Matthew 11:1-15
New Catholic Bible
Jesus Is the Expected Messiah[a]
Jesus and John the Baptist[b]
Chapter 11
Report to John What You Hear and See.[c] 1 When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.
2 When John who was in prison heard what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come,[d] or are we to wait for another?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Go back and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”[e]
John Is the Elijah Who Was Destined To Return.[f] 7 As John’s disciples were departing, Jesus spoke to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swaying in the wind? 8 Then what did you go out to see? Someone robed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are found in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women, no one has been greater than John the Baptist, and yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.[g] 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and the violent are taking it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until the arrival of John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, John is the Elijah who was destined to return. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 11:1 To be committed to Christ means to acknowledge him as the expected Messiah. By his words and his actions, he takes a clear position toward John and toward the Pharisees. To decide for Christ means to discover the inner life of Jesus. It is not right to proclaim the coming of the kingdom; we are invited to experience it, to experience the power of God. The following passages enable us to question ourselves about our faith.
- Matthew 11:1 In striking images John had proclaimed the time of wrath and the purification by God. Jesus himself had joined in this movement of renewal. Now the prophet is in prison, the victim of his mission. All around Jesus the enthusiasm of the crowds concerning John begins to falter. How then can they be made to acknowledge the awaited Messianic revolution consisting in the decisive judgment of the wicked and the liberation of the righteous (Mt 3:12)? But then who is the Messiah and what is the kingdom of God? One must pass from questioning to decision, to the act of faith in Jesus.
- Matthew 11:1 By letting John know that the announcement of the Prophets is being fulfilled (Isa 26:19; 29:18; 35:5f; 61:1), Jesus reassures him and places him on guard against an overly human idea of the Messiah; he encourages the Baptist to persevere in faith until the end. The kingdom of God is not to be confused with the accomplishment of our projects and our human victories; it is a gift of God.
- Matthew 11:3 The one who is to come: i.e., the Messiah. Wait for another: it is not clear whether John is uncertain about Jesus or is simply sending his disciples to Jesus.
- Matthew 11:6 Takes no offense at me: literally, “is not scandalized,” that is, for whom I am not a hindrance or stumbling block (Greek: skandalon). It is from the idea of a stumbling block on the way of goodness that “scandal” derives its moral meaning, in both the active sense of giving scandal and the passive sense of taking scandal. In current idiom, a bad example is called “scandalous” when it causes a stir.
- Matthew 11:7 Jesus eulogizes the strength of John the Baptist’s religious convictions, the austerity of his life (v. 7f), and his unique prophetic role as precursor of the kingdom of God, which for Jesus is the salvation of human beings (vv. 4-5), not political revolution or the acquisition of power.
- Matthew 11:11 John’s greatness consists primarily in his task of announcing the imminence of the kingdom of God (Mt 3:1). Yet to be a member of the kingdom is so sublime a privilege that even the least member is greater than the Baptist!
