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Matthew 11:1. And when Jesus finished teaching his twelve disciples, he went from there to teach and preach in their cities. After the Lord sent His disciples to preach, He calmed down, no longer performing miracles, but only teaching in the synagogues. If He had remained here and healed, then His disciples would not have been contacted. Therefore, so that they too have a reason to heal, He Himself leaves. Matthew 11:2. John, having heard in prison about the works of Christ, sent two of his disciples Matthew 11:3. say to Him: Are you the One who is to come, or should we expect something else? Not because he does not know Christ, John asks, for how could he not know Him about whom he testified: “Behold the Lamb of God.” But since the disciples were jealous of Christ, he sends them so that, seeing miracles, they would believe that Christ is greater than John. Therefore, he pretends that he does not know and asks: “Are you the one who is to come, the one who is expected on the basis of the Scriptures to come in the flesh?” Some say that with the expression: “who must come,” John asked about the descent into hell, as if not knowing about it and as if saying: “Are you the one who must descend into hell, or will we wait for someone else?” But this is unreasonable, for how could John, the greatest of the prophets, not know about the crucifixion of Christ and His descent into hell, and this after he himself called Him the Lamb, because He was to be slain for us? So, John knew that the Lord would descend with his soul into hell, so that there, as Gregory the Theologian says, he could save those who could believe in Him if He were incarnated in their days, and he asks not because he does not know, but because he wants to convince his disciples about Christ by the power of His miracles. For look what Christ says in answer to that question: Matthew 11:4. And Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John what you hear and see: Matthew 11:5. the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor are preached to; Matthew 11:6. and blessed is he who is not offended because of Me. He did not say: “Tell John that I am the One who is to come,” but knowing that John sent disciples to see miracles, he says: “Tell John what you see,” and he, taking advantage of this opportunity, of course, will testify about Me even more before you. By the evangelizing “poor” we mean either those preaching the gospel, that is, the apostles, for they, like fishermen, were poor and despised for their simplicity, or those listening to the gospel and the message regarding eternal blessings. Showing the disciples of John that what they thought was not hidden from Him, he said: “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me,” for they had great doubts about Him. Matthew 11:7. When they had gone, Jesus began to speak to the people about John: Why did you go into the wilderness to see? Is it a cane shaken by the wind? It is possible that the people, after hearing John’s question, were tempted: did John also have doubts about Christ and did he not easily change his mind, although he had previously testified about Christ? So, eliminating this suspicion, Christ says: John is not a reed, that is, not fickle; for if he were like that, then how could you go to him in the wilderness? You would not go to a reed, that is, a person who changes easily, but you would go to a great and firm person. He remains the same as you thought he was. Matthew 11:8. What did you go to see? a person dressed in soft clothes? Those who wear soft clothes are in the palaces of kings. So that they could not say that John, having become a slave of luxury, subsequently became effeminate, the Lord tells them: “No!” For clothing with hair shows that he is the enemy of luxury. If he had worn soft clothes, if he had wanted luxury, he would have lived in the royal chambers, and not in prison. Learn, then, that a true Christian should not wear soft clothes. Matthew 11:9. What did you go to see? prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. John is more than a prophet, because other prophets only predicted about Christ, but this one saw Him himself, which is really very important. Moreover, others prophesied after their birth, but this one, while still in his mother’s womb, knew Christ and leaped. Matthew 11:10. For he is the one of whom it is written: Behold, I send My angel before Thy face, who will prepare Thy way before Thee. He was called an angel both because of his angelic and almost ethereal life and because he announced and preached Christ. He prepared the way for Christ, testifying about Him and performing baptism into repentance, because after repentance comes the forgiveness of sins, which is the forgiveness Christ gives. After John's disciples left, Christ says this so that it would not seem that He is flattering. The said prophecy belongs to Malachi. Matthew 11:11. Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen a greater man than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. With affirmation he declares that there is no one greater than John; saying: “wives,” excludes Himself, for Christ Himself was born of a Virgin, and not a wife, that is, one who entered into marriage. But he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Since he expressed many praiseworthy things about John, so that they would not think that this one is greater than Him, here he says with greater clarity: “I am lesser than John in age, and, in your opinion, greater than him in relation to spiritual and heavenly goods, for here I am less than him and because he is considered great by you, but there I am greater than him.” Matthew 11:12. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it. Apparently this is not worth it in connection with what was said earlier, but in reality it is not so. Pay attention: by telling His listeners about Himself that He is greater than John, Christ arouses in them faith in Himself, showing that many delight in the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, faith in Him. This matter requires a lot of effort: what effort is needed to leave your father and mother and neglect your soul! Matthew 11:13. for all the prophets and the law prophesied before John. And here the same sequence as above. For the Lord says: “I am the One who comes, because all the prophets were fulfilled, but they would not have been fulfilled if I had not come; so don’t expect anything more.” Matthew 11:14. And if you want to accept, he is Elijah, who must come. The Lord says: “if you want to accept,” that is, if you judge sensibly, free from envy, then this is the one whom the prophet Malachi called the coming Elijah. For both the Forerunner and Elijah have the same ministry: one was the forerunner of the first coming, the other will be the forerunner of the one to come. Then, showing that this is a parable, that John is Elijah and that reflection is needed to achieve it, he says: Matthew 11:15. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! This excites them to ask Him and find out. Matthew 11:16. But to whom shall I compare this generation? He is like children who sit on the street and, turning to their comrades, Matthew 11:17. they say: we played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; We sang sad songs to you, and you did not cry. This hints at the waywardness of the Jews: they, wayward people, did not like either the severity of John or the simplicity of Christ, but they were like capricious children who are not easy to please: even if you cry, even if you play the flute, they don’t like it. Matthew 11:18. For John came neither eating nor drinking; and they say: he has a demon. Matthew 11:19. The Son of Man came, eating and drinking; and they say: here is a man who loves to eat and drink wine, a friend of publicans and sinners. He compares the life of John to crying, for John showed much severity both in words and in deeds, and the life of Christ was like a flute, since the Lord was very friendly to everyone in order to win everyone: he preached the Gospel of the Kingdom, and He did not have at all the severity that John had. And wisdom is justified by her children. The Lord says: since you do not like the life of John and Mine, but you reject all paths to salvation, then I, Wisdom, turn out to be right. You no longer have an excuse, and you, of course, will be condemned, for I have fulfilled everything, and by your unbelief you prove that I am right, since I have omitted nothing. Matthew 11:20. Then He began to rebuke the cities in which His powers were most manifested, because they did not repent: After showing that He had done everything that He had to do, but they remained unrepentant, the Lord further reproaches the Jews. Matthew 11:21. woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! So that you understand that those who did not believe were evil not by nature, but by their own will, the Lord mentions Bethsaida, from which Andrew, Peter, Philip and the sons of Zebedee came, so that evil did not depend on nature, but on free choice. For if by nature, then they too would be evil. For if the powers that were demonstrated in you had been demonstrated in Tire and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes; Matthew 11:22. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tire and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. The Lord says that the Jews are worse than the Tyrians and Sidonians, because the Tyrians transgressed the natural law, and the Jews also transgressed the law of Moses. They did not see the miracles, but these, seeing them, blasphemed. Sackcloth is a symbol of repentance. Those who mourn sprinkle dust and ashes on their heads, as we ourselves see. Matthew 11:23–24. And you, Capernaum, who have ascended to heaven, will be cast down to hell, for if the powers that were manifested in you had been manifested in Sodom, it would have remained to this day; But I tell you that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. Capernaum was exalted because it was the city of Jesus: it was famous as His homeland, but it did not benefit from this, because it did not believe. On the contrary, he is condemned to torment in hell more because, having such an Inhabitant, he did not receive any benefit from Him. Since Capernaum in translation means “place of consolation,” pay attention to the fact that if someone is worthy to be the place of the Comforter, that is, the Holy Spirit, and then becomes proud and exalted to heaven, he will finally fall for his arrogance. So, tremble, man. Matthew 11:25. At that time, continuing his speech, Jesus said: I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes; What the Lord says can be stated as follows: “I praise,” instead of “thank you,” Thee, Father, that the Jews, who seemed wise and conversant in the Scriptures, did not believe, but the unlearned and children believed and learned the mysteries. God hid secrets from those who seemed wise, not because he was jealous or the cause of their ignorance, but because they were unworthy, since they considered themselves wise. He who considers himself wise and relies on his own understanding does not call on God. And God, if someone does not call on Him, does not help him and does not reveal himself. On the other hand, God does not reveal His secrets to many, most of all out of love for mankind, so that they would not suffer greater punishment as those who neglected the secrets after they had learned them. Matthew 11:26. Hey, Father! for such was Thy good pleasure. Here the Father’s love for mankind is shown in the fact that He revealed to the babies not because anyone else asked Him about it, but because it was pleasing to Him from the beginning. “Benevolence” is desire and permission. Matthew 11:27. Everything has been handed over to Me by My Father, Previously, the Lord said to the Father: You have revealed, Father. Therefore, so that you do not think that Christ Himself does nothing, but everything belongs to the Father, He says: “everything has been given over to Me,” and there is one power between Mine and the Father. When you hear: “betrayed,” do not think that He was “betrayed” as a servant, as inferior, but as a Son, for He was born of the Father, therefore “betrayed” to Him. If He had not been born of the Father and had not been of the same nature with Him, then He would not have been “given over.” Look what he says: “Everything has been handed over to me” not by the Master, but by “My Father.” Just as, for example, a beautiful child, born from a beautiful father, says: “My beauty was betrayed to me by my father.” and no one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom the Son wants to reveal it. The greater says: there is nothing surprising in the fact that I am the Lord of everything, when I have something else, more than this - I know the Father Himself, and, moreover, I know in such a way that I can reveal knowledge about Him to others. Pay attention: earlier he said that the Father revealed secrets to babies, but here he says that He Himself reveals the Father. So, you see that the Father and the Son have one power, because both the Father and the Son reveal. Matthew 11:28. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; He calls everyone: not only Jews, but also pagans. By “laborers” we mean the Jews, since they go through the difficult regulations of the law and labor in doing the commandments of the law, and by “burdened” we mean the pagans who were burdened with the weight of sins. Christ calms all of these, for what work is it to believe, confess and be baptized. But how can you not calm down when here you no longer grieve over the sins that were committed before baptism, and there peace will overtake you? Matthew 11:29. take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; Matthew 11:30. for My yoke is easy and My burden is light. The yoke of Christ is humility and meekness. Therefore, he who humbles himself before every person has peace, living without confusion, while he who loves glory and is proud is constantly in restlessness, not wanting to give in to anyone, but counting on how to become more famous, how to defeat his enemies. So, the yoke of Christ, I mean humility, is easy, because for our humble nature it is more convenient to humble ourselves than to be proud. But all the commandments of Christ are called a yoke, and they are light in view of the future reward, although at the present time they seem heavy.