Matthew 11:1-6

23 The mood of the verb is most important here. The Lord is not telling what would but what may occur. His apostles were frail mortals, easily discouraged, so He does no more than hint at a possible failure of their mission. The common version, by ignoring the subjunctive form of the verbs, has given rise to much perplexity and speculation. This proclamation brought the kingdom very near, so that the Lord's coming in glory and power should not have been delayed much longer. That He did not come at that time is no proof that He was mistaken, but rather of His foreknowledge, for He was careful to phrase the prospect so as to provide for this contingency.

25 Our Lord calls Beezeboul a householder, which, probably, is the meaning of the name. (See note on Mat_12:24). The disciples should expect no better treatment than their Lord had received, yet He exhorts them not to be afraid, for even the unseen powers shall be manifested.

28 The soul is the seat of sensation, but is popularly confounded with the spirit. A soulish man is one who is swayed by his senses. He may even be sensual, for such is the usual rendering of Jam_3:15. Those of the apostles who were killed later will lose nothing in the kingdom. Their souls will be surfeited with joy in that day. Their death will only add to their soul's delight in the resurrection. They, however, who come under God's judgment in the kingdom will not only have their bodies destroyed in the vale of Hinnom, just below Jerusalem, where the offal of the city was incinerated, but they will miss all the joys which their souls long for in the millennium. The martyrs who die for the sake of the kingdom have nothing to fear. So far as their souls are concerned, death gives them an immediate entrance into the delights of that earthly paradise, even though at their martyrdom it was thousands of years in the future.

29 The greatness of God is as evident in the minute details of His creation as in the vast immensities of stellar space. His microscopic care meets the needs of His creatures, and reaches their hearts. Nothing is too trivial for Him Whose presence pervades the universe. The ultimate electron is as much His providence as the cosmos in its entirety.

34 The natural inference arising from the proclamation of the kingdom would be that, when Israel believed, the era of the millennium would immediately commence. But it is never wise to reason from God's apparent procedure. He may have deeper plans which do not appear on the surface. The proclamation of the kingdom was made in all good faith, yet we know now, as God always has known, that it was not intended to introduce the kingdom at that time. Moreover, He had also revealed that, before it could come, there would be a time of great distress in which His faithful followers would endure such affliction as had not been known on the earth before. Since the kingdom must be established by force, He thrusts in His sword, that peace may follow.

37 See Luk_14:26-27.

38 See Mat_16:24; Mar_8:34-35; Luk_9:23-24.

39 This has special reference to the time of Jacob's trouble, at the time of the end, when many will suffer and die rather than worship the image of the wild beast (Rev_13:15). They will avoid suffering, or save their souls, only at the risk of God's indignation, and the loss of the pleasures of the kingdom. Those who endure affliction for the kingdom will enjoy the bliss of the kingdom. They destroy their souls to find them. Those who avoid suffering by yielding to the pressure of the adversary, will have no portion in the kingdom. They find their souls for a brief period only to destroy them for the thousand years.

40 When the Son of Mankind comes in His glory to sit upon His throne, then judgment will proceed on the basis, not of personal sinfulness, but of the treatment of His disciples during the time of their need. This principle is a fitting close to His instructions for proclaiming the kingdom. It shows that they are not commissioned to preach the evangel of God, which is for us today.

41 See 1Ki_17:1018:4; 2Ki_4:8; Heb_13:2.

2-4 Compare Luk_7:18-23.

2 John Was the greatest of all the prophets. Yet even he was not fully aware of the mind of God. If Christ is Messiah, and this he does not doubt, why is he allowed to languish in prison? The Jews had difficulty in reconciling the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Some seemed to set Him forth as the Suffering One; others made Him a glorious King. So some looked for two Messiahs; one, Messiah ben Joseph to suffer, and another, Messiah ben David, to reign. Perhaps some such thought came to John. He had openly rebuked Herod, but the Lord made no effort to get him out of Herod's hands, and did nothing to assert His own power. Was He the Suffering One, and was there to be another to rule with an iron club? We can now see that both Joseph and David were a combination of suffering and glory, and that there was in each case an interval between the two. But this could hardly be made known at the time He was sending out His apostles. It would have disheartened them to know that their proclamation was not destined to succeed. So our Lord does not give a definite reply to John's messengers, but bids them testify to what they saw. He hints that John might be snared by His course. Yet, however inexplicable it may appear to him, He assures him that it is his happy portion to trust where he cannot understand.