Matthew 11 is the eleventh chapter in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

section of the Christian

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. It continues the gospel's narrative about Jesus' ministry in

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

. This chapter is divided into 30 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

containing the text of this chapter are: * Papyrus 70 (3rd century; extant verses 26–27) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(330–360; complete) *

Papyrus 62 Papyrus 62, also known as ‘‘Papyrus Osloensis’’, is a copy of the New Testament and Septuagint in Greek and Coptic known as a diglot. It is designated by the siglum in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts. It is a p ...

(4th century; extant verses 25–30; also contains verses 25–29 in the

Coptic language Coptic () is a dormant language, dormant Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language. It is a group of closely related Egyptian dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Ancient Egyptian language, Egyptian language, and histori ...

) *

Papyrus 19 Papyrus 19 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), signed by 𝔓19, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. The manuscript paleographically has been assigned to the 4th or 5th century. The papyrus is currently housed at the Bodleian Library, ...

(4th/5th century; extant verses 1–5) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis is a bi-lingual Greek and Latin manuscript of the New Testament written in an uncial hand on parchment. It is designated by the siglum D or 05 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and � ...

(~400) *

Codex Washingtonianus Codex Washingtonianus, Codex Washingtonensis, Codex Freerianus, also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Gospels'', ''The Freer Gospel'' and ''The Freer Codex'', is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, written on parchment. It is de ...

(~400) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

(~450; complete) *

Codex Purpureus Rossanensis The Rossano Gospels, designated by 042 or Σ (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 18 ( Soden), held at the cathedral of Rossano in Italy, is a 6th-century illuminated manuscript Gospel Book written following the reconquest of the Italian peninsul ...

(6th century) *

Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus The Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus ("Tyrian purple, Purple Codex of Saint Petersburg"), designated by N or 022 (in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), ε19 (in the Biblical manuscript#Von ...

(6th century; extant verses 4–30) *

Codex Sinopensis The Sinope Gospels, designated by O or 023 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 21 ( Soden), also known as the Codex Sinopensis, is a fragment of a 6th-century illuminated Greek Gospel Book. Along with the Rossano Gospels, the Sinope Gospels has ...

(6th century; extant verses 5–12)

Structure

This chapter can be grouped (with cross references to the other

gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

): * Matthew 11:1 = Ministry of Jesus (; ; ). :Verse 1 can be treated as a continuation of Matthew 10:34– 42.

Dale Allison Dale C. Allison Jr. (born November 25, 1955) is an American historian and Christian theologian. His areas of expertise include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Jewish literature, and the history of the interpretation ...

calls this verse a "transitional sentence". * Matthew 11:2– 19 =

Messengers from John the Baptist In the New Testament, the messengers who came from John the Baptist to Jesus are referred to in and . Their deputation to meet with Jesus is recounted some time after the Baptism of Jesus, when John is in prison in the fort of Machaerus and he ...

() * Matthew 11:20– 24 = Cursing Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum () * Matthew 11:25– 30 = Praising the

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

() The

New King James Version The New King James Version (NKJV) is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English, working as a revision of the King James Version. Published by Thomas Nelson, the complete NKJV was released in 1982. With regard to its textual basis, the ...

organises this chapter as follows: * = John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus * = Woe to the Impenitent Cities * = Jesus gives True Rest

John the Baptist sends messengers to Jesus

Verses 2 to 6 relate to John the Baptist's enquiry about Jesus, relayed by his messengers. Verses 7 to 19 recount Jesus' assessment of John's ministry.

Verses 2–3

:''Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,'' :''And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?'' Some translations use descriptive words to refer to the expected

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

: "the one who is to come" (

English Standard Version The English Standard Version (ESV) is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Published in 2001 by Crossway, the ESV was "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently pu ...

, New Heart English Bible), or "the one we are waiting for" (

Living Bible The Living Bible (TLB or LB) is a personal paraphrase, not a translation, of the Bible in English by Kenneth N. Taylor and first published in 1971. Taylor used the American Standard Version of 1901 as his base text. "The Way", an illustrated ...

), whereas other translations render the , ''ho erchomenos'', as a title: "the Expected One" (

New American Standard Bible The New American Standard Bible (NASB, also simply NAS for "New American Standard") is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Published by the Lockman Foundation, the complete NASB was released in 1971. New revisions were publis ...

), "the Coming One" (

Weymouth New Testament The Weymouth New Testament ("WNT"), otherwise known as ''The New Testament in Modern Speech'' or ''The Modern Speech New Testament'', is a translation of the New Testament into nineteenth-century English by Richard Francis Weymouth. It was base ...

Verses 20–24

Having set out in verse 1 "to teach and to preach in their cities", verses 20–24 give an account of Jesus' condemnation of the cities of

for their refusal to

repent Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

. Jesus worked most of his

miracles A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

or "deeds of power" in these cities.

True rest

Verse 25

:''At that time, Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.'' German Protestant theologian Karl Theodor Keim called this text a "pearl of the sayings of Jesus".

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

has noted with support that

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

"often pointed out that the

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

must remain attentive to the faith lived by the humble and the small, to whom it pleased the Father to reveal that which He had hidden from the learned and the wise”.

Verse 27

:''All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.'' The

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical ...

suggests that this verse has "a

Johannine Johannine literature is the collection of New Testament works that are traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, or to the Johannine community. They are usually dated to the period , with a minority of scholars, including ...

flavour", observing that "awareness of Christ's divine sonship exists in the deepest stratum of the synoptic tradition as well as in ohn"

Verse 28

:''Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,'' :: ''and I will give you rest.'' "Come unto me" (, ''deute pros me''): also in , where the , ''deute opiso mou'', is often translated as "follow me".e.g. King James Version, Revised Standard Version In verse 28 there is less thought of the process of coming than in the very similar invitation in .Joseph S. Exell; Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones (Editors). The

Pulpit Commentary The ''Pulpit Commentary'' is a homiletic commentary on the Bible first published between 1880 and 1919

. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890.

Old manuscripts

Papyrus 62 Papyrus 62, also known as ‘‘Papyrus Osloensis’’, is a copy of the New Testament and Septuagint in Greek and Coptic known as a diglot. It is designated by the siglum in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts. It is a p ...
(4th century)

File:P062-Mat-11.25-30-recto-1-3-5-7-IV.jpg, Mat 11.25–30 recto 1 3 5 7 File:P062-Mat-11.25-30-verso-2-4-6-8-IV.jpg, Mat 11.25–30 verso 2 4 6 8 File:P062-Mat-11.25-30-recto-9-11-13-15-IV.jpg, Mat 11.25–30 recto 9 11 13 15 File:P062-Mat-11.25-30-verso-10-12-14-16-IV.jpg, Mat 11.25–30 verso 10 12 14 16 File:P062-Mat-11.25-30-recto-17-19-21-23-IV.jpg, Mat 11.25–30 recto 17 19 21 23 File:P062-Mat-11.25-30-verso-18-20-22-24-IV.jpg, Mat 11.25–30 verso 18 20 22 24 File:P062-Mat-11.25-30-recto-25-IV.jpg, Mat 11.25–30 recto 25 File:P062-Mat-11.25-30-verso-26-IV.jpg, Mat 11.25–30 verso 26

Uses

Music

The

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

of verses 28–30 from this chapter are cited as texts in the English-language

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

" by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

(HWV 56).

References

External links

* * King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate

The REAL Meaning of Matthew 11:12''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Matthew 11 Gospel of Matthew chapters Bethsaida Phoenicians in the New Testament Chorazin Capernaum