Matthew Chapter 11 "Teachings" This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org/plough.htm Matthew 11:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities." After Jesus ended His teaching time with His disciples, He left them and went on to other cities alone preaching and teaching. His disciples went their ways also preaching and healing as they went to the Lost House of Israel. It is good to teach, however before you teach, you must learn what should be taught and understand it yourself. Matthew 11:2 "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples," John the Baptist will be beheaded shortly after this. Matthew 11:3 "And said unto Him, "Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?" Unfortunately this is one of the most misunderstood verses in the New Testament. John knew who Jesus was, they were cousins, and John baptized Jesus. In fact, John stated in verse 3:14, "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" After Jesus was baptized, and the Holy Spirit of God came down, while John was standing there, a voice came from heaven; "And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17 John knew from his study of the Minor Prophets that there were two Advents, and John's question here was not questioning whether Jesus was the Christ, for he knew that; John was inquiring if there was still a second Advent yet to come, besides His coming as a child. Matthew 11:4 "Jesus answered and said unto them, "Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:" Jesus told John's followers to stay by Him and listen and watch what I am doing, and then go and report back to him. Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." When you see all six of these events taking place, one thing is obvious, and that is that salvation has come. This is the Advent of salvation, not for the advent of King of kings, and Lord of lords, as He will come for the Millennium kingdom. Christ has come to bring knowledge and salvation, and not to rule with a rod of iron. Matthew 11:6 "And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." Jesus is saying, Blessed is he [she] that will not stumble at my teachings. That means blessed is he that hears those teachings and understands them. Matthew 11:7 "And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?" " When John's friends had departed, Jesus turned to those standing by, and asked them; what did you expect to find out there in the wilderness, a weak-kneed man that would sway with every wind of doctrine? John wasn't that way. He had only one message that he cried out. "Repent", and many did. Matthew 11:8 "But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings houses." John wore the prophets clothing that many look down their noses at. John was not like any other preacher, for there was no sugar coating of God's Word when he spoke. He came right out and proclaimed; Ye hypocrites, Repent." He was direct, to the point, and bold. Matthew 11:9 "But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet." Matthew 11:10 "For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." Jesus was quoting here from Malachi 3:1; "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:" Jesus is quoting here concerning Elijah's return before that dreadful day of the Lord. Matthew 11:11 "Verily I way unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Matthew 11:12 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." From the violence that jailed John the Baptist, that claimed his life, this force will continue in power and force until the kingdom of heaven comes to earth. That day will be close of this earth age, at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. At that time our Lord Jesus Christ will return for the second advent. We are entering a time when violence is becoming far worse then before, but when Satan the Antichrist returns to earth, the violence is not a physical violence, but spiritual violence and that force will claim the spiritual life of all mankind, except for God's elect. The violence of the end times is by mental anguish, cruelty, and punishment, which comes from the Antichrist claiming something that he is not. It will be Satan in the role of Antichrist standing up and claiming to be Christ, and having the world believe it; and they will. As we get closer to the coming of the Antichrist, pay attention to the spiritually forceful ones becoming more violent in the push to place their false peace accords in place. You will know them by the words that come out of their mouths. The peace that they offer is a false peace, and the words that they say are lies. Matthew 11:13 "For all the prophets and the law prophesied unto John." Jesus is identifing John the Baptist as the last prophet before the first advent of Christ. Matthew 11:14 "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." Did you notice, there is a condition within this statement. Jesus is saying that if you receive Christ as King of kings, then John the Baptist is Elijah, in which he was prophesied to come before the coming of Christ. However, Jesus was not received as a King, but as a common man and crook, for which He was hung on the cross. They did not receive John the Baptist as Elijah, and the coming of Elijah is recorded in Malachi 4:5; "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:" Luke 1:17 tells us that John the Baptist came only in the spirit of Elijah; "And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." The spirit of Elijah was only the forerunner, and the entire world did not receive either John, nor Christ. John was asked if he was Elijah, point blank from the Pharisees, and John answered NO [John 1:21]. So, What is the Elijah ministry? It is the ministry that turns the hearts of the people [children] to their fathers [two of them]. That ministry comes at the end of this earth age, and the fathers are Jesus Christ, and Satan the Antichrist. God's children are the Elect of God, that know the Scriptures, and are not deceived when the six seals of deception are opened. They wait for their true Christ, and are the bride of Christ. The children of Satan are all those that follow after the traditions of men, and doctrines that will lead them to the Antichrist, such as the rapture doctrine. They are the bride that adorns themselves for the wrong husband. They are the ones that will stand as the unfaithful wife at the return of Jesus Christ. They will commit their act in ignorance, because they just don't care to study the Word of God for the truth. Even the Pharisees knew that Elijah was the forerunner of the Christ, and marked that time well, because they knew that the true Christ would come to earth then. Matthew 11:15 "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Jesus closes this part of the message with this statement, drawing our attention that it is important for us to learn and understand. Do you understand what the Elijah message is all about? It is important that you do. It marks the end of this flesh age, and the message is that you will know the true Christ, and the signs of the times, or you will be drawn to the Antichrist [Satan]. You that have ears to hear, pay attention, something important was just stated. Matthew 11:16 "But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows." Jesus is trying to identify the generation of His times. He said that they like little children sitting in the street and playing games with their little friends. Matthews 11:17 "And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented." Jesus is comparing that generation with a bunch of children that are playing a game of a wedding, and they are saying, we played the wedding song, and you are not dancing. Your not happy when we wanted to play wedding. So next they said, let's play funeral, if you don't want to play wedding, then let's play funeral. Then when we play funeral you won't cry and mourn. If you don't want to be happy, and you don't want to be sad, what can we be. This is very true even today. Jesus is pointing out that there is very little emotion attached to salvation, and the love of our Heavenly Father. Accepting Christ in most churches, is looked at as just another part of the service. When there should be hunger by the lost for Christ, it is like accepting a sales presentation of a bystander. Then when there should be great joy in the salvation of just one soul, that soul becomes just another statistic in the church record book. Where is the joy over that one soul that comes into the kingdom of heaven, or the sorrow for the soul that parishes. Where is the emotions and hunger for the lost, and the sorrow of the sinner in their repentance. Matthew 11:18 "For John come neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He hath a devil.' Matthew 11:19 "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children." Jesus is saying that while all these things are happening, and the people have no emotion, there are certain children that are not sleeping, but are paying attention. They will be justified by the wisdom they obtain. While God's children are obtaining wisdom, the children of the world are in a dorment mental state. Matthew 11:20 "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:" In those cities where Jesus went in and healed thousands, and He preached to them, and cast our evil spirits; the blind could see, the dumb could speak, and the lepers were cleansed. Whatever the people asked Christ for, He gave it to them; Yet, "they repented not". Friend, they believed, but they did not repent. In those places where Jesus did most of His healing, the religious community wanted to kill him, murder him. How could a good man be destroyed for his good deeds? The only way that a man of God could ever understand this, is by understanding the "key of David", and the Kenites that came in unawares. When one understands the nature of the Kenites, they will then understand their method of doing things is just like their father, Cain, who was the first murder, and of his father the devil. If that is hard too understand, after you complete the book of Matthew, I hope you have a clear understanding. Matthew 11:21 "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." Tyre was an island city built on a rock, and Sidon was a near by city. They were both where the Kenites called home. The people were the very offspring of Satan, through Cain. Jesus is saying that if these two cities had my miracles done in their town, like the mighty works that were done in Chorazin and Bethsaida, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. Sackcloth and ashes is an expression showing a true repentance. Matthew 11:22 "But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you." God was present in Chorazin and Bethsaida, and He performed many miracles, yet the people that saw the works of Christ did not repent. God was not present on Tyre and Sidon, nor did they have a prophet to show them the way. That is why the judgment will be more harsh on Chorazin and Bethsaida. They had the Word, and the benefits, and they refused to repent. Matthew 11:23 "And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day." Christ spent most of his time and teaching ministry in Capernaum. He called it His city. Jesus did most of his mighty works in Capernaum, and yet the people refused to repent. Jesus is telling them that if the works that He did in Capernaum were done in Sodom, they would have repented, and God would not have had to destroyed that city. Friend, with all the religious freedoms, and access to scriptures, and good Bible teachers and reference materials, we have no excuse for our rejection of Jesus Christ. We have no excuse for being hard headed, and not repenting our sins. The punishment coming upon those of our generation will be harsh, for God will actually turn over all men and women on the face of this earth to the Antichrist. He will do it because they refuse to read and study His Word, and put on their spiritual armor to defend themselves against the fierce spiritual battle that is starting to take place. Capernaum will face their sins at judgment, it is to late for them; however, you still have a chance to prepare yourself, and the start your preparation for the coming spiritual battle. The start is by your repenting of all your sins to our Heavenly Father in Jesus name, and turn from all sinful ways. You still have a choice, they don't. Capernaum believed, and were healed, but they refused to repent. Matthew 11:24 "But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee." Friend, Jesus is pointing a finger at all those that have been given an opportunity to taste of His love and grace, and then turned their back on Him. To the person who is in a foreign religion, and never heard of the mercies and love of God, God will deal with them in tolerance even in their ignorance, however those that have seen and heard the Word, and know the consequences of sin, and then turn and reject God's love and forgiveness; there is no tolerance on judgement day for them. God gave us His Word, and in that Word He outlined in detail exactly what our generation would face. As we watch the news and see what is going on in the world today, each day as the prophetical events of the final day prophecy come to pass, that is another witness to you that God's Holy Word is true, and He does have control on all times and events. It truly is time to wake up. Matthew 11:25 "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." "At that time", is referring to the time that Jesus is answering these stiff necked people that rejected Jesus Christ. After they had seen all of His works of healing and heard His teaching, Our Lord is thanking His Heavenly Father that He had hid all the secrets from these people, for even if they would have seen, they would have treated the good news of the kingdom as trash. Tyre and Sodom both reject God, and His laws, however they knew not of those laws. They were heathen, and ignorant of those teaching. This is not the case in Capernaum, because daily they watched Jesus heal people, and listened to them, to the point that it was just like another event in town. In fact Jesus was rather a bother to them, for they had their self-righteous Pharisees that set the standards for their walk, and Jesus became an obstacle to their religious form. Those people that have not had the opportunity to see the works in person, or hear Jesus preach and still believe in Him, and take the writings of His Word as truth in faith, He offers each of these persons His Grace. That grace is salvation, it is unmerited favor before the Almighty Father, at the expence of Jesus Christ's shed blood on the cross. For that faith in His Son, even when we fall short, and have bad habits, and get down in the dumps; He will reach down and pick us up. Then upon our repentance, those things are blotted out, and will not be remembered at the time of Judgment. God takes care of His babes in Christ, that have taken what was revealed to us by the Spirit of God, and accepted by faith. Matthew 11:26 "Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight." It pleased Christ that those who refused to believe Christ, even after they saw the works, and heard His teaching, remained blind to the truths and things of the kingdom. Matthew 11:27 "All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. In other words, He blinded those people because there was no emotion in those people. What Christ is saying is that those that I chose, I open their eyes, then they see me. Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The word "rest" means "sabbath" in the Hebrew tongue. Christ becomes our sabbath, all of our sabbaths when we accept Him, repent and believe on His name. What Christ is saying here is those that have eyes to see and ears to hear with understanding, and are laboring in this world; why do you carry your heavy burdens alone? Let me lighten those loads, and give you rest from your burdens and cares that weigh heavy on you.. Matthew 11:29 "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." He is asking you to learn all about Him. When His Word becomes part of your life, and the central part of your heart, which is in your mind and what your are thinking, then the Holy Spirit will reveal His Word to you and you will find rest in your eternal living soul. When you are looking at the taking of Christ's yoke as adding work to yourself, then your comparing yourself to a dumb ox. The purpose of the yoke, is to share the work [pulling] equally with each one that is hooked up to that yoke. Christ is telling us to take our heavy burdens, and hook them to His yoke, and let Christ share our burdens and make the stress and burdens lighter for us. The reason for the yoke is to take away the sharp points, and parts that would hurt the animal, and protect their skin and body from hurting. Christ is telling us to bring our loads to Him, and when we hook up to His yoke there is protection for us from our burdens. When we take His teachings, and follow the guidelines that are set up in His Word; then bring our burdens to Him in prayer and repentence, those heavy burdens that we thought difficult, will be lightened as a balloon of hot air. However, then faith steps in, for we must place our faith in His promises, and not doubt the promises that he made to us. Matthew 11:30 "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Taking Christ's yoke is not a problem, for it is Christ that does the harnessing. The master yokes the oxen, and places the traces upon them. Let Christ do that for you, and in that, you will find His rest. Christ's yoke will make your day go easy, and it will lighten the loads and pressures that this world places upon you.
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