NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Part I (Con’t)

Verse 6: Great blessings belong to those who are not offended by what I’ve said.

As they say, actions speak louder than words. Christ could have given John the Baptizer’s disciples a long dissertation on the Scriptures, messianic theories, prophetic exegesis, etc. Instead, He told them only to report back to John what they saw Him doing. Our answer to the inquisitive today should be no less. When we are asked if Jesus is really the Son of God, Savior of the world, let us reply likewise; look at what He did and is still doing! And one of the best examples is the story of the change Jesus made in our own life. So the response John the Baptizer’s followers got from Jesus was clear enough for them to examine the Scriptures that spoke about the Messiah’s ministry.

After all, did not the Psalmist say: “The LORD makes the blind see again.”¹ Did not Isaiah prophesy, “The deaf will hear the words in the book. The blind will see through the darkness and fog. The LORD will make poor people happy. The poorest people will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”² And also in Isaiah we find where it says: “Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind. Bring out the people who have ears but are deaf.”³ Even His feeding of the multitude was forecast.⁴ And Isaiah said He would preach the gospel to the poor and afflicted.⁵ Jesus added that the lepers were being cleansed and the dead were being raised to life, so that John the Baptizer would know that only a man from God could perform such miracles. The Master took the time to do this so that John the Baptizer’s disciples would have no problem accepting Him for who the Scriptures said He was.

Our Lord may have formed His response to their questions with what Isaiah prophesied: “If you people will respect Him, He will be a safe place for you. But if you don’t respect Him, so He will be like a stone that you stumble over. He is a rock that makes both Judea and Israel to fall. He will become a trap that all the people of Jerusalem will fall into. (Many people will trip over this Rock. They will fall and be broken. They will be caught in the trap).”⁶

No one ever stumbles over an object unless they are trying jump or step over it without using it as a stepping stone. No one who ever encountered Jesus has ever stumbled over Him except by trying to avoid Him and ignore what He said. This theory includes no provisions for stumbling over Christ in the dark (meaning ‘ignorance’.) Christ does not dwell in darkness. The Scripture says, “Those living in darkness have seen a great light.”⁷ Upon investigation, they find it is Christ who was standing there waiting for them. If they try to dismiss Him as being their only Savior, they will surely stumble. If they closed their eyes against the light (meaning ‘truth’), they will also fall.

In verse 6 of our text the English word “offended” is a translation of the Greek word “skandalizō.” It is also translated elsewhere as “stumble,” “take offense,” “fall away,” in various English versions. However, in the oldest Hebrew text of Matthew, it reads: “Who is not perplexed in me.”⁸ But the word doesn’t simply imply that this Rock is a mere nuisance, but that those who are offended by it and stumble, will fall into disobedience and thereby sin against God. So it is a life or death decision to either accept Him or reject Him.

Therefore, let’s synthesize this thought as follows: “Anyone who takes offense because they are perplexed when confronted by the truth of who Christ really is, they do not do so in ignorance but by rejecting the light of truth.” Some scholars believe that the final phrase by Jesus of hoping that no one would be offended, was a subliminal message to John the Baptizer who may have hoped that if Jesus was the Messiah, he would be freed from prison and allowed to preach and baptize again. As we will see, that didn’t happen.

Verse 7: When John the Baptizer’s followers left, Jesus began sharing with the people about John the Baptizer. He said, “What did you people go out to the uninhabited area to see? Someone who is weak, like a straw reed blowing back and forth in the wind?”

This visit by John the Baptizer’s disciples must have made a great impact on Jesus and His followers. So our Lord took time to explain how He felt about the ministry of the one who baptized Him. I love our Master’s direct quizzing of the people’s attitudes who stood listening that day. The metaphors used by Jesus are very interesting. The straw reed waving back and forth in the wind may have been a reference to John waving his arms back and forth while he preached. So our Lord’s question really was about them going out only to see this wild preacher hollering and shouting while he preached. But most likely the reference to the reed meant John the Baptizer was not pushed about by the winds of opposition. We see this illustrated in a line from Rabbi Judah: “For the Lord will smite Israel as a reed standing in water is shaken.⁹”¹⁰ Instead, they found a dedicated prophet who would not be silenced or intimidated by their questions or skepticism.

One of the earliest Popes who was known as a great debater had this to say about Jesus’ use of a shaken reed in comparison to John the Baptizer. He says: “As soon as a slight breeze blows on a reed it bends in response. What does the reed represent if not an unsure mind? As soon as it is touched by praise or slander, it turns in every direction. If a slight breeze of commendation comes from someone’s mouth, it is cheerful and proud, and it bends completely, so to speak, toward being receptive. But if a gust of slander comes from the same source from which the breeze of praise was coming, it is quickly turned in the opposite direction, toward raving anger. John the Baptizer was no reed, shaken by the wind. No one’s pleasant attitude made him agreeable, and no one’s anger made him bitter.”¹¹

Since many urban dwellers today do not see reeds growing by the water’s edge, they may be hard-pressed to understand this metaphor our Lord chose to use as the direct opposite of what John the baptizer was and represented. Nevertheless, even today everyone knows that the invisible wind is what makes palm trees bend over as if they will break, and causes tree branches to sway back and forth, and that in autumn causes them to lose their leaves. But John the Baptizer neither bent nor did he allow those against him to take away his steadfastness in preaching repentance and heralding the Messiah who came.

But one of the more modern instruments that may fit the bill is the ever present windsock at every airport. It tells the pilot which way the wind is blowing so that he can face the airplane into the wind to gain altitude faster, and also to land against the wind so that it helps slow the plan down so that it isn’t blown past the edge of the runway. This windsock does not resist the breeze, but is easily moved to point in what ever direction it is blowing. But while the windsock moves in whatever direction the wind blows, the pilot uses it to his advantage to keep the airplane steady during take off and landing.

John the Baptizer was like the pilot. His eyes remained steadfast on the goal of his mission. None of the questions, skepticism or criticisms of the Scribes and Pharisees could alter his direction. Now he wanted to guide his own disciples onto the path of the Messiah. What a wonderful example Jesus presents of this steadfast voice crying out, and one that we as Christians can emulate today. Even when the winds of compliment or criticism blow in our direction, it takes a steady hand to keep us moving toward our goal and God’s destiny for our lives, and that steady hand is the influence of God in our heart, mind, and soul through the Holy Spirit. So don’t let the Rock become your stumbling block.