And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities.
Now when John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent by his disciples
and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye hear and see:
the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have {Or, the gospel}good tidings preached to them.
And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.
And as these went their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?
But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft raiment are in kings' houses.
{Many ancient authorities read But what went ye out to see? A prophet? }But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
This is he, of whom it is written,
{Malachi 3:1}Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
Who shall prepare thy way before thee.
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is {Greek: lesser.}but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
And if ye are willing to receive {Or, him}it, this is Elijah, that is to come.
He that hath ears {Some ancient authorities omit to hear.}to hear, let him hear.
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows
and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not {Greek: beat the beast.}mourn.
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon.
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of {See marginal note on chapter 5:46.}publicans and sinners! And wisdom {Or, was}is justified by her {Many ancient authorities read children: as in Luke 7:35.}works.
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his {Greek: powers.}mighty works were done, because they repented not.
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the {Greek: powers.}mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt {Many ancient authorities read be brought down.}go down unto Hades: for if the {Greek: powers.}mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day.
But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
At that season Jesus answered and said, I {Or, praise}thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes:
yea, Father, {Or, that}for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
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.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Querverweise zu Matthäus 11,7 Mt 11,7
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?
But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.
But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
This is he of whom it is written, {Malachi 3:1.}Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,Who shall prepare thy way before thee.
I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none greater than John: yet he that is {Greek: lesser.}but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
And all the people when they heard, and the {See marginal note on chapter 3:12.}publicans, justified God, {Or, having been}being baptized with the baptism of John.
But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God, {Or, not having been}being not baptized of him.
And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa, saying,
Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, {Isaiah 40:3.}The voice of one crying in the wilderness,Make ye ready the way of the Lord,Make his paths straight.
Boiling over as water, {Or, have not thou}thou shalt not have the pre-eminence;Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed;Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and all the region round about the Jordan;
When I therefore was thus minded, did I show fickleness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea yea and the nay nay?
The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven or from men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why then did ye not believe him?
But as God is faithful, our word toward you is not yea and nay.
{Isaiah 40:3.}The voice of one crying in the wilderness,Make ye ready the way of the Lord,Make his paths straight;
John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins.
And there went out unto him all the country of Judæa, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
And he came into all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins;
as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, {Isaiah 40:3 ff.}The voice of one crying in the wilderness,Make ye ready the way of the Lord,Make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,And every mountain and hill shall be brought low;And the crooked shall become straight,And the rough ways smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
He said therefore to the multitudes that went out to be baptized of him, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.
Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he {Or, seemeth to have}thinketh he hath.
And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), where abidest thou?
He was the lamp that burneth and shineth; and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light.