An exposition of The Gospel According to Matthew
by David L. Cooper, Th.M., Ph.D., Litt. D.
Installment eleven

IN OUR EXPOSITION of the Gospel according to Matthew we have arrived at chapter 11. As we have previously noted, Matthew as a rule is not chronological, but is topical in his arrangement of the material which he presents to us. As we recall from last month's issue, chapter 10 gives the "restricted commission" which consists of the instructions, given by our Lord to the disciples, that were carried out on the third tour of Galilee. But the events recorded in Matthew, chapter 11, occurred between the first and the second tours of Galilee. As has already been suggested in this series, Matthew selected and arranged his material topically in order to present to the Jewish people the proof that Jesus of Nazareth was and is their Messiah.

In Matthew 11:2-6 we have an account of John the Baptist's sending two of his disciples to Jesus with an inquiry concerning whether or not He was the expected Messiah. At the time John sent them he had been in prison a little over six months. According to Josephus the place of his incarceration was Machaerus, a fortress in the land of Moab.

Although John had been confined in prison, it is clear from the record that he received reports through his disciples concerning the things which Jesus was doing and teaching. Having heard of His marvelous performances, he sent his disciples with this inquiry.

This question immediately arises in this connection: Did not John bear testimony to the fact that Jesus was the Messiah and did he not point Him out to some of his disciples as the long-expected one? Why the change in his attitude? Had John's faith been eclipsed by the cruel confinement in which he had been held? Someone has said that logic and reason during times of prosperity are cogent and powerful, but that they are entirely different to one who is suffering, is discouraged and downhearted. There can be no doubt concerning John's sanity when he bore testimony which proved the messiahship of Jesus (John 1:29-42). To John in prison the situation appeared quite altered from what it had seemed when he was at the height of his great preaching campaign. Doubts had begun to eclipse his faith. This fact seems to be echoed by our Lord's statement to John's disciples, "And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me" (Matt. 11:6). The Lord had just called attention to the marvelous miracles which He was performing and then added the statement just quoted, which seems to be a gentle rebuke to John because of his doubts.

After the messengers had departed from Jesus, He turned to His disciples and asked them concerning their estimate of John: "What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment?" (vss. 7,8). Did they expect to see a prophet? Then Jesus immediately answered this last question by asserting, "Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet." To this testimony He added the information that John was the one of whom Malachi in 3:1 had spoken: "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee" (vs. 10). John was a prophet, in the true sense of the term; but, as Jesus said, he was more than a prophet. He was the herald of the true Messiah who had entered the world to work out man's redemption.

Our Lord spoke further concerning John and his greatness by saying that he was the greatest man who had ever been born of woman. As we scan the pages of history we see that God has had his noblemen at various crises in the history of redemption. But John, according to our Lord, towered above them all--even above Noah, Moses, Samuel, and David. His greatness consisted in his recognition of who he was and the place which he was filling. He was free from all pride and jealousy. He was indeed the loyal disciple of the Lord. He pointed away from himself to Jesus and did all within his power to magnify Him--even at the expense of his falling into disfavor with the people. He was an honest, conscientious, sincere prophet of God. Never did he curry favor with anyone. He spoke boldly his convictions, even though it did cost him his life.

Although John was the greatest of all the men of the old dispensation, the least one in the kingdom of heaven is even greater than John. The least member of the church of Jesus Christ, which is His body, is greater than John, in that he is lifted to a higher position of spirituality and relationship to God. He has been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ--things of which John and all others in the old dispensation had been denied.

According to verse 12, from the days of John the Baptist until the time that Jesus was delivering this eulogy regarding him, the kingdom of heaven was suffering violence and men of violence were attempting to take it by force. Jesus became very popular with the masses as we see in our study of the great Galilean ministry. For instance, when He fed the five thousand at the conclusion of the Galilean ministry, there were those who recognized in Him the Hebrew Messiah. Not being of a spiritual nature and yet wanting the Messianic Era to dawn, they attempted by force to take Jesus and make Him king (John 6:15). Our Lord would not of course submit to any such procedure as this.

According to verse 13 "all the prophets and the law prophesied until John." God gave the law to Moses. At various crises in the history of Israel the Lord raised up prophets who spoke for Him, delivering His message to the people to meet their immediate needs. Finally, God ceased to raise up more prophets, and there ensued what is known as the inter-biblical period during which the voice of prophecy died out. John the Baptist broke this silence of approximately four hundred years by declaring that the time had been fulfilled and that the kingdom of heaven was then at hand. Thus a new note was sounded which added force, power, and emphasis to the message of Moses and the prophets. This is the significance of verse 13 of our chapter.

Following this statement our Lord declared to the people, "And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come." But we know from related passages the people would not receive the truth regarding him. Hence John the Baptist was not, to them, the real Elijah. According to Matthew 17:9-13 John was an Elijah but not the Elijah. According to Malachi 4:5,6, Elijah the prophet will personally appear upon earth, heralding the approach of Messiah. This coming is yet in the future and will be fulfilled immediately before the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. But in a manner analogous to the work of Elijah in the future, John the Baptist became the forerunner of Messiah at His first coming. John was simply, as stated above, an Elijah but was not Elijah himself. That this proposition is true is evident from John's own reply to the delegation which came from Jerusalem to ask concerning who he was. When he was asked if he were Elijah, he frankly confessed that he was not. We therefore know that John was simply an Elijah, a man of like temperament and disposition as the true Elijah of the future.

Seeing the critical attitude that the people had taken with reference to Himself, the Lord compared His generation to children sitting in the market places, who call to their fellows and say, "We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not mourn." Nothing could please them. John came, living an abstemious life. Some said therefore, "He hath a demon." Jesus came, living a normal life and associating with the people, accepting invitations to dinners. Concerning Him, therefore, the people said, "Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!" No one can please the unregenerated heart, that does not want truth.

There were certain places to which Jesus was accustomed to go, and in which He performed His mightiest works. Two of those cities were Chorazin and Bethsaida. Notwithstanding the great advantages which they had enjoyed by His presence, they had not repented. Our Lord therefore upbraided them very severely and declared that it would be more tolerable in the day of judgment for Tyre or Sidon than for them, the reason being that had He appeared in either of these heathen cities and preached and performed the miracles which he had wrought, they would have repented and would have accepted Him. Capernaum likewise came in for condemnation. During our Lord's entire Galilean ministry, consisting of approximately eighteen months, Capernaum was His headquarters. Those who lived there had unparalleled opportunities and advantages. Nevertheless they would not accept the truth. Jesus therefore declared that it would be more tolerable for Sodom than for Capernaum in the day of judgment.

The "day of judgment" here doubtless refers to the time when all the wicked are raised and are brought before the judgment of the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). This great assize of lost people will be held after the millennial reign of our Lord. None of the saved will appear there to be judged. The judgment of the believer occurred at the cross. He who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ has passed from death unto life and shall not come into judgment (John 5:24). The commonly received teaching that there will be one great judgment day on which all--both saved and lost--will be raised and brought before the throne to be judged according to the deeds of the body is erroneous. It does not find support in any passage when it is properly interpreted in the light of its context. The righteous are raised and come to life before the Millennial Age begins. They reign with Christ during that time. The dead who are lost do not come to life until after the thousand years are finished. Then they are raised to appear before the judgment seat of the great white throne at which their condemnation will be pronounced upon them. After that event they will be cast into everlasting punishment-- because they have refused to accept the free grace of the Lord Jesus and be saved.

According to Matthew 11:25-27, at that season our Lord prayed and thanked God that the spiritual realities had been hidden from the wise and prudent of this world and had been revealed unto babes. Such an arrangement was in perfect accord with the Father's good wishes.

In this connection Jesus, in prayer to His Father, said, "No one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him." There is no mortal who can by philosophy or any other means ferret out God and understand Him. Neither is there anyone who has ever lived and who can understand fully the Lord Jesus Christ, who was and is the God-man. He was perfect man. He was, at the same time, perfect God. There was a union between those two natures which made Him the God-man. No mortal has ever been able to grasp the depth, the height, and the breadth of such marvelous teaching. Although we may not be able and cannot understand fully the significance of the incarnation, we can, by faith, accept the biblical teaching and receive the blessing which flows to all honest hearts who do accept.

The great invitation which our Lord extended to the people burdened with the cares and responsibilities of life is found in verses 28-30. This invitation was primarily open to those who were burdened. To them the Lord promised peace and joy. It seems to be characteristic of man that he never appreciates God until he is brought to his extremity. Hence we say "Man's extremity is God's opportunity." Whenever things are going well with the average person, he thinks little of God. As a rule, it takes adversity and disappointment to bring people to the point that they will accept the kind, loving invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we who know Him and the power of His resurrection first live before men the Christ-life and then invite all to come, accept, and enjoy the full and free salvation which He has given us who have accepted Him.