The Rejection of the King by the Nation. Matthew 11-12
In this section the leaders of Israel are traced as the
ones who turned the common people from the Messiah/King.
The witness of the Twelve would spread a wide swath of
miracles over the land to vindicate His authority. John
the Baptist was put into prison for his message about the
Kingdom. Herod Antipas’ pretext for getting rid of John
was because John rebuked Herod’s immorality, but as shall
be noted, Herod was also scared; he did not want a rival
to his authority.
Then the religious leaders got the political issue rolling
and said that John was indeed preaching a new political
leader. The people to whom John preached would have
envisioned a literal, earthly kingdom; thus, the arrest of
John was the beginning of open opposition to Christ as
Messiah.
They Received Him Not. Matthew 11:1-19
Christ Assures John the Baptist of His Messiahship. 11:1-6
John’s Question: Unfulfilled Prophecy. 11:1-3
11:1-3 "And it came to pass, when Jesus
had ceased commanding his twelve disciples, he departed
from there to teach and to preach in their cities. Now
when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he
sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou
he that should come, or do we look for another?"
After the Twelve began their first missionary tour, Jesus
also went through the Galilean towns ("their cities")
alone, continuing to present His claims as Messiah,
doubtless using the Old Testament prophecies to
corroborate His works. It must have been while He was on
this teaching and preaching mission that John the Baptist
sent two of his disciples to Jesus. Herod Antipas had
imprisoned John at the isolated, desolate jail at Macherus,
according to Josephus:
Now some of the Jews thought that the
destruction of Herod’s army came from God, and that very
likely, as a punishment of what he did against John,
that was called the Baptist…. Herod, who feared lest the
great influence John had over the people might put it in
his power and inclination to raise a rebellion….
Accordingly he was sent a prisoner out of Herod’s
suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before
mentioned, and was there put to death. (Josephus,
Flavius, The Works of Flavius Josephus (Hartford,
CT: The S. S. Scranton Company, 1916), p. 552.)
The fact that John had heard in the prison of the works of
Christ prompted him to send disciples to confirm the
messiahship of Jesus. In 11:2 Matthew says that John the
Baptist heard in prison the works of "the Christ" (tou
Christou), then in verse 3 John’s question to Christ
was, "Art thou he that should come" (ho
erchomenos, "the coming One"). Both of these
are Messianic titles: "The Christ" comes from the
Greek Christos, "the Anointed" which in turn
came from the Hebrew word mashach, and thus the
noun, Messiah.
In Matthew 21:9 when Jesus rode into Jerusalem the
multitudes cried, "Blessed is he that cometh (ho
erchomenos) in the name of the Lord." This is a
quotation from Psalm 118:26. John the Baptist had also
used this title in Matthew 3:11, "he who cometh (ho
erchomenos) after me." Sometimes Martha is down-played
in favor of Mary, yet it was Martha who used both of these
titles for Jesus, in addition to "Lord" and "Son
of God" in John 11:27: "Yea, Lord (Kurios) I
believe thou art the Christ (ho Christos), the Son of God
(ho huios tou Theou) who should come (ho erchomenos) into
the world."
The latter part of John’s question, "or do we look for
another?" brings to the fore whether or not John
was doubting. It seems clear from the reply Jesus gave in
verses 4-6 that John himself needed the
encouragement, not merely his disciples. After all, it was
John who preached both aspects of Messiah’s coming, who
said, "Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin
of the world" (John 1:29), and "he shall baptize
you with the Holy Spirit and with fire… and will burn up
the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:11-12).
John the Baptist was essentially one of the Old Testament
prophets about whom Peter said they were "Searching
what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was
in them did signify, when he testified beforehand the
sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow"
(1 Peter 1:10-11). Thus, it seems that John did not fully
comprehend how all this would follow in sequence,
especially since he, the forerunner of the King was in
prison and the King Himself was not assuming His right to
reign.
So, what other conclusion could John the Baptist reach?
Perhaps they should "look for another" (heteros) a
different person. All of these seeming
impossibilities would be comprehended "in the fulness
of time."
