NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Part I

Verses 2-3: When John the baptizer was in prison, he heard about the things that were happening—things the Messiah would do. So he sent some of his followers to Jesus. They asked Him, “Are you the One we have been expecting, or should we wait for someone else?”

This begins a new vignette in the life and ministry of Jesus. No doubt John the Baptizer heard many stories of what was going on up in Galilee. So his new mission was to find out what it all meant. This was done as much for his disciples sake, more than for himself. He also may have suspected that the end of his ministry was near.

Bible historians tell us that the prison John the Baptizer was incarcerated in was located at Machaerus, about five miles east of the Dead Sea. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus describes this as a castle on the borders of the territorial dominions of Aretas¹ and Herod.² Being true to his calling as a forerunner of Christ, John the Baptizer now wanted those who had come to faith through him to be able to transfer that faith to Jesus. In his question of whether Jesus was the expected Anointed One, he was passively referring to all the scriptures that spoke about the Son of Man.

The fortress Machaerus originally built by king Alexander Jannaeus (104-78 BC)

No doubt it was those scriptures from the Torah and the Prophets that prompted John the Baptizer to make sure his disciples determine if Jesus as the real Messiah or expose Him as an impersonator. After all, He was the One who would crush Satan’s head.³ He would be a star rising from the family of Jacob.⁴ He would come from the tribe of Judah.⁵ He would be from King David’s family.⁶ He would be born of a virgin and named “Immanuel.”⁷ He would be a special child given to the Jews from God, and would be responsible for leading them to new heights.

Furthermore, it was said: “His name will be ‘Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.’ His power will continue to grow, and there will be peace without end. This will establish Him as the king sitting on David’s throne and ruling his kingdom. He will rule with goodness and justice forever and ever.”⁸ He would be born in Bethlehem of Judea.⁹ He would be a prophet just like Moses.¹⁰ He would be the LORD’S Son.¹¹ He would refer to Himself as a Shepherd.¹² And that when He came: “The eyes of the blind will be opened so that they can see, and the ears of the deaf will be opened so that they can hear. Crippled people will dance like deer, and those who cannot speak now will use their voices to sing happy songs.”¹³

So if John the Baptizer could get any verification on these things, he would be able to convince his followers that Jesus of Nazareth was in fact the Messiah. But with John the Baptizer already in prison, there must have been some motivation to ask these questions because like the others, everyone expected the Messiah to drive the Romans out of the Promised Land and establish the Kingdom of David once again so the flag of Israel could fly over a free country. That would then most likely guarantee that John the Baptizer would be freed.

This certainly seems to be the way one early Church bishop understands it. He writes: “About this text, some will argue, ‘When John sent his disciples, he was neither ignorant himself nor did he mean for them to learn, which seems clear to anyone who has entered to a certain extent into the meaning of the holy Scriptures.’ But this is foolish, because when John was about to die and join the departed, he sent them to ask whether he was the one who was to come and free those who had been vanquished by death. In this way the good news was delivered to his disciples as well. John the baptizer had already said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’¹⁴ He already knew very well that the Messiah would offer Himself up to God for the sake of all humanity. Certainly, if John the baptizer indeed knew that Jesus was the Christ, he was not ignorant about Christ’s mission. On the contrary, he knew exactly what benefits were to come to humanity through Him. John might seem to be telling different people different things in different contexts. Isn’t it true that John had so much knowledge about Christ that he said a great deal about him to various people? Isn’t it true that in accordance with the greater part of what John had said in his own testimony, he recognized Jesus as the deliverer of good news? It is hardly conceivable that John was ignorant about the Christ but now was guessing and wanted to find out for sure from Him. That would be inconsistent. And who would, in the attempt to discover something so great, send along his disciples as if they were competent in themselves to teach and witness?”¹⁵

Verses 4-5: Jesus answered, “Go back and tell John the baptizer what you have heard and seen: The blind can see. The crippled can walk. People with leprosy are healed. The deaf can hear. The dead are brought back to life. And the Good News is being told to the poor.”

Just from this context of what Jesus said to the disciples of John the Baptizer, their visit with Jesus was not a short abbreviated one. We are not told exactly when they arrived to where Jesus was ministering or when they left. But the number of miracles that Jesus mentioned certainly suggests that they were with Him for a long enough time to walk with Him through the villages of Galilee and see how the people responded to Him, and how He reacted to their needs. No doubt, Jesus took the time to show and tell them what He wanted them to hear because there was little need to convince John the Baptizer who had already declared Jesus to be the Messiah.

The anonymous early church writer we referenced before offers this commentary: “What then is the meaning of ‘what you see and hear’? As Luke says, the Lord knew that these disciples would come from John. And at that time, He was preparing a worthy meal for a multitude of guests, good people. In this way, even though Christ was silent, His works would vouch for Him,¹⁶ for those who had been cured were thanking Him. Some said, ‘We never saw anything like this in Israel.’¹⁷ And others said, ‘God has visited His people with goodness.’¹⁸ Others said, ‘Glory be to God, who has given such authority to humans.’¹⁹ And so the disciples of John the Baptizer would feast their eyes and ears, seeing the miracles of healing and hearing the voices of those who thanked Him; or at least seeing miracles done by Him and hearing His teaching; or at the very least seeing the good health of those who had been sick and hearing the testimony of those from whom demons had been cast out.”²⁰

Today when people inquire about whether Jesus was the promised Savior, there is no need to invite them to church to watch miracles performed in His name. That would be another way of selling Jesus as a product. Instead, it is the Holy Spirit that draws them to Christ, and when they hear His words preached, the conviction of their sins is what causes them to reach out for forgiveness. But one thing is for sure, the change that comes into their heart, mind and body is the miracle that they can then point to when sharing Jesus with others. And it may be that miracle of a person’s new birth will be what the Holy Spirit uses to  bring even more to Christ for redemption and salvation.