Matthew 11:2–19

²John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, ³“Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

⁴Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—⁵the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” ⁶And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.^*”

⁷As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? ⁸Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces. ⁹Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. ¹⁰John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

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

and he will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is! ¹²And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing,^* and violent people are attacking it. ¹³For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. ¹⁴And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. ¹⁵Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

¹⁶“To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,

¹⁷‘We played wedding songs,

and you didn’t dance,

so we played funeral songs,

and you didn’t mourn.’

¹⁸For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man,^* on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”