Matthew 11:1-19 - A Question From John The Baptist

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

⁴ And Jesus answering said to them, Go and tell John the things which ye 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, and the poor have the gospel preached to them: And happy is he, whosoever shall not be offended at me. ⁶ And as they departed,

⁷ Jesus said to the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold they that wear soft clothing, are in king's houses. ⁹ But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ For this is he of whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.

¹¹ Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; but he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he. ¹² And from the days of John the Baptist till now, the kingdom of heaven is entered by force, and they which strive with all their might take it by violence. ¹³ For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if ye are willing to receive him, this is Elijah, who was to come. ¹⁵ He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁶ But whereto shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the markets,

¹⁷ and calling to their fellows, And saying, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to tou, and ye have not lamented.

¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking; and they say, He hath a devil. ¹⁹ The Son of man is come eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a glutton and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners; but wisdom is justified by her children.

¹⁸ And the disciples of John informed him of all these things. And John, ¹⁹ calling to him two of his disciples, sent to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come, or look we for another?

²⁰ And the men being come to him, said, John the Baptist hath sent us to thee, saying, Art thou he that should come, or look we for another?

²¹ And in that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues, and of evil spirits, and to many that were blind he gave sight. ²² And he answering said to them, Go and tell John the things ye have seen and heard: the blind see; the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are raised; to the poor the gospel is preached. ²³ And happy is he, whosoever shall not be offended at me. ²⁴ And when the messengers of John were departed, he said to the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? ²⁵ A reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold they that are splendidly apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings palaces. ²⁶ But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and much more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.

²⁸ For I say to you, among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he that is least in the kingdom of God, is greater than he.

²⁹ And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and scribes made void the counsel of God, toward themselves, being not baptized of him.

³¹ To whom then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.

³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. ³⁴ The Son of man is come, eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. ³⁵ But wisdom is justified by all her children.