Matthew

Matthew

Chapter 11
{The Ministry of the King continued from chapter 9. Chapter 10 was a parenthetical insert of His briefing to His disciples to demonstrate for us the principle that Jesus Christ didn't do the work by Himself.}

11:1~~When Jesus had finished briefing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach even preach in their towns.

{Note: Teaching and preaching are two aspects of the same thing. Teaching emphasizes the content and preaching emphasizes the communication of the message.}

11:2~~Now when John {the Baptist} in prison heard about the deeds Christ had done, he sent a question by his disciples.

{Note: John was held in a prison called Macceddus {sp}. It was a tall, isolated castle on a high cliff on the other side of the Dead Sea yet the message of Jesus' ministry got to him here.}

11:3~~"Are you 'He that should come' {means the Messiah}, or should we look/wait for another?"

{Jesus communicates to John that He (Jesus) is the Messiah}
11:4-5~~Jesus gave them this answer: "Having gone, tell John what you hear and see, 11:5~~'The blind receive sight {numerous occurrences for each of these}, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel proclaimed to them.' " {quotes from Isaiah 35:6 and 61:1 these are the signs of the coming of the Messiah}

11:6~~"Happinesses/blessed {makarios} . . . whoever is not shocked by Me."

{Note: Stated negatively because many were offended by Jesus. They refused to believe the Messiah has come because of the inculcation of religion in the area.}

{Personality does NOT make the man}
11:7~~While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the {religious} crowd about John. "What did you go out into the wilderness to see {to those who went to see John the Baptist preach - they were seeking what they could not find in their temples}? A reed shaken by the wind? {idiom meaning John did not have a great/pleasing personality}"

{Clothes and Residences do NOT make the man}
11:8~~"What did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? Those who wear soft clothes are in castles/palaces." {John dressed in crummy sack cloth and wandered the desert living in caves!}

{The Message MAKES the Man - NOT the Reverse}
11:9~~"But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I {Jesus} tell you . . . even MORE than a prophet."

{Note: It's the message not the man. A title or an office does not make the man.}

{Prophesy of the Voice in the Desert who precedes the Messiah}
11:10~~"This is the one about whom it stands written {Malachi 3:1}, 'Look, I {God} am sending My messenger {angel - means messenger and servant of the Lord -human or angelic} ahead of You {Jesus -the Messiah}, who will prepare Your way before You.' "

{Note: The word makes the man, but the man doesn't make the word.}

11:11~~"I tell you the truth, among those born of women, no one is greater than John the Baptist . . . yet, the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is."

{Note: The greater YOU are, the less grace you rely on! The lesser you are, the MORE you rely on the Grace of God! There the more grace oriented you are, the lesser you are on Earth and greater you will be in heaven. And, RBT also said they may have been a prophecy of the coming of Paul (little) who was the master student and teacher of grace.}

11:12~~"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force."

{Note: A reference to the opposition to grace orientation.}

{Declaration of the Kingdom}
11:13~~"For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared."

{Note: This means that OT scriptures declared the grace of God as John is also a man of grace.}

{Rejection of the Kingdom}
11:14~~"And if you will receive it {the Kingdom} -and it is true - he is Elijah, who is prophesied to come.

{Note: Since Elijah is the herald for Christ's 2nd advent, if they will accept Christ then John would, in effect, be Elijah. This is a first class condition of assumption - writer assumes it to clarify a position. Means it would be true if they believe it. But if they do not accept the gospel and reject Christ, then John was John . . and John was NOT Elijah.}

{Note: There are 3 types of 1st class conditions in the Greek:
1. Standard 1st Class Condition - means 'and it is true'.

2. 1st Class Condition of assumption - writer assumes it to be true to clarify a position.

3. Debater's 1st Class Condition - writer assumes something true to be false to prove the fallacy of that position.

11:15~~"Whoever keeps on having his ears {idiom for
everyone} . . . keep on listening {Positive Volition to the Word}!"

{Note: Jesus uses this phrase many times in Revelation Chapters 2 - 3. It means you have ears - keep on listening -persist - and you will understand it someday - persistence - consistency.}

{The Condemnation of the Jews - Jesus will roast the crowd -Verse 16-24}{Verse 16-17 the reason for the roasting - their attitude}
11:16-17~~"To what will I compare this generation? {what kind of analogy can I use to show what you are like to God?} They are like children sitting in the markets who complain to their friends, 11:17~~ 'We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance {not happy}. We have mourned, and yet you did not lament {not sad for us}.' "

{Note: Analogy of Jewish Unbelievers to children. They are adults who act like kids. No matter what happened they weren't pleased - implacable. You can not please them because they are children with small, petty minds!}

{Next Illustration - Comparing the difference in John the messenger and Jesus the King - Verses 18-19 - You can not please people! Stop trying! Please the Lord!}

11:18~~"For John came neither eating {food that would offend them} nor drinking {wine}, and they say, 'He has a demon!'"

11:19~~"The Son of Man came eating and drinking {wine}, and they say, 'Look at Him {Jesus}, a glutton and an alcoholic/drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and prostitutes!' But wisdom is vindicated from her productions {ergon}."

{Note: 'Ergon' means production. The KJV erroneously used 'children' here. Ergon from which we get energy never means children.}

{Jesus chews them out Verses 20 -24 - Jesus condemns cities}
11:20~~Then Jesus began to reproach/castigate the towns and cities in which He had done many of His miracles, because they did not change their thinking {about Christ}.

11:21~~"Woe to you, Chorazin {a city of the Sea of Galilee}! Woe to you, Bethsaida {another fisherman city}! For if - and it is not true - the miracles done among you had been done in Tyre and Sidon {two Phoenician cities destroyed as a judgement from God}, they would have changed their mental attitude {toward Christ} long ago in sackcloth and ashes."

{Note: Tyre and Sidon were two infamous, wicked Phoenician cities.}

11:22~~"But I {Jesus} tell you, it was less frustrating/more tolerable for {the people of} Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than it will be for you."

{Note: The frustration will be greater of those who actually saw Jesus perform His miraculous deeds but did not believe. Afterward though RBT says the Lake of Fire will be the same temperature for all unbelievers!}

11:23~~"And you, Capernaum, you won't be lifted up to heaven, will you? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day."

11:24~~"But I {Jesus} tell you, it was less frustrating/more tolerable for {the people of} the region of Sodom on their day of {temporal} judgment than it will be for you!"

{That stated, now Jesus Prays to the Father}
11:25~~At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, God/Deity/Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the {rationally} smart and {empirically} prudent {theological background - the religious crowd}, and revealed them to infants."

{Note: There are three systems of perception - rationalism, empiricism, and faith. 'Smart' people like philosophers want to rationalize things using their logical brains. The Prudent group are like scientists, who use their senses (empiricism) to figure things out. Only Faith is the non-meritorious method of perception. Faith is the only method of perception a baby has. And, faith is the ONLY method for perceiving spiritual phenomena. And, it is by Faith we are saved, not of works . . . lest any man should boast.}

11:26~~"Yes, Father, for this was 'seen good in Your sight' {according to Your perfect plan}."

11:27~~"All things have been given/delivered to Me by My Father. No one has a full and experiential knowledge of the Son except the Father. And no one has a full and experiential knowledge of the Father except the Son. And those to whom the Son mentally desires based on perception {boulomai} to reveal {apokalupto} Him {God the Father}."

{Note: This verse is based on volition at God consciousness. Those who Jesus knows are positive at the point of God consciousness have the Father revealed to them by Jesus Christ.}

{Note: Boulomai is a mental desire. Apokalupto is the word from which we get 'apocalypse- - which means 'to reveal' or 'revelation'. SideNote: The first verse of Revelation is the 'Apocalypse/Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ' and is what the book is all about.}

{Conclusion - Verses 28-30 - Invitation to the unbeliever - Strongest Possible invitation}
11:28~~"COME {deute} to Me, all you {unbelievers} who have worked yourself to exhaustion {from trying to WORK for salvation} and under the heavy load {of religion}, and I {Jesus} will give you rest {salvation}."

{Note: Deute meaning COME is a particle of EXHORTATION. It is stronger than any verb could be. It is stronger than the imperative mood. The STRONGEST possible invitation.}

{Invitation to the believer to Serve the Lord}
11:29~~"To those {who believe in Christ} take My yoke on you {get in harness with Christ} and {how do you approach getting in harness with the Lord?} learn from Me, because I am meek {living a life filled with the Holy Spirit} and lowly in frontal lobe {orientation to grace}, and you will find rest {faith rest - resting in the Lord - He will provide} for your souls."

11:30~~"For My yoke {Christian service in time} is profitable/easy/manageable and My load/burden {suffering} is light {easy to carry}."

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