New Testament Commentary - Matthew 11

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial] Commentary & Explanation Footnotes ~ References ~ JST

           CHAPTER 11
Jesus acclaims John as more than a prophet—The cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum upbraided for unbelief—The Son reveals the Father—The yoke of Christ is easy and his burdern light.

1 AND it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to ^apreach in their cities.
2 Now when ^aJohn had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
1^a D&C 128:20;
2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13);
     Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14;
     2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19);
     TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;

4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again^a those ^athings which ye do hear and see:
5 The ^ablind receive their ^bsight, and the lame walk, the ^clepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the ^dpoor have the gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be ^aoffended in me.
4^a God and shew John again Now perhaps John's faith need a little reassurance at this time of his imprisonment. Certainly the Prophet Joseph Smith had his time of appealing unto the Lord while in prison. And again, the type of Messiah which was looked for of the Jews, Jesus in his earthly ministry was not. Whether John understood that he would be required to seal his testamony with his blood is not given. But he did just that, becoming a testator to the divine mission of the Lord God Jesus Christ. 1^a D&C 128:20;
2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13);
     Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14;
     2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19);
     TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;

7 ¶ And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind^a?
8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in ^akings' houses.
9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a ^aprophet.
7^a A reed shaken with the wind In the 'servant songs' of Isaiah in chapter 42, it speaks of the Holy Spirit being placed upon the servant and how that 'a brused reed shall he not break'. The movings of the Holy Ghost are often likened unto the wind and when the wind moves the reeds of the field they tend to bend with the wind. And if one is buised, it does break in force of the wind. Perhaps Jesus' allusion to John as going out to see a reed shaken in the wind, is just such an allusion to such as a servant of God being moved upon by the Holy Ghost, but of such servants of God, they are not to be 'shaken' by the winds of men but to be moved by the Spirit of God. 1^a D&C 128:20;
2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13);
     Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14;
     2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19);
     TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;

10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my ^amessenger before thy face, which shall ^bprepare thy way before thee.
11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of ^awomen there hath not risen a greater than ^bJohn the Baptist: ^cnotwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and ^athe violent take it by force.
1^a D&C 128:20;
2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13);
     Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14;
     2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19);
     TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;

13 ^aFor all the ^bprophets and the law ^cprophesied until John.
14 And if ye will receive it, this is ^aElias, which was for to come.
15 He that hath ears to ^ahear, let him hear.

16 ¶ But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and ^aa winebibber, a friend of ^bpublicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified ^cof her children.

20 ¶ Then began he to upbraid the ^acities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have ^arepented long ago in sackcloth and ^bashes.
22 But I say unto you, It shall be more ^atolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

23 And thou, Capernaum, which art ^aexalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to ^bhell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of ^aSodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

25 ¶ At that time Jesus answered and said, I ^athank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast ^bhid these things from the wise and ^cprudent, and hast ^drevealed them unto ^ebabes.
26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
27 All ^athings are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither ^bknoweth any man the Father, save the Son, ^cand he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

28 ¶ ^aCome unto me, all ye that ^blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you ^crest.
29 Take my ^ayoke upon you, and ^blearn of me; for I am ^cmeek and ^dlowly in ^eheart: and ye shall find ^frest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is ^aeasy, and my burden is light.

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 11 Jesus acclaims John as more than a prophet—The cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum upbraided for unbelief—The Son reveals the Father—The yoke of Christ is easy and his burdern light.
1 AND it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to ^apreach in their cities. 2 Now when ^aJohn had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again^a those ^athings which ye do hear and see: 5 The ^ablind receive their ^bsight, and the lame walk, the ^clepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the ^dpoor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be ^aoffended in me.	4^a God and shew John again Now perhaps John's faith need a little reassurance at this time of his imprisonment. Certainly the Prophet Joseph Smith had his time of appealing unto the Lord while in prison. And again, the type of Messiah which was looked for of the Jews, Jesus in his earthly ministry was not. Whether John understood that he would be required to seal his testamony with his blood is not given. But he did just that, becoming a testator to the divine mission of the Lord God Jesus Christ.	1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
7 ¶ And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind^a? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in ^akings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a ^aprophet.	7^a A reed shaken with the wind In the 'servant songs' of Isaiah in chapter 42, it speaks of the Holy Spirit being placed upon the servant and how that 'a brused reed shall he not break'. The movings of the Holy Ghost are often likened unto the wind and when the wind moves the reeds of the field they tend to bend with the wind. And if one is buised, it does break in force of the wind. Perhaps Jesus' allusion to John as going out to see a reed shaken in the wind, is just such an allusion to such as a servant of God being moved upon by the Holy Ghost, but of such servants of God, they are not to be 'shaken' by the winds of men but to be moved by the Spirit of God.	1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my ^amessenger before thy face, which shall ^bprepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of ^awomen there hath not risen a greater than ^bJohn the Baptist: ^cnotwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and ^athe violent take it by force.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
13 ^aFor all the ^bprophets and the law ^cprophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is ^aElias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to ^ahear, let him hear.
16 ¶ But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, 17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and ^aa winebibber, a friend of ^bpublicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified ^cof her children.
20 ¶ Then began he to upbraid the ^acities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have ^arepented long ago in sackcloth and ^bashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more ^atolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
23 And thou, Capernaum, which art ^aexalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to ^bhell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of ^aSodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
25 ¶ At that time Jesus answered and said, I ^athank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast ^bhid these things from the wise and ^cprudent, and hast ^drevealed them unto ^ebabes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All ^athings are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither ^bknoweth any man the Father, save the Son, ^cand he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
28 ¶ ^aCome unto me, all ye that ^blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you ^crest. 29 Take my ^ayoke upon you, and ^blearn of me; for I am ^cmeek and ^dlowly in ^eheart: and ye shall find ^frest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is ^aeasy, and my burden is light.