1Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
2And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"
4Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5The blind see 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. 6And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."
7As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10For this is he of whom it is written:
| "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.' |
11"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
16"But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17and saying:
| "We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.' |
18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon.' 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."
What happened? I thought John the Baptist knew who Jesus was. At Jesus' baptism, John claimed that Jesus should baptize him rather than him baptize Jesus. And he was there when God's voice came from heaven claiming Jesus as His son. So yes, he knew who Jesus was.
But was Jesus what John was expecting? John heard of the works of Jesus and now he wanted to know if Jesus is the One they were waiting for or if there is another One to come. John summarized what he was expecting in Matthew 3:11-12, when he preached "11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Jesus' answer seemed to have little to do with John's question of whether or not Jesus was the Coming One. But when read with the rest of the verses through verse 19, there is more to Jesus' answer than I first saw.
Was John getting impatient for the One who was to clean out the threshing floor. Was John starting to get worried that what he had been preaching with such determination wasn't going to happen? Did Jesus see this impatience in John? Jesus' reply was for John to consider the works He was doing in healing the blind, lame, leprous, and deaf, in raising the dead, and in preaching the gospel to all.
Jesus' statement of blessed is he who is not offended because of Him seems a little out of place until you consider that Jesus probably sensed that John may have been feeling just a little offended that Jesus isn't doing what he expected. I think Jesus is advising John to look at the work He is doing now, work that needs to be done before He thoroughly cleans out the threshing floor, and advising him to be patient. Do not be offended because of the work He is doing right now.
Jesus then asks the multitude of their expectations of John and what they went to the wilderness to see. Jesus just talked to John's disciples about what their expectations of Jesus were. Now he is talking to his disciples and the multitude around Him about what their expectations of John were.
Were they expecting a reed shaken by the wind? I'm not sure of the imagery here, but a reed has no leaves. I wouldn't expect the wind to be able to shake a reed, maybe bend it but not shake it. So I'm guessing that Jesus is asking if they were going to the wilderness to see something very odd or unusual. Is that why they went to see John, rather than for what he might have been there to preach?
Were they expecting to see a man clothed in soft garments, a rich and powerful man? John was neither. His clothes were made of camel's hair and he ate locusts. Is that why they went to see John, rather than for what he might have been there to preach?
Were they expecting to see a prophet? Yes, in fact Jesus said John was more than a prophet. He was the Messenger that God sent to prepare the way for Jesus.
The only explanation I can think of for Jesus' statement of "but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" is that greatness in heaven is far beyond what we can experience on earth. There has been no prophet greater than John. John was a great man. But when our souls are cleansed and we are taken to heaven, even the least soul in heaven will be greater than the great man of John here on earth. Imagine achieving such greatness! No matter how lowly you might be on earth, your greatness would exceed the greatest ones on earth if you were taken to heaven.
It bothered me to have Jesus say that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and that the violent take it by force. I have only ever thought of heaven as being peace, no violence. He said that heaven suffers violence from the days of John the Baptist until now -- this time frame corresponds to the time of Jesus on earth. I think heaven experienced whatever Jesus experienced. Jesus felt violence on earth beyond anything that may have been experienced in heaven before. Jesus came from a place of peace to save us. He gave up that peace for a time knowing the violence He must face on earth. And the violent would take it by force. Jesus was a peaceful man, and yet He would be taken by force. Yes, heaven would suffer violence through Jesus.
He said all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. The kingdom of heaven was at hand. This is the time of which they all prophesied. John is the prophesied returning Elijah. If they were willing to receive it, believe it, they would know that John was the returning Elijah, the Messenger that God sent to prepare the way for Jesus. He who has ears, let him hear. It is not enough to simply have ears to hear the words, but Jesus wants all to hear the truth behind the words.
And what of this generation? What were they expecting? What were they doing? They were as children calling to their companions in the marketplace. Can their companions even hear them over the din of the marketplace? But their companions ignore them. God sent the prophets to prepare them for this day, and they did not listen. They were foretold of the joy to come, and they did not participate in the joy. They were foretold of the sorrows to come, and they did not lament. They heard of the works of John and Jesus and they explained their efforts as being from evil rather than good. They did not listen.
This whole text is about expectations and perceptions. What did John and his disciples expect of Jesus? What did Jesus' disciples expect of John? They see the good works that are being done and they perceived it in the worst possible way. In the examples Jesus gave, whether they came not eating nor drinking, or eating and drinking, they were perceived badly. There is no way for them to do right when people's expectations and perceptions get in the way.
But Jesus said wisdom is justified by her children. Often you cannot see the wisdom in what is being done till you see the results of the action. Jesus told John to be patient, do not be offended by Jesus' actions, he would see the wisdom in what Jesus was doing later.
We must be careful too with our own expectations. We may not see the wisdom until much later even though our expectations aren't being met. Don't be offended by God's actions. He knows what He is doing.