MATTHEW LESSON 23

     We will begin in Matthew 11:1 "And it came to pass, when Jesus
had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence
to teach and to preach in their cities."

     Jesus had sent His disciples out in the field so that they, too,
could get people saved, healed, and delivered; He went to another area
to minister without the 12.

     Matthew 11:2 "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of
Christ, he sent two of his disciples,"  Matthew 11:3 "And said unto
him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?"

     These disciples that John the baptist sent were John's followers.
John was imprisoned at this time. John proclaimed the coming of Christ
and actually baptized Jesus. Now, he seemed to be going through a trial
himself. Like the disciples, John, probably, really expected Jesus to
take physical rule of Isreal then, so he questioned, are you the
promised one? Even the "voice crying in the wilderness" was
discouraged and doubting there in prison. This is so difficult to
believe after he had heard the voice from heaven, when he baptized
Jesus.

     Matthew 11:4 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John
again those things which ye do hear and see:"  Matthew 11:5 "The blind
receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and
the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel
preached to them."

     The Scripture that comes into my mind when I read this is John
14:11 "Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or
else believe me for the very works' sake."

     No one but the Spirit of God can perform these kind of miracles
in their own name. Jesus was healing, delivering, and raising from the
dead in His own name. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ can do these
miracles today, the only difference is that we do them in His name
(the names of the Lord Jesus Christ). This same 14th chapter tells
about this very thing. John 14:12 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He
that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."
John 14:13 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son." John 14:14 "If ye shall
ask any thing in my name, I will do [it]."

     You see, just the miracles that Jesus did was proof of who he was
(God manifest in the flesh). In Matthew 11:4, the one word that really
stands out to me is "again". John undoubtedly had seen Jesus do these
miracles before, but because John was suffering in jail he needed
reassurance.

     Matthew 11:6 "And blessed is [he], whosoever shall not be
offended in me."

     This just means you are blessed, if you are not embarrassed by the
miracles Jesus did.

     Matthew 11:7  "And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the
multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to
see? A reed shaken with the wind?"  Matthew 11:8 "But what went ye out
for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft
[clothing] are in kings' houses."  Matthew 11:9 "But what went ye out
for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet."
Matthew 11:10 "For this is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send
my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

     When John's disciples left, Jesus started telling the people who
John the Baptist really was. The people expected Jesus to take up His
reign then, and they expected the one who would herald His coming to
be dressed in finery. Prophets were usually dressed in skins, not
fancy clothes. Even today, the true messengers of God are not high and
mighty by the world's standards. They just have a message to bring,
and usually, they stay in the back ground. The message is what stands
out. I truly believe that even now, we must prepare the way for the
return of Christ.

     Matthew 11:11 "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of
women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:
notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater
than he."

     John was flesh and blood like you and me. Even though there was a
great call on his life, he still had human frailties. He was a voice
warning people of Jesus' arrival. He was not Jesus; he was just
proclaiming His coming. No human should think too highly of
himself. God the Father, God the Word, and God the Holy Spirit are
the ones to be worshipped. No one else should be worshipped; no matter
how close to God they seem to be.

     Matthew 11:12 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by
force."

     I believe this is speaking of the spiritual warfare that a
Christian must go through to enter heaven. I cannot figure otherwise.

     Matthew 11:13 "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until
John." Matthew 11:14 "And if ye will receive [it], this is Elias,
which was for to come."

     In the 4th chapter of Malachi the 5th verse, we read the promise 
of Elias. Malachi 4:5  "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before 
the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:"

     Matthew 11:15 "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."

     You see people, who look at the Bible from the physical and not
the spiritual standpoint, cannot accept this. Those who are seeing
with the heart can. One translation says, one like unto Elijah.

     Matthew 11:16  "But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It
is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their
fellows," Matthew 11:17 "And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye
have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented."

     He was just saying that, whether it was a joyful message, or a sad
message, people were not listening.

     Matthew 11:18 "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and
they say, He hath a devil."  Matthew 11:19 "The Son of man came eating
and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber,
a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her
children."

     Jesus was saying John the Baptist came denying himself everything,
and you said he had a devil. Jesus told them He was the opposite of
John, and they still criticized. The Scripture indicated the reason
they did not understand all of this was because of the scales over their
eyes.  The only kind of wisdom that we can understand is the wisdom
that Christ gives us. If you eat, it must be unto the Lord. If you
fast, it must be unto the Lord.

     Matthew 11:20  "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most
of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:"

     Sometimes, people are so grounded and rooted in their sins that
there is no possible way to get them to repent. If Jesus couldn't do it,
what makes us think that we can? Even with all the miracles He did,
they did not repent of their sins and get saved.

     Matthew 11:21 "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!
for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre
and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."
Matthew 11:22 "But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre
and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you."

     Both Tyre and Sidon were Phoenecian cities. Though evil abounded
in this area, and they had been punished, still the miracles had not
been prevalent there. The sad thing was when the miracles "were" done,
the people quickly forgot what God has done for them. That is even so
in our churches today. God does one miracle right after the other, and
if it didn't happen in the last five minutes, we tend to forget. If we
have come face to face with the opportunity to repent and be saved,
and we reject it, we are without excuse before God.

     Matthew 11:23 "And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto
heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which
have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained
until this day."  Matthew 11:24 "But I say unto you, That it shall be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for
thee."

     This was just another reprimand of a city that did not listen.

     Matthew 11:25  "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank
thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."

     I really believe this Scripture was saying that too much education
by the world can get you to the point that God cannot reveal things to
you, because you feel that you already know all that there is to know
about the Bible. Some of the greatest Bible interpreters of all had no
formal education. They were taught by the Holy Spirit of God. I am
convinced that because the Bible is just one of many books studied,
that a person gets confused which is the authority. If we could just
learn to depend on the Holy Spirit to teach us, as Jesus did the early
disciples, we would be just fine.

     Matthew 11:26 "Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy
sight." Matthew 11:27 "All things are delivered unto me of my Father:
and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man
the Father, save the Son, and [he] to whomsoever the Son will reveal
[him]."

     So you can easily see that only Jesus, His Father, and the Holy
Ghost can really reveal anything to us. Head knowledge will never do.
It has to be in our hearts and be a part of us for us to understand,
and only God can give us that.

     Matthew 11:28  "Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:29 "Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls."  Matthew 11:30 "For my yoke [is] easy, and
my burden is light."

     Jesus' call has always been to those in need. The sooner we learn
to lay our cares on Jesus, the better off we are. He can take care of
all our problems, if we just depend totally upon Him.

     For next lesson, study chapter 12.
















                   Matthew 23 Questions

1.  After Jesus dispatched the disciples, what did He do?
2.  Where was John when he heard?
3.  What was happening to John?
4.  Why is this difficult for us to understand?
5.  What did Jesus tell John's disciples?
6.  Who did Jesus preach to?
7.  What does the Scripture say in John 14:11?
8.  What is the difference in the ways Jesus healed and what we do
    today?
9.  What is the criteria required for us to heal?
10. In John 14:13, who is glorified?
11. Quote John 14:14.
12. What was proof of who Jesus was?
13. Why did John need reassurance?
14. What did the people think about John's clothing?
15. What did prophets usually wear?
16. If these people of God are not the high and mighty, why does God
    send them?
17. Jesus said John was great on earth, but what about heaven?
18. Who was John?
19. What is Matthew 11:12 saying?
20. Who did Jesus say John was?
21. What causes a person to read a Scripture and not understand?
22. What 2 things did John come not doing?
23. What did the people call Jesus?
24. If you eat or fast, it must be unto whom?
25. Why was Jesus upbraiding the cities?
26. What would have happened in Tyre and Sidon, if the mighty miracles
    had been done there?
27. When do we become without excuse before God?
28. Jesus said the secrets of God are hidden from the wise and prudent
    and revealed to whom?
29. These Bible scholars, who had no formal education, were taught of
    whom?
30. Who is the only one who understands the Son?
31. What king of knowledge is important?
32. Where can we find rest for our souls?