King James Version
Matthew 11
30 verses with commentary
Messengers from John the Baptist
And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
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KJV Study Commentary
After commissioning the Twelve, 'Jesus departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities' (μετεβη εκειθεν του διδασκειν και κηρυσσειν εν ταις πολεσιν αυτων). Jesus doesn't cease ministry while sending disciples; He multiplies it. 'Their cities' refers to Galilean towns where He ministered. 'Teach' (διδασκειν) and 'preach' (κηρυσσειν) represent comprehensive ministry: instruction and proclamat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XI.**
(1) **He departed thence**—i.e., from the place from which He had sent forth the Twelve. Where this was St. Matthew does not tell us, but Matthew 9:36 makes it probable that it was not in Capernaum nor any other city, but from some spot in the open country where He had rested with them. Their return is narrated, or at least implied, in Matthew 11:25, and hence we must infer that the messen...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered--**See Lu 21:18 (and compare for the language 1Sa 14:45; Ac 27:34).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 11
Chapter Outline
Christ's preaching.(1)
Christ's answer to John's disciples.(2-6)
Christ's testimony to John the Baptist.(7-15)
The perverseness of the Jews.(16-24)
The gospel revealed to the simple. The heavy-laden invited.
(25-30)
**Verse 1**
Our Divine Redeemer never was weary of his labour of love; and we should not be weary of well-doing, for in due...
Read full commentary →Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
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KJV Study Commentary
John the Baptist, imprisoned by Herod, sends disciples to Jesus: 'Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?' (συ ει ο ερχομενος η ετερον προσδοκωμεν). John's question reveals human doubt amid suffering. The one who proclaimed Jesus as Lamb of God (John 1:29) now questions. 'He that should come' (ο ερχομενος) refers to Messiah. John expected messianic judgment and kingdom establishme...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **When John had heard in the prison.**—The position of the Baptist was so far that of a prisoner treated with respect. Herod himself observed him, and heard him gladly. Herodias had not yet found an occasion of revenge. His disciples came and went freely. Some of these we have seen (Matthew 9:14) as present when our Lord was teaching, and certain to hear of such wonders as those narrated in Ma...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows--**Was ever language of such simplicity felt to carry such weight as this does? But here lies much of the charm and power of our Lord's teaching.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6**
Some think that John sent this inquiry for his own satisfaction. Where there is true faith, yet there may be a mixture of unbelief. The remaining unbelief of good men may sometimes, in an hour of temptation; call in question the most important truths. But we hope that John's faith did not fail in this matter, and that he only desired to have it strengthened and confirmed. Others...
Read full commentary →And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus doesn't directly answer 'yes' but provides evidence: 'Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see' (πορευθεντες απαγγειλατε Ιωαννη α ακουετε και βλεπετε). Jesus appeals to observable facts: what they 'hear and see' (ακουετε και βλεπετε). He then lists miracles: 'The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Art thou he that should come?**—There are no adequate grounds for assuming, as some have done, that the Baptist sent the disciples only to remove heir doubts. The question comes from him; the answer is sent to him. No difficulty in conceiving how the doubt which the question seems to imply could enter into the mind of the Baptist after the testimony which he had borne and that which he had h...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men--**despising the shame.
**him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven--**I will not be ashamed of him, but will own him before the most august of all assemblies.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6**
Some think that John sent this inquiry for his own satisfaction. Where there is true faith, yet there may be a mixture of unbelief. The remaining unbelief of good men may sometimes, in an hour of temptation; call in question the most important truths. But we hope that John's faith did not fail in this matter, and that he only desired to have it strengthened and confirmed. Others...
Read full commentary →Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see.</strong> John the Baptist, imprisoned by Herod, sent disciples asking 'Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?' (Matthew 11:3). Jesus's response directs them to evidence: 'those things which ye do hear and see' (ἃ ἀκούετε καὶ βλέπετε/<em>ha akouete kai blepete</em>). Faith rest...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Go and shew John again.**—There is no Greek adverb answering to the last word. St. Luke (Luke 7:21) adds that “in that same hour Jesus cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits,” and they were therefore to carry back their report as eyewitnesses.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven--**before that same assembly: "He shall have from Me his own treatment of Me on the earth." (But see on Mt 16:27).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6**
Some think that John sent this inquiry for his own satisfaction. Where there is true faith, yet there may be a mixture of unbelief. The remaining unbelief of good men may sometimes, in an hour of temptation; call in question the most important truths. But we hope that John's faith did not fail in this matter, and that he only desired to have it strengthened and confirmed. Others...
Read full commentary →The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus's response to John the Baptist's inquiry uses prophetic fulfillment as evidence: 'The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.' This catalogue directly echoes Isaiah 35:5-6 and 61:1, messianic prophecies John would immediately recognize. Jesus doesn't merely assert His iden...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **The blind receive their sight.**—Apparently no facts were stated which might not have already come to the ears of the Baptist. At least one instance of each class of miracle has already been recorded by St. Matthew, the blind (Matthew 9:27), the lame (Matthew 9:6), the leper (Matthew 8:2), the dead (Matthew 9:25). The raising of the widow’s son at Nain, which in St. Luke follows closely upon...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**34. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword--**strife, discord, conflict; deadly opposition between eternally hostile principles, penetrating into and rending asunder the dearest ties.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6**
Some think that John sent this inquiry for his own satisfaction. Where there is true faith, yet there may be a mixture of unbelief. The remaining unbelief of good men may sometimes, in an hour of temptation; call in question the most important truths. But we hope that John's faith did not fail in this matter, and that he only desired to have it strengthened and confirmed. Others...
Read full commentary →And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus adds a beatitude: 'blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.' The word 'offended' (σκανδαλισθῇ/skandalisthē) means to stumble, fall away, or be caused to sin—it's the root of our word 'scandal.' Jesus acknowledges He Himself will be a stumbling block to many (1 Peter 2:8). His claim is not that He'll please everyone but that blessing comes to those who aren't driven away by offen...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Blessed is he.**—The words at once confirm the view that the question which the messengers had brought came from the Baptist himself, and show how tenderly our Lord dealt with the impatience which it implied. A warning was needed, but it was given in the form of a beatitude which it was still open to him to claim and make his own. Not to find a stumbling-block in the manner in which the Chri...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--**(See on Lu 12:51-53).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6**
Some think that John sent this inquiry for his own satisfaction. Where there is true faith, yet there may be a mixture of unbelief. The remaining unbelief of good men may sometimes, in an hour of temptation; call in question the most important truths. But we hope that John's faith did not fail in this matter, and that he only desired to have it strengthened and confirmed. Others...
Read full commentary →And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
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KJV Study Commentary
As John's disciples departed, Jesus began praising John to the crowds: 'What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?' The rhetorical question expects a negative answer. A 'reed shaken with the wind' symbolizes a vacillating, unstable person who bends to popular opinion and changing circumstances. Jesus emphatically denies this describes John. Despite his momentary ques...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **As they departed.**—There was an obvious risk that those who heard the question of the Baptist, and our Lord’s answer, might be led to think with undue harshness, perhaps even with contempt, of one who had so far failed in steadfastness. As if to meet that risk, Jesus turns, before the messengers were out of hearing, to bear His testimony to the work and character of John. But a little while...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**36. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household--**This saying, which is quoted, as is the whole verse, from Mi 7:6, is but an extension of the Psalmist's complaint (Psa 41:9; 55:12-14), which had its most affecting illustration in the treason of Judas against our Lord Himself (Joh 13:18; Mt 26:48-50). Hence would arise the necessity of a choice between Christ and the nearest relations, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes pe...
Read full commentary →But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus continues His rhetorical defense of John: 'But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.' Again expecting a negative response, Jesus contrasts John's austere lifestyle with courtly luxury. The phrase 'soft raiment' (μαλακοῖς/malakois) describes fine, expensive clothing typical of wealthy aristocrats and royal courts...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **A man clothed in soft raiment?-**Had they seen, then, one who shared in the luxury, and courted the favour of princes? No, not so, again. They that wear soft clothing, or, as in St. Luke’s report, “they that are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately,” are in kings’ houses. The words had a more pointed reference than at first sight appears. Jewish historians (Jost, *Gesch. Jud.* I. 259.)...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**37. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me--**(Compare De 33:9). As the preference of the one would, in the case supposed, necessitate the abandonment of the other, our Lord here, with a sublime, yet awful self-respect, asserts His own claims to supreme affection.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes pe...
Read full commentary →But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus escalates His praise: 'But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.' The crowds rightly recognized John as a prophet—the first authentic prophet in Israel after 400 years of silence since Malachi. But Jesus declares John is 'more than a prophet' (περισσότερον προφήτου/perissoteron prophētou). How? Verse 10 explains: John himself was prophesied in ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **What went ye out for to see? A prophet?**—The words again throw the hearers back upon the impressions made on them when they first saw and heard the Baptist. They then went out to see a prophet, and they were not, disappointed. Nothing that they had seen or heard since was to lead them to think less worthily of him now. He was indeed a prophet, taught by the Spirit of Jehovah, predicting the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**38. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me--**a saying which our Lord once and again emphatically reiterates (Mt 16:24; Lu 9:23; 14:27). We have become so accustomed to this expression--"taking up one's cross"--in the sense of "being prepared for trials in general for Christ's sake," that we are apt to lose sight of its primary and proper sense here--"a pre...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes pe...
Read full commentary →For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus quotes Scripture to identify John: 'For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.' This combines Malachi 3:1 with Exodus 23:20, applied directly to John the Baptist. The phrase 'before thy face' (πρὸ προσώπου σου/pro prosōpou sou) indicates John went immediately before Jesus, the final herald announcing the King's...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **This is he, of whom it is written.**—The words in the Greek are not taken from the LXX. version of Malachi 3:1, but are a free translation from the Hebrew. In the original it is Jehovah Himself who speaks of His own coming: “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before *Me.”* In the Evangelist’s paraphrase it is Jehovah who speaks to the Christ—“shall prepare Thy wa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it--**another of those pregnant sayings which our Lord so often reiterates (Mt 16:25; Lu 17:33; Joh 12:25). The pith of such paradoxical maxims depends on the double sense attached to the word "life"--a lower and a higher, the natural and the spiritual, the temporal and eternal. An entire sacrifice of ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes pe...
Read full commentary →Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus makes a stunning declaration: 'Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.' The first half exalts John to the highest human rank—'born of women' encompasses all humanity. Yet the second half reveals the radical transformation wrought by the new cove...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **There hath not risen a greater.**—The greatness of men is measured by a divine not a human standard. The prophet, who was more than a prophet, the herald or the forerunner of the kingdom, was greater in his work, his holiness, his intuition of the truth, than the far-off patriarchs, than David or Solomon, and, *à fortiori,* than the conquerors and the destroyers, such as Alexander, Pompey, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**40. He that receiveth you--**entertaineth you,
**receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me--**As the treatment which an ambassador receives is understood and regarded as expressing the light in which he that sends him is viewed, so, says our Lord here, "Your authority is Mine, as Mine is My Father's."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes pe...
Read full commentary →And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. suffereth: or, is gotten by force, and they that thrust men
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus declares 'And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.' This difficult verse admits multiple interpretations. The Greek verb βιάζεται (biazetai) can be middle voice ('presses forward forcefully') or passive ('is forcefully treated'). Similarly, βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν (biastai harpazousin) can mean 'violent men seize i...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence.**—The Greek verb may be either in the middle voice, “forces its way violently,” or passive, as in the English version, but there is little doubt that the latter is the right rendering. The words describe the eager rush of the crowds of Galilee and Judæa, first to the preaching of the Baptist, and then to that of Jesus. It was, as it were, a city att...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41. He that receiveth a prophet--**one divinely commissioned to deliver a message from heaven. Predicting future events was no necessary part of a prophet's office, especially as the word is used in the New Testament.
**in the name of a prophet--**for his office's sake and love to his master. (See 2Ki 4:9 and see on 2Ki 4:10).
**shall receive a prophet's reward--**What an encouragement to th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes pe...
Read full commentary →For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
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KJV Study Commentary
'For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.' This verse establishes John the Baptist as the culmination and terminus of the Old Testament era. The phrase 'all the prophets and the law' encompasses the entire Old Testament Scripture (Jews divided Scripture into Law, Prophets, Writings). These prophesied—pointed forward—anticipating Messiah's coming. 'Until John' (ἕως Ἰωάννου/heōs Iōann...
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(13) **All the prophets and the law.**—The usual order is inverted, because stress is laid on the prophetic rather than the legislative aspect of previous revelation. They did their work pointing to the kingdom of heaven in the far-off future of the latter days, but John saw it close at hand, and proclaimed its actual appearance.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones--**Beautiful epithet! Originally taken from Zec 13:7. The reference is to their lowliness in spirit, their littleness in the eyes of an undiscerning world, while high in Heaven's esteem.
**a cup of cold water only--**meaning, the smallest service.
**in the name of a disciple--**or, as it is in Mark (Mr 9:41), because ye are ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes pe...
Read full commentary →And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.' Jesus identifies John the Baptist as the prophesied Elijah—not through reincarnation but in fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6's prediction that Elijah would precede Messiah. The phrase 'if ye will receive it' (εἰ θέλετε δέξασθαι/ei thelete dexasthai) indicates this truth requires spiritual receptivity—those hardened against Jesus won't ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **This is Elias.**—The words of Malachi (Malachi 4:5) had led men to expect the reappearance of the great Tishbite in person as the immediate precursor of the Christ. It was the teaching of the scribes then (Matthew 17:10; John 1:21); it has lingered as a tradition of Judaism down to our own time. A vacant chair is placed for Elijah at all great solemnities. Even Christian interpreters have c...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes pe...
Read full commentary →He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
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KJV Study Commentary
'He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.' This refrain (repeated in Matthew 13:9, 13:43, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8, Revelation 2-3) distinguishes physical hearing from spiritual comprehension. Everyone has physical ears, but 'ears to hear' spiritually is God's gift (Matthew 13:11). The phrase is both invitation and warning: invitation to those with spiritual capacity to understand and act on Jesus's wor...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **He that hath ears to hear.**—The formula, which meets us here for the first time, is one which our Lord seems to have used habitually after any teaching, in parable or otherwise (Matthew 13:9; Mark 4:9), which required more than ordinary powers of thought to comprehend. To take in the new aspect of the coming of Elijah required an insight like that which men needed to take in, without an in...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 11 Mt 11:1-19. The Imprisoned Baptist's Message to His Master--The Reply, and Discourse, on the Departure of the Messengers, Regarding John and His Mission. ( = Lu 7:18-35).
**1. And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciple--**rather, "the twelve disciples,"
**he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities--**This was scarcely a fourth cir...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes pe...
Read full commentary →But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
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KJV Study Commentary
'But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.' Jesus pronounces His disciples blessed (μακάριοι/makarioi, supremely happy, fortunate) because they possess spiritual sight and hearing—God's gracious gift. This beatitude contrasts sharply with verse 15's description of those whose eyes and ears remain spiritually closed. The blessing isn't for superior intellect, moral achi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **It is like unto children sitting in the markets.**—The comparison is drawn from one of the common amusements of the children of an Eastern city. They form themselves into companies, and get up a dramatic representation of wedding festivities and funeral pomp. They play their pipes, and expect others to dance; they beat their breasts in lamentation, and expect others to weep. They complain i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. Now when John had heard in the prison--**For the account of this imprisonment, see on Mr 6:17-20.
**the works of Christ, he sent, &c.--**On the whole passage, see on Lu 7:18-35.
Mt 11:20-30. Outburst of Feeling Suggested to the Mind of Jesus by the Result of His Labors in Galilee.
The connection of this with what goes before it and the similarity of its tone make it evident, we think...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-24**
Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Som...
Read full commentary →And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
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KJV Study Commentary
'For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.' Jesus elevates His disciples' privilege even higher: they witness what Old Testament saints longed to see but couldn't. The 'prophets and righteous men' include Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-24**
Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Som...
Read full commentary →For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
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KJV Study Commentary
'For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.' Jesus exposes the religious leaders' inconsistency and bad faith. John the Baptist practiced extreme asceticism—eating locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4), possibly fasting frequently, certainly avoiding normal social meals. His austere lifestyle matched his prophetic message of judgment and repentance. Yet instead of rec...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **He hath a devil.**—The phrase was a common one, asserting at once the fact of insanity, and ascribing it to demoniacal possession as its cause. (Comp. John 7:20; John 8:48.) This was the explanation which the scribes gave of John’s austerities. The locusts and wild honey were to them the diet of a madman.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-24**
Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Som...
Read full commentary →The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
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KJV Study Commentary
'The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.' In stark contrast to John's asceticism, Jesus participated normally in social life—attending feasts (John 2:1-11, Luke 7:36-50, 14:1-24, 19:1-10), eating and drinking with various groups including notorious sinners. Yet critics accused Him of gluttony and alcoholis...
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(19) **Eating and drinking**—i.e., as in the feast in Matthew’s house, or at the marriage-feast of Cana, sharing in the common life of man. The words point almost specifically to the two instances just named, and the very form and phrase recall the question which the Pharisees had asked of the disciples, “Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?” (Luke 5:30).
**Wisdom is justified of he...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-24**
Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Som...
Read full commentary →Woe to Unrepentant Cities
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
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KJV Study Commentary
'But wisdom is justified of her children.' Jesus concludes His comparison of John and Himself by appealing to results: divine wisdom is vindicated by its outcomes. The word 'wisdom' (σοφία/sophia) represents God's wise plan—sending John as austere prophet and Jesus as accessible Savior. 'Children' (τέκνων/teknōn) are the fruits or results: lives transformed, sinners saved, God glorified. The criti...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Then began he to upbraid.**—The rebuke is inserted by St. Luke in our Lord’s charge to the Seventy (Luke 10:13-15). As in the case of the passages common to both Evangelists in Matthew 10 and Luke 10, we need not assume that the former has compiled a discourse from fragments collected separately. It is far more natural and probable to believe that our Lord in this case, as in others, used a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-24**
Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Som...
Read full commentary →Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
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KJV Study Commentary
'Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not.' Following His defense of John and Himself (v.7-19), Jesus pronounces judgment on Galilean cities that witnessed His miracles yet refused repentance. The verb 'upbraid' (ὀνειδίζειν/oneidizein) means to reproach, rebuke, censure harshly. These cities—Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum (v.21-23)—s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!**—It is singular enough that no miracles are recorded in the Gospels as wrought at either of these cities. The latter was indeed nigh unto the scene of the feeding of the five thousand, but that comes later on in the Gospel narrative. The former is only known to us through this passage and the parallel words of Luke 10:12-16. We may at leas...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-24**
Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Som...
Read full commentary →But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
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KJV Study Commentary
'But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.' Jesus's pronouncement is severe: Phoenician cities Tyre and Sidon—Gentile, pagan, condemned by Old Testament prophets (Isaiah 23, Ezekiel 26-28)—will face less severe judgment than Chorazin and Bethsaida. The phrase 'more tolerable' (ἀνεκτότερον/anektoteron) indicates degrees of punishment in ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-24**
Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Som...
Read full commentary →And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.' Jesus's harshest judgment falls on Capernaum, His ministry headquarters (Matthew 4:13). The city was 'exalted unto heaven' (ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθεῖσα/heōs ouranou hypsōtheisa)—whether referring to its p...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **And thou, Capernaum.**—This city had already witnessed more of our Lord’s recorded wonders than any other. That of the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54), of the demoniac (Mark 1:21-28), the man sick of the palsy (Matthew 9:1-8), of Peter’s wife’s mother and the many works that followed (Matthew 8:1-14), of the woman with the issue of blood, and of Jairus’s daughter (Matthew 9:18-26), of the cen...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-24**
Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Som...
Read full commentary →But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
'But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.' Jesus repeats the judgment pattern but now specifically names Sodom as facing more tolerable punishment than Capernaum. 'Day of judgment' (ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως/hēmera kriseōs) refers to final judgment when all humanity stands before God (Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 20:11-15). Reformed theol...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-24**
Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Som...
Read full commentary →Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
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KJV Study Commentary
'At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.' Following severe judgments on rejecting cities, Jesus breaks into prayer—a prayer of thanksgiving revealing profound theological truth. He addresses God as 'Father' (Πάτερ/Pater), demonstrating intimate relationsh...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Answered and said.**—The phrase is more or less a Hebraism, implying that the words rose out of some unrecorded occasion. St. Luke connects them (Luke 10:17-24) with the return of the Seventy; but as their mission is not recorded by St. Matthew, it seems reasonable to connect them, as here recorded, with the return of the Twelve, and their report of their work (Mark 6:30; Luke 9:10). Their ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-30**
It becomes children to be grateful. When we come to God as a Father, we must remember that he is Lord of heaven and earth, which obliges us to come to him with reverence as to the sovereign Lord of all; yet with confidence, as one able to defend us from evil, and to supply us with all good. Our blessed Lord added a remarkable declaration, that the Father had delivered into his...
Read full commentary →Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
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'Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.' Jesus continues His prayer with remarkable statement: 'Even so, Father' (ναὶ ὁ πατήρ/nai ho patēr)—affirmation and acceptance. He doesn't question or apologize for God's sovereign choice to hide truth from some and reveal it to others. Instead, He affirms it: 'for so it seemed good in thy sight' (ὅτι οὕτως εὐδοκία ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου/hoti ho...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **For so it seemed good.**—Literally, *Yea, Father,* [I *thank Thee*]* that thus it was Thy good pleasure.* The words recall those that had been spoken at our Lord’s baptism (“in whom I am well pleased,” Matthew 3:17), and the song of the heavenly host on the night of the Nativity (“good will among men,” Luke 2:14). The two verses are remarkable as the only record outside St. John’s Gospel of...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-30**
It becomes children to be grateful. When we come to God as a Father, we must remember that he is Lord of heaven and earth, which obliges us to come to him with reverence as to the sovereign Lord of all; yet with confidence, as one able to defend us from evil, and to supply us with all good. Our blessed Lord added a remarkable declaration, that the Father had delivered into his...
Read full commentary →All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
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KJV Study Commentary
'All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.' This verse contains profound Christological and soteriological truth. 'All things are delivered unto me' (πάντα μοι παρεδόθη/panta moi paredothē) asserts Christ's universal authority—the Father has committed all...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **All things are delivered.**—Literally, *were delivered,* as looking back on the moment of the gift. The “all things,” though not limited by the context, are shown by it to refer specially to the mysteries of the kingdom implied in the word “reveal.” The wider meaning of the words appears more clearly in Matthew 28:18, and in both passages we may trace a formal denial of the claim of the Tem...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-30**
It becomes children to be grateful. When we come to God as a Father, we must remember that he is Lord of heaven and earth, which obliges us to come to him with reverence as to the sovereign Lord of all; yet with confidence, as one able to defend us from evil, and to supply us with all good. Our blessed Lord added a remarkable declaration, that the Father had delivered into his...
Read full commentary →Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.</strong> This tender invitation from Jesus offers relief to the weary and burdened. Jesus extends universal invitation to those exhausted by religious legalism or life burdens.<br><br>"Come" is imperative plural—urgent summons, not casual suggestion. "Unto me" specifies the destination: not to religion or ritua...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Come unto me.**—As in the consciousness of this plenitude of power, the Son of Man turns with infinite compassion to those whose weakness and weariness He has shared, and offers them the rest which none other can give them.
**Labour and are heavy laden.**—The words arc wide enough to cover every form of human sin and sorrow, but the thought that was most prominent in them at the time was th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-30**
It becomes children to be grateful. When we come to God as a Father, we must remember that he is Lord of heaven and earth, which obliges us to come to him with reverence as to the sovereign Lord of all; yet with confidence, as one able to defend us from evil, and to supply us with all good. Our blessed Lord added a remarkable declaration, that the Father had delivered into his...
Read full commentary →Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus invites the weary: 'Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls' (Greek: ἄρατε τὸν ζυγόν μου ἐφ' ὑμᾶς καὶ μάθετε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, 'take my yoke upon you and learn from me'). A 'yoke' (ζυγός) is wooden frame joining oxen for work - it symbolizes discipleship, teaching, and burden. Jesus invites exchange - leave Pharisaical legalism...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Take my yoke upon you.**—As the teaching of the Pharisees was a yoke too grievous to be borne, so the yoke of Christ is His teaching, His rule of life, and so is explained by the “learn of Me” that follows. (Comp. Ecclesiasticus 51:26.)
**I am meek and lowly in heart.**—The stress lies upon the last words. Others might be lowly with the lowliness which is ambition’s ladder, but pride and se...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-30**
It becomes children to be grateful. When we come to God as a Father, we must remember that he is Lord of heaven and earth, which obliges us to come to him with reverence as to the sovereign Lord of all; yet with confidence, as one able to defend us from evil, and to supply us with all good. Our blessed Lord added a remarkable declaration, that the Father had delivered into his...
Read full commentary →For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus describes His yoke: 'For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light' (Greek: ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν, 'for my yoke is easy and my burden light'). The word χρηστός means 'easy, pleasant, well-fitting' - like a yoke crafted to fit properly, not chafing or causing pain. Jesus' teaching isn't burdenless but the burden is 'light' (ἐλαφρόν) - manageable, appropriate, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **Easy.**—The Greek has a wider range of meaning—*good, helpful, kind, profitable.*
**My burden is light.**—The “burden” of Christ was the commandment that most characterised His teaching—the new commandment that men should love one another; and those who obeyed that commandment would find all to which it bound them light and easy.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
Text Courtesy of B...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 25-30**
It becomes children to be grateful. When we come to God as a Father, we must remember that he is Lord of heaven and earth, which obliges us to come to him with reverence as to the sovereign Lord of all; yet with confidence, as one able to defend us from evil, and to supply us with all good. Our blessed Lord added a remarkable declaration, that the Father had delivered into his...
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