Welcome to this study of Matthew's Gospel, a collaboration between Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. For 9 months in 1997 Mary read the New Testament in her sickbed and took notes on each of the books. In this study, we use Mary's notes and Alice offers points of historical and anthropological relevance.
Read Matthew chapter 11. When you have finished reading, answer the 10 questions. Check your answers by scrolling to the bottom.
Introduction
While John the Baptizer was in prison, he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are you the One?" Jesus sent them back to John with the assurance that he was the long-awaited Messiah, the Christ. Jesus referred to the signs he performed that the Hebrew Scriptures associated with the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus performed these signs in many towns and villages, but the people of some locations did not believe in Him. Jesus said that some of the cities in which he performed miracles would be condemned more than the cities of Tyre and Sidon.
Jesus testified concerning John that he was sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah's appearing. He proclaimed that John was a great prophet and told the crowds that John is Elijah who is to come.
Jesus claimed a unique relationship to God which he offered to those who come to him in faith. He explained that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. He thanked his Father for revealing his identity and spiritual truths to people with childlike hearts while concealing them from people who were regarded as wise and learned.
Questions
1. What specific miracles were signs of the Messiah?
2. How did Jesus describe John the Baptizer?
3. What did Jesus mean when he said that John was Elijah to come?
4. How does Jesus describe "this generation"?
5. Which 3 cities did Jesus specifically condemn for lack of faith?
6. What did Tyre and Sidon represent for Jesus' Jewish audiences?
7. Matthew 11:25-26 is a short prayer. What does this prayer reveal about Jesus' relationship to God?
8. Where in the Bible do we find examples of hidden sons?
9. Jesus and his Heavenly Father have intimate knowledge of one another. How does Jesus explain this? (See verse 27.)
10. Jesus invites people to take up his yoke because it is easy. What might this have meant for his Jewish listeners?
Answers
1. Jesus gave sight to the blind. At least 8 persons were healed of their blindness in the Gospels. He healed the lame, cleansed the lepers, made the deaf to hear, raised the dead, and proclaimed good news (the Gospel) to the poor. Referring to the Messiah's appearing, Isaiah 29:18-19 states that "In that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see". Isaiah 35:5-6 indicates that these signs would attend Messiah's appearing "the eyes of the blind are opened, the ears of the deaf are unstopped, the lame leap like a deer, and the mute sing for joy."
2. Jesus said that John was more than a prophet because he was sent by God as a messenger (angelic) to prepare the people for Messiah's appearing. That is why John is sometimes called John the Forerunner. Jesus said that no human has been born who is greater than John. Jesus also noted that, even though John lived simply and righteously, some said he had a demon (v. 18). Church tradition and Scripture indicate that John and Jesus were cousins. John's mother, Elizabeth, married Zechariah of the priestly line of Abijah (Luke 1:5, 8). That was the eighth division of Hebrew priests.
3. Jesus was addressing a common notion among the Jews that a sign of Messiah's appearing would be a return of the prophet Elijah. At the Passover meal a place is set for the prophet Elijah which includes a cup of wine and an empty chair. Setting a place for Elijah expresses hope for future redemption. At the end of the seder ceremony, the door is opened to see if Elijah has arrived. Jesus employed a Jewish belief to explain John the Baptizer's importance.
4. Jesus describes "this generation" as children playing in the marketplace who complain that others won't dance when they play the flute and won't mourn when they wailed. Jesus described people who were unreceptive to his message and to the message of John the Forerunner because they were self-centered, like children. Ultimately, Jesus concludes that wisdom is vindicated by her deeds or results, meaning that God's plan will be proven true, despite the generation's rejection of it.
5. Jesus condemned Chorizin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for lack of faith. Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13 mention a synagogue in Chorizin where Jesus preached. The site is located a few miles north of the Sea of Galilee. A large fourth-century synagogue was built directly above the remains of a Jewish place of prayer from the time of Jesus. This earlier place is probably where Jesus preached in Chorizin. Take this video tour of the site.
6. In Jesus' time, Jews viewed Tyre and Sidon as enemy cities and places of idolatry. Jesus stated that they would have repented more readily than some Jewish cities if they witnessed His miracles. Ezekiel 28:11-19 notes the great antiquity of Tyre: "Son of Man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and flawless beauty. You were in Eden, in the Garden of God; every precious stone was your adornment... and gold beautifully wrought for you, mined for you, prepared the day you were created." King Hiram of Tyre provided King David with craftsmen and materials to build his palace (2 Samuel 5). In Mark's Gospel, Jesus' identity as Messiah is recognized in Tyre. For Mark, the Messiah’s appearing means the beginning of the restoration of Paradise. Perhaps Mark was thinking of the passage from Ezekiel 28. Mark explains that Jesus "could not pass unrecognized" in Tyre (Mark 7:24).
7. In this prayer, Jesus thanked his Father who he knows to be the "Lord of heaven and earth". He acknowledged that God hides some things from some people and reveals them to others. This is God's gracious will. Many times, Jesus commanded people to keep his Messianic identity a secret. This is especially evident in Mark's Gospel. The "Messianic secret" in Mark refers to Jesus' repeated instruction for healed individuals, demons, and even his disciples to keep his Messianic identity a secret.
8. In the Hebrew Bible, kinship lists such as the "begats" usually mention 3 sons, but one of them is hidden or veiled in the sense that we are given little information about them. Cain, Abel, and Seth (Gen. 4-5) serve as an example. Abel died and we have no further information about him. Another example is Ham, Shem, and Japheth (Gen. 5-9). We have much less information about Japheth than about his brothers Ham and Shem. A third example involves Haran, Nahor, and Abraham (Gen. 11-12). Haran died in Ur, and we have no more information about him. A final example is seen with Abraham's sons Yishmael (Ishmael), Yitzak (Isaac) and Yishbak (Gen. 16, 21, and 25). Yishbak is the hidden son, in that he was sent away. Yishbak means "sent away". Sent-away sons had to rely on God to deliver a territory/kingdom to them. They did not receive one from their earthly fathers. This is expressed in a Seder meal custom. At the Passover meal, three matzahs are enveloped, and the middle one is broken and hidden from the others. It is found after a search and returned to the group. The three matzahs are called the Unity, but we might refer to the unity as Three in One, or a Trinity. The Bible teaches that Jesus who was sent away from heaven will receive an eternal kingdom from his father. Jesus is the veiled or hidden son. The early Hebrew referred to the son of God as HR (Hur, Heru, Horus). In Proto-Egyptian HR was known as the "Hidden One" or the "Distant One". For thousands of years the Son of God was hidden but when he took on flesh he was revealed.
9. Jesus explains that his knowledge of his Father and his Father's knowledge of him is beyond human understanding. However, Jesus reveals his knowledge of the Father to whoever he chooses.
10. Jesus invites people to take up his yoke because it is easy. A "yoke" is a wooden beam that joins two oxen or horses together so they can be used to plow a field. It symbolizes a life of hard servitude. The rabbis spoke of the "yoke" of the Law. Christ's yoke contrasts to the legalistic burdens of Judaism. Instead, he invites people to come to him for true rest for the soul. For Jesus' Jewish listeners this would have been a radical statement of freedom from the heavy burden of observing every rule of the Mosaic Law.
Join us next week as we delve into Matthew chapter 12. Invite your friends to join the study.
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