1552 | MattheW 10:36
a daughter-in-law against her motherin-law —
36 a man ’ s enemies will be the members of his own household .’ a
37
“ Any one who loves their fa ther or moth er more than me is not wor thy of me ; any one who loves their son or daugh ter more than me is not wor thy of me . 38 Who ev er does not take up their cross and fol low me is not wor thy of me . 39 Whoev er finds their life will lose it , and who ev er los es their life for my sake will find it .
40
“ Any one who wel comes you wel comes me , and any one who wel comes me wel comes the one who sent me . 41 Who ev er wel comes a proph et as a prophet will re ceive a proph et ’ s re ward , and who ev er wel comes a righ teous per son as a righ teous per son will re ceive a righ teous per son ’ s re ward . 42 And if any one gives even a cup of cold wa ter to one of these lit tle ones who is my dis ci ple , tru ly I tell you , that per son will cer tain ly not lose their re ward .”
Jesus and John the Baptist
11:2-19pp — Lk 7:18-35
Af ter Jesus had fin ished in struct ing his
11 twelve dis ci ples , he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Gal i lee . b
2
When John , who was in pris on , heard about the deeds of the Mes si ah , he sent his dis ci ples
3 to ask him , “ Are you the one who is to come , or should we ex pect some one else ?”
4
Jesus re plied , “ Go back and re port to John what you hear and see : 5 The blind re ceive sight , the lame walk , those who have lep ro sy c are cleansed , the deaf hear , the dead are raised , and the good news is pro claimed to the poor . 6 Blessed is any one who does not stum ble on ac count of me .”
7
As John ’ s dis ci ples were leav ing , Jesus be gan to speak to the crowd about John : “ What did you go out into the wil der ness to see ? A reed swayed by the wind ? 8 If not , what did you go out to see ? A man dressed in fine clothes ? No , those who wear fine clothes are in kings ’ pal ac es . 9 Then what did you go out to see ? A proph et ? Yes , I tell you , and more than a proph et . 10 This is the one about whom it is writ ten :
“ ‘ I will send my messenger ahead of you , who will prepare your way before you .’ d
11
Tru ly I tell you , among those born of wom en there has not ris en any one great er than John the Bap tist ; yet who ev er is least in the king dom of heav en is great er than he . 12 From the days of John the Bap tist un til now , the king dom of heav en has been sub ject ed to vi o lence , e and vi o lent peo ple
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a
36 Micah 7:6
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b
1 Greek in their towns
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c
5 The Greek
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word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various |
diseases affecting the skin . |
d
10 Mal . 3:1
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e
12 Or been
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forcefully advancing |
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10:37 loves their father or mother more than me Devotion to family should not supersede allegiance to Jesus ( compare Dt 33:9 ). 10:38 take up their cross and follow me Jesus ’ words here foreshadow his death and call on his followers to identify themselves fully with him , to the point of being willing to die as he did . Crucifixion — a Roman form of capital punishment reserved for criminals , foreigners and slaves — was a particularly undesirable way to die . The condemned person had to carry his or her own cross ( or in certain instances , just the crossbeam ).
10:40 – 42 Jesus will reward those who receive his disciples joyfully .
10:42 one of these little ones Likely indicates low status ( compare Mt 18:10,14 ).
11:1 – 19 Jesus continues his teaching and preaching ministry , and disciples of John the Baptist approach him with a question from the imprisoned John . Jesus uses this as an opportunity to affirm his messiahship and to praise John ’ s life and ministry .
11:2 John Refers to John the Baptist , who had been imprisoned by Herod Antipas ( see 14:1 – 12 ). 11:3 the one who is to come Refers to the Messiah ( see 3:11 ). John knew who Jesus was , but he wants to be sure he is the Messiah ( compare 3:7 – 12 ). 11:4 what you hear and see Jesus ’ response in 11:5 – 6 underscores his fulfillment of prophetic expectations for the Messiah . His answer points to recent events from his ministry ( e . g ., 4:23 – 24 ; 5:3 ; 8:2 ; 9:18 – 33 ) while alluding to passages in Isaiah ( Isa 8:14 – 15 ; 26:19 ; 29:18 ; 35:5 – 6 ; 42:18 ; 61:1 ; compare
Lk 4:17 – 21 ). See the table “ Jesus ’ Fulfillment of OT Prophecy ” on p . 1573 . 11:5 those who have leprosy are cleansed There is no clear OT prophecy about lepers being cleansed ( compare Mt 8:2 ; 10:8 ), but this probably alludes to the general prophecy of the oppressed being set free in Isa 61:1 – 2 , quoted in Lk 4:18 . 11:6 anyone who does not stumble on account of me Jesus likely is alluding to Isa 8:14 – 15 . Compare Mt 11:20 – 24 . 11:8 A man dressed in fine clothes Such clothing was more suitable for royalty than prophets in the wilderness . John ’ s clothing was made of camel ’ s hair ( Mt 3:4 ). 11:9 more than a prophet As the forerunner of the Messiah , John was not merely a prophet . Compare note on 11:14 . 11:10 I will send my messenger This citation is from Mal 3:1 . John the Baptist played a critical role in salvation history by preparing the way for Jesus the Messiah ( see Mt 3:3 ; Isa 40:3 ). 11:11 among those born of women Jesus indicates that John was the most important person who had lived until that point . The last part of the verse provides Jesus ’ reason for this statement : The lowliest member of the kingdom of heaven — the most humble and Godserving — is greater than the greatest man who ever lived . Jesus is not making a moral distinction between his disciples and John ; he is contrasting heavenly and earthly conceptions of greatness . 11:12 violent people have been raiding it The kingdom of heaven and its workers have suffered at the hands of violent people who try to prevent or usurp God ’ s rule .