Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

11:1 When Jesus had finished signals the conclusion of the Mission Discourse (ch. 10) and provides a transition to the next section. he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. Jesus carried on his mission while the Twelve went on theirs (ch. 10).

11:2 when John heard in prison. John had been imprisoned by Herod Antipas, and as he awaited death (see 14:1-12) he presumably heard about Jesus' ministry.

11:3-5 Are you the one who is to come? John is probably concerned because his present imprisonment does not match his understanding of the Coming One's arrival, which was to bring blessing on those who repented and judgment on those who did not (see note on 3:11). Jesus' ministry, however, is in line with prophetic promises about the time of salvation, as seen especially in these descriptions that recall the words of Isaiah: the blind receive sight (cf. 9:27-31; Isa. 29:18; 35:5), the lame walk (Isa. 35:6; cf. Matt. 15:30-31), lepers are cured (Isa. 53:4; cf. Matt. 8:1-4), the deaf hear (Isa. 29:18-19; 35:5; cf. Mark 7:32-37), the dead are raised (Isa. 26:18-19; cf. Matt. 10:8; Luke 7:11-17; John 11:1-44), and the good news is preached to the poor (Isa. 61:1; cf. Matt. 5:3; Luke 14:13, 21). Jesus' deeds gave sufficient proof of who he was and that the prophesied time of salvation had come ("the year of the Lord's favor"; Isa. 61:1; cf. Isa. 62:1).

11:6 blessed is the one who is not offended by me. The beatitude is a mild rebuke; John and his disciples must be open to God's unfolding plan, even though Jesus' ministry did not exactly match their messianic expectations (see note on vv. 3-5).

11:10 who will prepare your way. See note on 3:3.

11:11 Those born of women is a Jewish idiom for ordinary human birth (cf. Job 14:1; 15:14; 25:4), and Jesus implicitly contrasts this with the new birth into the kingdom of heaven. no one greater. John's mission was uniquely privileged because he prepared the way for the Messiah and the kingdom. greater than he. But those in the kingdom of heaven have the greater privilege because they have actually entered the kingdom (in its new covenant reality) and become partakers in the new covenant through the blood of Christ. (On the salvation of believers in the OT, see Romans 4; see also notes on Matt. 22:31-32; Rom. 10:14-15; Heb. 11:4.)

11:12 That the kingdom has suffered violence (Gk. biazō) probably indicates opposition from the religious establishment, and the violent take it by force probably refers to the actions of specific evil people like Herod Antipas, who had arrested John.

11:13 all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. John the Baptist was the last of a long history of OT prophets that looked forward to the coming of Christ.

11:14 he is Elijah who is to come. Malachi had prophesied that "Elijah" would prepare the way for the Messiah (Mal. 3:1; 4:5; see note on Mal. 4:4-6). He did not actually imply only a literal reappearance of Elijah, and John's earlier denial that he was Elijah (John 1:21) was probably an attempt to correct a popular belief that Elijah himself would reappear. Before John's birth, he was designated as the one who would minister in the "spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), thereby fulfilling Malachi's prophecy.

11:16 this generation. The crowds and the religious leaders who have rejected John's and Jesus' ministries. They are like selfish and stubborn children, always insisting on their own way.

11:17 We played the flute . . . and you did not dance. The people reject the gospel because John and Jesus do not conform to their expectations and do what they want.

11:18-19 neither eating nor drinking. Some apparently accused John of demonic influence because of his appearance and ascetic lifestyle. Son of Man came eating and drinking. Jesus' association with those in need of spiritual healing, and his refusal to fast according to Pharisaic expectations (see 9:14-17), was turned into an accusation of his being a glutton and a drunkard. However, God's wisdom (Gk. sophia) would be justified (vindicated) by the righteous fruit of John's and Jesus' life and ministry.

11:20-24 Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were the cities in which most of Jesus' miracles were performed, and yet their occupants rejected Jesus' mission and remained unrepentant. For Bethsaida and Capernaum, see notes on Mark 1:21; Luke 9:10. Chorazin has been identified with Khirbet Karazeh, just northwest of Capernaum. Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities in Phoenicia (see Mark 7:24) and were often the object of condemnation by OT prophets for their Baal worship and arrogant materialism. Sodom was the epitome of a "city of sin." Yet, Jesus says, even Sodom would have repented if it had witnessed his miracles and the reality of the kingdom.

11:25-26 these things. The message and activities of the kingdom of heaven, which require faith and humility to grasp. wise and understanding. Those who are wise in the world's eyes but are unrepentant and stubbornly refuse to accept the gospel. little children. Those who receive the gospel in simple faith (cf. 18:1-5).

11:27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. This reveals the profound divine self-consciousness of Jesus, as well as the supreme authority of the Father within the Trinity, by which he has delegated authority over "all things" to the Son. "All things" probably refers to everything needed with respect to the carrying out of Christ's ministry of redemption, including the revelation of salvation to those to whom he chooses to reveal the Father. no one knows the Son except the Father. In both Jesus' incarnate state and his eternal state as Son, the Father and the Son share an exclusive relationship, including a direct and immediate knowledge of each other.

11:28 Come to me is an invitation to trust Jesus personally, not merely to believe historical facts about him. All who labor and are heavy laden refers in the immediate context to those oppressed by the burden of religious legalism imposed on people by the scribes and Pharisees. But the wider application is that Jesus provides "rest for your souls" (v. 29)--that is, eternal rest for all who seek forgiveness of their sins and freedom from the crushing legalistic burden and guilt of trying to earn salvation by good works.

11:29 yoke. The wooden frame joining two animals (usually oxen) for pulling heavy loads was a metaphor for one person's subjection to another, and a common metaphor in Judaism for the law. The Pharisaic interpretation of the law, with its extensive list of proscriptions, had become a crushing burden (cf. 23:4) but was believed by the people to be of divine origin. Jesus' yoke of discipleship, on the other hand, brings rest through simple commitment to him (cf. 1 John 5:3).