TEXT [Commentary]

B. Jesus’ Testimony to John the Baptist (11:7-19)

7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? 8 Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces. 9 Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. 10 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

and he will prepare your way before you.’[*]

11 “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is! 12 And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing,[*] and violent people are attacking it. 13 For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. 14 And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come.[*] 15 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

16 “To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,

17 ‘We played wedding songs,

and you didn’t dance,

so we played funeral songs,

and you didn’t mourn.’

18 For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man,[*] on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”

NOTES

11:7-8 The inquiry of John’s disciples occasioned a mini-discourse to the crowd on John’s significance in redemptive history (cf. Luke 7:24-35). As John’s disciples departed to tell him of Jesus’ answer, Jesus seized the moment to teach about John’s epochal significance. His teaching first took the form of rhetorical questions: “What kind of man did you go out into the wilderness to see?” Then Jesus’ words become a bit sarcastic and expect a negative answer—John was not “a weak reed,” which evidently portays a feeble, wavering person. Nor was John “dressed in expensive clothes” (cf. 3:4; 2 Kgs 1:8) fitting the delicate luxury of a king’s palace.

11:9-10 Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. The next rhetorical question (11:9) gets to the heart of the matter and expects a positive answer—John was neither a vacillating weakling nor a dapper gentleman but a prophet (cf. 14:5; 21:25; Luke 1:76), even the “superprophet.”

I am sending my messenger ahead of you. The prophet’s crucial role involved preparing the way for Jesus in fulfillment of Mal 3:1 (cf. Matt 3:3; Isa 40:3). This one who prepared the way is identified as Elijah in Mal 4:5-6, which is alluded to in Matt 11:14 in reference to John.

11:11 none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is! Jesus’ testimony to John’s greatness continued with a striking contrast. No one greater than John had ever lived. But surprisingly, John’s greatness pales in significance when compared with that of the least person who experiences the inauguration of the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. 13:17).

11:12 from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it. John was an epochal messenger of God, one whose ministry marked the apex of the old era and the outset of the new. Matthew 11:12 (cf. Luke 16:16) speaks of the Kingdom as inaugurated since the days of John, but the exact meaning of this verse is difficult to ascertain due to the ambiguity of the Gr. word biazō [TG971, ZG1041]. The word speaks of forceful, even violent advance, and it can have a positive or negative nuance, depending on the context. It is possible that the first half of 11:12 describes the forceful attack of enemies upon the Kingdom. In that case both statements in 11:12 make the same point. But it is more likely 11:12 should be understood (as in the NLT) as contrasting the forceful advance of the Kingdom with the violent attack upon it. John’s ministry marks the beginning of both these trends, growth and opposition, and thus he culminates the era of the law and the prophets and inaugurates the era of the Kingdom. See Carson (1984:265-268) and BDAG (175-176) for discussion of various views of this difficult passage.

11:13-14 before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. John’s epochal role as the climax of the law and the prophets, an expression referring to the entire OT, is repeated here.

he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. In this role, John functions as Elijah, whose return is prophesied in Mal 4:5-6 (cf. 17:9-13). This reference to the coming of Elijah is anticipated by the reference to Mal 3:1 in Matt 11:10. Some believe this prophecy requires the literal return of Elijah, but most interpret it in the sense of Luke 1:17, that John’s ministry in the “spirit and power of Elijah” fulfills Mal 4:5-6. Either way, the citation of Mal 3:1 in Matt 11:10 and the allusion to Mal 4:5-6 here make it clear that John’s preparatory ministry was anticipated in the OT. For further discussion of the relationship of John and Elijah, see Kaiser 1982 and the commentary below.

11:15 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand! This formula (cf. 13:9, 43) underlines the urgency of John’s ministry and prepares for the tragic rebellion involved in rejecting it in 11:16ff.

11:16-19 To what can I compare this generation? Jesus then turned from explaining John’s significance to confronting the unbelief of “this generation” (cf. 12:39, 41-42, 45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:36; 24:34). Jesus’ words in 11:17-19 amount to a parable, which he applied to the contemporary situation (cf. Luke 7:32-35). Jesus compared John’s rejection and his own to the behavior of childish brats who would not play either the wedding game or the funeral game. Neither John’s ascetic abstinence (compared to mourning or singing a dirge at a funeral) nor Jesus’ enjoyment of food and drink (likened to dancing at a wedding feast) was satisfactory. John was slandered with the charge of demon possession, and Jesus was smeared as a glutton and drunkard because he associated with tax collectors and sinners. No doubt Jesus did associate with such folk (cf. 9:10), but the charges of drunkenness and gluttony were unsubstantiated lies, evidently circulated by the Pharisees, who objected to table fellowship with sinners.

wisdom is shown to be right by its results. This probably refers to the righteous activities of both John and Jesus. Their deeds proved their wisdom.

COMMENTARY [Text]

Despite John’s doubts (11:2-6), he should not be viewed as a weak, vacillating person. To the contrary, no greater human being ever lived, and there could be no prophet greater than the one spoken of in Malachi 3:1, who would prepare the way for the Messiah (11:7-10). John also lived at a great time, the crucial juncture of the end of the prophetic era, but he was martyred just before the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus inaugurated the new covenant (cf. 26:28). John’s ministry heralded the forceful advance of the Kingdom, but he became a victim of the violent people who were attacking it. His role was that of Elijah. (11:11-15). Neither John nor Jesus, whose lifestyles were quite opposite, were acceptable to their evil contemporaries (11:16-19). “John is too holy; Jesus is not holy enough” (Hagner 1993:311). But ultimately Jesus, perhaps personified as wisdom, will be vindicated by his deeds (11:19). Matthew 11:7-19 sets the scene for the blatant slander raised against Jesus in Matthew 12.

John and Elijah. Jesus’ solemn words, “anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand,” underline the importance of grasping his identification of John the Baptist with Elijah (11:14-15). These words have been the occasion of a great deal of discussion. A first reading of Malachi 4:5-6 seems to indicate a future return of Elijah the prophet to the earth to herald the day of the Lord. That Malachi 4:5-6 was taken at face value may be seen from John 1:21 and Matthew 16:14; 17:10; 27:47, 49 (cf. Sir 48:10). Jesus himself seems to affirm a future role for Elijah in Matthew 17:11, and some believe that Malachi 4:5-6 will yet be literally fulfilled (see Toussaint 1980:211). But in what sense was John said to be Elijah? In other passages John denied that he was Elijah (John 1:21), but he was said to minister in Elijah’s spirit and power (Luke 1:17), which may remind the reader of the manner in which Elisha succeeded Elijah (2 Kgs 2:9-15). John was not Elijah reborn, but he fulfilled a role similar to that of Elijah. Sadly, his contemporaries were, for the most part, not willing to accept this (11:14; 21:32), and his martyrdom (14:1-12) ominously hinted at a similar end for Jesus (17:12). Whether there is yet to be a literal return of Elijah to fulfill Malachi 4:5-6 must be left as an open question.