Matius 9:14

The Superiority of the New

9:14 Then John’s ¹  disciples came to Jesus ²  and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees ³  fast often, ⁴  but your disciples don’t fast?”

Matius 11:2-14

Jesus and John the Baptist

11:2 Now when John ⁵  heard in prison about the deeds Christ ⁶  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: ⁷  11:3 “Are you the one who is to come, ⁸  or should we look for another?” 11:4 Jesus answered them, ⁹  “Go tell John what you hear and see: ¹⁰  11:5 The blind see, the ¹¹  lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them. 11:6 Blessed is anyone ¹²  who takes no offense at me.”

11:7 While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness ¹³  to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ¹⁴  11:8 What ¹⁵  did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? ¹⁶  Look, those who wear fancy clothes are in the homes of kings! ¹⁷  11:9 What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more ¹⁸  than a prophet. 11:10 This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, ¹⁹ 

who will prepare your way before you.’ ²⁰ 

11:11 “I tell you the truth, ²¹  among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least ²²  in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is. 11:12 From ²³  the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it. ²⁴  11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared. ²⁵  11:14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, who is to come.

Matius 14:1-12

The Death of John the Baptist

14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch ²⁶  heard reports about Jesus, 14:2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 14:3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, ²⁷  and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 14:4 because John had repeatedly told ²⁸  him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ²⁹  14:5 Although ³⁰  Herod ³¹  wanted to kill John, ³²  he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet. 14:6 But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 14:7 so much that he promised with an oath ³³  to give her whatever she asked. 14:8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 14:9 Although it grieved the king, ³⁴  because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. 14:10 So ³⁵  he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 14:11 His ³⁶  head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 14:12 Then John’s ³⁷  disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.

[9:14]  ¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[9:14]  ² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:14]  ³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:14]  ⁴ sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

[11:2]  ⁵ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[11:2]  ⁶ tc The Western codex D and a few other mss (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important mss, nor in the rest of the ms tradition.

[11:2]  tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:2]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:16.

[11:2]  ⁷ tc Instead of “by his disciples” (see the tn below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later mss (C³ L ˹ Ï lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia twn maqhtwn autou vs. duo twn maqhtwn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 sa), and thus should be considered original.

[11:2]  tn Grk “sending by his disciples he said to him.” The words “a question” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[11:3]  ⁸ sn Aspects of Jesus’ ministry may have led John to question whether Jesus was the promised stronger and greater one who is to come that he had preached about in Matt 3:1-12.

[11:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[11:4]  ¹⁰ sn What you hear and see. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1. Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.

[11:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. Two other conjunctions are omitted in this series.

[11:6]  ¹² tn Grk “whoever.”

[11:7]  ¹³ tn Or “desert.”

[11:7]  ¹⁴ tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?… No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.

[11:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 9.

[11:8]  ¹⁶ sn The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.

[11:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “palaces.”

[11:9]  ¹⁸ tn John the Baptist is “more” because he introduces the one (Jesus) who brings the new era. The term is neuter, but may be understood as masculine in this context (BDAG 806 s.v. περισσότερος b).

[11:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).

[11:10]  ²⁰ sn The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

[11:11]  ²¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[11:11]  ²² sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.

[11:12]  ²³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:12]  ²⁴ tn Or “the kingdom of heaven is forcibly entered and violent people take hold of it.” For a somewhat different interpretation of this passage, see the note on the phrase “urged to enter in” in Luke 16:16.

[11:13]  ²⁵ tn The word “appeared” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[14:1]  ²⁶ sn A tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king, ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. Several times in the NT, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.

[14:3]  ²⁷ tc ‡ Most witnesses (א² C D L W Z Θ 0106 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) read αὐτόν (auton, “him”) here as a way of clarifying the direct object; various important witnesses lack the word, however (א* B 700 pc ff¹ h q). The original wording most likely lacked it, but it has been included here due to English style. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations about its authenticity.

[14:4]  ²⁸ tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

[14:4]  ²⁹ sn This marriage of Herod to his brother Philip’s wife was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.

[14:5]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[14:5]  ³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:5]  ³² tn Grk “him” (also in the following phrase, Grk “accepted him”); in both cases the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:7]  ³³ tn The Greek text reads here ὁμολογέω (Jomologew); though normally translated “acknowledge, confess,” BDAG (708 s.v. 1) lists “assure, promise with an oath” for certain contexts such as here.

[14:9]  ³⁴ tn Grk “and being grieved, the king commanded.”

[14:9]  sn Herod was technically not a king, but this reflects popular usage. See the note on tetrarch in 14:1.

[14:10]  ³⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[14:11]  ³⁶ tn Grk “And his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:12]  ³⁷ tn Grk “his”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”