Gospel of Matthew 11:2-10
Christ Teaches About John the Baptist [1]
When John, in prison, heard about the works of Christ, he sent his disciples to ask, "Are you he who comes, or are we looking for another?"
Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John the things you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them. And blessed is he who finds no stumbling in me."
After John's disciples went on their way, Jesus spoke to the multitudes concerning John:
"What did you travel out into the wilderness to see? A reed trembling in the wind?"
What did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? People who wear soft clothes are in king's houses.""Why did you go out there? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, about whom it is written:
'Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee.' "
Malachi 3:1
King James Version
1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
Notes on the Lesson
In the gospel text, Christ identifies John the Baptist as the messenger foretold by Malachi. Apparently there were people who were unhappy with John's scruffy appearance and stern message. Christ sets them straight with rhetorical questions; the style of address is similar to a pedagogical style associated with Socrates and Plato, often referred to as the "Socratic method". (Modern law schools often let on that they use "the Socratic method", although it is more frequently claimed than actually used in the classroom.)
The second verse from Malachi is included for no reason except to familiarize the reader with a passage used in Handel's Messiah; the alto solo But Who May Abide . . . is one of the excerpts most frequently performed.
There is a very good sermon on the passage from Malachi, available online at a site called Worship Map.
