Commentary - Matthew 11:1-6

Bird's-eye view

This passage marks a significant transition in Matthew's gospel. Jesus has concluded His commissioning of the twelve, and now the narrative turns to the reception of His ministry. The first and most poignant response comes from John the Baptist, the great forerunner, who is now languishing in Herod's prison. From this place of darkness and apparent defeat, John sends a question to Jesus that reveals a very human struggle with a Messiah whose methods did not match his expectations. Jesus's answer is a masterclass in biblical evidence. He doesn't offer a simple "yes," but rather points to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in His actions. The blind see, the lame walk, the dead are raised, and the gospel is preached to the poor. This is the evidence. The passage concludes with a gentle but firm beatitude, a blessing on the one who is not offended by the kind of Messiah Jesus has come to be, a suffering servant before He is a conquering king. This interaction sets the stage for the theme of acceptance and rejection that will dominate the subsequent chapters.

At its heart, this is a lesson on the nature of true faith. Faith is not the absence of questions, but rather the resolve to take those questions to the right place. John, in his confusion, goes directly to the source. Jesus, in His wisdom, answers not with philosophical arguments but with the undeniable testimony of God's Word being fulfilled in real time. It is a profound encouragement for every believer who has ever found themselves in a prison of doubt or confusion: bring your hard questions to Jesus and learn to find your assurance in the works He has already accomplished and the Word He has already spoken.

Outline

Context In Matthew

This section immediately follows the "Mission Discourse" of chapter 10, where Jesus equipped and sent out His twelve disciples to preach the kingdom. That chapter ended with stern warnings about persecution and the high cost of discipleship. Now, in chapter 11, we see the reality of that cost embodied in John the Baptist, the first great preacher of the kingdom in this new era, who is now imprisoned for his faithful testimony. His question serves as a narrative pivot, forcing the reader, along with John's disciples, to evaluate Jesus's ministry thus far. Is this really what the kingdom looks like? Jesus's response and His subsequent discourse about John (Matt 11:7-19) and His woes upon the unrepentant cities (Matt 11:20-24) all address the central issue of how the kingdom is received. It is a kingdom that comes not with the political force many expected, but with healing power and a gospel for the poor, a reality that demands a faith that will not be offended by its unexpected shape.

Key Issues

Questions, Not Doubts

It is crucial that we distinguish between questions and doubts. A question seeks an answer. A doubt, in the sinful sense, is a state of mind that is content to remain in uncertainty, often because it provides an excuse for disobedience. John the Baptist is not languishing in sinful doubt. He is in a dark prison, and the reports he is hearing about Jesus do not seem to square with the fire-and-brimstone Messiah he had preached, the one who would come with His winnowing fork in hand. He had a legitimate question: "Is this how it's supposed to look?" Questions are not the enemy of faith; they are often the very soil in which faith grows. John modeled for us what to do with our hard questions. He didn't gossip about them with his cellmates. He didn't write a bitter manifesto. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus directly. And Jesus, far from rebuking him, answers his question and then proceeds to give one of the highest commendations of John found anywhere in Scripture. This teaches us that an honest question, brought to Christ, is an act of faith, not a failure of it.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Now it happened that when Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

This verse serves as a bridge. Jesus has just finished commissioning the apostles, sending them out as His authorized representatives. But He does not sit back and wait for their reports. He Himself continues the work. The King is not above the labor He assigns to His servants. He is an itinerant preacher, moving from town to town in Galilee, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. This sets the scene; the "works of Christ" that John hears about are the fruit of this active, mobile ministry of teaching and preaching.

2-3 Now when John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?”

Here is the heart of the matter. John is in prison, a place of darkness, isolation, and helplessness. He had preached a Messiah who would bring judgment and set things right with power. He had said the axe was laid to the root of the trees. But from his perspective, the corrupt tree of Herod was still standing, and he, the prophet, was the one who had been cut down. He hears about the "works of Christ," likely the healings and teachings, but not the kind of regime-toppling work he might have anticipated. So he asks a straightforward question. "The One who is to come" is a messianic title, a reference to the great hope of Israel. John's question is honest: Is your ministry the fulfillment of that hope, or is it a prelude to something, or someone, else? The form of the kingdom was not what he expected, and he needed clarification from the King Himself.

4-5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE 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.

Jesus's answer is brilliant. He doesn't give a simple "yes" or a theological discourse on the two advents. He points to the evidence. He tells John's disciples to be eyewitnesses and to report back what they themselves have verified. And the evidence He lists is not random. Every item on this list is a direct echo of messianic prophecies, particularly from the book of Isaiah (e.g., Isa 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1). He is saying, in effect, "Go back and tell John to check his Bible. The very things the prophets said the Messiah would do when He came, I am doing." This is not just power, it is power that fulfills the script. The raising of the dead is the ultimate sign of His authority over the curse, and the preaching of the gospel to the poor is the ultimate sign of the nature of His kingdom. It is a kingdom of grace and reversal, where those who are last in the world's eyes are first in His.

6 And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

This is a gentle beatitude with a serrated edge. The word for "take offense" is skandalizo, from which we get our word scandal. It means to stumble, to be tripped up. Jesus is acknowledging that His way of being the Messiah is a potential stumbling block. People expected a political lion, and they got a sacrificial lamb. They wanted a king to drive out the Romans, and they got a King who ate with tax collectors and sinners. They wanted immediate, fiery judgment, and they got mercy and healing for the broken. John was wrestling with this, and Jesus warns him, and us, with a blessing. Blessed is the man who is not tripped up by a Messiah who doesn't fit his preconceived notions. Blessed is the man who is willing to have his expectations corrected by God's revelation. True blessing is found in accepting the King as He is, not as we might wish Him to be.

Application

This passage is intensely practical for every Christian. First, it teaches us how to handle our own seasons of darkness and confusion. Like John, we may find ourselves in a "prison" of circumstance, sickness, or trial, where God's plan seems confusing and His actions don't match our expectations. The answer is not to nurse our grievances in the dark, but to do what John did: take the question to Jesus. We do this through prayer and through a diligent search of the Scriptures. The answer is almost always the one Jesus gave John's disciples: "Look at what I have already done." We look back to the cross and resurrection, the ultimate "works of Christ," and we look at the testimony of the fulfilled prophecies in His Word. Our faith must be anchored in the objective reality of what God has done in history, not in the shifting sands of our feelings or circumstances.

Second, we must constantly be on guard against the temptation to be offended by Jesus. The gospel is inherently offensive to human pride. It tells us we are helpless sinners. It presents a Savior who was crucified as a criminal. It calls us to a life of self-denial. The world wants a customizable Jesus, a Jesus who conforms to its political agendas and moral sensibilities. But the only Jesus who can save is the Jesus of the Bible. We are blessed only when we surrender our own ideas of what the Messiah ought to be and bow to the wisdom of God, receiving the King who came first to heal the blind and preach to the poor, and who will come again in glory to make all things new. Our job is not to edit the King's resume, but to believe the report.