matthew-11:8-web

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 11:7-19

The Lord's testimony to John the Baptist. I. HIS CHARACTER . 1 . He was no reed shaken by the wind. The multitudes who had now heard John's message and the Lord's answer had once gone into the wilderness to see the Baptist, drawn thither by the powerful attraction of his preaching and character. What had they found there? Were they disappointed? Was he unlike the report which they had heard of him? Was he weak, vacillating, wavering hither and thither like the reeds that grew on... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 11:7-19

John and Jesus: children in the market-place. After dismissing the messengers of John, there appeared to our Lord urgent need of indicating with precision the merits and defects of the Baptist's work, so that the people might understand hew it was the Baptist was disappointed in the Messiah he had so enthusiastically heralded, and what were the relations mutually held by the Baptist, the Messiah, and the people. In doing so our Lord touches on— I. THE GREATNESS OF JOHN AND HIS... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 11:8

Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses . Menahem the Essene was by the wish of Herod the Great made deputy to Hillel in the Sanhedrin, but afterwards left his office. "Whither did he go out? Abai said. He went out to destruction. Rabba said, He went out for the service of the king. There is also a Baraitha [ i.e. an 'uncanonical' Mishna] to this effect, that Menahem went out for the service of the king, and there went out with him eighty pairs of disciples clothed in... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 11:8

Clothed in soft raiment - The kind of raiment here denoted was the light, thin clothing worn by effeminate persons. It was made commonly of fine linen, and was worn chiefly for ornament. Christ asks them whether they were attracted by anything like that. He says that the desert was not the place to expect it. In the palaces of kings, in the court of Herod, it might be expected, but not in the place where John was. This kind of clothing was an emblem of riches, splendor, effeminacy, feebleness... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 11:7-10

Matthew 11:7-10. And as they departed Or, as Luke has it, when they were departed, Jesus began to say concerning John What he would not say concerning him in the hearing of these his disciples, lest he should seem to flatter him, or to compliment him into an adherence to his former testimony. To avoid all suspicion of this kind, he deferred his commendation of him till the messengers were gone: and then delivered it to the people, to prevent all imaginations as if John were wavering in... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 11:1-19

49. Messengers from John the Baptist (Matthew 11:1-19; Luke 7:18-35)Shut up in prison, John the Baptist received only irregular and possibly inaccurate reports of Jesus’ ministry. These reports must have caused him to wonder whether Jesus really was the Messiah he foretold. Jesus sent back the message that he was carrying out a ministry of relief to the oppressed, which was the sort of ministry foretold of the Messiah in the Old Testament (Matthew 11:1-5; cf. Isaiah 35:5-6; Isaiah 61:1). Many... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 11:8

for to see = to see. Greek. eidon. App-133 . soft raiment = soft, or effeminate [raiment]. Mantles are meant, made of silk or linen, as worn by the effendis or gentry, in the East, to-day. behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:8

But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft raiment are in king's houses.The comparison suggested a sycophant; and John certainly was not that. His rough garment of camel's hair put him in a different world. The implication would give greater strength to John and would tactfully remind him that he was no fawning flatterer of Herod who would change his witness of Christ in order to curry favor. The aptness of this reference to "soft raiment" is... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 11:7-8

Matthew 11:7-8. What went ye out, &c.— These, and the following questions, are in the style of the Hebrews; and according to the idiom of their language, imply a strong negation. The reader by recurring to the book of Job will meet many passages to confirm this observation; so that, according to this interpretation, the meaning is, "When ye went into the wilderness to John, with what design did you go?—Not to see the reeds waving on the banks of Jordan;—nor because he made a magnificent... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 11:2-19

1. Questions from the King’s forerunner 11:2-19This sections illustrates how deeply seated Israel’s disenchantment with Jesus was. read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 11:7-19

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 11:7-19

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 11:8

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 11:8

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 11:7-10

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 11:1-19

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 11:8

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 11:8

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 11:7-8

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 11:2-19

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