Mattityahu (Mat) 11
11
1After Yeshua had finished instructing the twelve talmidim, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns nearby.
2Meanwhile, Yochanan the Immerser, who had been put in prison, heard what the Messiah had been doing; so he sent a message to him through his talmidim, 3asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” 4Yeshua answered, “Go and tell Yochanan what you are hearing and seeing — 5the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with tzara’at are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the Good News is being told to the poor — 6and how blessed is anyone not offended by me!”
7As they were leaving, Yeshua began speaking about Yochanan to the crowds: “What did you go out to the desert to see? Reeds swaying in the breeze? 8No? then what did you go out to see? Someone who was well dressed? Well-dressed people live in kings’ palaces. 9Nu, so why did you go out? To see a prophet! Yes! and I tell you he’s much more than a prophet. 10This is the one about whom the Tanakh says,
‘See, I am sending out my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way before you.’
11Yes! I tell you that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than Yochanan the Immerser! Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he! 12From the time of Yochanan the Immerser until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been suffering violence; yes, violent ones are trying to snatch it away. 13For all the prophets and the Torah prophesied until Yochanan. 14Indeed, if you are willing to accept it, he is Eliyahu, whose coming was predicted. 15If you have ears, then hear!
16“Oh, what can I compare this generation with? They’re like children sitting in the marketplaces, calling out to each other,
17‘We made happy music,
but you wouldn’t dance!
We made sad music,
but you wouldn’t cry!’
18For Yochanan came, fasting, not drinking — so they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19The Son of Man came, eating freely and drinking wine — so they say, ‘Aha! A glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax-collectors and sinners!’ Well, the proof of wisdom is in the actions it produces.”
20Then Yeshua began to denounce the towns in which he had done most of his miracles, because the people had not turned from their sins to God. 21“Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Beit-Tzaidah! Why, if the miracles done in you had been done in Tzor and Tzidon, they would long ago have put on sackcloth and ashes as evidence that they had changed their ways. 22But I tell you it will be more bearable for Tzor and Tzidon than for you on the Day of Judgment! 23And you, K’far-Nachum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Sh’ol! For if the miracles done in you had been done in S’dom, it would still be in existence today. 24But I tell you that on the Day of Judgment it will be more bearable for the land of S’dom than for you!”
25It was at that time that Yeshua said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you concealed these things from the sophisticated and educated and revealed them to ordinary folks. 26Yes, Father, I thank you that it pleased you to do this.
27“My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
28“Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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Mattityahu (Mat) 11: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMatthew 11
11
Jesus talked about John the Baptiser
1Jesus finished talking to his 12 special workers, then he went around the towns in Galilee country. He talked to people and taught them more about God.
2At that time, John the Baptiser was in jail. But people told him about all the things that Jesus was doing. So John sent some of his own followers to ask Jesus some questions. 3They went to Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptiser has sent us to you. He wants us to ask you, ‘Are you the special man that God has sent to us? Or do we have to start looking around for somebody else?’ ”
4Jesus said, “Go back and tell John what you see here. 5Some people were blind, but now they can see. Some people were crippled, but now they can walk. Some people had a bad skin sickness, but now their skin is good again. Some people were deaf, but now they can hear. Some people were dead, but now they are alive again. And tell John that you heard us telling the good news to poor people.#Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1 6Maybe I’m not the sort of person you thought God would send, but just trust me anyway, and God will make you happy.”
7Then the followers of John went away, and Jesus started to talk to all the people. He talked to them about John. He said, “You know, you went out into the bush to see John. What sort of man did you think you would see? You didn’t go out there to see a man that is weak, like grass that goes any way the wind pushes it. 8And you didn’t go out there to see a man wearing pretty clothes. No, men that wear pretty clothes live in the town, in good big houses. 9Did you go out there to see a man that tells people God’s messages? Yes, John the Baptiser told you God’s message, and he did something even more important than that. 10You see, a long time ago, God got one of his men to write about somebody that will get everything ready. God’s man wrote about John the Baptiser. We can read it in God’s book. This is what it says,
‘God will send a man to get everything ready for God’s special person.
That man will talk about God’s special person, and he will make a way for people to listen to him.’ ”#Malachi 3:1
11Then Jesus said, “Listen. John the Baptiser is a very important man. He is greater than any other man that ever lived. But everyone in God’s family is more important than John the Baptiser. 12You know, John started to teach some time ago, and from that time until now, God’s family has been getting bigger. There are people that really want to be friends with God, and they have been trying hard to get into his family. 13You see, before John came, God told his words and his laws to his men, and they wrote them in God’s book. And you know, that was a long time ago, but they wrote about the things that will happen now, at this time.#Luke 16:16 14Look. Try to believe this. They wrote about John, but they didn’t use that name for him. They called him Elijah.”#Malachi 4:5; Matthew 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13
15And Jesus said, “You’ve got ears, so you have to listen to me properly, and take notice of my words.”
16Then Jesus said, “Now I’ll talk about you people that are alive today and I’ll tell you what you are like. You are like kids that are playing in the street. Some kids say to the other kids, 17‘We played happy music for you, but you didn’t dance. So we sang a sad song, but you didn’t cry. No matter what we do, you say we are wrong.’ 18Those kids are a picture of you mob. You are just like those kids. You rubbish God’s people no matter what they do. You see, John the Baptiser didn’t go to parties and eat lots of good food, and he didn’t drink wine. But you rubbished him and said, ‘He’s got a bad spirit living inside him.’ 19But sometimes I go to parties and eat good food, and sometimes I drink wine, and even though I’m God’s special man from heaven, you rubbish me too. You say, ‘He eats too much, and he drinks too much. He’s a friend of those bad men that get tax money from people and give it to the Roman government, and he’s a friend of other bad people that don’t follow the law properly.’ But really, John and me, we are both wise. And you can know if somebody is wise or not. Just look at what they do, and see if they do good things or not.”
(We have not yet translated 11:20-24. You can read that message in Luke 10:13-15.)
God shows things to people that know they are not smart
25At that time, Jesus prayed to God. He said, “Father, you are the biggest boss. You are the boss over everything in the sky and everything on the earth. There are some people here that reckon they are smart, and they reckon they understand everything. And there are other people that are just like little kids. They know that they are not smart. Thank you for showing what your message means to those people that are like kids. And thank you for not showing it to those people that reckon they are smart. 26Yes, Father, that is how you wanted to do it.”
27Then Jesus told the people, “God, my father, gave me everything, so I can teach people all about him. You see, I am God’s son, and my father knows me properly. Nobody else knows me properly. And I know my father properly. I pick some people, and I show them what my father is like, but nobody else knows God properly.”#John 3:35; 1:18; 10:15
Jesus is good to his workers
28Then Jesus said to the people, “Come to me, all of you mob that are tired. You did a lot of ceremony things to get God to save you, but that is not the right way. It’s like you worked hard, and you carried a lot of heavy things, and then you got too tired. Look, instead of that, just come and work for me, and I will let you rest really good. 29Be my follower and work for me. Listen to the things I teach you, and you will feel good inside yourselves, like your spirit is resting. You see, I am not a big tough boss. I will be easy on you.#Jeremiah 6:16 30I will never ask you to do things that are too hard for you.”
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