Matthew 11

Matthew 11 follows the instructions Jesus gave when He sent out the twelve disciples (Matthew 10). From this chapter onward, the narrative centers on who Jesus is and how people respond to Him.

Outline

• Verse 1 Having finished instructing His twelve disciples, Jesus departs to teach and preach in their cities.
• Verses 2–6 John, in prison, sends his disciples to ask, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Jesus tells them to report to John that the blind receive their sight, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
• Verses 7–15 Jesus speaks to the crowds about John. He calls John more than a prophet and declares that he is the Elijah who was to come.
• Verses 16–19 Comparing them to children playing in the marketplaces, Jesus rebukes "this generation," which received neither John nor the Son of Man.
• Verses 20–24 Jesus upbraids Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, where most of His mighty works were done, because they did not repent.
• Verses 25–27 Jesus thanks the Father for hiding these things from the wise and revealing them to babes, and He speaks of the relationship between the Father and the Son.
• Verses 28–30 Jesus invites those who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him for rest.

Key Verses

• Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden" — the verse most representative of Jesus' invitation, leading into the saying about the yoke in verses 29–30 (Matthew 11:29–30).
• Matthew 11:11 "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist" — honors John while emphasizing the newness of the kingdom of heaven.
• Matthew 11:27 "Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him" — reveals the unique relationship between the Father and the Son.

People and Places

• Jesus Christ
• John the Baptist: appears in prison, having been arrested by Herod.
• Elijah: in verse 14 Jesus identifies John as the Elijah "which was for to come" (KJV: "Elias").
• Chorazin and Bethsaida: towns north of the Sea of Galilee.
• Capernaum: the town Jesus made the center of His Galilean ministry.
• Tyre and Sidon: Gentile cities on the Mediterranean coast.
• Sodom: mentioned as a symbol of judgment.

Interpretive Considerations

• John's question (v. 3) has traditionally been read in two ways: some hold that John himself was wavering, while others hold that he sought to strengthen the faith of his disciples.
• Interpretations of verse 12, "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence," differ widely. Some read it positively, as describing people who earnestly lay hold of the kingdom; others take it to mean that the kingdom meets with violent opposition.
• Verse 10 quotes Malachi 3:1, and verse 14 connects with the Elijah prophecy of Malachi 4. In John 1, John states that he is not Elijah; the two passages are commonly harmonized by distinguishing between Elijah's "role" and Elijah's "person."
• Verse 5 recalls Isaiah 35 and Isaiah 61:1–3. Parallel material appears in Luke 7 and Luke 10.

In the Korean Church

Verse 28 is known to appear frequently on evangelistic tracts, church signboards, and invitations to evangelistic meetings, and it is also widely used as a sermon text on the themes of comfort and invitation.