Matthew 11 Questions

Warm up question in pairs:  Jesus uses a childhood game of his day to make a comparison.   What was one of your favorite childhood games and why?  

Matthew 11:1-6

1. Why was “giving instructions to his disciples” important to Jesus when there was so much teaching and preaching that needed to be done?    He knew his days were numbered, and they must be adequately equipped to carry on his ministry.   A good book on this subject is The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman.
2. What is the difference in teaching and preaching?   They are two different words in the original language.   The word for teaching means to instruct and nearly always refers to teaching the Scriptures.    The word for preaching means to herald or proclaim with a view to persuade.  It is also used for public proclamation of the gospel and all things pertaining to it.
3. What had Jesus said about John the Baptist earlier?   Read Matthew 11:11.
4. If a man like that could doubt, is it okay for us to have doubts as well?  Yes.  Discuss further.
5. Why do you think John asked the question that he did?   Perhaps he was discouraged by being imprisoned and wondered why Jesus could not deliver him from prison.   How would you feel if you thought Jesus was the promised Messiah and you were locked up?
6. What six things did Jesus tell John’s disciples in answer to his question?   Read 11:5.
7. What light does Isaiah 61:1 shed on the phrase “and the poor are told the good news”?    It was long ago prophesied by Isaiah.   
8. Could 11:6 be an overlooked beatitude?    What do you think Jesus meant by this beatitude?    Many thought that the promised Messiah would be a political leader who would overthrown the Roman government.   Therefore, many were embarrassed about this so-called Messiah, due in part to his lowly estate.   The NLT translates this as follows: “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.”    

 Matthew 11:16-19

1. Why do you think Jesus chose children playing to illustrate his point?   It was common in that day for children to play in the streets or other public places, and therefore everyone would be familiar with the games they played.   Cornerstone Commentary says this: “Jesus compared John’s rejection and his own to the behavior of childish brats who would not play the wedding game or the funeral game.   Neither John’s ascetic abstinence (compared to mourning or singing at a funeral) nor Jesus’ enjoyment of food and drink (likened to dancing at a wedding feast) was satisfactory. “
2. People have often used the phrase in 11:19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking” to prove that Jesus used alcoholic beverages.   Is that justified?   The phrase “eating and drinking “is simply referring to normal social activities of that day that Jesus participated in contrast to John’s lack of participation.   Remember John had taken the Nazarite vow.
3. What two things did people accuse John and Jesus of?   Having a demon and being a glutton and drunkard respectively.   Are we in good company when people falsely accuse us?    Yes.
4. What do you think Jesus meant by “Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds”?   CBC says this: “This probably refers to the righteous activities of both John and Jesus.  Their deeds proved their wisdom.”   

Matthew 11:20-24

1. Why did Jesus denounce the towns he had done miracles in?  They did not repent or change.
2. Why did Jesus pronounce woes on Chorazin and Bethsaida?   Perhaps the miracles he performed there were greater than the ones in Tyre and Sidon because he said the latter would have repented if they had seen such miracles.   The former must have had much harder hearts.
3. Does 11:22 indicate there will be degrees of punishment just as there are degrees of reward?   Yes.
4. What did Jesus say about his adopted home town of Capernaum?   Their opinion of themselves was highly overrated.   How did they compare to Sodom?   They were more evil because Sodom would have repented if they had seen the same miracles Capernaum saw.
5. What is the overall lesson we can learn from 11:20-24?   We need to guard against becoming hard-hearted.   As soon as we realize we have sinned and are convicted by the Holy Spirit, we need to repent or change and turn away from it.    What are the implications for our nation?    God does judge nations as well as individuals.   We must pray that our nation doesn’t follow the path of the ones Jesus mentioned here.