Exposition of the Gospel of Matthew – Matthew 11:1-6

Written by Jimmie Burroughs

(Jesus preaching in the cities)

Introduction

It is important when studying Scripture verse by verse, not to lose sight of the overall picture less we miss the point and wrongly interpret the true meaning. By that I mean, we should consider each section in context on the overall meaning intended. For example, the Bible says “…there is no God.” But if you read that in context, the Bible says, “The fool has said in his heart there is no God.” Today we are going to transition from Jesus teaching His disciples concerning the kingdom work to another very important topic. Though the subject matter changes, chapter 11 is the direct results of what happened in chapter 10 and will continue to some very important events in chapter 12 that we will come to later on.

Matthew 11:1-3 ¹“And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. ²Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, ³And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?”

Matthew begins in chapter 11 by saying that Jesus has come to the end of commanding his twelve disciples and once again began to travel preaching and teaching in the cities. Previous to this, Jesus had been preparing His disciples to carry on the ministry, through His church, after he ascended into heaven. I mentioned that the events of chapter 12 are very important. It is there that Israel officially rejects Jesus as their Messiah, therefore losing the opportunity to receive the promised kingdom in their time.

Perceiving His rejection, Jesus withdrew the offer of His kingdom and begin teaching His disciples concerning the now future kingdom, which would come at His second coming; although, the disciples did not understand this at the time. He focused His attention on teaching His disciples to build that kingdom through personal evangelism. The disciples were commanded to travel from city to city preaching the message of the kingdom, the gospel of salvation through Jesus.

These twelve disciples were commissioned to evangelism.  That is the same commission He gave to the church on His last day on earth before ascending into Heaven: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen,” Matthew 28:19-20. That was given as a lifetime commission and is our top priority as believers and our primary reason for being on earth. However, most Christians are ignoring it and placing their priorities on something else. What is your top priority?

In our study at the end of Chapter 10, Jesus warned His disciple concerning the dangers that lay ahead as they commenced their mission. They would be hated by those who ruled over them and opposed by friends and family members alike. They would face persecution, harassed at every turn and would ultimately lose their lives, but in the end of their life, many, those who were true believers, would be saved by their faith and receive eternal rewards.

How many today in America would accept those terms for following Jesus. There are some today, especially in Islam countries, who face the same as those early disciples. Thank God for their strong faith. Would to God there were more in our own communities across America who were willing to sacrifice their own life for the faith if necessary. Who is willing to make the gospel of Christ their first priority whatever the cost? That was not a very encouraging way to begin a lifetime mission to build the eternal kingdom of God; nevertheless, it was one the disciples were willing to commit their own life too.

Luke Chapter 9, fills in some of the blanks as to what the disciples experienced as they commenced their mission of evangelism throughout the cities of Israel. After they completed their first mission trip, they returned to Jesus to give a report. We do not know the full report, but we can assume that some received the good news the apostles preached but many did not. A remnant believed which has always been the case for Israel as well as the gentiles even until this very day. This was a training experience to show the disciples what they are up against.

There was something else building in Matthew’s narrative; it was obvious that the mission that lay ahead was going to be filled with disappointments and failures. Israel in general did not recognize the Messiah nor did they receive the kingdom He offered. The disciples were confused and wondered why their brothers refused to recognize the Messiah that they themselves knew was the true Messiah. There was no doubt in their minds that Jesus was sent of God to fulfill the covenants promised Israel. How could it be possible that Israel rejected their own King that God had sent? Yet it was happening as we will clearly see later when we move into chapter 12.

Because of this general rejection of Jesus, even some of His followers began to doubt. John the Baptist, in prison at the time, sent some of his followers to question Jesus, if He was truly the Messiah or should they look for another. It is difficult to understand how John could question the identity of Jesus since he baptized Him and saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus from heaven. The answer is, John, like all of us, was only human and humans often lose faith even though their past is full of evidence of the power of God. For John, it was more of a confusion as to why Israel was not readily accepting Jesus and the kingdom He offered than it was of the identity of Jesus.

The problem was exacerbated by the fact that Bible scholars of that day did not fully understand God’s program for the world. Isaiah, the prophet, taught the future Messiah would suffer and die for the sins of the world: Isaiah 53:4-7, 4“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

However other passages such as Psalms 2:6-9 spoke of Jesus as the king who would rule over the whole world: Psalm 2:6-9, 6“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

To those early Bible scholars, this was an apparent contradiction. How Could the Messiah rule over a world kingdom and at the same time die for the sins of the world. In order to harmonize the seemingly opposing passages of Scripture, they believed that God would not only send Elijah to explain the way but would also send two Messiahs; The first Messiah would come to die for and atone for the sins of man; the second Messiah would come to rule and reign over Israel with a rod of iron.

Rabia’s invented their own theology to support their teachings. This also explains why John the Baptist was somewhat confused since he grew up hearing this kind of teaching. We know that the disciples, who were closest to Jesus, did not understand His death and resurrection until after the facts, nor did they understand His future kingdom.

We know today there is one Messiah and two appearances. There aren’t two Messiahs but only one who first came as the son of Joseph to suffer and die for the sins of man, and He will come again as the king who will rule and reign with his followers for a thousand years here on earth. We learned earlier in chapter 10, Jesus at His first appearance offered the Kingdom to Israel, but because Israel rejected His offer it was delayed to His second coming centuries later, and we do not know when that will be.

In the intermission period, which is already nearly 2,000 years, Jesus is calling out His church. The real reason Jesus was rejected can be charged to the false teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees. Peter had the answer in 2 Peter 3:15-16, 15“And account that the longsuffering of our LORD is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

The scribes and pharisees were responsible for leading the people away from Jesus resulting in Israel’s rejection of their promised Messiah. The Scribes and Pharisees are also among the ones having trouble understanding Scripture and being unlearned and unstable in the truth that Peter said Paul addressed. None of us understand all the truth available to us through Scripture. That is why it is so important that we continue daily to read and study the Bible. Sometime we may be wrong in our interpretation and need correcting. None of us are so knowledgeable of the Word of God that we look down on those who may be less informed.

We need to cultivate a desire to learn from God’s Word all we possibly can. Even John needed to learn more from the Master, and Jesus kindly informed him further on who he was and that He indeed was the one foretold as the Messiah by sighting the events happening around Him, the blind receiving their sight, etc.

Matthew 11:4-6, 4 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, 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. 6 And blessed is he that taketh not offense at Me.”

Jesus tells John’s disciples to go back to John and report to him the miricles that are taking place which included six things: The blind receive sight, lame walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the Gospel preached. The identity of Jesus was affirmed by the miracles He performed that required the power of God.

Today we certainly do not understand God because He is far beyond our mental ability to understand, but we know enough by what He has done before our own eyes to believe, even His creation speaks loudly of Him and His power. Understand, John already knew Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus arranged His answer to John by basing it on Isaiah chapters 35 and 61, and John being familiar with those verses knew that this was not only the Messiah but the Jesus come to redeem fallen man and ultimately be King over Israel.

To understand where Jesus was coming from, you need to understand that the Jewish rabbis had divided Isaiah into first and second Isaiah. The first section, 39 chapters, spoke of the suffering servant who came to save His people, and the last 27 chapters spoke of Christ sent to rule and reign over the kingdom.

The first part of Jesus’ answer came from Isaiah 35:4-6, 4“Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.”

The second part of Jesus’ answer came from Isaiah 61:1-6, 1“The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 4And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 5And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.”

In other words, Jesus is saying to John, I am both the redeemer come to save the people and the ruling Christ who offers the kingdom. So, Jesus sent John back to the Scripture to see with his own eyes that Jesus was the one he is trying to be certain of, not two Messiahs but one completing both missions. Once John saw that Jesus was fulfilling Scripture from both 1 Isaiah and 2 Isaiah, he understood clearly who Jesus was and that He was indeed the one he was looking for.

False teaching can interrupt our interpretation of Scripture when we come to it with some former idea placed in our mind by a false teacher. I said that John perfectly understood; perhaps that is an overstatement because actually it will not be until we stand with Jesus in Heaven that we no longer see through the glass darkly but will see clearly. There will always be some degree of misunderstanding and confusion concerning spiritual things while we are on earth.

The Apostle clarifies it for us: 1 Corinthians 13:12, 12“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Why do we make it a priority to study the Word? Is it only to fill our heads with knowledge or answer the riddles of the Bible? No indeed; we study to show ourselves approved before God; “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” 2 Timothy 2:15.  Our real purpose for being enthusiastic about Bible Study is because we want to grow in Christ and to become the Person, He created us to be.