independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecontentconditionaldashed = verbless / suspended
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John's question from prison and Jesus' answer 11:1–6
v. 1 — the formula: the mission discourse closed
1
Καὶ ἐγένετοindependent — the Matthean discourse-closing formula (cf. 7:28; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1) — Septuagintal wayĕhî frame
ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς διατάσσων τοῖς δώδεκα μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ,conditional — temporal ὅτε (typed cnd; no temporal key) — leans forward on μετέβη; ἐτέλεσεν, the marker ending each of the five discourses
μετέβη ἐκεῖθενindependent — the pivot — Jesus resumes his own itinerancy
τοῦ διδάσκειν καὶ κηρύσσειν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν αὐτῶν.purpose — τοῦ + infinitive of purpose — the twin verbs of 4:23; 9:35
vv. 2–3 — John's question from prison
2
Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης ἀκούσας ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Χριστοῦparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on εἶπεν (v. 3); 'the works of the Christ' precisely where the Messiah is doubted
πέμψας διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦparticipial — second preposed participle — διὰ printed against the Byzantine δύο ('two of his disciples')
3
εἶπεν αὐτῷ·independent — the main verb of vv. 2–3 — the singular keeps John the asker, though disciples convey it
Σὺ εἶ ὁ ἐρχόμενοςcontent — fronted Σύ — ὁ ἐρχόμενος a messianic designation (Ps 118:26; Matt 3:11; 21:9)
ἢ ἕτερον προσδοκῶμεν;content — deliberative subjunctive — the alternative laid bare
vv. 4–6 — the answer: the works of Isaiah
4
Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς·independent — the Septuagintal ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν frame — the answer will be deeds, not a claim
Πορευθέντες ἀπαγγείλατε Ἰωάννῃcontent — attendant-circumstance participle + imperative — the messengers turned witnesses
ἃ ἀκούετε καὶ βλέπετε·relative — the evidence — ear and eye together
5
τυφλοὶ ἀναβλέπουσιν καὶ χωλοὶ περιπατοῦσιν,content — Isa 35:5–6 — the first pair of the sixfold catalogue
λεπροὶ καθαρίζονται καὶ κωφοὶ ἀκούουσιν,content — the second pair — the cleansing exceeds Isaiah's list (cf. 8:2–3)
καὶ νεκροὶ ἐγείρονται καὶ πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται·content — the climactic pair — Isa 61:1, the gospel to the poor last for emphasis
6
καὶ μακάριός ἐστινcontent — the closing beatitude — a veiled word to John himself
ὃς ἐὰν μὴ σκανδαλισθῇ ἐν ἐμοί.relative — indefinite ὃς ἐάν — Jesus himself the potential stumbling-block: mercy where John announced fire
More than a prophet, and the children in the marketplace 11:7–19
vv. 7–9 — the threefold question: what did you go out to see?
7
Τούτων δὲ πορευομένωνparticipial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning on ἤρξατο; the messengers exit as the eulogy begins
ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγειν τοῖς ὄχλοις περὶ Ἰωάννου·independent — the speech-frame — one long discourse runs from here to v. 19
Τί ἐξήλθατε εἰς τὴν ἔρημον θεάσασθαι;content — first of the three questions — θεάσασθαι, to view as a spectacle
κάλαμον ὑπὸ ἀνέμου σαλευόμενον;content — verbless — the wind-tossed riverbank reed, image of a vacillation John never showed
8
ἀλλὰ τί ἐξήλθατε ἰδεῖν;content — the question renewed — the refrain of the triple interrogation
ἄνθρωπον ἐν μαλακοῖς ἠμφιεσμένον;content — verbless — the courtier-foil to the camel's-hair prophet
ἰδοὺ οἱ τὰ μαλακὰ φοροῦντες ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις τῶν βασιλέων εἰσίν.content — the retort — a barb at the court of the very Herod whose prison holds John
9
ἀλλὰ τί ἐξήλθατε ἰδεῖν;content — the third asking — the editions divide on the punctuation (ἰδεῖν; προφήτην; vs. προφήτην ἰδεῖν), followed as printed
προφήτην;content — verbless — at last the right answer
ναί, λέγω ὑμῖν, καὶ περισσότερον προφήτου.content — the surpassing — John exceeds the category he crowns
vv. 10–15 — the verdict on John: the messenger, the greatest, the Elijah
10
οὗτός ἐστινcontent — the identification — John located inside the prophecy, not merely among its speakers
περὶ οὗ γέγραπται·relative — the citation formula — γέγραπται, the perfect of abiding authority
Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου,content — Mal 3:1 / Exod 23:20 — Malachi's 'before me' become 'before your face': the Lord's coming is the Messiah's coming
ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου ἔμπροσθέν σου.relative — the herald's task — the same composite catena Mark sets at his gate (Mark 1:2)
11
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,content — the solemn asseveration — Jesus' distinctive prefatory ἀμήν
οὐκ ἐγήγερται ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν μείζων Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ·content — γεννητοὶ γυναικῶν, the Semitic idiom for humankind (Job 14:1) — John the summit of the old age
ὁ δὲ μικρότερος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν μείζων αὐτοῦ ἐστιν.content — the paradox — μικρότερος, comparative for superlative; the eras, not the men, are ranked
12
ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ ἕως ἄρτι ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται,content — the chapter's most contested saying — βιάζεται passive ('suffers violence,' glossed) or middle ('advances forcefully'); left open
καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν.content — βιασταί — hostile assailants or eager claimants, tracking the voice given to βιάζεται
13
πάντες γὰρ οἱ προφῆται καὶ ὁ νόμος ἕως Ἰωάννου ἐπροφήτευσαν·cause — on the nearest verb — the γάρ grounds the whole John-saying: the prophesying economy runs out at John
14
καὶ εἰ θέλετε δέξασθαι,conditional — protasis inside the speech — the identification receivable only by willing faith
αὐτός ἐστιν Ἠλίας ὁ μέλλων ἔρχεσθαι.content — the apodosis — Mal 4:5 fulfilled: John is the awaited Elijah (cf. 17:12–13)
15
ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκουέτω.content — the hearing-formula (13:9, 43) — read without the longer Byzantine ἀκούειν
vv. 16–19 — the parable of the children in the marketplace
16
Τίνι δὲ ὁμοιώσω τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην;content — deliberative future — the rabbinic parable-opening
ὁμοία ἐστὶν παιδίοις καθημένοις ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖςcontent — the comparison — the sulking players, not the played-to
ἃ προσφωνοῦντα τοῖς ἑτέροιςrelative — the relative runs over the verse-seam to its finite verb λέγουσιν (v. 17)
17
λέγουσιν·relative — the ἃ-clause's finite verb, severed from v. 16 by the verse-seam
Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖνcontent — the glad tune — the wedding-game
καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε·content — the refusal of joy
ἐθρηνήσαμενcontent — the sad tune — the funeral-game; some witnesses add ὑμῖν
καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε.content — κόπτεσθαι, the breast-beating — neither tune moves them
18
ἦλθεν γὰρ Ἰωάννης μήτε ἐσθίων μήτε πίνων,content — first application (γάρ) — the ascetic sang the dirge
καὶ λέγουσιν·content — the verdict-frame — 'they,' this generation
Δαιμόνιον ἔχει·content — the slander on austerity
19
ἦλθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων,content — second application — the feasting Son of Man played the flute
καὶ λέγουσιν·content — the matching verdict-frame
Ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης, τελωνῶν φίλος καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν.content — verbless jeer (cf. Deut 21:20) — the slur that names Jesus' glory (9:10–13)
καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῆς.content — gnomic aorist — ἔργων ('deeds') printed against Luke's τέκνων ('children,' 7:35); the ἔργα of v. 2 return
Woes on the unrepentant cities 11:20–24
vv. 20–22 — Chorazin and Bethsaida measured against Tyre and Sidon
20
Τότε ἤρξατο ὀνειδίζειν τὰς πόλειςindependent — Τότε, the Matthean pivot — rejection sharpens into judgment-speech
ἐν αἷς ἐγένοντο αἱ πλεῖσται δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ,relative — the privileged towns — δυνάμεις, the deeds of power of chs. 8–9
ὅτι οὐ μετενόησαν·cause — the charge — the works demanded μετάνοια and met none
21
Οὐαί σοι, Χοραζίν·content — verbless prophetic woe — the speech hangs directly on the verb of reproaching
οὐαί σοι, Βηθσαϊδά·content — the twin woe — the home town of apostles among the unrepentant
ὅτι εἰ ἐν Τύρῳ καὶ Σιδῶνι ἐγένοντο αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν ὑμῖν,conditional — contrary-to-fact protasis (carrying the causal ὅτι with it) — leaning forward on the ἄν-apodosis below
πάλαι ἂν ἐν σάκκῳ καὶ σποδῷ μετενόησαν.cause — the ὅτι-ground of the woe — pagan Tyre and Sidon outdo Galilee in imagined penitence (cf. Jonah 3:6)
22
πλὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,content — πλήν — the verdict-formula
Τύρῳ καὶ Σιδῶνι ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ἢ ὑμῖν.content — ἀνεκτότερον — degrees of judgment: greater light, greater reckoning
vv. 23–24 — Capernaum measured against Sodom
23
καὶ σύ, Καφαρναούμ, μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ;content — Isa 14:13 (against Babylon) turned on Jesus' own town; interrogative μή (expecting 'no') printed against the Byzantine relative
ἕως ᾅδου καταβήσῃ·content — Isa 14:15 — the fall answering the pretension; καταβήσῃ printed against καταβιβασθήσῃ
ὅτι εἰ ἐν Σοδόμοις ἐγενήθησαν αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν σοί,conditional — contrary-to-fact protasis — Sodom, the archetype of judgment (Gen 19), the comparison of last resort
ἔμεινεν ἂν μέχρι τῆς σήμερον.cause — the ὅτι-ground of the sentence — Sodom would still stand had it seen Capernaum's works
24
πλὴν λέγω ὑμῖνcontent — the verdict-formula repeated, now with ὅτι
ὅτι γῇ Σοδόμων ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ἢ σοί.content — the gravest sentence — Sodom above Capernaum: squandered grace weighs heaviest
The Father and the Son, and the gentle yoke 11:25–30
vv. 25–27 — the thanksgiving: hidden from the wise, revealed to infants
25
Ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν·independent — the turn from woe to worship — ἀποκριθείς with no question asked, responding to the moment itself
Ἐξομολογοῦμαί σοι, πάτερ, κύριε τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς,content — the LXX verb of grateful confession — intimacy ('Father') joined to cosmic lordship
ὅτι ἔκρυψας ταῦτα ἀπὸ σοφῶν καὶ συνετῶνcause — the ground of praise — even the concealment is the Father's own doing
καὶ ἀπεκάλυψας αὐτὰ νηπίοις·cause — the great reversal — νήπιοι, the unschooled and dependent, the recipients
26
ναί, ὁ πατήρ,content — verbless assent — article + nominative for vocative, a Semitic address
ὅτι οὕτως εὐδοκία ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου.cause — εὐδοκία — the reversal rests on free, gracious choosing, not on merit
27
Πάντα μοι παρεδόθη ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός μου,content — the 'Johannine thunderbolt' begins — total delegation to the Son
καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐπιγινώσκει τὸν υἱὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ,content — ἐπιγινώσκει — full, intimate knowledge; the absolute 'the Son'
οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα τις ἐπιγινώσκει εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱὸςcontent — the mutual knowing — the ground of all revelation
καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν βούληται ὁ υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψαι.relative — indefinite ᾧ ἐάν — the Son's sovereign freedom to disclose; the door into v. 28
vv. 28–30 — the comfortable words: come, take, learn
28
Δεῦτε πρός με πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι,content — the Wisdom-summons (cf. Sir 51:23–27) in Jesus' own voice — the toiling and the laden alike
κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς.content — emphatic κἀγώ — the rest is his to give
29
ἄρατε τὸν ζυγόν μου ἐφ' ὑμᾶςcontent — the yoke — the rabbinic figure for submission to a teaching, now Jesus' own
καὶ μάθετε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ,content — μάθετε — become learners (μαθηταί) of this Teacher
ὅτι πραΰς εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ,cause — the Teacher's character — πραΰς, the beatitude-word (5:5) and the king's (21:5; Zech 9:9)
καὶ εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν·content — Jer 6:16 — the ancient promise of the good way, found now at this yoke
30
ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν.cause — χρηστός — kindly, well-fitting; the chapter ends on grace, against the heavy loads of 23:4
Analysis. Matthew 11 has only four flush-left narrative moments — the discourse-closing formula of v. 1, ἤρξατο λέγειν in v. 7, ἤρξατο ὀνειδίζειν in v. 20, and ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν in v. 25 — and nearly everything else hangs blue beneath them: the chapter is speech about John, against the cities, and to the Father. John's embassy (vv. 2–3) rides two preposed participles (ἀκούσας, πέμψας) leaning across the verse-seam onto εἶπεν; Jesus' reply is a flat catena under εἶπεν whose center is the sixfold Isaiah tapestry (35:5–6; 61:1), one pair per line, the gospel to the poor placed last. From v. 7b a single discourse runs to v. 19 as a coordinate catena at constant depth under λέγειν: the threefold 'what did you go out to see?' with its verbless foils, the Malachi citation stepping down οὗτός → γέγραπται → the messenger's relative (Mal 3:1 / Exod 23:20, Malachi's 'before me' become 'before your face'), the ἀμήν-saying with its paradox of the least, and the marketplace parable, whose children's song nests inside the relative clause that the verse-seam severs from its own finite verb λέγουσιν. The woes hang directly on ὀνειδίζειν (no λέγων is supplied); both contrary-to-fact protases (vv. 21, 23) lean forward, carrying their ὅτι with them, onto ἄν-apodoses anchored to the woe and the fall they ground. The thanksgiving and the comfortable words hang under εἶπεν, the γάρ of the light yoke closing the chapter one step deeper under εὑρήσετε. Cruxes taken or flagged: βιάζεται (v. 12) is glossed passive ('suffers violence') with the middle ('advances forcefully') named in the tag; v. 19 prints ἔργων ('deeds') against Luke's τέκνων ('children'); v. 23 reads the interrogative μὴ … ὑψωθήσῃ against the Byzantine relative, and καταβήσῃ against καταβιβασθήσῃ; v. 2 reads διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν against the Byzantine δύο; and the punctuation of v. 9 (ἰδεῖν; προφήτην;) follows the printed editions' divide.