Matthew 11:7-15

Matthew 11:7-15

As while these ones were going out, Jesus began to say to the crowds regarding John, “At what did you all go out into the wilderness to look?  A reed while being shaken violently by the wind?  Rather, what did you all go out to see?  A man while being completely clothed in soft things?  Behold!  The ones who wear soft things are in the houses of kings.  Rather, what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I say to you all, even more than a prophet.  This one is him regarding which it has been written, ‘Behold, I am sending my messenger before your presence, who will prepare your way before you.’  Amen I say to you all.  There is no one in those born of women who is greater than John the Baptizer.  But the smallest one in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him.  From the days of John the Baptizer until now the kingdom of heaven is being violently attacked and the violent ones attack it by force.  For the whole of the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John – and if you desire to receive it he is Elijah, the one who comes in the future.  The one who has an ear, hear!

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

We are not sure what Jesus means when he asks the people if they think that John is a reed shaken by the wind.  Most often, we think about that phrase with the idea that Jesus is asking if the people think John was weak and easily swayed.  This can certainly be a true interpretation.  But at the time, the phrase “a reed shaken by the wind” was also an expression for something that is very common and not special in any way.  The truth is that John was neither of these things.  John was not easily swayed by the whims of the people around him.  Neither was John common.  Furthermore, John was not a person who sought after the cozy comfortable life of the world.  He was a rare gem in any day: a speaker who proclaimed truth regardless of what the people thought about him.  Jesus pays very few people as high a compliment as he does in this passage regarding John.

Do you think you would have been able to hear John’s message about truth?  What makes it difficult to hear people who speak truth uncompromisingly?

Second Thought:

Then, Jesus calls John the “Elijah who will come in the future.”  The Jews to this day set a place at the Passover Feast for Elijah, because they believe that Elijah will come and declare that the Messiah is about to come into the world.  Jesus takes this belief and declares that John is this “Elijah.”  He came prior to the Messiah and declared His coming openly.  Yet, the majority of the Jews did not believe.  They did not listen.  They were uninterested in the teachings of John and the further teachings of Jesus.  John and Jesus simply did not measure up to their expectations, so they refused to believe.

Do you believe Jesus is God’s Messiah?  Why do you believe this?  What impact does that belief have upon your life?

Third Thought:

If John was such an important and iconic role in God’s plan, how is it that Jesus can say that the smallest in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John?  I believe in this case the simplest answer is the best one.  We have seen the cross.  We have the Holy Spirit.  We have assurance of our salvation.  John could only see these things in the future.  John could only anticipate them.  John died before he could see them come in reality.  It is not we who are greater than John.  It is our condition that is greater than his.  John could only anticipate.  We can know with confidence.

Do you know your salvation with confidence?  How do you know?  How does this confidence in your eternal salvation play out in your life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 11:16-19