Matthew 11:2-11 is a narration involving an embassy sent to Jesus by John the Baptist while in prison. Matthew mentions the arrest of John in 4:12. As in Mark, there is a close connection between the arrest of the Baptist and the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Later, Matthew will narrate the death of the Baptist (14:3-12).
It has been suggested that the story derives from an actual debate between the disciples of the Baptist and that of Jesus as to the roles of each. The fact that some of the Baptist's disciples were later on absorbed into the group of Jesus (e.g. Apollos, Andrew and John) may have occassioned a rewriting of the original materials into what appears now in the canon. Thus we have Matthew 11:2-19, the larger part of which -- verses 7-19 -- is Jesus' testimonial of the Baptist. Matthew 11:2-11 is to be understood within the context of vv. 2-19 which can be outlined as follows:
- verses 2-6 John the Baptist's question to Jesus and this latter's reply
- verses 7-19 Jesus' testimonial about the Baptist
- verses 7-15 John is the Elijah that is to come
- verses 16-19 Both John and Jesus, each to his role, are the works of Wisdom
It is to be noted that in verses 7-19, the Baptist is contrasted first with the courtiers of King Herod (reed swaying in the wind; one in soft clothing) and then with Jesus (vv. 18-19). The first comparison gives Jesus the occassion to highlight the Baptists's role as the messenger who prepares the way. The quotation given is from Malachi 3:1, already used by Mark at the beginning of his gospel in combination with the other from Isaiah 40 to indicate John's role as the forerunner. What follows is an assertion that can be puzzling:
Amen I say to you
among the sons of women, there has been none
greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven
is greater than he.
The contrast between "sons of women" and "least in the kingdom of heaven" have led interpreters like Augustine of Hippo (cf. Sermon 66) to identify the latter phrase with the "angels". In this sense, Augustine can say:
By the kingdom of heaven he meant "where the angels are", so whoever is less among the angels is greater than John (Serm. 66, 2b)
In Matthew, however, the phrase "least in the kingdom of heaven" (cf. 5:19) and "greatest in the kingdom of heaven (18:1.4) are used to refer to the audience of Matthew's gospel, the baptized. Thus the baptized are greater than John in the sense in which the Israelites who entered the promised land are greater than Moses who was left behind (cf. Deut. 32:48-52). This interpretation I think sheds light on the declaration that follows.
From the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven suffers violence
and the violent take it by force.
All the prophets and the law prophesied
until the time of John.
The prophets and the Law were meant to lead people into the kingdom, but it is during the time of the Baptist that the kingdom of heaven is as it were besieged and captured by those who wish to enter it. In other words, John has done his role as messenger so well that people do not only enter into God's reign, rather they take it by force. Thus the praise of John whom Jesus identifies as Elijah (v. 14) and who, like himself, is a work of Wisdom, an instrument of God's will to save. Now matter how different his style may be to that of the apparently easy-going Jesus, he has his place in God's design and he will also be vindicated.
Jesus' testimonial to John gives light to the previous exchange that he had with the Baptist's emissaries. The question of John was "Are you the-one-who-is-to-come or are we to look for another?". o ercomenoV ho erchomenos is a Messianic title (cf. Psalm 118:26) and would therefore sound as a question that begs for assurance. Did John in a moment of weakness doubt Jesus and therefore sent his emissaries for confirmation of his identity? This idea would seem to be warranted by the macharism in verse 6: "Blessed is he who is not scandalized by me."
Some commentators would say that Jesus' response to John's question amounts to saying: "Yes I am, but not the one you expect." According to this line of interpretation, the response of Jesus which is a free quotation of Isaiah 35:5ff gives an image of the Messiah that is in stark contrast with the fiery one the Baptist proclaimed in 3:11-12. This line of interpretation serves also to highlight the differences between John and Jesus in verses 16-19.
There is another way of understanding the exchange and this from St. Augustine (cf. Sermon 66). According to this view, John didn't ask the question for his sake but for the sake of his disciples. "John had his own disciples apart", Augustine says,
... You see, it was important for such a man, who also had his own band of disciples, to bear witness to Christ, and because his disciples could have grown jealous of Christ if they hadn't been able to see him. So because John's disciples regarded their master as a very great man, they were astonished not to say skeptical when they heard the testimonials he gave to Christ. As he was soon to die, he wanted them to be convinced by Christ himself."
The purpose therefore for John's embassy is for his own disciples to see for themselves Jesus the Messiah. Augustine continues...
Go and say to him -- not that I have doubts, but so that you may find out for yourselves. Go and say to him -- hear from the man himself what I'm in the habit of telling you; you've heard the herald, get the judge's confirmation... They went and they said it for their own sake, not for John's.
Thus, Jesus answer to the Baptist's disciples is a summary of what he has been doing from Matthew 8-9 couched in the language Isaiah 35:5ff: the blind see (9:27-31; the lame walk (9:1-7);lepers are healed (8:1-4); the dead rise up (9:18-26) the mute proclaim the gospel (9:32-34). The final macharism is not really for John, but for the emissaries. With the departure of the messengers, it was then that Jesus makes his testimonial, indicating the kind of prophet John is. "He is a prophet," Jesus says, "and more than a prophet." For even in prison and in the eve of his own death, John continues to bear witness to the one who is to come.
The translation used for Sermon 66 is by Edmund Hill in Rotelle, John (ed) The Works of St Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century III/3.
