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The Gospel of Matthew
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BIBLE STUDY MATTHEW 11:1-30 REVIEW: In chapter 10, Jesus summons his twelve disciples (also called apostles) and gives them the authority and commission to do his ministry of proclamation and healing. He also gives them various instructions, warnings, and encouragements – such as:
As I noted, this section was very pertinent to Matthew’s original Jewish-Christian readers. Even though they faced much opposition even from their fellow Jews, they were encouraged to remain faithful disciples of Jesus and to proclaim his message – come what may. INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 11: The overall theme of this chapter is that Jesus is indeed the Christ (Messiah) who is to come. In the first part of the chapter, Jesus contrasts his ministry with that of John the Baptist; then Jesus gives warnings of judgment to cities which reject his ministry; then in the final part of the chapter Jesus explicitly affirms that it is through him that people can come to know and experience God’s love. CHAPTER 11:1-6 “A Delegation of John’s Disciples Visits Jesus” “Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities. When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” This is the first mention of John the Baptist by Matthew since 4:12. In Mark’s gospel (Mark 6:17) we learn that Herod Antipas had arrested John because John had criticized his marrying Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. According to a number of Bible commentators, the prison was at Machaerus, a fortified place about five miles east of the Dead Sea. According to Matthew 3:14, John had recognized and affirmed Jesus’ ministry when he had come to be baptized. But now, after spending many days and weeks and perhaps months in prison, questions had begun to form in John’s mind. Jesus’ ministry was quite different from what John had been proclaiming. John had preached about the need for repentance, about “the ax lying at the root of the trees” (Mt. 3:10), etc. – that is, John had seen the coming of the Messiah as being a time of judgment – and Jesus’ ministry was not like that. In reply, Jesus tells John’s disciples to “Go and tell John what you hear and see…” In other words, he was inviting John to reconsider his understanding of what the Messiah would do. His ministry was a fulfillment of prophecies such as Isaiah 35:5-6 – “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy…” Finally, Jesus gives a warning to John: “And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” Jesus realizes that John would probably not be able to fully understand or approve of his ministry, because John had been preaching about God’s wrath and judgment upon sin rather than about God’s love and forgiveness. In that case, Jesus would be satisfied for John to refrain from criticizing his ministry (unlike the Pharisees and even members of his own family in the next several chapters). Perhaps this is also a good message for US as well – to refrain from criticizing the ministries of others (such as other Christian denominations) whose ways who are not just like we expect or have. CHAPTER 11:7-11 “Jesus’ Tribute to John the Baptist” “As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly, I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Jesus pays a tremendous tribute to John, recognizing that is was not just any ordinary person. People had flocked out into the wilderness to hear him. They had admired him for his fearless telling of God’s truth. He was not a weak vacillator (“a reed shaken by the wind”), nor a flatterer of kings (“those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.”). People had understood that John was a prophet – a messenger from God. Jesus, however, identifies John as more than a prophet – that he was nothing less than the fulfillment of Malachi 3:1 and 4:5 – “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me…Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.” By identifying John in this way, Jesus is also stating that HE HIMSELF is the Messiah for whom John was preparing the people for. Although Jesus praises John, he also shows that he sees John and his message as belonging to another age. The “kingdom of heaven” has come into this world through Jesus’ ministry. Those who respond to the Gospel message of Jesus belong to the kingdom, and those who do not understand or follow it are not. In that sense, John is not in the kingdom. Hence Jesus says; “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” This certainly does not mean that John and the other prophets before him have no share in God’s future glory – but rather that they belong to a previous age where they had only a partial understanding of the nature of God’s love. CHAPTER 11:12-15 “Violence and the Kingdom” “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!” We need to understand this passage in light of the situation faced by Matthew’s Jewish-Christian community. John the Baptist, as the above identified forerunner of Jesus, was the beginning of the kingdom of heaven’s coming in its fullness. But John’s ministry – and then Jesus’ ministry – also engendered considerable opposition. Matthew’s community certainly understood themselves as being part of the kingdom of heaven and yet being violently opposed by the Pharisees of their day. Indeed, the Pharisees during the time of Matthew’s original readers were excommunicating the followers of Jesus from the Jewish faith – saying that they were the only true Jews. Yet Jesus still maintains that all the prophets and the law still pointed to his ministry – and that John the Baptist was actually Elijah who had come as his forerunner. CHAPTER 11:16-19 “John and Jesus are Rejected by the Kingdom’s Opponents” “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” As William Barclay states in his Daily Study Bible Commentary, Jesus was saddened by the sheer perversity of human nature. To him people seemed to be like children playing in the village square. One group said to the other: “Come on let’s play at weddings,” and the others said, “We don’t feel like being happy today.” Then the first group said, “All right; come on and let’s play at funerals,” and the others said, “We don’t feel like being sad today.” They were what the Scots call contrary. No matter what was suggested, they did not want to do it; and no matter what was offered, they found a fault in it. (DSB, Matthew vol. 2, pages 10-11) The same was true concerning the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus. John the Baptist was known for his ascetic lifestyle. We have previously heard (Mt. 9:14) that his followers often fasted. Jesus, on the other hand, was known for “eating and drinking” and associating with tax collectors and sinners (Mt. 9:10-13). Instead of paying attention to their messages, the opponents of John and Jesus often focused only upon criticizing the lifestyles of the messengers! Indeed, many criticized BOTH John and Jesus – even though their lifestyles in many ways were almost directly opposite! Nevertheless, both John’s and Jesus’ ministries were vindicated by the fact that they both changed people’s lives! Through both of their ministries, people experienced the power of God. To me (Pastor George) this has something very important to say to us today. Often we of a certain religious tradition will pick at perceived faults of other denominations – and ignore the fact that God might powerfully affect people’s lives through what they do – even if their ways are different from ours. CHAPTER 11:20-24 “Jesus’ Heartbroken Condemnation of those who reject him” “Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.” As William Barclay mentions in his Daily Study Bible commentary, this passage is an example of how little we actually know about the total ministry of Jesus. We know nothing about what Jesus did in the villages of Chorazin and Bethsaida, and yet obviously Jesus did many “deeds of power” in them. Bethsaida was the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. Even though the cities mentioned had been blessed with the presence of God’s love through Jesus’ ministry in a very special way, they had still rejected it. The “woes” that Jesus speaks about them, however, is not so much anger as it is of a broken heart. It is his deepest desire that they should repent and receive the full blessings of the kingdom. Tyre and Sidon – cities on the south coast of Lebanon – were sometimes mentioned in prophetic literature in the Old Testament (Isaiah 23:1-12; Jeremiah 25:22; Ezekiel 28:11-23; Zechariah 9:1-4; and Joel 3:4), often in the context of destruction. Jesus’ point is that if the destruction prophesied for Tyre and Sidon was bad, how much more will be the destruction of the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida! The same is true about Capernaum: its judgment will be even more severe than that of Sodom (Genesis 19:24-25). The point that Jesus is making is that with great privilege also comes great responsibility. Those who have been blessed with the ministry of Jesus and have still failed to repent will be judged more severely than those who have never been blessed with his ministry in the first place. Note that the cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom are all Gentile cities – Jesus says that they will be judged less severely than the Jewish cities that reject him. This obviously also refers to the conflict that Matthew’s Jewish-Christian community was having with their fellow Jews who were rejecting Jesus’ message. CHAPTER 11:25-27 “Jesus’ Ecstasy”“At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” The term “thank” could also be translated as “praise” – which I (Pastor George) feel is more accurate. After talking about his rejection by many people and cities of his day, Jesus notes that God’s work is being done through his ministry. The “wise and intelligent” of his day (such as the scribes, Pharisees, etc.) may have rejected him, but the “infants” - the humble and ordinary people – were having their lives changed through him. So it is today. It is not so much what we “know” intellectually about God, but simply our experience of God’s love through Jesus that is really important! In this passage Jesus identifies himself as being the unique revealer of who God is. It almost sounds like statements common in John’s gospel. (For example: “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (Jn. 1:18) and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (Jn. 14:6-7) Again, this would have been very significant to Matthew’s original readers – that only through Jesus and his teachings (rather than through Moses and the Law) can one any one fully know God the Father. CHAPTER 11:28-20 “Jesus’ Invitation”“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” In this passage Jesus is speaking directly to people who are trying to live by the Jewish Law (especially as interpreted by the Pharisees) with its endless list of requirements. (Jewish Rabbis of his day often referred to the “yoke” of the Law.) Instead of helping them to experience peace and joy, this kind of endless striving often led to frustration and discouragement. (This certainly was so later in the life of Paul before his conversion, and later Martin Luther.) To these people (and to us!) Jesus offers another way. He invites us to experience his love. This does not free us from the obligation to live as God would have us live (we still must wear a “yoke”) – but because we understand God’s love for us through Jesus, now the yoke is easy and the burden is light. William Barclay in his Daily Study Bible commentary tells about how a man came upon a little boy carrying a still smaller boy, who was lame, upon his back. “That’s a heavy burden for you to carry,” said the man. “He’s not heavy,” came the answer. “He’s my brother.” A burden that is given in love and carried in love is always light. So it is with Jesus and us! Jesus’ teaching is not burdensome for our lives – it is easy to live by and restful for our souls – because through him we know and experience God’s love. -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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