MAT 11
11
1 After Jesus finished giving instructions and commissioning His twelve disciples for ministry, He left that place to continue teaching and preaching in the cities throughout Galilee.
Concerning John the Baptist
Lk. 7:18-35
2 When John the Baptist heard in prison—where Herod had confined him—about the works and miracles of Christ, he sent word through his disciples
3 to ask Jesus this question: "Are You the Coming One—the Christ we have been expecting—or should we continue to look for someone else to fulfil that role?"
4 Jesus answered them, "Go back and report to John what you are hearing with your ears and seeing with your eyes as evidence:
5 The blind receive their sight and can see, the lame walk and are mobile, lepers are cleansed from their disease, the deaf hear sounds and voices, the dead are raised to life, and the poor and destitute have the good news of the kingdom proclaimed to them with hope.
6 Blessed is the person who does not stumble over Me, take offence at Me, or fall away because of disappointment in how I fulfil My messianic mission."
7 As John's disciples were leaving to return to him, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John and his ministry: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see and observe? A reed swaying back and forth in the wind—representing someone weak, vacillating, and unstable in conviction?
8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft, expensive clothes like a courtier? No, certainly not—those who wear fine and luxurious clothes live in kings' palaces, not in the wilderness.
9 So what did you go out to see? A prophet sent by God? Yes, I tell you emphatically, and he is far more than an ordinary prophet.
10 This is the one about whom Scripture prophesied when it says:
'Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You,
who will prepare Your way before You
and make ready Your coming.'*
11 I tell you the truth with solemn emphasis: Among all people ever born of women throughout history, no one has been greater in his role and calling than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is—because they experience the fullness of the kingdom that John only announced.
12 From the days when John the Baptist began his ministry until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and breaking into history, and violent men are seizing it by force.
13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied and pointed forward to the coming of the Christ and His kingdom until John appeared and began his ministry.
14 And if you are willing to accept and receive this truth, John himself is the fulfilment of Elijah—the one who was prophesied to come before the Messiah.
15 Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear and understand this profound truth.
16 "But to what should I compare this present generation and their response? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces, calling out to their playmates in complaint,
17 saying, 'We played wedding music for you on the flute, but you did not dance and celebrate; we sang funeral songs and dirges, but you did not mourn and lament.'
18 For John came living an austere and ascetic lifestyle, neither eating normal food nor drinking wine, and they say critically, 'He has a demon and is mentally unbalanced.'
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking normally like others, and they say accusingly, 'Look at Him—He is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners who keeps bad company!' Yet wisdom and the truth of God's plan is vindicated and proven right by the results it produces."
Pronouncement of Woes on the Unrepentant Cities
Lk. 10:13-15
20 Then Jesus began to pronounce judgment and woe on the cities where most of His miracles and mighty works had been performed, because they refused to repent and turn from their sins:
21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in your midst had been done in the pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, clothing themselves in sackcloth and ashes as visible signs of genuine repentance.
22 Nevertheless, I tell you with certainty, it will be more bearable and less severe for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than it will be for you who had greater light and greater opportunity.
23 And you, Capernaum—do you think you will be exalted to heaven because of your privilege in hosting My ministry? No, you will be brought down to Hades in judgment. For if the miracles performed in you had been done in Sodom, that city would have repented and would still be standing today.
24 Nevertheless, I tell you that it will be more tolerable and endurable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you, because you had the greater privilege and rejected the greater revelation."
Jesus Praises the Father
Lk. 10:21-22
25 At that time, Jesus responded to this situation by saying in prayer, "I praise You and give You thanks, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these truths about the kingdom from those who consider themselves wise and intellectually learned, and have revealed them to those who are like little children—humble, dependent, and receptive to divine truth.
26 Yes, Father, for this was Your gracious will and sovereign good pleasure—Your deliberate plan for how the gospel would be received.
27 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one fully knows the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to make Him known.
Invitation to All Who Toil
28 Come to Me, all of you who are weary and exhausted and burdened down with heavy loads—whether religious obligations, guilt, or the weight of life—and I will give you rest and relief.
29 Take My yoke upon you and submit to My teaching and authority, and learn from Me through close relationship, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest, refreshment, and peace for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy to bear and comfortable to wear, and My burden is light and not oppressive."
Notes
10 Quoted from Mal. 3:1
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MAT 11: AFINT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
