Matthew 11
11
1When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he left to go and teach and speak publicly in the nearby towns. 2While John was in prison he heard what the Messiah was doing, so he sent his disciples 3to ask on his behalf, “Are you the one we were expecting to come, or should we continue to look for someone else?”
4Jesus answered them, “Go back and tell John what you hear and what you see. 5The blind can see, the crippled can walk, the lepers are healed, the deaf can hear, the dead are resurrected, and the poor hear the good news. 6Blessed are those who don't reject me!”
7As they left, Jesus began to talk to the crowds about John. “What were you expecting to see when you went out into the desert? A reed tossed about by the wind? 8So what did you go to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? People dressed like that live in kings' palaces. 9So what did you go to see then? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you he is much more than a prophet! 10He's the one this Scripture was written about: ‘I'm sending my messenger on ahead of you. He will prepare your way for you.’#11:10. Quoting Malachi 3:1. 11I tell you the truth, that among humanity#11:11. Literally, “among those who are born of women.” there's no one greater than John the Baptist, but even the least important in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. 12From the time of John the Baptist up till now the kingdom of heaven continues to be under attack, and violent people are trying to seize it by force. 13For all the prophets and the law#11:13. Referring to the message of the Old Testament. spoke for God until John came. 14If you're prepared to believe it, he is Elijah, the one who was expected to come.#11:14. See Malachi 4:5. 15Anybody with ears should be listening!
16What shall I compare this generation to? It's like children sitting in the marketplaces shouting to each other, 17‘We played the flute for you and you didn't dance; we sang sad songs and you didn't cry.’ 18John didn't come feasting and drinking, so people say, ‘He's devil-possessed!’ 19On the other hand the Son of man came and did feast and drink, and people say, ‘Look, he's greedy and drinks too much; he's a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by what it does…”
20Then he began to reprimand the towns where he'd done most of his miracles because they had not repented. 21“Shame on you, Korazin! Shame on you, Bethsaida! If the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which happened among you, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes long ago. 22But I tell you that on the Day of Judgment it will be better for Tyre and Sidon than it will for you! 23And what about you, Capernaum? Will you be exalted to heaven? No, you'll go down to Hades! If the miracles had been performed in Sodom which happened among you, Sodom would still be here today. 24But I tell you that on the Day of Judgment it will be better for Sodom than it will for you!”
25Then Jesus prayed, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for you've hidden these things from the clever and sophisticated. Instead you've revealed them to ordinary people.#11:25. Literally, “infants.” 26Yes, Father, you were pleased to do this! 27Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father, and no one really understands the Son, except the Father, and no one really understands the Father, except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28Come to me, all of you who struggle and who are burdened down. I will give you rest. 29Accept my yoke, and learn from me. For I am kind and have a humble heart, and in me you will find the rest you need. 30For my yoke is gentle, and my burden is light.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Matthew 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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