Category: Matthew Chapter 11

There are few passages in the four Gospels more important than this. There are few which contain in so short a compass so many precious truths. May God give us an eye to see, and a heart to feel their value!

Let us learn, in the first place, the excellence of a childlike and teachable frame of mind. Our Lord says to His Father, “Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes.” It is not for us to attempt to explain why some receive and believe the Gospel, while others do not. The sovereignty of God in this matter is a deep mystery: we cannot fathom it. But one thing, at all events, stands out in Scripture as a great practical truth to be had in everlasting remembrance: those from whom the Gospel is hidden are generally “the wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight”; those to whom the Gospel is revealed are generally humble, simple-minded and willing to learn. The words of the Virgin Mary are continually being fulfilled: “He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away.” (Luke 1:53)

These sayings of the Lord Jesus were called forth by the state of the Jewish nation, when He was upon earth. But they speak loudly to us also, as well as to the Jews: they throw great light on some parts of the natural man’s character; they teach us the perilous state of many immortal souls in the present day.

The first part of these verses shows us the unreasonableness of many unconverted men in the things of religion. The Jews, in our Lord’s time, found fault with every teacher whom God sent among them. First came John the Baptist, preaching repentance: an austere man, a man who withdrew himself from society, and lived an ascetic life. Did this satisfy the Jews? No! They found fault and said, “He hath a devil.” Then came Jesus the Son of God, preaching the Gospel: living as other men lived, and practising none of John the Baptist’s peculiar austerities. And did this satisfy the Jews? No! They found fault again, and said, ”Behold a man gluttonous and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.” In short, they were as perverse and hard to please as wayward children.

The first thing that demands our attention in this passage is the message which John the Baptist sends to our Lord Jesus Christ. He “sent two of his disciples, and said unto Him, Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?“

This question did not arise from doubt or unbelief on the part of John. We do that holy man injustice if we interpret it in such a way. It was asked for the benefit of his disciples: it was meant to give them an opportunity of hearing from Christ’s own lips the evidence of His divine mission. No doubt John the Baptist felt that his own ministry was ended; something within him told him that he would never come forth from Herod’s prisonhouse, but would surely die. He remembered the ignorant jealousies that had already been shown by his disciples towards the disciples of Christ. He took the most likely course to dispel those jealousies forever: he sent his followers to “hear and see” for themselves.