Matthew 11 - Introduction
Matthew 11:1. Jesus preaches the Gospel probably unaccompanied by the Twelve... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 11:1. Jesus preaches the Gospel probably unaccompanied by the Twelve... [ Continue Reading ]
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 Luke 7:18-35 2. _in the prison_ At Machærus. See note, ch. Matthew 14:3. For "two of his disciples" read, on the best MS. authority, _by means of his dis... [ Continue Reading ]
_he that should come_ Literally, HE THAT COMETH. One of the designations of the Messiah; in every age the prophet said "He cometh." It is often disputed whether John sent this message (1) from a sense of hope deferred and despondency in his own soul; he would ask himself: (_a_) Is this the Christ w... [ Continue Reading ]
Comp. Isaiah 35:5; Isaiah 61:1. The first passage describes the work of God, who "_will come_and save you." _the poor have the gospel preached to them_ In earthly kingdoms envoys are sent to the rich and great. Compare the thought implied in the disciple's words, "Who then can be saved?" If it is d... [ Continue Reading ]
_And blessed is he_ Blessed are all who see that these works of mine are truly the works of the Messiah. Some had thought only of an avenging and triumphant Christ. _blessed_ A term that denotes spiritual insight and advance in the true life.... [ Continue Reading ]
_A reed shaken with the wind_ If the first suggestion (Matthew 11:3) be adopted, the words have a corroborative force. It was no waverer that ye went out to see his message was clear, his faith was strong _then_. Others give the words a literal sense the reeds on the banks of Jordan and observe a c... [ Continue Reading ]
_A man clothed in soft raiment_ Mr Plumptre (Smith's _Bib. Dic._i. 1166) suggests that there may be a historical allusion in these words. A certain Menahem, who had been a colleague of the great teacher Hillel, "was tempted by the growing power of Herod, and with a large number of his followers ente... [ Continue Reading ]
_more than a prophet_ Other prophets foresaw the Messiah, the Baptist beheld Him, and ushered in His kingdom: he was the herald of the King. Further, John was himself the subject of prophecy.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, I send_, &c. Quoted from the Hebrew of Malachi 3:2. The LXX. rendering of the passage is different.... [ Continue Reading ]
_he that is least in the kingdom of heaven_ Literally, HE THAT IS LESS, either (1) than John or (2) than others. Those who are in the kingdom, who are brought nearer to God and have clearer spiritual knowledge of God, have higher privileges than the greatest of those who lived before the time of Chr... [ Continue Reading ]
_And from_ Translate BUT FROM: another point shewing the greatness of John, and also the beginning of the Kingdom: it was from the time of John's preaching that men began to press into the kingdom, and the earnest won their way in. For the preaching of John was the epoch to which all prophecy tended... [ Continue Reading ]
_For_ gives the reason why the wonderful growth of the kingdom should be witnessed _now_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_if ye will receive it_ The present unhappy circumstances in which John was placed seemed inconsistent with such a view of his mission (Meyer).... [ Continue Reading ]
_But whereunto shall I liken this generation?_ The children who complain of their companions are the Jews who are satisfied neither with Jesus nor with John. This generation is out of sympathy with the prophets in whatever guise they come. They blamed John for his too great austerity, Jesus for negl... [ Continue Reading ]
_But wisdom is justified of her children_ Wisdom = "divine wisdom" God regarded AS the All Wise. Justified = "is accounted righteous" "is acquitted of folly." Of her children = "by the divinely wise." The spiritual recognise the wisdom of God, both in the austerity of John and in the loving mercy of... [ Continue Reading ]
The Cities that repented not St Luke 10:13-15, where the words form part of the charge to the seventy disciples. It is instructive to compare the connection suggested by the two evangelists. In St Matthew the link is the rejection of Christ by the Jews then by these favoured cities; in St Luke, the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Chorazin_ is identified with Kerazeh, two and a half miles N. of Tell Hum. The ruins here are extensive and interesting; among them a synagogue built of hard black basalt and houses with walls still six feet high. _Recovery of Jerusalem_, p. 347. _Bethsaida_ (House of Fish) called Julias in honour... [ Continue Reading ]
_Capernaum_ See map. Although Capernaum was truly exalted unto heaven in being our Lord's "own city," the thought is rather of self-exaltation. The expressions recall Isaiah 14:13-15. Capernaum has exalted herself like Babylon like Babylon she shall be brought low. Possibly too Capernaum was on a he... [ Continue Reading ]
_answered and said_ A Hebraism="spake and said." _prudent_ Rather, INTELLIGENT, ACUTE. The secrets of the kingdom are not revealed to those who are wise in their own conceit, but to those who have the meekness of infants and the child-like eagerness for knowledge. In a special Jewish sense "the wis... [ Continue Reading ]
The revelation to "Babes." St Luke 10:21-22, where the words are spoken on the return of the Seventy.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Even so, Father: for_ Translate: "yea Father [I thank thee] that, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
_are delivered_ Rather, WERE delivered.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Come unto me_ Jesus does not give rest to all the heavy laden, but to those of them who show their want of relief by coming to Him.... [ Continue Reading ]
Rest for the heavy laden These words of Jesus are preserved by St Matthew only. The connecting thought is, those alone shall know who desire to learn, those alone shall have rest who feel their burden. The babes are those who feel ignorant, the laden those who feel oppressed.... [ Continue Reading ]
_learn of me_ i. e. "become my disciples;" an idea also conveyed by the word "yoke," which was used commonly among the Jews for the yoke of instruction. Stier quotes from the Mishna, "Take upon you the yoke of the holy kingdom." Men of Belial="Men without the yoke," "the uninstructed." _for_(or, _b... [ Continue Reading ]