Matthew 11 Commentary
After everything we have seen and heard, won’t we, like John the Baptist, ask an all-important question? Is Jesus the Messiah or should we expect another one? Could there be a better time for this question than when the prophet is behind bars for preaching repentance?
Yes, another one would come but not by way of a manger. He would not carry his own cross to Calvary Hill. We doubt if His name would still be the Servant, as in Isaiah 52 and 53. Probably the Prince of Peace carrying a sword of judgment but never the Lamb of God!
Then Jesus reveals John’s identity. He is the messenger whom Malachi talked about.
Verse 13 suggests the commencement of a new chapter in the history of mankind. John is the last Old Testament prophet. He is also the bridge that brings in the New Testament. The New Testament comes in with the man Jesus Christ.
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Verse 5. These are individuals like the woman with an issue of blood, or the military commander. Cities respond differently. There is a lineup of trouble in waiting! Sodom-like trouble!
The world thinks the gospel is rubbish. What a mistake! But the little children have it right! And it pleased the LORD to have it this way. It reveals the extraordinary generosity of the LORD that the greatest gift is reachable by even little children!
The world is stunned. We achieve big things by diligence, intelligence, wisdom, skills, or special abilities and capabilities. But not with the gospel! Salvation is free. You can afford it at zero cost. It is a hard kick in the leg! The world won’t just accept it. Capernaum probably thinks her status is all that is required. It is doubly difficult for the affluent and powerful of our world to accept the free gift of salvation.
But look deep inside your life. There is emptiness. You have inner burdens that are too heavy for you. The battle is the same, for the poor or the rich. Burdens are the same. The difference could be that the rich feel they have the means to help them but it is all lies. They know it. The burdens are still there.
Then the announcement follows – the good news to humanity. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Could this be the promised rest ably represented by the many Sabbaths of the Torah?
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