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 11,11 Mt 11,11
Man, that is born of a woman,Is of few days, and full of trouble.
I indeed baptize you {Or, with}in water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not {Greek: sufficient.}worthy to bear: he shall baptize you {Or, with}in the Holy Spirit and in fire:
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: {Some ancient authorities read for the Holy Spirit was not yet given.}for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.
{Or, Oh that a clean thing could come out of an unclean! not one can}Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
Therefore Jehovah, the God of Israel, saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now Jehovah saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the hurt of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
And many came unto him; and they said, John indeed did no sign: but all things whatsoever John spake of this man were true.
What is man, that he should be clean?And he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor {Greek: sikera.}strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
In that day shall Jehovah defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and he {Or, that stumbleth}that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them.
{Some ancient authorities omit verse 25-27. Compare the end of chapter 14.}Now to him that is able to establish you according to my {See marginal note on chapter 1:1}gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal,
How then can man be just {Or, before}with God?Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
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 said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is {Greek: lesser.}least among you all, the same is great.
but now is manifested, and {Greek: through.}by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the {Or, Gentiles}nations unto obedience {Or, to the faith}of faith:
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity;And in sin did my mother conceive me.
He was the lamp that burneth and shineth; and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light.
John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, {Some ancient authorities read (this was he that said).}This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was {Greek: first in regard of me.}before me.
even the mystery which hath been hid for {Or, from all the ages &c. Greek: from the ages and from the generations.}ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints,
among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the {Greek: thoughts.}mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:—
even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose.
to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
He must increase, but I must decrease.
but hath now been manifested by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and {Greek: incorruption. See Romans 2:7}immortality to light through the {Greek: good tidings; and so elsewhere. See marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel,
If then ye have {Greek: tribunals pertaining to.}to judge things pertaining to this life, {Or, set them…church}do ye set them to judge who are of no account in the church?
God having {Or, forseen}provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to {Greek: bring good tidings of the &c. Compare chapter 2:17.}preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;