each other in the journey of some eighty miles, and might supplement and confirm each other’s statements upon returning. (Compare on Mat 10:5) For the word disciples, see on "Mat 5:1"; as to the position of the disciples of John at this period, see on "Mat 9:14".

Art thou he that should come, or the coming (one)? ’Thou’ is expressed in the original and at the head of the sentence, so as to be strongly emphatic; and to this corresponds the emphatic position in the Greek of another. ’The coming (one)’ had become a familiar designation of the Messiah, (Mat 3:11, Mat 21:9, Mat 23:39; Joh 6:14, Joh 11:27; Heb 10:37) having probably been derived from Psa 118:26 Mat 3:1 f., etc. Look we, or more probably, ’are we to look,’ as in Noyes and Darby, or ’shall we look’ as in Tyndale and Geneva. The Greek subjunctive has in this word the same form as the indicative, and so the term is ambiguous. The Latin versions take it as indicative, and this probably influenced the Common Version, following Great Bible and Rheims. The Peshito is ambiguous, but the Memphitic is distinctly subjunctive. The majority of leading commentators take it as subjunctive (see Meyer, Weiss). The plural, ’are we to look,’ means persons in general who cherished the Messianic hope. The form of John’s question seems naturally to imply (Weiss) that he had regarded Jesus as the Messiah, and that he wished to learn whether he should still think so. The whole tone of the narrative, even more in Luke than Matthew, naturally suggests that John asked at least in part on his own account, to remove difficulties in his own mind. So already Origen (Cremer): "John’s question was not for his own sake alone, but also for the sake of those who were sent." Tertullian also three times intimates that John himself was in doubt whether Jesus was the Messiah. So among recent writers, Neander, Meyer, Bleek, Ewald, Keim, Reuss, Godet, Plumptre, Schaff, etc.

But many have thought it wholly inconsistent with John’s position and previous testimony to suppose that he now felt personally the slightest doubt; and so they hold that he sent simply for the satisfaction of his disciples. So Chrys. (and his followers), with Cyril, Aug., and Jerome, followed by Luther, Calvin, and Beza, by Bengel, Maldonatus, and many others. Now, it is always desirable to accept the plain, straightforward meaning of a passage, unless there be insuperable difficulties in the way of so doing. Any one who did not know John’s previous utterances would certainly understand Matt. and Luke as here implying that he sent to Jesus for his own sake as well as that of his disciples. It is very difficult to believe that John would send in his own name (’are we to look for another?’) and Jesus send back the answer to him personally (’Go, your way and tell John’), when it was all merely for effect upon the minds of John’s followers. Theophyl. actually says that John "affects to inquire," and Euthym., "in pretence inquiring." The only reason for adopting such an interpretation is the supposition that John cannot have been in doubt after his known previous testimony. But while John knew himself to be the harbinger of Jesus (Joh 1:33) and also to be the harbinger of the Messiah, (Joh 3:28) as indeed had been understood by his father Zachariah, (Luk 1:67-79) still it was conceivable that Jesus might possibly not be the Messiah. Among the various confused ideas which the Jews had developed from imperfectly understood Messianic prophecies, the notion was entertained by some that a succession of great personages would arise. Elijah, they generally believed, would return to life; some thought that Jeremiah also would return, and perhaps others of the great prophets; then there was ’the prophet’ predicted in Deu 18:15, who was not universally identified with the Messiah. (See Joh 1:20 f.; Joh 7:40 f.; Mat 16:14 Luk 9:19) Some thought it very likely that these would come in quick succession, to herald with all the greater pomp the approach of the glorious King of Israel. Some such notion is certainly involved in the question, ’Art thou the coming (one), or are we to look for another ?’ Now, John would naturally share the current Jewish ideas (as the apostles did at that time), except so far as they were corrected by the special revelations given to him. These revelations, according to the whole history and manifest law of God’s communications to men, extended only to the truths necessary for his own station and appointed work. There is therefore nothing surprising, and nothing derogatory to John, in the idea that amid the despondent and perplexed thoughts of a weary prisoner, he began sometimes to question whether Jesus was himself the Messiah, or only a second and greater forerunner. Points which later revelations have made clear enough to us, may easily have perplexed him. We need not suppose that he at any time wholly lost his persuasion that Jesus was the Messiah, but only that he became harassed by difficulties that he could not solve; and he shows great confidence in Jesus by referring the whole question to him. These ’works’ which he heard of as wrought by Jesus were very remarkable. But how strange it was that the great worker, to whom he had himself borne testimony, did not come out publicly in the Messianic character, and have himself crowned, and reign as the Anointed King; how strange that, with the power of working such astonishing miracles, he should leave his devoted servant and herald to languish so long in this unjust imprisonment, cut off from the work in which he delighted. John was embarrassed, plexed—perhaps (Kohler, Morison) impatient—he knew not what to think, and was weary of waiting—he would send and ask Jesus himself; and while the answer cleared up his own perplexity, as he hoped would be the case, and perhaps aroused Jesus to prompter action, it might at the same time help him in overcoming (compare Joh 3:25-30) the obstinate hostility to Jesus which some of his disciples manifested (Compare on Mat 9:14)

II. Mat 11:4-6. The Answer

Jesus answered and said unto them. It is of course implied that the disciples of John came and asked as directed, which Luke (Luk 7:20) states in detail. Jesus must have been touched by this indication of perplexity and doubt on the part of his imprisoned forerunner. Ewald : "And surely at no moment of these years did the whole picture of all his fortunes in the many coloured past since his first meeting with the Baptist, come so freshly before his soul as now." Go and shew John again, carry back the message to John. ’Again’ in the Com. Ver. is correct, but apt to mislead, as it might be understood to mean, ’show a second time.’ Those things which ye do hear and see, the teachings and miracles which he proceeds to mention. Luke (Luk 7:21) states that ’in that hour he cured many,’ etc. Just before, (Luke 7) Jesus had healed the centurion’s servant and brought to life the son of the widow of Nain; but ’hear’ seems most naturally to refer, not to the report they heard about his great miracles, (Luk 7:17) but to what they heard Jesus saying on that occasion—particularly to the fact that he was proclaiming good tidings to the poor. Jesus was not yet prepared to avow publicly, in so many words, his Messiahship (compare on Mat 16:13 ff.); and John ought to be, and we may suppose was, satisfied with the evidence furnished by his working such miracles, and bringing such good tidings to the poor, as were specially predicted in connection with the Messiah.

The blind, the lame, etc. (Mat 10:5) The Greek has here no articles, which is appropriate and expressive, but cannot be imitated in the English idiom without awkwardness, though Davidson and Darby so translate—’blind see again and lame walk’ etc.,. (compare Mat 10:8) ’And’ before dead, is the best supported reading; it was probably omitted in order (Weiss) to have three parallel clauses. In Isa 35:5 f. we read, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." (Rev. Ver.) Here was then a literal fulfilment of a prophecy which referred also to the spiritual healing Jesus came to accomplish. In addition to the things thus predicted, Jesus was cleansing lepers, yea, and raising dead persons. The message of John came shortly after Jesus had raised to life the son of the widow at Nain; (Luk 7:11-18) and the raising of Jairus’ daughter may have been, as the Harmonists think, some time earlier. Only a few specimens of our Lord’s miracles are described, and it may well be that other cases of raising the dead occurred, but were not recorded. The poor have the gospel (good tidings) preached to them, doubtless refers to Isa 61:1, where Messiah is described as commissioned to "bring good tidings to the lowly." This last word in the Hebrew signifies those who are oppressed and afflicted, and bear it with meekness—persons lowly in condition and in spirit. For all such Messiah had good tidings (compare on Mat 5:3). The Sept. renders by ’poor,’ and that word is retained, as sufficiently expressing the force of the Hebrew, both in this passage of Matthew and Luke, and in Luk 4:18. For the Greek word rendered ’have good tidings preached to them,’ see on "Mat 4:17". It here means more than what we express by "preach the gospel," signifying more generally the tidings of blessings to be enjoyed by them through Messiah’s reign. The masses of mankind, poor and ignorant and suffering, received little attention from the heathen philosophers or from the Jewish rabbis. The latter often spoke of them with the greatest contempt, literally: "But this crowd (rabble), who know not the law, are accursed"; (Joh 7:49) and they delighted to stigmatize them as "country folks," ancient culture being almost entirely confined to cities. It was thus the more remarkable that Jesus brought tidings of good to the poor, to the suffering, despised, and lowly.

This appeal to his ’works,’ as testifying in his behalf, was repeatedly made by our Lord towards the close of his ministry; (Joh 10:28, Joh 14:11, Joh 15:24) and indeed had already been made, at a period probably earlier than this message of John the Baptist. (Joh 5:36) These miracles and good tidings for the lowly, showing that Jesus of Nazareth was the predicted Messiah, still stand as an evidence of Christianity. The Emperor Julian (Wet.) says scornfully, that "Jesus wrought nothing worthy of report, unless somebody thinks that to heal the lame and blind, and to relieve demoniacs, in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany, were among the greatest works." And blessed (happy, same word as in Mat 5:3 ff.) is he, whosoever shall not be offended (find no occasion of stumbling) in me. See the same image in Isa 8:14. For the word meaning ’to be made to stumble,’ or ’to find occasion of stumbling,’ see on "Mat 5:29"; it has here the second meaning there given—whoever does not find in me an obstacle to believing, and hence reject me. Jesus was doing and saying things predicted of Messiah. But the Jews stumbled at his failure to do various other things which they expected in Messiah, and so most of them rejected him. (Compare Mat 13:57, Mat 26:31) John was now perplexed by the same things; and Jesus declares, ’Happy is he who shall not stumble at me.’ The form of expression delicately suggests a warning, that he who does thus stumble will be anything else than happy.—This saying is clearly a part of what they were to report to John, and this best accords with the idea that the reply was meant for John’s own benefit also, and not merely for his disciples. Were John’s perplexities and doubts relieved by the answer sent? We are not told, but circumstances suggest that they were (Keim). John’s disciples, after his death, went and told Jesus; (Mat 14:13) and subsequently we find Jesus speaking of John in a tone of high commendation, (Mat 17:12, Mat 21:25, Mat 21:32) as indeed he proceeds to do on the present occasion, thereby showing his confidence that John is right at heart.

III. Mat 11:7-15. Testimony Of Jesus To His Forerunner

John had repeatedly borne testimony to Jesus (Joh 1:15, Joh 1:26 f., Joh 1:29-34 f.; Joh 3:26-30), and now when he is cut off from usefulness by imprisonment, Jesus bears testimony to him. John’s disciples are sufficiently devoted to him; so Jesus speaks this commendation when they are out of hearing, for the benefit of the people at large. This was grateful to the people, among whom John was highly esteemed. (Mat 21:26) Began to say. While the messengers were going, Jesus began the discourse which continued after they had disappeared. Unto the multitudes (crowds, so also Luk 7:24), see on "Mat 5:1". Into the wilderness, see on "Mat 3:1". To see, to behold, look at, as a spectacle; the word explained see on "Mat 6:1". It seems to be implied that they went too much as if to look at a sort of show. (In Mat 11:8 f. it is ’to see,’ the common and simple word.) Doubtless those who went out to see and hear John were much influenced by curiosity. But what was the object of this curious gazing? Was it a reed shaken with the wind? Some understand Jesus to be asking whether they went merely to see an ordinary, natural object. But the phrase shaken, or ’tossed by the wind,’ and the use of the singular, ’a reed.’ much more naturalists that this is a symbol of fickleness. They did not go out to see a fickle doubter, and they must not think he is really a fickle doubter now. The perplexities and difficulties indicated by his message were not of the sort due to inconstancy, or to any weakness of character. Nor was it (compare on Mat 8:4) to see a man in soft raiment, elegant clothing,[1] such as courtiers wore; John had refused to play courtier, as all the people knew, and had gone to prison for it. We learn from Jewish writers (Jost, in Plumptre) that in the early days of Herod the Great, some Scribes who attached themselves to him laid aside their usual plain dress, and wore the gorgeous raiment of courtiers. But John was no weakling, no self-seeker.

[1] ’Raiment,’ though implied, is not expressed in the earliest authorities, and was probably added from Luk 7:25; so it is here properly placed in italics by Rev. Ver.

These introductory questions lead up to the great question, which, in the correct text,[2] has a slightly altered form. What went ye out for to see, etc.—Rev. Ver, But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? We learn from Mat 21:26, that the masses of the people universally regarded John as a prophet; and the fact that there had been no prophet for so many weary centuries invested him with a heightened interest. Jesus says he was indeed a prophet, and something exceedingly more than a prophet (the word rendered ’more’ is neuter gender; compare Mat 12:6, Mat 12:41). He was indeed an inspired man who came to speak for God (see on "Mat 7:22"), like the prophets of earlier days. He was also something more than a prophet, for he was the fulfilment of prophecy, (Mat 11:10) and he had a unique and singularly dignified position, as the immediate forerunner of Messiah, ushering in his glorious reign. Euthym.: "The heralds that march near the king are greater than the others.... And John not merely saw the predicted one, but also baptized him." Morison: "He not only said, He will come: he said, He has come; and there he is." Our Lord was here in fact exalting his own mission by exalting that of John. The people should hearken to him, to whom this more than prophet had testified.

[2] This as given in B. à Z., and others, would be easily altered to make it like Mat 11:7 f. and Luk 7:26.

Mat 11:10. [3] This is he of whom it is written, has been written, and now stands on record (see on "Mat 2:5"). The quotation is from Mal 3:1, and the literal rendering of the Hebrew is, "Behold I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before my face."There Jehovah speaks as if coming himself, namely, in the coming of Messiah. In the application here made, Jehovah addresses Messiah, as if sending a messenger before him. This is only bringing out more clearly an idea really involved in the prophecy, as the N. T. writers have in various cases done, with an obvious propriety (compare on Mat 2:6). The prophecy is quoted with exactly the same variation of expression, in Luk 7:27, and in Mar 1:2, and the same variation is implied in the evident reference to this passage in Luk 1:76. The most natural explanation is that in this form it was commonly given in the oral apostolical teaching. The supposition of quotation by the Evangelist from an oral Aramaic synagogue version (Toy), seems to have no clear and adequate ground, here or elsewhere. As to the image involved, that of sending forward a messenger to prepare the way for a journey, see on "Mat 3:3", where a similar passage is quoted from Isaiah.

[3] ’For’ of the common Greek text is wanting in several of the earliest authorities We can easily explain its insertion, but not its omission, for it expresses the real argumentative relation between the sentences. So we conclude that it was not originally in the text. In many such cases, the better we like a particular reading, the more certainly it is to be regarded as a later insertion.

Mat 11:11. Verily I say unto you, see on "Mat 5:18". Among those.. born of women, compare Job 14:1 Gal 4:4. A greater. Luke (Luk 7:28) has it ’a greater prophet.’ The expression obviously refers principally to his exalted position, and also, perhaps, to his faithful devotion to its duties. No person had occupied a position of higher privilege than John the Baptist, involving clearer views of truth, or greater honour in the sight of God. Nevertheless he that is least, literally, less, viz., than all others, (compare Mar 4:31) and so equivalent to ’he that is least.’ Similar expressions are found in Mat 18:1 Luk 22:24, etc., and in the Septuagint of Jdg 6:15, where Gideon says, "I am the least in my father’s house." The Old Latin and Vulgate (as well as the Memphitic) render ’less,’ and so all the Eng. Vet. before that of King James, which may here (as so often) have followed Beza, who renders ’least.’ The Peshito also translates as if it were a superlative. The rendering of the Rev. Ver. ’but little,’ does not commend itself as particularly good, for the Greek either means ’least’ or ’less’; the occasional rendering of the comparative, somewhat little, rather little, etc., seems to be here quite out of place. Chrys. understands that it means Jesus, as ’less’ than John, "less in age, and, according to the opinion of the multitude," which is excessively far-fetched. To refer the kingdom of heaven here to the future life, as many do, is entirely unsuitable. We must understand that the lowest subject of the Messianic reign is in a position of greater privilege and dignity (compare Zec 12:8) than the great forerunner; or, else, perhaps (Calvin), that the lowest of all the teachers instructed by the Messiah himself was superior as a teacher to the forerunner.

In any case this expression implies that John was not in the kingdom of heaven. The inference is often drawn that he belonged entirely to the Old Testament Dispensation. It is frequently asserted, and by many taken for granted, that the kingdom of heaven began on the Day of Pentecost following our Lord’s Ascension, and so John had no connection with it except to predict its approach. But if this he so, where did the ministry of Jesus himself belong, the early part of which ran parallel to that of John, and embodied the same announcement? (Mat 4:17 Mar 1:15) If John’s teaching and baptizing are to be set off as essentially different in kind from Christian teaching and Christian baptism, these beginning only on the Day of Pentecost, then we have the strange contradiction that Christ himself, as a teacher and baptizer, (Joh 3:22, Joh 4:1 f.) did not belong to the Christian Dispensation. Moreover, in Mat 11:12, and also in Luk 16:16, our Lord speaks of the kingdom of heaven as already in actual existence, and counts John among the preachers of the kingdom of heaven, as distinct from those who merely predicted it. (Compare Luk 17:21, Luk 10:23 f.; Mat 13:16) If some argue that John’s baptism was not regarded by the apostles as Christian baptism, from the single and peculiar case of re-baptism in Act 19:1 ff., it may be answered that those persons were re-baptized because it was evident that when they previously received baptism (probably from some ignorant disciple of John), it had been without knowing what they were about, without understanding the fundamental truths of the Messianic reign, as announced by John himself. As this isolated case can be accounted for in this way, and indeed in various other ways, it is quite unwarrantable to make it the proof of a radical distinction between Christian baptism and the baptism administered by John and by Christ himself.

How then are we to conceive of John’s position? In some sense he belongs to the kingdom of Messiah, the Christian Dispensation, his work constituting its introductory stage; and yet his position is inferior in dignity and privilege to the least in that kingdom. His work may be compared to a landing-place in a stairway; the highest step of the lower flight, or the lowest step of the upper flight, or, whenever you choose so to regard it, higher than the highest of one, lower than the lowest of the other. Or (Chrys.), it may he compared to the hour between dawn and sunrise—part of the day, yet less light than the first moment after the sun is actually risen. The beginning of John’s ministry was the dawn of the Messianic reign, whose light gradually increased throughout the ministry of Jesus; the Day of Pentecost was its sunrise, when it appeared in full-orbed beauty and brightness; its noontide glory is yet to come. In this passage, then, John’s position is distinguished from that of one living when the New Dispensation should be fully established; while in other passages he is spoken of as himself belonging to that Dispensation, in its opening stage. His position was so peculiar, that it could be variously regarded, according to the point of view in each case.

Mat 11:12. This is connected especially with the former clause of Mat 11:11. The importance of John is shown by a reference to the great excitement his ministry had produced among the people (compare Josephus,"Ant.," 18, 5, 2), and which still continued, at the time when our Lord was speaking. From the days of John the Baptist means from the time when John was engaged in active labours, which closed with his imprisonment. These labours had probably continued about eighteen months, and from six to twelve months had elapsed since their close. Until now shows that the work in question was still going on, but without at all implying that it would now cease. The kingdom of heaven is here conceived of as net simply near, but in actual existence, and as having begun to exist with the beginning of John’s ministry. (See on "Mat 11:11") The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, or, ’is taken by violence.’ (Davidson, Darby.) The image employed appears to be not precisely that of storming a city (2Ma 14:41), but that of invading and seizing a kingdom. Before the time of John many were expecting the establishment of the Messianic kingdom, but in general were quietly waiting, without any earnest efforts to prepare for it, and share its blessings. John’s ministry awakened an eager expectation of its immediate appearance, and men were aroused to press into it, like invaders pressing into a country and taking possession. Our Lord described this state of things by the same striking image on a later occasion. (Luk 16:16) It is appropriate and eminently desirable that both individuals and communities should become greatly aroused on the subject of religion, and be deeply in earnest about it, so as to resemble, in their pursuit of salvation, the resolution and irresistible force with which an invading army presses into a country. How it forces its way along—every obstacle is overcome, every stronghold is seized, every opposing host is broken and scattered—nothing can withstand its conquering advance. Of course the application of this is to spiritual energy, and it gives no warrant for violent bodily exercises, except in so far as these may sometimes naturally result from uncontrollable feelings of soul; but it does show the propriety of impassioned earnestness and indomitable resolution in the entrance upon, and pursuit of, a Christian life. ( Compare Mat 7:13; Luk 13:24; Php 3:12 ff., etc.) The period in question was the first of those seasons of widespread religious excitement which have repeatedly marked the progress of Christian history. Christianity was born in a great revival.—Weiss interprets Mat 11:12 as said in the way of censure, viz., that John had introduced a hasty and stormy way of entering the kingdom of heaven, opposed to the quiet and gentle introduction of it in which Jesus was engaged. This is ingenious, but it ill suits the following connection, and the whole tone of our Lord’s testimony to John.

Mat 11:13-15. This reference to Elijah is not given by Luke, who on the other hand makes at this point some remarks not (Luk 7:29 f.) made by Matthew. For gives a reason for the statement of Mat 11:12. This great religious movement, men pressing with eagerness and violence into the kingdom of heaven, he has just declared to have existed from the days of John the Baptist; for, until John, until his time, the prophets and the law (see on "Mat 5:17"; prophets here mentioned first, doubtless because prediction was a less prominent element of the law) prophesied of the Messianic reign; but this period of prophecy ended with the coming of the new Elijah, in the person of John, who was at once the last predictor of the kingdom of heaven, and the first preacher of it; and now the good news of the reign of Messiah is made known, (Luk 16:16) and men are pressing into it with violence. Athanasius: "Up to John the law; from him the gospel." (Compare on Mat 11:12.) And if ye will (are willing to) receives, i.e., most naturally ’to receive it,’ possibly ’to receive him’ (margin Rev. Ver. and Geneva). They might he slow to receive it, because it conflicted with the popular notion that Elijah in his own proper person would appear to anoint the Messiah (Justin Martyr, Trypho 8, 49); and because too, of John’s present helpless captivity, which they might fancy God would not permit in the case of one sent by him on a great mission. This is Elias—he, and no other, the original being emphatic, as in Mat 1:21 and elsewhere. As to reasons for giving the Old Testament form of the name, Elijah, rather than Elias, see on "Mat 1:2". Which was for (that is) to come, or ’that is going to come.’ This was the expression used among the Jews concerning the expected coming of Elijah, and our Lord retains it, as the familiar phrase though the coming had now taken place (so also in Mat 17:11). The prediction of Mal 4:5, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet," etc., was generally understood by the Jews to mean that Elijah would come to life again. and many of the modern Jews have that expectation still. Jesus means that John had come "in the spirit and power of Elijah", (Luk 1:17) a similar man, and to a similar work; and this is all that the prophecy meant. (Compare on Mat 3:4, Mat 17:10 ff.) John himself was asked (Joh 1:21) whether he was Elijah, and answered ’No’; but he was answering in the sense of their question—he was not Elijah come to life again. He that hath ears[1] let him hear. As Elijah was to he forerunner of the Messiah, and as John the forerun-net of Jesus was Elijah, it followed that Jesus was the Messiah—if they had ears, and were willing to receive it. This peculiar phrase, ’he that hath ears,’ etc., was repeatedly used by our Lord, especially after saying something which was important, and also likely through ignorance or prejudice not to be understood (compare on Mat 13:9, Mat 13:43, Mat 24:15); and it is still used in the last words he has spoken on the earth, the messages to the seven churches. (Rev 2:7, Rev 2:11, Rev 2:17, Rev 2:29, Rev 3:6, Rev 3:13, Rev 3:22) We can scarcely conceive how difficult it was for the Jews to accept the assertion that the prophecy of Elijah’s coming was fulfilled in John the Baptist. And we have abundant need to fear lest we ourselves lack ears to hear, lack the spiritual perception and sympathy, the candour and willingness to follow truth, the readiness to let the Bible mean what it wishes to mean, which are necessary to a thorough understanding of Scripture.

[1] ’To hear,’ after ’ears,’ should pretty certainly be omitted (as In Rev. Ver. marg.), following B D, 32, k; as also in Mat 13:9, following B à L, and some copies of Old Latin; and in Mat 13:43, following à (first hand) B, some copies of Old Latin, and some of Vulgate. The fact seems clearly to be that Matt. in all three cases gives simply’he that hath ears, let him hear,’ while Mark (Mar 4:9, Mar 4:23) and Luke (Luk 8:3, Luk 14:35) give without variation ’he that hath ears to hear, let him hear’; and that Matthew’s expression early began to be changed into the fuller form. (Compare Rev. Ver. of Mat 13:9, Mat 13:43) It is noteworthy that in all three cases B has the correct text, while its companions vary.

IV. Mat 11:16-19. But Both John And Jesus Are Rejected

The thought of this passage was naturally suggested by the reception which many had given to the great Forerunner, the new Elijah, and to Jesus himself. John was unsurpassed in the dignity of his position, the greatness of his work; he whom John heralded was greater still; yet both were rejected. They had different, even opposite, peculiarities and modes of life; but that wilful and unreasonable generation rejected each of them, thus showing a determined and invincible opposition to the heavenly wisdom which both were seeking to inculcate, and which was justified and vindicated by its effects in all who received it.

Mat 11:16 f. But whereunto shall I liken this generation? Their conduct was so strange, in its inconsistent and wilful opposition to the truth, that he was at a loss to find anything like it for an illustration. (Compare Mar 4:30 Luk 13:18, Luk 13:20 Lam 2:13; and the rabbis have a similar formula.) In saying ’this generation,’ he does not mean all without exception, but refers to the general tone of public sentiment, and especially to the leading men, the Scribes and Pharisees who gave that tone. Luke (Luk 7:29) informs us that of the persons present on that occasion the mass of the people and the publicans justified God, having received John’s baptism; but the Pharisees and the lawyers rendered void as regarded themselves the counsels of God, not having been baptized by John. Our Lord was not yet prepared to make open discrimination among the Jews, and denounce the Scribes and Pharisees by name, as he did at a later period. (Chap 23.) It is like unto children, etc. There is a certain colloquial inexactness in the expression, which ought not to occasion any difficulty. He does not mean that the men of this generation correspond distinctively to the children who speak, which would make John and himself answer to the parties complained of; but in general, the conduct of this generation corresponds to the case of children sitting in the market-place, some of them saying to others, etc. So in Mat 13:45, the kingdom of heaven is said to be like a merchant, etc., but it is not meant that the kingdom resembles the person, but that in a general way the two cases are similar. (So also in Mat 18:23, Mat 20:1) The comparison in such cases is made somewhat loosely, and is to be understood according to the nature of the case. There is thus no need at all for the various artificial explanations by which some able expositors (as Meyer, Ewald, Keim, Weiss, Plumptre), try to work out the view that John and Jesus are the persons called to, and complained of, for not doing as the people wished. The simple and obvious application in the contrary direction is much more natural and appropriate.[1] In the markets—marketplaces. The word denotes a public square, or place of public resort in a town, such as the Greeks called Agora (the word here used), the Romans called forum, and we call place or square. In Oriental cities this place was just inside the gate. Here the citizens assembled, the judges sat, business was transacted, and markets were opened; (Gen 19:1; Rth 4:1; Pro 31:23. etc.) and here, as a matter of course, loafers would lounge, (Psa 69:12) and boys would gather to play. The children, i.e., boys, are represented as imitating, in their play, the practice of their elders at merry-makings or funerals. We have piped unto you, the instrument intended somewhat resembling a flageolet. We have mourned , (or, wailed), i.e., sang the funeral wail or dirge (Davidson and Noyes translate ’sang a dirge’), such as hired mourners were accustomed to sing at a funeral. (Compare on Mat 9:23) Lamented, literally, ’beat yourselves,’ beat the breast, as the publican smote his breast. (Luk 18:13) The boys had tried their comrades with notes of joy and with notes of grief, and met no response to either. Stier : "It cannot but be noted that the Lord, nihil humani a se alienum putans [deeming nothing human without interest to himself], as he took notice of the rending of mended garments, (Mat 9:16) and the domestic concerns of the children in their beds, (Luk 11:7) So also observes the children’s play in the market place, and finds in everything the material for the analogies of his wise teaching." Who is not moved at the thought of the Saviour standing sometimes in the marketplace, with the busy throng around, and watching the boys at their play? This is the only place in the Bible (Nicholson) where any game of children is described.

[1] Some slight differences in the Greek text do not affect the substantial meaning. ’Who call.... and say’ is beyond question the correct text. It is difficult to decide between ’their fellows’ (hetairois) and ’the others’ (heterois), like Luk 7:32, ’one another.’ The earliest authorities for the most part give heterois, but the other would be more easily changed into this by assimilation to Luke. The two words are pronounced exactly alike in Modern Greek, and probably were when our oldest copies were made. ’To you’ is rightly omitted in the second clause.

Mat 11:18 f. Our Lord then applies the illustration. For, presents this as a proof of the previous statement. The case of this generation does resemble that of the children, for they treat John and Jesus exactly as the children’s comrades treated them. John came neither eating nor drinking, i.e., as other men do; (Luk 7:33, ’eating no bread nor drinking wine’) not sharing with men in general in their modes of life, but living apart and abstemiously. (Compare on Mat 3:4) He hath a devil—demon. See on "Mat 8:28; Mat 8:31." As one now would say, he is deranged. It is natural that such an expression should become common, (Joh 7:20, Joh 8:48) since demoniacal possessions were often found in conjunction with mental derangement, whether as causing it, or because persons were thereby rendered more suitable to be thus possessed. Demoniacs would sometimes go into a wild region, and live on such food as they could procure there; (Mat 8:28) to these the people compared John. Though "willing to rejoice for a season in his light," as "the lamp that burneth and shineth", (Joh 5:35, Rev. Ver.) they were now rejecting his witness to Jesus and ridiculing his mode of life, saying, "He has a demon." On the other hand, Jesus lived among men, eating and drinking as they did. He was accustomed to drink wine, as was common, almost universal—those light and pure wines which abounded in that country, and which, taken in moderate quantity, and mixed with a double quantity of water according to custom, would stimulate about as much as our tea and coffee. He went to the houses of Pharisee and Publican, of scrupulous observers of the law and open transgressors of it, and shared their customary food and drink. And immediately they cried, Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber! The Greek word here used for man implies in such connections a certain contempt, as we sometimes use ’a person.’ A friend of publicans and sinners. The emphasis is not on ’friend,’ but, as the Greek order shows, separately on ’publicans’ and ’sinners.’ Because he ate pleasant food like others, and with no special abstemiousness, they called him a glutton. Because he sometimes drank wine as others did, he was a wine-bibber; one who drank habitually and to excess. Because he treated bad men with civility and kindness, earnestly seeking to do them good, he himself also was bad. (Compare Luk 15:1-2, and see above on "Mat 9:11".) So they talked. John was not enough like other people—a crazy sort of man. Jesus was too much like other people. Nothing could please them. The Son of many see on "Mat 8:20". Publicans and sinners, compare on Mat 5:46.

Now, what shall be the consolation of those religious teachers who see that, do as they may, men will find fault with their conduct, and reject their message? That in which Jesus took comfort. But wisdom is justified of her children. ’Works’ is clearly the correct text here, ’children’ in Luk 7:35.[1] Though the people in general rejected the true wisdom, yet she was justified, shown to be right, both in John’s way of living and teaching and in that of Jesus, by her works-the general effects of the true wisdom in those who receive and practice it, and in particular those miraculous works which proved Jesus to be the Messiah. (Mat 11:2, Mat 11:4 f.) There is thus no great substantial difference between ’justified by her works,’ as affecting those who receive her, and seen in them, and ’justified by all her children’, (Luk 7:35) recognized and appreciated by all of kindred spirit to her, all the truly wise. (Compare the expression ’justified God’ a little before, in Luk 7:29) The peculiarities of John and of Jesus were in each case appropriate and effective, producing such works as the truly wise must recognize to be the legitimate effects of wisdom. John’s mode of life was suitable to the stern rebukes and warnings he came to proclaim (see on "Mat 3:4"); while Jesus moved freely among men, and conformed himself pleasantly to their way of living, as representing especially the kind invitations and joyful tidings of the gospel. Both methods were blamed by the people at large, but both were justified by their effects, and both were from God. And so as to the peculiarities of temperament, modes of life, and methods of working, on the part of religious teachers now. Every sort of preacher will be found fault with by the ungodly world; but every truly devout and wise preacher will he justified by the effects of his ministry.

[1] ’Works’ in B (1st hand) à , 124, Memphitic, the Peshito and Harklean Syriac, the Æthiopic, and some codices of the Armenian; and Jerome and Ambrose say it so reads in some copies. Now, this might easily be changed into’children,’ to conform to Luke. The transcriptional process of assimilating parallel passages, which so often exhibits itself, is here further betrayed by the fact that some cursives insert ’all’ from Luke, and that א (alone) in Luke changes ’children’ to ’works.’ If we suppose ’children’ to have been the original reading in both Gospels, it is very difficult to account for the change here into ’works.’ We might fancy that apo, ’from’ her children, looked strange, and that ’works’ was suggested by v. 2, and by the appeal in v. 4 f., but this would be a very poor explanation, while as good as any of the others that have been suggested. The change here to ’children’ is one of the many early "Western" alterations, being found in D, Old Syriac, and Old Latin.

Homiletical And Practical

Mat 11:2 f. The stern law that exercise is necessary to health, bodily, mental, and spiritual, enforces itself even in a case of involuntary idleness.

Mat 11:2-6. Is Christianity divine? (1) Reasons for inquiring. (a) Christianity, as a power in the world, has to be accounted for. (b) Our own need. (c) The need of others. (2) Evidences. (a) The effects of Christianity are beneficent, to body and soul. (b) They correspond to the O. T. predictions as to its character and results. (3) Occasions of stumbling. (a) Slow progress of Christianity in the world. (b) Its highest benefits are not seen and temporal, but spiritual and eternal. (c) Many faithful. workers seem to fail, and are left to suffer (like John). Happy he who earnestly presses the inquiry, wisely appreciates the convincing evidences, and rises above all the obstacles. Compare Peter, (Mat 16:15 f.) Martha, (Joh 11:37) Thomas. (Joh 20:28)

Mat 11:6. Stumbling at Jesus. Calvin: "Every man builds for himself a heap of stumbling-stones, because men are malignantly anxious to keep aloof from Christ." Plumptre: "How tenderly our Lord dealt with the impatience implied in John’s question. A warning was needed, but it was given in the form of a beatitude which it was still open to him to claim and make his own."

Mat 11:7-9. Henry: "They who attend on the word will be called to an account, what their intentions and what their improvements were. We think when the sermon is done the care is over; no, then the greatest of the care begins."

Mat 11:11. John the Baptist. (1) The dignity and importance of his work as a forerunner. (2) His transitional relation to the kingdom of heaven. (3) In what respects the humblest Christian now is more favoured than John.

Mat 11:11-15. John the Baptist. (1) Coming as the climax of prophecy, and the new Elijah. (2) More than a prophet, and unsurpassed among mankind, Mat 11:9, Mat 11:11. (3) Belonging to the Messianic reign, yet not enjoying its highest privileges, Mat 11:11. (4) Awakening that Great Revival, in which Christianity was born, Mat 11:12.

Mat 11:14. Comparison of John and Elijah. (1) In outward circumstances and mode of life. (2) In temper and spirit. (3) In work. (a) Evils to be corrected; (b) opposition encountered; (c) good done.

Mat 11:16 f. Those who reject Christianity are without excuse; for it sings joyous strains and mournful strains, presents a bright side to win and a dark side to warn, calls to repentance and welcomes to faith, offers heaven and threatens hell—and they find fault still.

Mat 11:18 f. We often see precisely the same spirit manifested now. Let a minister, or other active Christian, be grave and serious, and people will at once complain of him as sour or dull; let him be cheerful, and they will say, "Entirely too much levity." If he is careful about his affairs, they charge that he is worldly, too fond of money; if he silently allows himself to be cheated, rather than seem to stickle for pecuniary interests, they say compassionately, "Very good sort of man, very—but doesn’t know much about business—hasn’t much common sense."And, alas! it still continues true that many will quite disregard the intrinsic value of the truths proclaimed, and will treat them with respect or neglect, according as they fancy or not the habits and manners of the preacher. Henry: "It is some comfort to faithful ministers, when they see little success of their labours, that it is no new thing for the best preachers and best preaching in the world to come short of the desired end."—Christianity and social life. (1) In some respects antagonizing social usages. (2) In other respects conforming to social usages. (3) In both cases often misjudged and rejected. (4) In all cases justified by its fruits.

John A. Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (American Baptist Publication Society, 1886) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

DID JOHN THE BAPTIST OR HIS DISCIPLES DOUBT THE CHRISTHOOD OF JESUS?

Mat 11:2-6; Luk 7:18-23. We answer the above question unhesitatingly in the negative. Neither John nor his disciples had any doubt about the Christhood of Jesus. Already twenty months have rolled away since he had introduced Him to the people and inaugurated Him into His official Messiahship by baptizing Him at the Jordan, and he had seen the Holy Ghost descend on Him, not only indubitably demonstrating His Christhood, but gloriously qualifying Him to preach the gospel of the kingdom. As the disciples of Jesus had begun with John, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the steward of King Herod, lived at Machaerus, where John was in prison, and coming home kept the faithful Baptist well posted in reference to the mighty works of Jesus, the fact of the matter was, that Jesus had not yet openly to the Jews proclaimed His Messiahship, as this was brought out at a later date, up at Caesarea-Philippi, through the confession of Peter; John wanted to draw Him out into an open confession of His Christhood to the multitude, feeling that this would expedite the work.

Luke: “His disciples proclaimed to John concerning all these things. And calling certain two of his disciples, John sent them to Jesus, saying, Art Thou He who is to come, or look we for another? And the men, coming to Him, said, John the Baptist sent us to you, saying, Art Thou He who is to come or do we look for another? And at that hour He was healing many of diseases, chronic ailments, and unclean spirits, and was conferring on many blind people the power to see. Jesus responding, said to them, Going, tell John those things which you have seen and heard; that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them, and blessed is he whosoever may not he offended in Me.” So you see that Jesus just sent them back to John to tell him what they had seen, aiming this to be the answer to his question. During all these twenty months He has been performing all these mighty works, and at the same time constantly preaching the gospel of the kingdom. You see the solution of the whole problem: He desires the people to be convinced of His Christhood by His mighty works, which none but God can do, preferring that their faith may supervene as a normal result of witnessing His miracles and hearing His profound and glorious truth, rather than it should be founded on His simple affirmations. The time had not yet arrived for the open and public declaration of His Christhood. Another reason consisted in the fact that the Jews all believed that Christ was to be their King, ascending the throne of David; would break the yoke of oppression, and reign over them; thirty years of military despotism, since the Roman proconsulate had superseded the Jewish kingdom, had galled their necks with the yoke of military despotism till they longed to throw it off and again be free. This was evidently a great reason why He did not openly declare His Messiahship; but at the same time filled the whole country with His mighty works, which none but God could do. You must remember that He did, in the beginning, declare His Christhood while preaching in Samaria, as there was no probability of their crowning Him King.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11:2–20:34 This section highlights the two primary responses to Jesus: acceptance and rejection. The first section (11:2–12:50) features the rejection of Jesus by Jewish leaders while his disciples were learning to understand and accept him.

11:2-19 This section begins with John the Baptist’s doubt, but it ends by exalting his faith and ministry (11:7-19). The people’s rejection of John (11:16-19) foreshadows their later rejection of Jesus.

11:2 John was arrested (4:12) by Herod Antipas because he had denounced Herod’s immoral relationship with Herodias, his half-brother’s wife (14:1-12). • the things the Messiah was doing: These actions demonstrated that he is the Messiah (8:1–9:34).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 11:2. Τοῦ Χριστοῦ, of Christ) Those works which it was the part of the Messiah to perform.[508]—μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, of His disciples) whom He wished to confirm and resign to Christ.[509]

[508] Jesus had done similar works before John was imprisoned; but now. He did such works in much greater numbers.—V. g.

[509] He does not seem to have entertained any doubt himself as to Christ.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_11:2 ff. Comp. Luk_7:18 ff., where the account is introduced somewhat earlier, and where nothing is said about the prison (but see Luk_3:20).

ἀκούσας, κ.τ.λ.] Occasion of the message. See the note after Mat_11:5.

ἐν τῷ δεσμωτ.] in the fortress of Machaerus. Joseph. Antt. xviii. 5. 2. See on Mat_14:3. How John could hear anything of Jesus works in prison was possible in various ways; most naturally it was through his disciples, with whom he was permitted to have intercourse. Luk_7:18.

τὰ ἔργα] are the deeds, the first element in the ποιεῖν τε καὶ διδάσκειν (Act_1:1). These were for the most part miracles, though there is no reason to suppose that they were exclusively so. See on Joh_5:36.

πέμψας] absolutely, Xen. Anab. vii. 1. 2; Hell. iii. 2. 9; Thuc. i. 91. 2; Bornem. Schol. in Luc. p. lxv. The following διὰ τῶν μαθητ. αὐτοῦ belongs to εἶπεν αὐτῷ, not to πέμψας (de Wette), because this latter connection would involve the supposition of a Hebraism, שָׁלַח בְּיַד, 1Sa_16:20, 1Ki_2:25, Exo_4:13, which is in itself unnecessary.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 11:2-6 . Message from the Baptist (Luk 7:18-23 ).

Mat 11:2 . δεσμωτηρίῳ (from δεσμόω , δεσμός , a bond), in prison in the fortress of Machærus by the Dead Sea (Joseph., Antiq., 18, 5, 2), a fact already alluded to in Mat 4:12 . By this time he has been a prisoner a good while, long enough to develop a prison mood . ἀκούσας : not so close a prisoner but that friends and followers can get access to him ( cf. Mat 25:36 ; Mat 25:43 ). τὰ ἔργα τοῦ χριστοῦ : this the subject in which the Baptist is chiefly interested. What is Jesus doing? But the evangelist does not say the works of Jesus , but of the Christ, i.e. , of the man who was believed to be the Christ, the works which were supposed to point Him out as the Christ. In what spirit reported, whether simply as news, with sympathy, or with jealousy, not indicated. πέμψας : the news set John on musing, and led to a message of inquiry διὰ τ . μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ , by his disciples, possibly the same men who brought the news. There would be constant coming and going between Galilee and Machærus. The construction is Hebraistic = sent by the hand of.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now when John had heard in the prison--For the account of this imprisonment, see on Mar 6:17-20.

the works of Christ, he sent, &c.--On the whole passage, see on Luke 7:18-35.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. John had heard in the prison] John was cast into prison by order of Herod Antipas, Mt 14:3, c., (where see the notes,) a little after our Lord began his public ministry, Mt 4:12 and after the first passover, Joh 3:24.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(2) When John had heard in the prison.—The position of the Baptist was so far that of a prisoner treated with respect. Herod himself observed him, and heard him gladly. Herodias had not yet found an occasion of revenge. His disciples came and went freely. Some of these we have seen (Mat_9:14) as present when our Lord was teaching, and certain to hear of such wonders as those narrated in Matthew 8, 9. He himself, in the prison of Machærus, was languishing with the sickness of hope deferred for the Messianic kingdom, which he had proclaimed. His disciples brought back word of what they had seen and heard (Luk_7:18), and yet all things continued as before, and there was no deliverance either for himself or Israel. Under the influence of this disappointment, he sent his two disciples with the question which the next verse records.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2–19. Concerning John the Baptist

His message to Jesus 2–6. His position as a Prophet 7–14. His relation to Jesus and to his contemporaries 15–19.

St Luk_7:18-35

2. in the prison] At Machærus. See note, ch. Mat_14:3. For “two of his disciples” read, on the best MS. authority, by means of his disciples.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now when John had heard in the prison,.... The person here spoken of is John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, who was now in the prison of Machaerus; being put there by Herod, for his reproving him for taking Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; and whilst he was there, an account was brought him by his own disciples, see Luk 7:18 of

the works of Christ, the miracles he wrought; as the healing of the centurion's servant, the raising from the dead the widow's son of Nain, and the like; upon hearing of which,

he sent two of his disciples, who might be the most prejudiced against Christ, because of the increase of his followers, and the decrease of their master's; and because he did not live such an austere life as John did; and who, notwithstanding all that they had heard, and their master had told them of Jesus, were not easily persuaded that he was the true Messiah. Moreover, two of them were sent, both because it was more honourable to Christ, and that they might be proper witnesses of what they saw and heard; and since it was not so much for himself, as for the sake of his disciples, that these messengers were sent.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

Ver. 2. Now when John had heard in the prison] "Put this fellow in prison," said Ahab of Micaiah, 1Ki 22:27; who is thought to have been he that told him so barely of letting go Benhadad. So Jeremiah, that concionator admirabilis (as Kerkerman calleth him), was for forty years’ pains and patience cast into a deep and dirty dungeon. {a} The apostles were often imprisoned: so were the ancient bishops under the ten first persecutions. "From the delectable orchard of the Leonine prison:" so Algerius, the Italian martyr, dates his letter. Within a few days of Queen Mary’s reign, almost all the prisons in England were become right Christian schools and churches. Bocardo, in Oxford, was called a college of quondams or the disposed, Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, and others, being there kept captive. This is merces mundi: look for no better dealing.

{a} Kerk. Rhet. Ecclesiast. c. ult. λαμπροτατα πραξας αλγεινοτατα επαθεν.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The account contained in this chapter of Matthew, to the Mat 11:19, is found, with no material variation, in Luke 7:18-35. John was in prison. Herod had thrown him into confinement on account of his faithfulness in reproving him for marrying his brother Philip’s wife. See Mat 14:3-4.

It is not certainly known why John sent to Jesus. It might have been to satisfy his disciples that he was the Messiah; or he might have been desirous of ascertaining for himself whether this person, of whom he heard so much, was the same one whom he had baptized, and whom he knew to be the Messiah. See Joh 1:29.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The order of time is not here observed by the evangelist. St. John’s deputation to Jesus Christ took place some time before; and the text of the 7th chap. of St. Luke, gives it soon after the cure of the centurion’s servant; hence all that follows, in chap. xi. of St. Matthew, is placed by persons who have drawn up evangelical harmonies, immediately after the first 17 verses of chap. viii. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The instance of this text alone is enough to convince the observing reader of holy writ, that the evangelists do not set down all things in that order as they were done. We have heard nothing before of John’s being cast into prison in this gospel, nor do we hear any thing here of the story of it, till Mat 14:6, when our evangelist occasionally relates it something largely. He here tells us of something done during his imprisonment, viz. his sending two of his disciples to Christ, to be satisfied whether he was the promised Messias, or they must look for another. Luke reports the same thing, Luk 7:19. Could he that was sent before Christ to prepare his way, and that had baptized him, and seen the Spirit descending on him, and heard the voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, and who had showed Christ to his disciples, Joh 1:29-31, &c., doubt whether he was the Messiah? Undoubtedly no; but John saw how some of his disciples, either envying for his sake, as Joh 3:26, or else inclinable to the common error of the Jews about the Messiah, were something shaken with the clamours of the scribes and Pharisees (who were far more favourable to John than to Christ). That they might be satisfied from their own sight of the works of Christ, he a little before his death sendeth them to Christ on this errand,

Art thou he who should come (in the Greek, who is coming)? Which lets us know the full expectation the Jews generally had at that time of a Messias coming. They desire only to be satisfied whether Christ was he.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 2-24. JESUS THE ONE THAT SHOULD COME.

(1) Vers. 2-6: The Baptist"s question, and its answer: the Coming One has come.

(2) Vers. 7-15: Jesus" recognition of the greatness of John as herald.

(3) Vers. 16-19: Yet both John and he himself are rejected.

(4) Vers. 20-24: Woe on those who disregard the signs of God"s work.

Vers. 2-6. The Baptist"s question, and its answer. Parallel passage: Luk_7:18-23.

Now when John had (omit, with the Revised Version) heard in the prison; i.e. Machaerus. (Schurer, 1. 2:27; comp. Mat_3:1, note; 14:1, note) Matthew alone tells us that he was already in prison. The works of Christ; of the Christ (Revised Version); tou Cristou . Not the proper name, but the official title. (Mat_1:16, Mat_1:17, notes) The title may be merely due to the evangelist"s narrative, or may represent the actual terms in which the message was brought to John. It brings out the pathos of the situation. John had prepared the way of the Christ, and had at the baptism taken part in his anointing. Yet of all the works that the Christ now did there was none to set his kinsman and herald free. He sent two of his disciples; by his disciples (Revised Version). Possibly the slight difference between dia , the true reading here, and duo , which is genuine in Luke, points to the common source (observe here a Greek source) having been written, but with the close similarity in sound this need not have been the case. Observe that the true reading lays slightly more emphasis on the fact of the inquiry coming from John himself (vide infra). "Sent by" is the equivalent of the Hebrew dyb jl (Exo_4:13 1Sa_16:20 1Ki_2:25; comp. also Rev_1:1)

HOMILIES BY P.C. BARKER Vers. 2-30. (see also Luk_7:18-35) The forearming against a foreseen unbelief.

Note in introduction that St. Luke"s placing of this narrative is the preferable one. it was during the period of absence of the twelve, after they had been "commanded," that John was beheaded. The entire current of tiffs chapter, that seems so exceptional in its character in some respects, is blown upon and troubled, as it were, by that presence, an ever-disturbing one, the phenomenal one, of unbelief. Notice

I A PROPHET"S FORESEEING OF THE WORKING OF UNBELIEF, POSSIBLY EVEN BEING TOUCHED WITH A FEELING OF IT HIMSELF; AND HIS PROVISION AGAINST IT, WHETHER FOR HIS PEOPLE ALONE OR FOR, THE SAKE OF HIMSELF AND THEM. It is stud by Jesus Christ here that a greater prophet had not arisen than John the Baptist. He had heralded Christ; he had baptized him; he had announced and pointed to him as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world," and worthily had he already confessed him and the truth before the gainsaying and the ungodly. It is just conceivable that, in his prison and bonds, stone untoward wave of doubt may have crossed his peaceful breast. But it is all the more unlikely, whereas we read that it was when he heard through his disciples of the mighty works of Christ that he sent the question, "Art thou he that should conic, or do we look for another?" Again, as his end drew near, it was certainly not merely plausibly, but justly and really likely, that his anxiety for the informed faith, and the strong, firm faith of his disciples, should be quickened. Had the evangelist made one comment of his own that the reason of John, when he sent his interrogation to his Lord and Master, was "to the end that" his own little flock, soon to be as sheep without their Shepherd, "might" the rather "believe," and might not fail to know the one, only good Shepherd, this old question would never once have been stirred. That neither of the evangelists does this need be no surprise at all to us, unless indeed it might be to a suggestion of our too easily awaking unbelief, oscillating as we so often are, between unbelief and credulily. And see, therefore," the mighty works," say his disciples to John; and he to them again, "the mighty works;" and he sends two of them to Jesus, and he also, having done afresh all a glorious circle of mighty works, while they witnessed, he, of his own abounding sweet grace, grace to teach, and grace to help, and grace to guard the astray, and to confirm the weak, takes up the word, and reechoes it home to the prison mighty works! these "that I do bear witness of me." And, at all events, we are not told that the mission and the return message were in vain. If it were so, that John himself needs for the last earthly agony one more reviving word. of the Holy One, he has it; and for their life his followers and disciples have it. Was it, indeed, a last word of recognition of his servant by the Lord and Master and Saviour of him, that there was added the benediction, "And blessed is he who shall not be offended in me"? John the Baptist was too near the blessing now to let it slip; too near to be permitted to let it slip, or to slip himself from the grasp, or be plucked from the hand of that Saviour. The works of Christ, the works of Christianity, the works of the Christian, and the works of the man who says he is such, but in works denies it, are, and shall be to the end, the test of each respectively.

II THE UNEXPECTED OCCASION THAT CHRIST, EVER WATCHFUL, UTILIZES, IN ORDER TO DIRECT AND TO AID THE BELIEF OF "THE MULTITUDES." John the Baptist had roused a vast amount of attention in the nation. He had not failed in a jot of the accomplishment of the work he had been appointed to do, and had been announced centuries past, as appointed to do; nor had he failed in the realization of the character, and all that belonged to it, which was prophesied as the mark of him. It appears (ver. 7) that "multitudes" had been present while Jesus had given audience to the deputation from John the Baptist, and had given answer to them also. Christ had, of course, ever approved of the attention that the nation had given to the appearance and preach-of his forerunner. But of what use, and to what end was it, that they gave attention to that herald if they proceeded no further, if they did not "come to him"? The threefold question of Christ leads up now to this, and bears, strictly upon tile question of the people"s belief. The question is, "What was it ye went out into the wilderness to see?" They went out in wondering, excited throngs. They heard a preacher of novel utterance; they saw a personage of unusual habit and diet; some believed and some believed not, but all had their thoughts, and all talked and argued. When confronted with the question, it was impossible to them to answer that they had gone out for nothing; impossible fur them to admit that they had. gone out to see a mere natural product, a mere native of the desert, stunted grass, or a trembling barren reed, the habitat of which was the sandy or rocky wind-blown waste. It was equally impossible for them to plead that they had gone there to see the luxury, wealth, show of social life the diametrical opposite of the desert; this every one knew was not there, and had not been there by any accident now. No, they could not deny that they had been out to see a prophet; and the further truth was, the prophet, allowed and incontestablefor it was "he of whom it was written," in their well-known and prized prophetic oracles, "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, to prepare thy way before thee." They had flocked out to see John the Baptist, and "he it was who had testified of him. " What an introduction for those multitudes to Christ! Why should they not now, mighty works" and all else added, "believe on" and "follow" him? And Christ adds, the youngest true convert of the Church, the tyro in the school of the Church, the as yet unfledged apostle, is greater than he, more blessed, and with still nobler career before him. What a call of grace! What an inspiration to be offered to human ear! And how true, that in a certain sense the knell of prophecy had ceased, and yielded place to the ringing tidings of the Church of the kingdom] Its doors had been open but for a short time, but what press into it had there been, and how eagerly had the longing, craving, starving, and determined taken possession of its blessed shelter and hope!

III THE METHOD WHICH CHRIST DID NOT HESITATE TO USE IN ORDER TO CHARACTERIZE GENERALLY THE CONDUCT OF THE UNBELIEVING OF THAT GENERATION. He used a similitude which, plainly as it must speak to any type of national mind, was probably additionally telling and significant to those for whom he then in the first instance spoke. A picture of the perversity of children suffices to portray this. The music of Christ is not listened to, nor the wail of warning of John; neither the stern rigour of this, nor the winning attractiveness of that! Such as these, who is to seek them, who to win, who to save? Dwell on the fact that Christ consents to condescend, by all and various method, to ply the stubborn, the rebellious, the hard-hearted, the "stiff-necked." What patience is this that instructs, but also argues and pleads, and by each avenue of approach to mind, to heart, to temper, to make his urgent and pitiful appeal! At last, where are the children of disobedience? But Wisdom"s children justify their name and parentage.

IV THE DISTINCT DENOUNCING OF JUDGMENT, WITH THE ANNOUNCING OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, FOR THOSE WHO RESISTED AND REFUSED THE TEACHING AND INTENT OF "THE MIGHTY WORKS" WROUGHT BY HIM. The lips that loved mercy, and belonged to a heart that supremely loved mercy, speak thus forth that very reason, because they love mercy, and the day of judgment was not yet come. The Lord "mourns for towns where the wonders of Divine power had been most manifestly set forth, which once had the mystery of God, and which might have brought forth the fruit of virtues." The Saviour"s "Woe"!" is denunciation indeed, but denunciation mingled with the most pathetic of grief. Tyre and Sidon had indeed trodden under foot the law of nature, and "without cause;" but these towns, after that they had transgressed the natural and the written Law, also make light of those "mighty wonders" which had been wrought among them.

V THE CALM OUTFLOW OF THE SON"S PERFECT SYMPATHY OF PRAISE TOWARD THE FATHER. Dwell on:

1. The title by which the Father is addressed, as "Lord of heaven and earth once the Maker of both, ever the Ruler and Disposer of both, but withal to be adored as the Uniter of the one to the other. It is a reminiscence of the prayer Jesus taught: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

2. The perfect consent and harmony that the known counsel and will of God the Father receives of the Son.

3. The matter which now serves to illustrate this, viz. the revealing to the childlike, the poor in spirit, the pure, the meek, of those things, deep as hell and high as heaven, which their souls were indeed able to receive, and which became "more abundant life" in them; and the withholding them from others, viz. those whose blindness, but self-sufficiency, could only misconceive, misrepresent, adulterate them, and increase their own condemnation.

4. The fact that Christ utters no vindication, but does speak perfect acquiescence in the sovereign sight and sovereign will. Dwell also generally on the symptoms suggested by this pause, this personal episode, so full of feeling, occurring in the midst of the current of all that was transpiring in the crooked and perverse generation. What did it mean? How close it seemed to bring heaven down to earth, and what absolute and real intercommunion!

VI THE ENDING OF ALL THE ARGUMENT AND EXPOSTULATION" WITH UNBELIEF BY THAT UNSURPASSED INVITATION AND OFFER, OF SURPASSING GRACE, "COME UNTO ME, ALL THAT LABOR," ETC. First, note the covering, forgiving love Of this call. It is as though the memory of his own mission, and the supremest object and end of it, flashed again fresh upon the wonderful vision already of the Saviour, partly as he had threaded the way that day through the subterfuges of unbelief, and partly as just now for one moment of elysian communion he had addressed himself to the Father. Second, note the breadth and the length of that call to me, all that toil and are heavily burdened (do not translate "All ye"). Those that day, and in that place, who had tangled themselves in the meshes and the excuses of unbelief; those far and wide, as the good tidings should travel to them, of an all-sufficient help; those down through all the ages of time who had toiled, to take nothing, and had overburdened themselves, to break their own strength; to all these the invitation of this surpassing grace is given. Thirdly, note the intrinsic, inherent, unconscious right and claim involved in the invitation on the part of him who gives it. There is no mistaking the word of it; it is "Come to me." Fourthly, note the engagement entered into. "I will give you rest rest from biting care; rest from bitter memory; rest from the chagrin of vain and wasted toil; rest from a reproaching conscience; rest from remorse. Who ever offered to enter into such an engagement except he who now did so? And he only can perform it. What tribute to his faithfulness to that offer, invitation, assurance, would millions, absolutely untold, render and present from that day to this! Lastly, note the more developed form of the simple call, "Come to me." It is this: "Take my yoke on you," and the burden I bear with it. The yoke is easy, the burden is light; for I am meek, and give my neck meekly to the yoke, and the burden follows, lightly weighing. These are of the highest things to be learned on earth of Jesus. Nor is there honour to compare with this to wear the yoke that he wore, and wear it like him; to bear the burden he bore, and bear it like him. So have we learned of Jesus, and so shall learn, more and more. B.

HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 2. The mission of miracles.

"When John had heard in the prison the works of Christ." Archbishop Thomson says, "Many Fathers are pleased to say that John had no doubts himself; that his faith was too strong for that, and that he only sent the two disciples to Jesus that they might have their faith refreshed by a stronger draught than their own master could administer. I cannot and do not believe it. There can hardly be a doubt that in thus sending his disciples to inquire of Jesus he wished to satisfy a doubt and a misgiving that had sprung up in his mind. "Why this tarrying? Why this great delay? Why not proclaim the truth upon the mountaintops and in the city that Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, is come, that the people might bow down to him, and then rise as one man to shake off the Roman yoke?" It was his own misgiving. The faith is still there, but clouded over for the moment by a certain doubt, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Archbishop Trench explains the force of the term "works" as applied to our Lord"s miracles. "A further term by which St. John very frequently names the miracles is eminently significant. They are very often with him simply "works." The wonderful is for St. John only the natural form of working for him who is dwelt in by all the fulness of God. He must, out of the necessity of his higher being, bring forth these works greater than man"s." "These miracles are the fruit after its kind which the Divine tree brings forth; and may, with a deep truth, be styled the "works" of Christ, with no further addition or explanation.

I THE PECULIARITIES OF THE CHRISTIAN MIRACLES. It is well to remember that the Christian is not the only set of miracles; their characteristic features can best be seen on comparing them with others, especially those recorded, with more or less authority, in ecclesiastical history. Note these peculiarities:

1. The miracles of Christ were kept within remarkable limitations. The fewness, not the abundance, surprises us. Christ"s restraint of miracle is far more surprising than his working miracles at all.

2. The miracles of Christ were purely philanthropic in their character. The apparent exceptions are proofs of the truth, for they were philanthropic to the disciples, parts of their spiritual training.

3. The miracles of Christ were in full harmony with the character and words of their author.

4. Less is made of the miracles of Christ as credentials than we should have expected.

II THE PURPOSE OF THE CHRISTIAN MIRACLES. The true way to the vindication of the miracles is to show that the reason of a thing affords the best proof of its existence. Some of the heavenly bodies have been discovered, not by sight with the help of the telescope, but by the reason for their existence, which was found in the force of their gravitation, and the aberration of certain neighbouring bodies. It was first shown that they must be there, and then it was found that they were there.

1. The miracles were a necessary part of Christ"s mission. He was both Redeemer from sin and Giver of life. His was really a spiritual work; not, therefore, immediately apparent to human vision. He must, in some outward palpable form, illustrate his higher work. He did the outward work of healing bodily disease and driving out evil spirits that he might lead men to look to him for spiritual healings and redeemings.

2. The miracles were also a necessary part of Christ"s revelation. He had a mission, and was a revelation. The Father-God was set before men in Jesus Christ. He was "God manifest in the flesh." Christ"s character must show men what the Father is; and Christ"s works his miracles must show men what the Father does. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He sent two of his disciples - Not because he doubted himself; but to confirm their faith. Luke vii, 18.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

John’s second attempt to lead his disciples to Christ:

v. 2. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

v. 3. and said unto Him, Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another?

When John, in his capacity as herald of Christ, had pointed Him out to his disciples the first time, two of those that heard him speak, followed Jesus, Joh 1:37. Upon a later occasion, John again bore witness of Christ, Joh 3:27-36, which might have been taken as sufficient invitation to all that heard him to become His disciples. In the meantime, John had been imprisoned in the fortress Machaerus, in southern Perca, near the boundary of Moabitis, which, after Jerusalem, was the strongest fortress of the Jews, chapter 14:3. He had now been in prison for some time, but seems to have received the attention and the services of his disciples as before. These men had as yet no full understanding of their master’s message, but looked upon Jesus and His work with rather jealous and disapproving eyes. Mat 9:14; Joh 3:28; Luk 7:18. They brought to John an account of Christ’s work, of His preaching and its effect, of His miracles of healing and the astonishment of the people. John himself, filled with the Holy Ghost from his birth, having been a witness of the revelation of God and being thoroughly convinced of Christ’s Messiahship, Luk 3:15; Joh 1:15-26; Joh 3:28, had no doubts concerning Christ and His mission. But the few disciples that were still clinging to him showed no inclination to leave him and follow the greater Teacher. Therefore he sent them as a delegation with a definitely worded question: Art Thou the Coming One, or shall we expect another? The reference was clear to everyone that knew the Old Testament, Psa 40:7, and was intended to open the eyes of the questioners. "It is certain that John proposes the question for the sake of his disciples: for they did not yet deem Christ to be He whom they should believe Him to be. And John had not come to draw disciples and the people to himself, but to prepare the way for Christ and bring all men to Christ, making them subject to Him.... But when Jesus began to perform miracles and was widely spoken of, then John thought he would dismiss his disciples from him and bring them to Christ, in order that they might not after his death organize a hereditary sect and become Johannites, but all cling to Christ and become Christians; and he sent them that they might learn, not henceforth from his testimony only, but from Christ’s words and works themselves, that He was the right man of whom John had spoken."

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It was not for John’s information that he sent his disciples to Jesus, but for their satisfaction; that he was the true and promised Messiah; John was assured of it himself by a sign from heaven at our Saviour’s baptism, Mat 3:17. But John’s disciples out of great zeal to him their master, envied Christ himself, and were unwilling to believe any person greater than their master, (Archbishop Tillotson, vol.5) therefore John, out of a pious design to confirm his disciples in the belief of Jesus being the true Messias, sends them to our Saviour, to hear the doctrine which he taught, and to see the miracles which he wrought.

Learn hence, What a pious desire there is in such as know Christ experimentally themselves, to bring all that belong to them to a saving acquaintance with him. Archbp. Tillotson, Vol. V.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [XLV. The Baptist's Inquiry].

XLV. THE BAPTIST'S INQUIRY AND JESUS' DISCOURSE SUGGESTED THEREBY. (Galilee.) aMATT. XI. 2-30; cLUKE VII. 18-35.

c18 And the disciples of John told him of all these things. a2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent by his disciples c19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them unto the Lord [John had been cast into prison about December, A. D. 27, and it was now after the Passover, possibly in May or June, A. D. 28. Herod Antipas had cast John into prison because John had reproved him for taking his brother's wife. According to Josephus, the place of John's imprisonment and death was the castle of Machærus (or Makor), east of the Dead Sea (Ant. xviii.; v. 1, 2). It was built by Herod the Great, and was not very far from that part of the Jordan in which John had baptized, so that it is probable that Herod resided in this castle when he went to hear John preach. We learn elsewhere that Herod felt kindly towards John, and this fact, coupled with the statement that John called two of his disciples to him, suggests that John must have been held as an honored prisoner with liberties like those accorded Paul at Cæsarea-- Act_24:23], a3 and said unto him, csaying, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another? [The prophets spoke of the Messiah as the coming one, and John himself had done likewise-- Mat_3:11.] 20 And when the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another? [This passage has been a puzzle to expositors from the very earliest times. Being unable to understand how the Baptist, being an inspired prophet and favored with visions of the supernatural, [278] could give way to skeptical doubts, they have exhausted their inventive genius to explain what John meant by his question. Among these many explanations the best is that given by Alford, viz.: that John wished to get Jesus to publicly declare himself for the sake of quieting all rumors concerning him, his fault being kindred to that of Jesus' mother when she tried to hasten Jesus' hour at the wedding of Cana ( Joh_2:4). But the plain, unmistakable inference of the text is that John's faith wavered. The Bible does not represent the saints as free from imperfection. It does not say that inspiration is omniscience, or that visions and miracles remove doubts. It took two miracles to persuade Gideon; Moses harbored distrust ( Exo_3:11-13, Exo_4:1-17.), and was guilty of unbelief ( Num_20:12); Elijah despaired of God's power ( 1Ki_19:4-10); Jeremiah was slow of belief, and in his despondency cursed the day of his birth ( Jer_20:7, Jer_20:14-18). But the most instructive parallel is that of Simon Peter. He witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus, beheld the glory of God, and heard the voice of the Father ( Mat_17:1-6); yet he sank below the Baptist, and denied the Lord with cursing; and no man has ever thought it at all incredible that he should do so. The trial of John's faith, though not so clearly depicted as that of Peter, was perhaps equally searching. His wild, free life was now curbed by the irksome tedium of confinement. His expectations were not fulfilled. The unfruitful trees had not been cut down, the grain had not been winnowed, nor the chaff burned, nor should he see any visible tendency toward these results. Moreover, he held no communion with the private life of Jesus, and entered not into the sanctuary of his Lord's thought. We must remember also that his inspiration passed away with the ministry, on account of which it was bestowed, and it was only the man John, and not the prophet, who made the inquiry. The inquiry itself, too, should be noted. It is not, Are you what I declared you to be? but, Being all of that, are you the one who should come, or must we look for another? John no doubt shared with all Jews the idea that Messiah was to set up an earthly kingdom, and seeing in Jesus [279] none of the spirit of such a king, he seems to have questioned whether Jesus was to be the finality, or whether he was to be, like himself, a forerunner, preparing the way for the ultimate Messiah. He did not grasp the thought that Jesus was both Alpha and Omega; that Jesus, the lowly servant of humanity, by service and sacrifice is evermore preparing the way for Jesus the King.] 21 In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many that were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he aJesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye hear and see: chave seen and heard; a5 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 to them. [John himself, when thus questioned, had answered plainly, saying, "No" ( Joh_1:20, Joh_1:21), and he probably expected a like categorical answer from Jesus. The indirect answer of Jesus, ending with a beatitude, was well calculated to waken in John beneficial thoughtfulness, for it threw his mind back upon the prophecies of God, such as Isa_30:5, Isa_30:6, Isa_42:7, Isa_41:1-3, etc. It may be inferred that Jesus withheld answering the messengers and went on with his works of grace, that these might testify to John more potently than mere words of assertion. Jesus did not work miracles to gratify skeptical curiosity, but he did use them, as here, to strengthen wavering faith ( Mar_9:24, Joh_11:15, Joh_14:11); Jesus sums up his work in the form of a climax, wherein preaching the gospel to the poor stands superior even to the raising of the dead. Attention to the poor has always been a distinctive feature of Christianity. To care for the poor is above miracles. Modern Orientals are not impressed by the miracles of the New Testament as such. The sacred literature of India and China abounds in wonders, and with the people of these lands a miracle is little more than a commonplace. With them Christ's love for the lowly is above the miracles. "Wonders and miracles might be counterfeited, but a sympathy with the suffering and helpless, so tender, so [280] laborious, so long continued, was not likely to be simulated. Such humanity was unworldly and divine"--Beecher.] 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. [The scribes had stumbled and failed to believe in Jesus because he did not fulfill their ideal, or come up to their expectations. Jesus seeks to woo John from a like fate by the sweet persuasion of a beatitude. John must realize that it is better for the subject to fall in with the plans of the all-wise King, as he fulfills the predictions of God the Father, than for the King to turn aside and frustrate the plan of the ages to humor the passing whim of a despondent and finite mind.] c24 And when the messengers of John were departed, a7 And as these went their way, che aJesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John [The commendation of Jesus which follows was not spoken in the presence of John's messengers. It was best that John should not hear it. We also do our work under the silent heavens and wait for the future plaudit, "Well done, good and faithful servant"], What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out to see? ca man clothed in soft raiment? aBehold, they that wear soft raiment cthey that are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. ahouses. [After the departure of John's messengers Jesus immediately clears the character of John of unjust suspicion. John, who had testified with such confidence as to the office and character of Jesus, now comes with a question betraying a doubtful mind and wavering faith. Was John then a vacillating man? Was he guilty of that lack of steadfastness which the world looks upon as intolerable in all who it esteems great? Was he blown about by every wind of public opinion like the tall reed (the Arunda donax) which skirts the Jordan, and which stands, bearing its beautiful blossoming top twelve feet high one moment, only to bow it to earth the next, the slender stem yielding submissively to the passing breeze? Was he a voluptuary about to condescend to flatter Herod and retract [281] his reproof, that he might exchange his prison for a palace? Those who had gone to the wilderness to see John had found no such man, and John was still the John of old. One act does not make a character, one doubt does not unmake it. John was no reed, but was rather, as Lange says, "a cedar half uprooted by the storm."] 9 But wherefore went ye out? { c26 But what went ye out to see? ato see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. [The Mat_11:10 shows us that John was a messenger as well as a prophet. Prophets foretold the Messiah, but John was the herald who announce him. John was miraculously born, and was himself the subject of prophecy. Great as was John in popular estimation, that estimation was insufficient.] 10 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee. [This quotation is taken from Mal_3:1, where it reads "my messenger... before me." But Mark ( Mar_1:2) concurs with Matthew and Luke in the reading given here. From the change in the words it appears "that Christ is one with God the Father, and that the coming of Christ is the coming of God"--Hammond.] 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater { cthere is none greater athan John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven cof God is greater than he. [We find from this passage that all true greatness arises from association, relation and contact with Jesus Christ. To be Christ's forerunner is to be above teacher and prophet, Levite and priest, lawgiver and king, and all else that the world estimates as great. If all greatness be thus measured by contact of Christ, how great must Christ be! But the least in the kingdom is greater then John. "This shows: 1. That John was not in the kingdom of God. 2. That, as none greater than John has been born of women, no one had yet entered the kingdom. 3. That, therefore, it had not yet been set up; but as John himself, Jesus, and the Twelve under the first commission, preached, was 'at hand'. [282] 4. All in the kingdom, even the humble, have a station superior to John's" (Johnson). Farrar reminds us of the old legal maxim which says, "The least of the greatest is greater than the greatest of the least," which is as much as to say that the smallest diamond is of more precious substance than the largest flint. The least born of the Holy Spirit ( Joh_1:12, Joh_1:13, Joh_3:5) is greater than the greatest born of women. They are greater in station, privilege and knowledge. The dispensations rise like lofty steps, and the lowest that stand upon the New Testament dispensation are lifted above the tallest who rest upon the dispensation of Moses. This is perhaps prophetically suggested by Zechariah-- Zec_12:8.] c29 And all the people [the common peopple, and not the rulers] when they heard, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. [They justified or approved the wisdom of God in sending such a prophet as John and establishing such an ordinance as baptism.] 30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God, being not baptized of him. [The counsel of God was that the nation should be brought to repentance by John, that it might be saved by Jesus; but the Pharisees frustrated this plan so far as they were concerned, by their proud refusal to repent. All who followed their example shared their unhappy success. It is noteworthy that Jesus emphasizes baptism as the test as to whether men justify or reject God's counsel.] a12 From the days of John the Baptist until now [a period of about three years] the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. [Jesus here pictures the kingdom of heaven as a besieged city. The city is shut up, but the enemies which surround it storm its walls and try to force an entrance--an apt illustration which many fail to comprehend. The gates of Christ's kingdom were not opened until the day of Pentecost ( Act_2:22-36.), but men hearing it was about to be opened sought to enter prematurely, not by the gates which God would open when Simon Peter used the keys ( Mat_16:19), but by such breaches as they themselves sought to make [283] in the walls. Examples of this violence will be seen in the following instances ( Joh_6:15, Mat_20:21, Luk_19:11, Luk_19:36-38, Luk_22:24-30, Act_1:6.) The people were full of preconceived ideas with regard to the kingdom, and each one sought to hasten and enjoy its pleasures as one who impatiently seizes upon a bud and seeks with his fingers to force it to bloom. The context shows that John the Baptist was even then seeking to force the kingdom.] 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye are willing receive i it, this is Elijah, that is to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. [The Old Testament was the work of a long series of prophets, and this series was closed by John the Baptist. But John differed from all the others in the series; for they prophesied concerning the kingdom, while John turned from their course to preach that the kingdom was at hand, and thereby incidentally brought upon it the assaults of violence. As to John the Baptist being the prophetic Elijah, see Mat_13:24-43. In the Mat_13:24 Jesus says, "The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man who sowed good seed," but in the Mat_13:37 he says "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man," thus making the kingdom of heaven like the entire parabolic picture, and not the mere subject of its leading verb. Others say that John came mourning and Jesus came piping, and that the Jews were satisfied with neither. This was the older view, and had not expositors been confused by the grammatical difficulties above mentioned, it would never have been questioned. For the context favors it, and the whole trend of Scripture demands it. It was God in his messengers--his prophets and his Son--who came to set the world right. It was these messengers who took the initiative and who demanded the changes. It was the people who sulked and refused to comply with the divine overtures. The whole tenor of Christ's teaching--the parables of the supper, etc.--represents the Jews as being invited and refusing the invitation. It was John and Jesus who preached repentance, but there was no instance where any called on them to repent. Jerusalem never wept over an intractable Jesus, but Jesus wept over the people of Jerusalem because they "would not." Jesus and John each besought the people to prepare for the kingdom of God, but the people sneered at one [285] as too strict and at the other as too lenient, and would be won by neither. To justify them in rejecting God's counsel, they asserted that John's conduct was demoniacal and that of Jesus was criminal, thus slandering each. But the lives or works of Jesus and John were both directed by the wisdom of God, and all those who were truly wise towards God--children of wisdom (see Act_21:3, Act_27:3), and Tyre became a Christian city, while Tiberias, just south of Capernaum, became the seat of Jewish Talmudism. Sackcloth was a coarse fabric woven of goat's or camel's hair, and was worn by those who mourned. It was called sackcloth because, being strong and durable, it was used for making the large sacks in which rough articles were carried on the backs of camels. Such sacks are still so used. Ashes were put upon the head and face as additional symbols of grief. Jesus here uses these symbolic words to indicate that these cities would have repented thoroughly.] 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, 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. 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. [Several great truths are taught in this paragraph. We note the following: 1. Every hearer of the gospel is left either much more blessed or much more wretched. 2. That the miracles which Jesus wrought were calculated to lead men to repentance, for they demonstrated his authority to demand that man should repent. 3. That even among those who stand condemned at the judgment there is a difference, and that it shall be more tolerable for some than for others. 4. That God takes account of our opportunities when he comes to measure our guiltiness ( Mat_5:21, Mat_5:22, Mat_10:15, Luk_11:47, Luk_11:48, Joh_9:41, Joh_15:22-24, Rom_2:12). Capernaum was the most favored spot on earth, for Jesus made it his home. He therefore speaks of it figuratively as being exalted to heaven. Hades means the abode of the dead. It stands in figurative contrast to heaven and indicates that Capernaum shall be brought to utter ruin. Though Jesus was not displeased with the walls and houses, but with those who dwelt in them, yet the uncertain sites of these cities are marked only by ruins, and present to the traveler who searches among [287] rank weeds for their weather-worn stones the tokens of God's displeasure against the people who once dwelt there. In less than thirty years these three cities were destroyed. Sin destroys cities and nations, and permanent temporal prosperity depends upon righteousness. The history of the destruction of Sodom in the time of Abraham is well known. As it was one of ( Num_13:22) the oldest cities of any great importance in Palestine, this reference to its remaining is the more striking, showing that its destruction did not come from the mere operation of natural law, but as a divine punishment meted upon it for its sins--a punishment which might have been avoided by repentance ( Jon_3:10). There is hope for the greatest sinner if Sodom might thus escape.] 25 At that season [while these thoughts of judgment were in his mind] Jesus answered [replying to the thoughts raised by this discouraging situation--this rejection] and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding [the selfish and shrewd; the scribes and Pharisees, wise in their own conceit-- Joh_9:40, Joh_9:41], and didst reveal them unto babes [the pure and childlike; the apostles and their fellows who were free from prejudice and bigoted prepossession. God hid and revealed solely by his method of presenting the truth in Christ Jesus. The proud despised him, but the humble received him]: 26 yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. [This is a reiteration of the sentiment just uttered. It means "I thank thee that it pleases thee to do thus." The Son expresses holy acquiescence and adoring satisfaction in the doings of Him who, as Lord of heaven and earth, had right to dispose of all things as it pleased him.] 27 All things have been delivered unto me of my Father [ Joh_3:35. All things necessary to the full execution of his office as Lord of the kingdom were entrusted to Jesus, but for the present only potentially. The actual investiture of authority did not take place until the glorification of Jesus ( Mat_28:18, Col_1:16-19, Heb_1:8). The authority thus delivered shall be eventually returned [288] again-- 1Co_15:28]: 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 i him. [Here again are many important truths taught: 1. While we may have personal knowledge of Jesus, we can not know him completely. His nature is inscrutable. And yet, in direct opposition to our Lord's explicit assertion, creeds have been formed, defining the metaphysical nature of Christ, and enforcing their distinctions on the subject which Jesus expressly declares that no man understands, as necessary conditions of church membership in this world, and of salvation in the world to come. "It would be difficult to find a more audacious and presumptuous violation of the words of Jesus than the Athanasian Creed, with its thrice repeated curses against those who did not receive its doctrines" (Morison). 2. We can have no correct knowledge of God except through revelation. 3. Jesus begins the revelation of the Father in this world, and completes it in the world to come. 4. By this exclusive claim as to the knowledge of the Father, Jesus asserts his own divinity. 5. Christ's exalted power comes by reason of his exalted being.] 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. [The preceding remarks are prefatory to this invitation. The dominion which Jesus exercises, the nature which he possess, and the knowledge which he can impart justify him in inviting men to come to him. The labor and the rest here spoken of are primarily those which affect souls. That is, the labor and the heavy burden which sin imposes, and the rest which follows the forgiveness of that sin. Incidentally, however, physical burdens are also made lighter by coming to Jesus, because the soul is made stronger to bear them. The meekness and lowliness of Jesus lend confidence to those whom he invites that no grievous exactions will be made of them. "Taking the yoke" is a symbolic expression. [289] It means, "Submit to me and become my disciple," for the yoke is symbolic of the condition of servitude--see Jer_27:11, Jer_27:12, Isa_9:4, Act_15:10, Gal_5:1, 1Ti_6:1.]

[FFG 278-290]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. When John had heard in the prison. Compare Mark 6:14–29 and Luke 7:19–28. John had now been a year in prison, to which he had been sent by Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, because he had rebuked his adulterous marriage with his brother Philip's wife (Matt. 14:1–11). Josephus says that Machærus, a strong fortress built by Herod the Great, the father of Antipas, about ten miles east of the Dead Sea, was the prison. He sent his disciples. To make the inquiry found in the next verse. The course of Jesus was so different from what John himself, in common with other Jews, expected of the Messiah, that after lying in a dungeon for a year, he began to be uncertain. If Jesus was the Christ, why did he not proclaim himself the Messiah King, destroy the power of the Romans and of Herod, and release John himself from prison? So he reasoned.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

2–19. CONCERNING JOHN THE BAPTIST

His message to Jesus 2–6. His position as a Prophet 7–14. His relation to Jesus and to his contemporaries 15–19.

St Luk 7:18-35

2. διὰ for δύο of textus receptus on the highest evidence.

2. ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ. At Machærus. See note, ch. Mat 14:3.

τὰ ἔργα, which were not the works which John might have expected from a Messiah, in whose hand was the separating fan, and at whose coming the axe was laid at the root of the trees.

διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν. See critical note supra, and cp. Luk 7:19.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2-30.] Message of enquiry from the Baptist: our Lord’s answer, and discourse thereon to the multitude. Luk 7:18-35. There have been several different opinions as to the reason why this enquiry was made. I will state them, and append to them my own view. (1) It has been a very generally received idea that the question was asked for the sake of the disciples themselves, with the sanction of their master, and for the purpose of confronting them, who were doubtful and jealous of our Lord, with the testimony of His own mouth. This view is ably maintained by Chrysostom; τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἔπεμψεν ἐρωτῶν; ἀπεπήδων τοῦ Ἰησοῦ οἱ Ἰωάννου μαθηταί· καὶ τοῦτο παντί που δῆλόν ἐστι· καὶ ζηλοτύπως ἀεὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν εἶχον. καὶ δῆλον ἐξ ὧν πρὸς τὸν διδάσκαλον ἔλεγον (Joh 3:26), καὶ πάλιν (Joh 3:25), καὶ αὐτῷ πάλιν προσελθόντες ἔλεγον (Mat 9:14),—οὔπω γὰρ ἦσαν εἰδότες τίς ἦν ὁ χριστός, ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν Ἰησοῦν ἄνθρωπον ψιλὸν ὑποπτεύοντες, τὸν δὲ Ἰωάννην μείζονα ἢ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον, ἐδάκνοντο εὐδοκιμοῦντα τοῦτον ὁρῶντες, ἐκεῖνον δέ,· καθὼς εἶπε, λοιπὸν λήγοντα. Hom. xxxvi. 2, 3, p. 408. And similarly Euthymius and Theophylact. This view is also adopted and eloquently defended by Stier, Reden Jesu, 2nd edn., i. p. 392 sq. The objections to this view are,—that the text evidently treats the question as coming from John himself; the answer is directed to John; and the following discourse is on the character and position of John. These are answered by Stier with a supposition that John allowed the enquiry to be made in his name; but surely our Saviour would not in this case have made the answer as we have it, which clearly implies that the object of the miracles done was John’s satisfaction. (2) The other great section of opinions on the question is that which supposes doubt to have existed, for some reason or other, in the Baptist’s own mind. This is upheld by Tertullian (cont. Marc. iv. 18, vol. ii. p. 402, ed. Migne, not iv. 5, as Bp. Wordsworth: nor is there any ambiguity in the main features of his view, as Bp. W. implies) and others, and advocated by De Wette, who thinks that the doubt was not perhaps respecting our Lord’s mission, but His way of manifesting Himself, which did not agree with the theocratic views of the Baptist. This he considers to be confirmed by ver. 6. Olshausen (in loc.) and Neander (Leben Jesu, p. 92) suppose the ground of the doubt to have lain partly in the Messianic idea of the Baptist, partly in the weakening and bedimming effect of imprisonment on John’s mind. Lightfoot carries this latter still further, and imagines that the doubt arose from dissatisfaction at not being liberated from prison by some miracle of our Lord. (Hor. Hebr. in loc.) This however is refuted by Schöttgen (Hor. Hebr. in loc.). The author of the Quæstiones et Resp. ad Orthodoxos among the works of Justin Martyr suggests, and Benson (Hulsean Lectures for 1820, p. 58 sqq.) takes up, the following solution: ἐπειδὴ διάφοροι φῆμαι περὶ ὧν ἐποιήσατο θαυμάτων ὁ Ἰησοῦς διέτρεχον, τῶν μὲν λεγόντων, Ἡλίας ἐστὶν ὁ ταῦτα ποιῶν· τῶν δέ, Ἱερεμίας· τῶν δέ, ἄλλος τις τῶν προφητῶν· ταύτας τὰς φήμας ἀκούων ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐν τῇ εἰρκτῇ πέμπει τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ μαθεῖν εἰ ὁ τὰ σημεῖα ποιῶν αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ μαρτυρηθείς, ἢ ἕτερός τις ὁ παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν θρυλλούμενος. γνοὺς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῦ Ἰωάννου τὸν σκοπόν, ἐπὶ τῆς παρουσίας τῶν μαθητῶν Ἰωάννου ἐποίησε πολλὰ θαύματα, πείθεν αὐτοὺς καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννηυ διʼ αὐτῶν ὡς αὐτὸς εἴη ὁ πεποιηκὼς καὶ τὰ ἐπʼ ὀνόματι ἑτέρων φημιζόμενα θαύματα, ὁ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ μαρτυρηθείς. Resp. 38, p. 456. (3) It appears to me that there are objections against each of the above suppositions, too weighty to allow either of them to be entertained. There can be little doubt on the one hand, that our Saviour’s answer is directed to John, and not to the disciples, who are bonâ fide messengers and nothing more:—πορευθέντες ἀπαγγείλατε Ἰωάννῃ can, I think, bear no other interpretation: and again the words μακάριός ἐστιν ὃς ἐὰν μὴ σκανδαλισθῇ ἐν ἐμοί must equally apply to John in the first place, so that, in some sense, he had been offended at Christ. On the other hand, it is exceedingly difficult to suppose that there can have been in John’s own mind any real doubt that our Lord was ὁ ἐρχόμενος, seeing that he himself had borne repeatedly such notable witness to Him, and that under special divine direction and manifestation (see ch. 3:16, 17: Joh 1:26-37).

The idea of his objective faith being shaken by his imprisonment is quite inconsistent not only with John’s character, but with our Lord’s discourse in this place, whose description of him seems almost framed to guard against such a supposition.

The last hypothesis (that of the Pseudo-Justin) is hardly probable, in the form in which it is put. We can scarcely imagine that John can have doubted who this Person was, or have been confounded by the discordant rumours which reached him about His wonderful works. But that one form of this hypothesis is the right one, I am certainly disposed to believe, until some more convincing considerations shall induce me to alter my view. (4) The form to which I allude is this: John having heard all these reports, being himself fully convinced Who this Wonderworker was, was becoming impatient under the slow and unostentatious course of our Lord’s self-manifestation, and desired to obtain from our Lord’s own mouth a declaration which should set such rumours at rest, and (possibly) which might serve for a public profession of His Messiahship, from which hitherto He had seemed to shrink. He thus incurs a share of the same rebuke which the mother of our Lord received (Joh 2:4); and the purport of the answer returned to him is, that the hour was not yet come for such an open declaration, but that there were sufficient proofs given by the works done, to render all inexcusable, who should be offended in Him, And the return message is so far from being a satisfaction designed for the disciples, that they are sent back like the messenger from Gabii to Sextus Tarquinius, with indeed a significant narrative to relate, but no direct answer; they were but the intermediate transmitters of the symbolic message, known to Him who sent it, and him who received it.

It is a fact not to be neglected in connexion with this solution of the difficulty, that John is said to have heard of the works, not τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, but τοῦ χριστοῦ: the only place where that name, standing alone, is given to our Lord in this Gospel. So that it would seem as if the Evangelist had purposely avoided saying τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, to shew that the works were reported to John not as those of the Person whom he had known as Jesus, but of the Deliverer—the Christ; and that he was thus led to desire a distinct avowal of the identity of the two. I have before said that the opening part of the ensuing discourse seems to nave been designed to prevent, in the minds of the multitude, any such unworthy estimations of John as those above cited. The message and the answer might well beget such suspicions, and could not from the nature of the case be explained to them in that deeper meaning which they really bore; but the character of John here given would effectually prevent them, after hearing it, from entertaining any such idea.

2. ἀκούσας] From his own disciples, Luk 7:18. The place of his imprisonment was Machærus. ὁ μὲν ὑποψίᾳ τοῦ Ἡρώδου δέσμιος εἰς τὸν Μαχαιροῦντα πεμφθείς, … (μεθόριον δέ ἐστι τῆς τε Ἀρέτα καὶ Ἡρώδου ἀρχῆς).… ταύτῃ κτίννυται. Jos. Antt. xviii. 5. 2.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. The editor gives a survey of Christ’s work. It falls into three sections. Christ’s work is considered (a) in relation to that of the Baptist, 2-19; (b) in view of its apparent failure, 20-24; (c) in view of its real success, 25-30.

No part of this is found. in Mk.

Vv. 2-19 find a parallel in Luk 7:18-35. But

Mt 2-3 bear little resemblance to Lk 18-21.

Mt 4-11 agree verbally for the most part with 22-28.

At this point Lk. breaks the thread of the discourse by inserting an editorial comment, vv. 29-30. Mt. seems to carry on the speech, but vv. 12-15 are probably inserted here by him from another context. Vv. 12, 13 find a parallel in Luk 16:16, where the clauses are in the reverse order.

Mt 16-19 agree very closely with Lk 31-35.

20 is an editorial comment.

21-23a agree closely with Luk 10:13-15 from the charge to the Seventy.

23b has no parallel in Lk.

24 agrees closely with Luk 10:12.

25-27 agree closely with Luk 10:21, Luk 10:22 after the return of the Seventy.

28-30 have no parallel in Lk.

So far as vv. 20-30 are concerned, it seems probable that the editor is bringing together detached sayings, some of which Lk. has placed in or after the charge to the Seventy. The two Evangelists cannot have had a common source for these sayings, unless the source consisted of sayings only, without historical connections. These sayings are probably become stereotyped in tradition, and were drawn by the two writers from different sources. But the relation of Mt 4-11, Mat 4:16-19 to Lk 22-28, Luk 22:31-35 is very puzzling. Why do both writers connect these groups of sayings; puzzling. Why do both writers connect these groups of sayings; and why do both insert between them a paragraph which is quite different in the two Gospels? It is probable that the two groups existed independently before the two Evangelists. Why both writers connected them is not easy to explain. But since both groups deal with John the Baptist, it is not altogether unnatural that two or more Gospels should have connected them together. That they did this independently is shown by the different character of the connecting links, Mat 11:12-16, Lk 29-30.

If it be thought that the close verbal agreement of Mt 4-11 = Lk 22-28 and of Mt 16-19 = Luk 7:31-35 compels us to think of a direct connection between the Gospels, it would be better to fall back upon the view that Lk. had seen Mt., than to suppose that both are borrowing from a common source. In the latter case it is impossible to explain the fact that both editors independently insert extraneous words at the same point in a common source. If Lk. had seen Mt., he may well have taken objection to vv. 12-15 as obscure, and substituted for them a comment which prepared an anticipatory explanation of Mt 19b. In that case he has not cared to pass over Mt 12-13 altogether, but has placed them in another context, transposed them, substituted ἀπὸ τότε for ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάνου which he felt to be anachronistic, substituted εὐαγγελίζεται for the ambiguous βιάζεται, and paraphrased βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν by πᾶς εἰς αὐτὴν βιάζεται, thus making the sentence clearly express the idea that the Baptist’s ministry was the inauguration of the kingdom of heaven. Cf. Act 1:22, Act 10:37.

(L) 2, 3. And John having heard in the prison the works of the Messiah, sent through his disciples, and said to Him, Art Thou the Coming One, or are we to wait for another?] Lk. agrees only in the last clause.

ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ] The imprisonment of the Baptist has been referred to in 4:12.—τὰ ἔργα] of which illustrations have been given in 8:1-9:34.—ὁ ἐρχόμενος] i.e. the Messiah; cf. 3:11, Psa 118:26, Dan 7:13.

2. διά] א B C * D al 33 124 q. δύο of C2 E F al seems to bean assimilation to Lk. For διά, cf. 1:22, 2:5, 15, 17, 23, 3:3, 4:14, 8:17, 12:17, 13:35, 21:4, 24:15, 27:9 διʼ οὗ, 18:7, 26:24, and ὁμόσαι δἰ ἀγγέλων, Ditt. Syll. 122, 25.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Two of his disciples [δυο] . But the correct reading is dia, by. He sent by his disciples. So Rev.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.