And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities.
Matthew 10 ends with the Lord's charge to His twelve disciples. This verse tells us what He did the moment the charge was over: He did not stand back to watch His messengers work, but walked into the same towns Himself.
The chapter break here falls in an awkward place. Commentators tie this sentence to the sending out of the twelve, not to what follows.
The first verse of this chapter belongs to the sending out of the twelve, and should be placed with the previous chapter... He took the work upon Himself once more, and along with the disciples He had sent out He preached that the kingdom of the heavens was at hand.
The wording is also one of the seams that hold Matthew's book together.
The five great sermons of Christ underline the structure of the gospel. They always end with the same sentence: "When Jesus had finished these words…"
The picture behind the sending is a harvest.
The Lord of the harvest, who had sent out the labourers, enters the harvest field Himself.
There is no pause between the teaching and the road.
The Lord called His twelve disciples around Himself and instructed them in view of everything that lay before them on their path. This takes up chapter 10. As soon as He had finished, He Himself set out to teach and preach. For while He was on earth He was not only the faithful servant of Jehovah, but the tireless servant of men. He cared for everyone in need around Him.
The verse names two things He did: teaching and preaching. The word behind "preach" pictures a herald making a public announcement.
To "preach" (kerussein, to herald) "implies a solemn announcement."
That raises a question. Does heralding mean holding an official position?
The word kerusso, which means to proclaim as a herald, has no connection whatever with office and authority, or with congregations that meet on a regular basis... It is used of the Lord and the apostles (Matthew 4:17, 23; Matthew 10:7, 27; Matthew 11:1; Matthew 24:14), but it is said just as freely of others too.
The phrase marks a change in how He worked. He no longer stayed at one base.
Christ left His home at Capernaum (Matt. 11:1) and began a travelling ministry. "The good news was not to be confined to places where there were synagogues."
One writer uses this verse to date an unrecorded visit of Jesus to Jerusalem. He offers it as a suggestion, not a certainty.
While the disciples were away on their mission, the Lord set out to teach and to preach in the cities. Is it impossible that at that time, when He was alone, He revisited Jerusalem?
This verse opens a chapter that turns the direction of the whole book.
The chapter we have now reached is full of interest and importance, above all because it marks a transition. It moves from the testimony to Israel to the new order of things the Lord was about to introduce. What gives the Spirit of God occasion to bring this out is John the Baptist. He is in prison because of his own rejection, and there his personal faith and patience are tested.
The towns He enters here are the towns He grieves over at the chapter's close. Yet grief is not where the chapter ends.
But that chapter does not close until we hear Him rebuke those cities "because they did not repent." He speaks with all the grace of a love that was not returned and, in a sense, disappointed... He finds His relief in the certainty of the Father's purpose... and that therefore there would still be a gathering to Him of all those whom the Father foreknew.
- Finished — this sentence closes the charge of chapter 10. Matthew uses the same wording at the end of each of the Lord's five great discourses.
- Went — the Lord of the harvest sent out the workers, then entered the harvest field Himself.
- Served — He was the faithful servant of Jehovah and the tireless servant of men. He moved on the moment His teaching was done.
- Heralded — "preach" means to announce solemnly, as a herald does. Scripture uses the word of the Lord, of the apostles and of ordinary believers alike.
- Refused — He walked into "their cities," and those same cities did not repent. He turns from disappointed love to the Father's settled purpose.
But John, having heard in the prison the works of the Christ, sent by his disciples,
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and said to him, Art *thou* the coming [one]? or are we to wait for another?
John's question comes from a prison cell. The man who had publicly pointed Jesus out now asks whether Jesus is really the One — so what shook him, and why did the Lord answer with works instead of a rescue?
Two things sharpen the question. John asks about a person the Old Testament had promised, and he uses a particular word for "another".
The word here expresses "a different kind." John sent his disciples to ask the Lord if He was the coming one, or whether they were to look for a different one. Was He the One prophesied of in the Old Testament?
His situation explains much. John had rebuked Herod, sat locked in a fortress, and no rescue came.
Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, had thrown John into prison. John had rebuked him over his brother Philip's wife, and over all the other evils he had done. Yet the Lord worked no rescue for him, though He had just shown His power over death. Was He really the Christ? John sends to ask. In the loneliness of his prison he may have been turning over what seemed so strange: if Jesus was the Christ, why should His forerunner be left to waste away in the fortress of Machaerus?
The trial had changed shape. He had spoken out in front of crowds; now he had to wait alone.
No one could have given a bolder witness than John the Baptist on the day at Bethabara... But then John finds himself inside the prison walls. The crowds have gone. The witnessing time is over, and the waiting time has come. Under the stress of this new trial he exclaims, "Are you the one who is to come?"
Commentators differ here. Some say John asked only to settle his disciples' minds. Others answer that no such defence is needed.
Some teachers, anxious to guard the credit of this most honoured servant of Christ, have said he asked the question for others and not for himself. But such care is unnecessary. Only One was ever perfect, always saying and doing the right thing, and He was more than man, though truly man. At the same time, we need not be surprised if John was depressed. Think of the gloom of his surroundings in Herod's prison.
God let the question be asked, and used it. The answer settled who should bear witness to whom.
God allowed this question to put everything in its place. Christ is the Word of God, so He ought to be His own witness. He ought to bear witness to Himself as well as to John, and not receive witness from John. This He did in front of John's disciples. He healed all the diseases of men and preached the gospel to the poor... Blessed was the one who would not be offended at the lowly exterior of the King of Israel.
Power could have opened the prison. The reply asks what the suffering people around Jesus actually needed.
True, mere power could have burst open Herod's prison and set the captive free; but then what about the lame, the blind, the deaf, the leper, the dead, the poor, the wretched? Could a display of royalty relieve their condition? Was it not plain that something else was needed? And was it not just as plain that the gracious, tender, soothing ministry of the lowly Jesus of Nazareth was supplying it?
One detail is easy to miss. John sent his doubt straight to Jesus, and that is the model.
Honest doubt never stays away from Christ, but comes to Him for a solution. The Lord points him to the works He was doing at that very time. God's power was showing itself in many kinds of goodness, while the good news went to the poor. The wonders were not evidence merely as wonders. They were "signs" — they showed the nature and power of the One they came from.
- Prison — John's faith wavered because no rescue came. Waiting alone tested him more than the crowds ever had.
- Question — He asked if Jesus was the Coming One of prophecy, or if they should still wait for someone of a different kind.
- Honesty — Some try to shield John by saying he asked only for his disciples. That care is not needed. Only One was ever perfect, and honest doubt goes straight to Christ.
- Answer — Christ does not argue, and He does not send a rescue. He points to works that are signs, and to good news reaching the poor.
- Blessing — The King came in grace, not in force. The blessing falls on anyone who is not tripped up by His lowly appearance.
And Jesus answering said to them, Go, report to John what ye hear and see.
John's question reaches Jesus from a prison cell. The Lord does not answer with a plain yes or no. He sends the messengers back with a report of what was happening in front of them. Why did the man who announced Him need reassurance? And why did Christ point to His works and words instead of naming Himself?
John had expected a King who would act in power. Instead John sat in chains, while the One he announced went on healing. One writer imagines the thoughts behind the question:
No doubt he stumbled for the moment, when he saw himself in the iron grip of Herod, and heard of the works of Christ. His poor heart might reason like this: "We looked for a glorious Messiah, who would set up His kingdom in power. If this really is He, why is it like this with me, His servant and witness? Why am I here in the gloom of this prison? Why is the strong hand of power not stretched out to free me from these chains and throw these prison doors open?"
Commentators differ here. Some have argued John sent the messengers for their sake, not his own. One writer records that view and rejects it:
Martin Luther says on this passage: "It is certain that John sent to ask because of his disciples. They did not yet regard Christ as He ought to be regarded. They waited for someone who would arrive with pomp and great learning, like a mighty King." … But this solution lacks support in Scripture. We need not claim perfection and infallibility for John the Baptist, for he had neither. Only one person on earth was perfect and infallible, sinless and spotless, and never troubled by doubt: our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus names two things — what the messengers hear, and what they see. These are the two halves of His ministry, and one ranks higher:
Our Lord's answer shows that it was not John's disciples only, but John himself who was shaken. These are the two parts of Christ's ministry — His words and His works, "what you hear and see." The word always has the higher place. The works appeal more to the senses. The word of Christ deals with the heart and conscience by the Spirit. In what they heard and saw we have the signs and effects of the Messiah's power that the Old Testament had predicted. I do not think we have a single case of the blind being cured before Christ came. Jewish tradition held that this miracle was reserved for the Son of David.
Jesus pointed John back to a book he had already been quoting for years:
The Baptist plainly knew the prophet Isaiah. His answer to the priests and Levites, sent from Jerusalem to ask who he was, proves it. Compare John 1:23 with Isaiah 40:3. The Lord turned him to that same prophet's words for the answer to his question. He pointed the messengers to the proofs that He was the Messiah (Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1). Wise indeed was this way of answering. John knew the prophetic word. His disciples would tell him what they had heard and seen, and that was proof that the Christ was there, and that Jesus was the Messiah.
The Lord had a reason for not resting on John's earlier testimony about Him:
God allowed this question to put everything in its place. Christ, being the Word of God, ought to be His own witness. He ought to bear witness to Himself as well as to John, and not receive testimony from John. This is what He did in front of John's disciples. He healed all the diseases of men, and preached the gospel to the poor. John's messengers were to bring John this true testimony of what Jesus was.
John was looking for glory. The Lord answered him with grace:
While John is in doubt about Christ, the Lord meets his failure by putting His grace before him… Was grace, then, a smaller thing than the glory the Baptist expected? To his question Jesus replies, "Grace remains in power, and the poor have the gospel preached to them." Ours is a time of weakness, when miracles have ceased. Even now a soul may recognise Jesus in the preaching of the gospel to the poor, and say, "I myself have heard the Lord." That is a precious thought.
- Doubt — John's question came out of a prison. He expected the kingdom in power, and found himself in chains instead.
- Report — the Lord answered doubt with evidence. He told the messengers to carry back what they heard and saw, and His word ranked above His works.
- Scripture — the works He named matched what Isaiah had promised, so the prophecies John already knew could settle his faith.
- Witness — Christ is the Word of God. He bears witness to Himself instead of depending on John's testimony.
- Grace — the proof He gave was mercy, not majesty. That same grace still marks Him out today, where miracles have ceased and the poor still hear the gospel.
Blind [men] see and lame walk; lepers are cleansed, and deaf hear; and dead are raised, and poor have glad tidings preached to them
John the Baptist sat in Herod's prison. He sent men to ask whether Jesus was really the One he had announced. The answer was not an argument but a list of things happening in front of them. Why did the greatest of the prophets need this reassurance? And why does the list end with preaching rather than power?
The question came from a man in chains. One writer imagines the reasoning behind it.
He no doubt stumbled for a moment when he saw himself in Herod's iron grip and heard of the works of Christ. His poor heart might allow itself such reasoning as this: "We looked for a glorious Messiah whose kingdom would come in power. If this really is He, then why is it like this with me, His servant and witness? Why is the strong hand of power not stretched out to free me from these chains and fling these prison doors open?"
One expected item is missing: no prisoner is released. That silence may be just what troubled John. The answer came in a way he had not pictured.
John may have wondered why no one brought him out of prison. Isaiah 42:7 spoke of the Messiah bringing out the prisoners from the dungeon. But soon a martyr's death set him free from that prison, and that has surely brought greater blessing than he had imagined.
The order matters. Sight for the blind stands first, and it was the miracle Israel reserved for one Person alone.
In what they heard and saw we have the signs of the Messiah's power that the Old Testament had predicted. As far as I know, there is no case of curing the blind before Christ came. Jewish tradition reserved this miracle for the Son of David. He was the One who, according to Isaiah 35, would open the eyes of the blind. The Lord puts the blind receiving their sight first among the outward miracles. This shows that He was really the Christ who was to come.
John expected a king who would break Herod's grip. What Jesus showed him instead was not smaller than royal power. It was greater.
God manifest in the flesh did not come to seek royal splendour, though it was His due. He came to deliver suffering men. His work revealed a character far more deeply divine. Behind it lay a motive far more glorious than anything that depended on holding the throne of David. It was more glorious than a rescue that would have set John free and ended the tyranny that had imprisoned him.
The list climbs from healing to raising the dead. Then it ends lower than it began, and that descent is the point.
The evidence was not wonders alone, but wonders that were "signs" — they showed the nature and power of the One they came from. All the while the sweet gospel invitation went out to the needy, and it is most like God in coming lowest down.
Christ's answer had two parts, and they do not carry equal weight.
These are the two parts of Christ's ministry — His words and His works, what you hear and see. The word always has the higher place. The works appeal to the senses, but the word of Christ deals with the heart and conscience by the Spirit.
The miracles were not random relief. Each condition in the list matches a condition of the soul.
The blind received their sight, itself evidence of His Messiahship (Isa. 42:5-7), and a picture of light given to those in complete ignorance. The lame are the powerless, healed so that they can walk before God. Lepers picture those who are corrupt, cleansed from that loathsome state. The deaf are those indifferent to the voice of God, now made to hear. The dead are the dormant, with no life toward God, but made alive by divine power. Finally, the poor are the spiritually destitute, made rich by the gospel of grace preached to them.
The healings belonged to a moment. The last item did not, and it is still the evidence anyone can meet.
Was grace, then, a lesser thing than the glory the Baptist expected? To his question Jesus replies, "Grace remains in power, and the poor have good news preached to them." This is a precious thought. Now is a time of weakness, and miracles have ceased. Yet a soul may recognise Jesus in the preaching of the gospel to the poor, and say, "I myself have heard the Lord."
- Doubt — Even the greatest prophet stumbled when his life did not match his hopes. His prison, not his doctrine, raised the question.
- Evidence — The Lord answered with works no one else had done. Opening blind eyes was the sign kept for the promised Son of David.
- Grace — He came to deliver suffering men, not to take royal splendour. That showed something deeper than a throne would have.
- Descent — The list ends lowest, with good news for the poor, and that is where God looks most like Himself.
- Today — Miracles ceased, but the last item on the list did not. Grace still reaches the destitute, so a soul can still say, "I myself have heard the Lord."
and blessed is whosoever shall not be offended in me.
John the Baptist had announced the coming King. Now, from prison, he sends messengers to ask whether Jesus really is the one — and the reply ends not with an explanation but with a blessing on whoever does not stumble.
The problem was not the evidence but the form the Messiah had taken. John looked for a King who would break oppression. Instead he found One who relieved suffering people while His own herald stayed in chains.
God, who appeared in the flesh, did not come to seek the pomp of royalty, although it was His due. He came for the deliverance of suffering men. His work revealed a character much more deeply divine. Its spring of action was far more glorious than anything that depended on owning David's throne. It was more glorious than a deliverance that would have set John free and ended the tyranny that imprisoned him.
Jesus could have said the opposite and meant the same thing. He did not.
He would not grieve that servant by leaving him unanswered, or by sending a reply that the messengers would recognise as a rebuke. So He tells them to go and report to John the wonderful and miraculous things they had seen themselves. They were to give him this message: "Blessed is the one who is not offended by me!" It is not "Cursed is the one who is offended by me" — that would have been the same thing, and yet so very different.
The correction travelled back to John through his own disciples, who could not read what they carried.
He returns a message to John that no one but John himself could weigh: "Blessed is the one who is not offended by me." Even John's disciples, who carried the message between him and the Lord, could not have understood this. Jesus would expose John to himself, but not to His disciples or to the world.
What people stumbled over was not a fault in Jesus but the shame and rejection that surrounded Him.
There was a gentle rebuke here, yet it was certainly meant to reach the conscience. John seems to have been stumbled; but blessed was anyone who was not offended in Jesus. Nothing so grated against every natural thought of a Jew as the rejection and shame that went with the Messiah, or with those who bore witness of Him. Man was completely unprepared for it.
The verse holds out a blessing, not only a warning. The one who is not tripped up is held up by the very thing others fall over.
He is not stumbled at the rejection of Christ. He sees the cross in the light of heaven, not of earth; he knows how it bears on eternal things. Present things are not the question... He therefore has the blessing fully; and he is strengthened, not offended, by the cross.
John did one thing right even while his faith wavered — he sent his question to the right address.
Shut up in prison, John seems to have suffered a temporary eclipse of faith. It is beautiful to see how loyal he is to the Lord, even under the darkness of doubt. If there are doubts, the One he has questions about is the only One who can settle them. It is well for us when we bring our very doubts to the Lord Jesus.
The placement of this line at the close of the message is itself part of the lesson.
The words "And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me" are words of exhortation to John the Baptist. How like the Lord to put them at the end of the message... The warning was certainly understood by John, and how deeply it must have searched him. It led to humbling and heart-searching, and in the end it was a beatitude, a "blessed." May it always be so with us.
- Cause. John stumbled over Jesus' lowliness, not His works. A King who relieved suffering people while His herald stayed in prison was not the deliverance he expected.
- Form. The Lord said "blessed is the one who is not offended," not "cursed is the one who is." Same content — and yet so very different in effect.
- Privacy. Only John could weigh the rebuke; his messengers carried it without being able to read it. Christ exposes a servant to himself, not to onlookers.
- Reach. The stumbling block was never a fault in Jesus. It was the shame and rejection that went with Him, which no one was prepared for.
- Result. The one who does not stumble is strengthened by the very cross others fall over. John's humbling ends where the verse ends — in a beatitude.