Matthew 11:1-30, Genesis 31:1-32:32, Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:1

MATT. 11MESSENGERS FROM JOHN THE BAPTIST; REBUKING CITIES THAT REJECTED HIM; AND THE GREAT INVITATIONAnd it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities. (Matthew 11:1)Concerning the month's separation of Jesus and his disciples, see under Matthew 10:42. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:2

Now when John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent by his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?John had grown uncertain as to whether Christ was indeed the Messiah or not. The uncertainty probably arose from the following circumstances: (1) John had been cast into prison, and Christ had made no move to free him; (2) John was suffering cruel and unjust persecution and probably foresaw his approaching martyrdom; (3) Jesus' identity as the... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:4

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye hear and see.The King James Version has "Go and show John AGAIN ..." The word "again" does not occur in later versions, but the thought is surely included of RE-TEACHING John who was the first publicly to recognize and identify the Messiah. This is a constant and unvarying need in all ages for the church to keep stressing over and over again the great facts of the gospel. The Great Commission stresses teaching the... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:5

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.The miracles Jesus mentioned to John's messengers were precisely those which Isaiah identified with the advent of the Messiah (Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1). This was Christ's unique way of letting John know that he was indeed the Christ without phrasing it in terms that would have secular overtones. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:6

And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.This earnest plea from Jesus' very heart and soul is a moving and powerful request that John would not take offense at our Lord's inability openly to declare himself at that time, nor at differences such as marked their attitudes toward fasting. The absence of any further inquiries from John shows that John understood. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:7

And as these went on their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?Jesus immediately launched into a dissertation on John and his ministry that revealed the very highest estimate of both. His praise of John the Baptist is unequaled by his praise of any other. "The reed shaken in the wind" suggested something of little importance, trivial, a minor curiosity. John was not that. It also suggests a man... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:8

But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft raiment are in king's houses.The comparison suggested a sycophant; and John certainly was not that. His rough garment of camel's hair put him in a different world. The implication would give greater strength to John and would tactfully remind him that he was no fawning flatterer of Herod who would change his witness of Christ in order to curry favor. The aptness of this reference to "soft raiment" is... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:9

But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.John was the last and greatest of the prophets, foretelling: (1) the near approach of the kingdom of God, (2) that Jesus would take away the sin of the world, and (3) that the Jewish nation would be destroyed for rejecting him (see under Matthew 3:10). He was more than a prophet in that he did not merely foretell the Messiah but presented him to the people and identified him. He was greatest also in... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:10

This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare the way before thee.Christ's selection of this prophecy from Malachi 3:1 and application of it to John proves two things: (1) that John the Baptist is that first messenger mentioned in that passage, and (2) that Jesus Christ is the Lord, "the messenger of the covenant" who even then had suddenly come to his temple. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:11

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.This is but a continuation of the Saviour's logic in the preceding verse. Just as John was the greatest of the prophets because of his proximity to Christ, the apostles, and indeed all Christians, are greater than John because they are even closer, being "in him" as a result of the new birth. Since Christ is Lord,... read more

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