^11:2Now when John² heard in prison about the deeds Christ³ had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question:⁴^11:3“Are you the one who is to come,⁵ or should we look for another?” ^11:4Jesus answered them,⁶ “Go tell John what you hear and see:⁷^11:5The blind see, the⁸ lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them. ^11:6Blessed is anyone⁹ who takes no offense at me.”

^11:7While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness¹⁰ to see? A reed shaken by the wind?¹¹^11:8What¹² did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes?¹³ Look, those who wear fancy clothes are in the homes of kings!¹⁴^11:9What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more¹⁵ than a prophet. ^11:10This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,¹⁶

who will prepare your way before you.’¹⁷

^11:11“I tell you the truth,¹⁸ among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least¹⁹ in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. ^11:12From²⁰ the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it.²¹^11:13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared.²²^11:14And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, who is to come.

Read in Logos

Matthew 11:11: Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Footnotes

2 John refers to John the Baptist.
3 The Western codex D and a few other (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important , nor in the rest of the tradition. Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” See the note on Christ in .
4 Instead of “by his disciples” (see the below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later (C3 L f1 𝔐 lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia tōn mathētōn autou vs. duo tōn mathētōn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 f13 33 sa), and thus should be considered original. Grk “sending by his disciples he said to him.” The words “a question” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
5 Aspects of Jesus’ ministry may have led John to question whether Jesus was the promised stronger and greater one who is to come that he had preached about in Matt 3:1–12.
6 Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
7 What you hear and see. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5–6; 26:19; 29:18–19; 61:1. Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.
8 Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. Two other conjunctions are omitted in this series.
9 Grk “whoever.”
10 Or “desert.”
11 There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?… No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.
12 Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 9.
13 The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.
14 Or “palaces.”
15 John the Baptist is “more” because he introduces the one (Jesus) who brings the new era. The term is neuter, but may be understood as masculine in this context ( περισσότερος b).
16 Grk “before your face” (an idiom).
17 The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.
18 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
19 After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.
20 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
21 Or “the kingdom of heaven is forcibly entered and violent people take hold of it.” For a somewhat different interpretation of this passage, see the note on the phrase “urged to enter in” in .
22 The word “appeared” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.