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

¹ And it came to pass that, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and preach in their cities. ² And John, having heard, in the prison, of the works of the Christ, sending by his disciples, ³ said to Him, "Art Thou the Coming One, or are we to look for another?"

⁴ And Jesus, answering, said to them, "Having gone, report to John what ye are hearing and seeing: ⁵ the blind receive sight, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have the Gospel proclaimed to them. ⁶ And happy is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in Me."

⁷ And, as these were going, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, "What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ But what went ye out to see? a man in soft raiment; Behold, those wearing soft raiment are in kings' houses. ⁹ But why did ye go out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say to you, and much more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is he of whom it has been written, 'Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee.'

¹¹ "Verily I say to you, there has not arisen, among those born of women, a greater than John the Immerser; yet he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. ¹² And from the time of John the Immerser until now, the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by storm, and violent men seize upon it; ¹³ for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; ¹⁴ and, if ye are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is about to come. ¹⁵ He that has ears let him hear.

¹⁶ "But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who, calling to the others,

¹⁷ say, 'We piped to you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not lament.'

¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a man gluttonous and a wine-drinker, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners.' And wisdom was justified by her works."

¹⁸ And the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. ¹⁹ And, calling to him two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, "Art Thou the Coming One, or are we to expect another?"

²⁰ And, coming near to Him, the men said, "John, the Immerser, sent us to Thee, saying, 'Art Thou the Coming One, or are we to expect another?'"

²¹ In that hour He cured many of diseases, and plagues, and evil spirits; and to many blind He bestowed sight. ²² And, answering, He said to them, "Going your way, announce to John what ye saw and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the Gospel proclaimed to them. ²³ And happy is he, whosoever shall find no cause of stumbling in Me." ²⁴ And, the messengers of John having gone away, He began to say to the multitudes concerning John, "What went ye forth into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ But what went ye forth to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those clothed in splendid apparel, and living in luxury, are in kingly courts! ²⁶ But what went ye forth to see? a prophet? Yea, I say to you, and much more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is he concerning whom it has been written, 'Behold, I send forth My messenger before Thy face, who will prepare Thy way before Thee.'

²⁸ I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; but the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he."

²⁹ And all the people, having heard, and the tax-collectors, justified God, having been immersed with the immersion of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God as to themselves, not having been immersed by him.

³¹ "To what, then, shall I liken the men of this generation? And to what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, who say, 'We piped to you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not weep.'

³³ For John, the Immerser, has come, neither eating bread, nor drinking wine; and ye say, 'He has a demon.' ³⁴ The Son of Man has come, eating and drinking; and ye say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a wine-drinker, a Friend of tax-collectors and sinners!' ³⁵ And Wisdom was justified by all her children."