Even John the Baptist had doubts about whether Jesus was really the promised Messiah.
"Matthew includes the record of this interrogation for at least two reasons. First, the questioning of Jesus by John, a representative of the best in Israel, points up the misconception of Israel as to the program of the Messiah and His method. He had heard of the works of Jesus (Matthew 11:2), and they certainly appeared to be Messianic. However, Jesus did not suddenly assert His authority and judge the people as John probably had thought He would (Matthew 3:10-12). Because of this misconception he began to doubt. Perhaps his being in prison, a place which was certainly incongruous for the herald of the King, reinforced his doubts. . . .
"The second purpose of these few verses (Matthew 11:2-6) is to reaffirm the concept that the works of Jesus prove His Messiahship."454
11:2-3 Herod Antipas had imprisoned John in the fortress of Machaerus east of the Dead Sea (cf. 4:12; 14:3-5).455There John heard about Jesus' Galilean ministry. Matthew wrote that John heard about the works of "the Christ."This is the only place in Matthew where the name "Christ"standing alone refers to Jesus.456Matthew evidently referred to Jesus this way here to underscore the fact that Jesus was the Christ, the Greek term for Messiah. John had doubts about that, but Matthew presented Jesus as the Messiah in unequivocal terms. The "works"of Jesus would include His teachings and all of His activities, not just His miracles.
John sent Jesus a question through some of John's disciples. This use of "disciples"is another proof that this word does not necessarily mean believers in Jesus. These disciples were still following John. They had not begun to follow Jesus. John questioned whether Jesus was "the coming One"after all (Ps. 40:7; 118:26; Isa. 59:20). "The coming One"was a messianic title.457John had previously announced Jesus as the coming One (3:11), but Jesus did not quite fit John's ideas of what Messiah would do. He was bringing blessing to many but judgment to none (cf. 3:10-12).458
"The same questions of the ultimate triumph of God undoubtedly face everyone in suffering for Christ's sake. If our God is omnipotent, why does He permit the righteous to suffer? The answer, of course, is that the time of God's judgment has not yet come but that the final triumph is certain."459
An old interpretation of John's question is that he asked it for his disciples' sake, but he never doubted Jesus' identity himself. There is nothing in the text to support this view. Rather John, like Elijah, seems to have become discouraged (cf. v. 14). Probably this happened because Jesus did not begin to judge sinners immediately.
11:4-6 Jesus sent a summary of His ministry back to John. He used the language of Isaiah's prophecies to assure His forerunner that He really was the Messiah (35:5-6; 61:1; cf. 26:19; 29:18-19). It is interesting that all of these Isaiah passages contain some reference to judgment. Thus Jesus assured John that He was the coming One, and He implied that He would fulfill the judgment prophecies, though He had not done so yet.
Verse 6 may contain an allusion to Isaiah 8:13-14. It is a gentle warning against allowing Jesus' ministry to become an obstacle to belief and a reason for rejecting Jesus. It assumes that John and his disciple began well, but it warned them against reading the evidence of Jesus' miracles incorrectly.
"It is well to note that if John had an erroneous concept of the kingdom, this would have been the logical time for Christ to have corrected it. But He did no such thing."460
John had borne witness to Jesus, and now Jesus bore witness to John. In doing so Jesus pointed to Himself as the person who would bring in the kingdom.
11:7-8 As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus took the opportunity to speak to the crowd about John. Reeds of cane grass grew abundantly along the Jordan River banks. A reed blown by the wind represents a person easily swayed by public opinion or circumstances. The multitudes certainly did not go into the Judean wilderness to view such a common sight. They did not go out to see a man in soft, even effeminate clothes (Gr. malakos) either. Such people lived in palaces. Jesus probably alluded derogatorily to Herod who had imprisoned John. Herod wore soft garments, but John wore rough garments (cf. 3:4-6).
By replying this way Jesus was allaying public suspicion that John's question might have arisen from a vacillating character or undisciplined weakness. John's question did not arise from a deficient character but from misunderstanding concerning Messiah's ministry. Jesus was defending John.
11:9-11 The people had gone out into the wilderness to hear John because they believed he was a prophet. Jesus affirmed that identification. He was the first true prophet who had appeared in hundreds of years. However, John was an unusual prophet. He was not only a spokesman from and for God as the other prophets were, but He was also the fulfillment of prophecy himself. He was the one predicted to prepare for Messiah's appearing.
The passage Jesus quoted is Malachi 3:1, and His quotation reflects an allusion to Exodus 23:20. The changes Jesus made in His quotation had the effect of making Yahweh address Messiah (cf. Ps. 110:1). This harmonizes with the spirit of Malachi's context (cf. 4:5-6). By quoting this passage Jesus was affirming His identity as Messiah.461He viewed John as potentially fulfilling the prophecy about Elijah preparing the way for Yahweh and the day of the Lord. Whether John really did fulfill it depended on Israel's acceptance of her Messiah then (cf. v. 14). In either case John fulfilled the spirit of the prophecy because he came in the spirit and power of Elijah.
Jesus called John the greatest human being because he served as the immediate forerunner of Messiah. This was a ministry no other prophet enjoyed. Yet, Jesus added, anyone in the kingdom will be greater than John.
Scholars have offered many different explanations of the last part of verse 11. Some translate "the least"as "the younger"and believe Jesus was contrasting Himself as younger than John with John who was older.462However this is an unusual and unnecessary translation. Others believe that even the least in the kingdom will be able to point unambiguously to Jesus as the Messiah, but John's testimony to Jesus' messiahship was not persuading many who heard it.463The best explanation, I believe, is that John then only anticipated the kingdom whereas participants will be in it.
". . . possession of a place in the kingdom is more important than being the greatest of the prophets."464
Jesus did not mean that John would fail to participate in the kingdom. All true prophets will be in it (Luke 13:28). He was simply contrasting participants and announcers of the kingdom.
These verses further explain John the Baptist's crucial place in God's kingdom program.
11:12-13 These verses record Jesus' description of the condition of the kingdom when He spoke these words. The days of John to the present began when John began to minister and extended to the time Jesus uttered the words Matthew recorded here. What does "suffers violence"mean? If the Greek verb biazetaiis a deponent middle, it could mean that disciples must enter the kingdom through violent effort.465This seems to introduce a foreign element into Jesus' teaching on discipleship. Entrance into the kingdom depends on faith in Jesus as the Messiah. The deponent middle could also mean that the kingdom has been forcefully advancing, but it had not swept away all opposition, as John had expected.466However the image of an irresistibly advancing kingdom seems foreign to Matthew's portrayal of Jesus' ministry thus far. Mounting opposition suggests that the kingdom was encountering severe resistance.
Probably the verb biazetaiis in the passive tense. The kingdom suffers violence because evil men take it violently. Perhaps Jesus meant that men were snatching the kingdom from God and forcing its coming.467This is impossible since Israel was not forcing the kingdom to come. The Jews were unwilling to receive it when Jesus offered it. Perhaps Jesus meant that some Jews, such as the Zealots, where trying to bring in the kingdom by political revolution.468This is unlikely since Jesus made no other reference to this happening in the context. Probably Jesus meant that the religious leaders of His day were trying to bring in the kingdom in their own carnal way while refusing to accept God's way that John and Jesus announced.469
This view explains satisfactorily Jesus' reference to the period from the beginning of John's ministry to when He spoke. Ever since John began his ministry of announcing Messiah the Jewish religious leaders had opposed him. Moreover in 23:13 Jesus accused the scribes and Pharisees of trying to seize the reins of kingdom power from Messiah to lead the kingdom as they wanted it to go. They also snatched the kingdom from the people by rejecting the Messiah. The imprisonment of John was another evidence of violent antagonism against the kingdom, but that opposition came from Herod Antipas. John and Jesus both eventually died at the hands of these violent men.
Jesus described the imminent kingdom as in grave danger because of His enemies. The Old Testament prophets had predicted until John, but when John began his ministry the time of fulfillment began. That was a unique time that the law and the prophets had foretold (v. 13).
11:14-15 In the previous two verses Jesus spoke of the imminent kingdom. It was encountering severe opposition. In these two verses He discussed the potential beginning of the kingdom.
The messianic kingdom would come ifthe Jews would accept it. In the Greek text the conditional particle (ei) assumes for the sake of the argument that they would receive it. Assuming they would, John would fulfill Malachi's prophecy about Elijah being Messiah's forerunner (4:5-6).
"There is scarcely a passage in Scripture which shows more clearly that the kingdom was being offered to Israel at this time."470
Those who believe that the kingdom really began with Jesus' preaching interpret this conditional statement as follows.471They say Jesus was acknowledging that it was difficult to accept the fact that John was the fulfillment of the prophecies about Elijah. They take "it"as referring to Jesus' statement about John rather than the kingdom. Since both are in the context the interpretation hinges on one's conclusion about whether the kingdom really did begin with Jesus' preaching or whether it is still future. I favor the second alternative in view of the Old Testament prophecies about the kingdom and how Matthew presented Jesus' concept of the kingdom. Jesus viewed the messianic kingdom as future, not present and future.472
Jesus did not say that John was Elijah. That depended on Israel's repenting and accepting Jesus as the Messiah. John fulfilled Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, prophecies about Messiah's forerunner, but not Malachi 4:5-6, the prophecy about the forerunner turning the people's hearts to God, since Israel rejected Jesus.
". . . John the Baptist stands in fulfillment of the promise of Malachi concerning the coming of Elijah, but only in the sense that he announced the coming of Christ."473
Who will fulfill Malachi 4:5-6 and when? Perhaps Elijah himself will be one of the two witnesses who will prepare the Israelites for Messiah's second coming (Rev. 11:1-14). Since John could have fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah, I tend to think that Elijah need not return to earth personally for this ministry.474Probably the two witnesses will be two contemporary believers in the Tribulation who will turn the people's hearts to God as Elijah did in his day.
Verse 15 underlines the great significance of what Jesus had just stated.
Jesus proceeded to describe the Jews' reaction to John and Himself more fully to clarify their opposition.
11:16-17 The generation Jesus spoke of consisted of the Jews to whom He offered the kingdom (cf. vv. 20-24; 12:39, 41-42, 45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:36; 24:34). Jesus must have observed children playing the marriage and funeral games He referred to here, and He used them to illustrate the childish reaction of most of His adult contemporaries. The point was that the people found fault with whatever Jesus did. He did not behave or teach in harmony with what they wanted Him to do or expected that Messiah would do. His concept of the kingdom was different from theirs. They wanted a King who would fit into and agree with their traditional understanding of the Old Testament. Consequently they rejected Him.
11:18-19 Even though John lived as an ascetic, as some of the Old Testament prophets did, most of the Jews rejected him and even charged him with demon possession. Jesus ate and drank with sinners, and many of the people criticized Him for lack of moderation and concluded that He despised the law. If they would have understood John, they would have understood Jesus.
Jesus concluded with a proverb that justified John's and His lifestyles. The Jews had criticized both John and Jesus for the ways they lived. Jesus' point was that the good deeds that John and Jesus did vindicated their choices to live as they did. Who could justifiably criticize them since they went about doing good? Wisdom in the Old Testament is almost a synonym for God in many places. Jesus claimed that He and John were living wisely, under God's control, by behaving as they did. The Jews could make childish criticisms, but the lifestyles of John and Jesus argued for their credibility.
In spite of John's doubts Jesus supported and affirmed His forerunner to his disciples and his critics. John's message was correct even if he had developed some misgivings about it.
