Matthew 11:3 Study Bible: and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?"

◄ Matthew 11:3 ►

to ask Him, "Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?"

Are You the One
This phrase is a direct inquiry from John the Baptist, who, despite his earlier proclamations about Jesus, finds himself in a moment of doubt while imprisoned. The Greek word for "One" is "ὁ ἐρχόμενος" (ho erchomenos), meaning "the coming one." This term is messianic, rooted in Jewish expectations of a deliverer. Historically, the Jewish people anticipated a Messiah who would liberate them from Roman oppression. John's question reflects a common expectation of a political savior, which contrasts with Jesus' spiritual mission.

who was to come
The phrase "who was to come" is a continuation of the messianic expectation. It echoes the prophecies found in the Old Testament, such as in Isaiah 35:4-6 and Malachi 3:1, where a coming deliverer is foretold. The Greek verb "ἔρχομαι" (erchomai) implies an arrival or advent, emphasizing the anticipation of the Messiah's coming. This expectation was deeply ingrained in Jewish culture and religious thought, highlighting the significance of Jesus' role in fulfilling these prophecies.

or should we look for someone else?
This part of the verse reveals John's uncertainty and the broader human tendency to doubt when circumstances do not align with expectations. The Greek word "προσδοκῶμεν" (prosdokōmen) means "to look for" or "to expect." It suggests an active searching or waiting for fulfillment. John's question invites readers to reflect on their understanding of Jesus' mission and challenges them to trust in God's plan, even when it defies human expectations. Historically, this reflects the tension between the anticipated political Messiah and the spiritual savior that Jesus embodied.

Persons / Places / Events

1. John the Baptist
A prophet and forerunner of Jesus, who is currently imprisoned and sends his disciples to question Jesus.

2. Jesus Christ
The central figure of the New Testament, whom John’s disciples are questioning about His messianic identity.

3. Disciples of John
Followers of John the Baptist who are sent to Jesus to ask the pivotal question.

4. Prison
The place where John the Baptist is held, which prompts his inquiry about Jesus' identity.

5. Messiah
The anticipated deliverer and savior in Jewish tradition, whom Jesus claims to be.

Teaching Points

Understanding Doubt in Faith
Even strong believers like John the Baptist can experience doubt. This passage encourages us to seek answers from Jesus when we are uncertain.

Messianic Expectations
The question reflects the Jewish expectation of a political Messiah. Jesus' response highlights a spiritual kingdom, challenging us to align our expectations with God's plan.

The Role of Signs and Wonders
Jesus points to His works as evidence of His identity. This teaches us to recognize God's work in our lives as confirmation of His presence and promises.

Faith in Imprisonment
John’s situation reminds us that faith can be tested in difficult circumstances. We are encouraged to hold onto our faith and seek Jesus even when we feel confined or restricted.

The Importance of Direct Inquiry
John’s direct question to Jesus models the importance of going to the source—Jesus Himself—when we have questions about our faith.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does John the Baptist's question reflect his understanding and expectations of the Messiah, and how can this inform our own expectations of Jesus?

2. In what ways do Jesus' works and miracles serve as evidence of His messianic identity, and how can we apply this understanding to recognize God's work in our lives today?

3. How can we address our own doubts and uncertainties in faith, following the example of John the Baptist in this passage?

4. What are some modern "prisons" or challenges that can test our faith, and how can we seek Jesus' guidance and reassurance in those times?

5. How do the prophecies in Isaiah and Malachi enhance our understanding of Jesus' response to John's disciples, and how can we use these connections to deepen our faith?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Isaiah 35:5-6
This passage prophesies the signs of the Messiah, which Jesus refers to in His response to John's disciples.

Malachi 3:1
This prophecy speaks of a messenger preparing the way, which is fulfilled by John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:11
John the Baptist speaks of the one who is to come after him, indicating his understanding of the Messiah's role.

Luke 7:18-23
A parallel account of this event, providing additional context and details.

Sermons

A Prophet's Doubt	W.F. Adeney	Matthew 11:3
The Way to Deal with Our Doubts	R. Tuck	Matthew 11:3
Conflicts with Unbelief		Matthew 11:1-5
Doubt, a Means to Faith	A. Raleigh, D. D.	Matthew 11:1-5
Doubting	A. Raleigh, D. D.	Matthew 11:1-5
John's Inquiry	Francis Atterbury.	Matthew 11:1-5
John's Message to Jesus	W. PaIey.	Matthew 11:1-5
Marks of Convincing Miracles	Francis Atterbury.	Matthew 11:1-5
Morbid Self-Suspicions		Matthew 11:1-5
Natural Melancholy Obstructs the Sense of Divine Comfort	Bishop Hopkins.	Matthew 11:1-5
Proving Jesus to be the Messias	J. Tillotson, D. D.	Matthew 11:1-5
The Messiah	E. Blencowe, M. A.	Matthew 11:1-5
Third Sunday in Advent	J. A. Seiss, D. D., Dr. Ritchie.	Matthew 11:1-5
Truth not Afraid of the Light	J. Brierley, B. A.	Matthew 11:1-5
The Credentials of Messiah	J.A. Macdonald	Matthew 11:1-6
John's Inquiry	Marcus Dods	Matthew 11:1-11
The Forearming Against a Foreseen Unbelief	P.C. Barker	Matthew 11:2-30

People

Elias, Elijah, Jesus, John

Places

Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Galilee, Sidon, Sodom, Tyre

Topics

Different, Expect, Expected, Someone, Wait, Waiting

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Matthew 11:1-5

7755 preaching, importance

Matthew 11:2-3

8726 doubters

Matthew 11:2-5

1416 miracles, nature of

Matthew 11:2-6

5098 John the Baptist
8105 assurance, basis of

Matthew 11:3-5

2351 Christ, miracles
8425 evangelism, nature of

Matthew 11:3-6

8837 unbelief, and life of faith

Library

The Friend of Publicans and Sinners
'The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children,'--MATT. xi. 19. Jesus very seldom took notice of His enemies' slanders. 'When He was reviled He reviled not again.' If ever He did, it was for the sake of those whom it harmed to distort His beauty. Thus, here He speaks, without the slightest trace of irritation, of the capricious inconsistency of condemning Himself and John …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Sodom, Capernaum, Manchester
'Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not.' --MATT. xi. 20. These words, and the woes which they introduce, are found in another connection in Luke's Gospel. He attaches them to his report of the mission of the seventy disciples. Matthew here introduces them in an order which seems not to depend upon time, but upon identity of subject. It is his method in his Gospel to group together similar events, as we have it exemplified, for instance, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Strange Thanksgiving
'I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.' --MATT. xi. 25. When Jesus was about to cure one dumb man, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and sighed. Sorrow filled His soul in the act of working deliverance. The thought of the depth of the miseries He had come to heal, and of the ocean of them which He was then diminishing but by one poor drop, saddened Him. When Jesus thought of the woes that had …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

John's Doubts of Jesus, and Jesus' Praise of John
'Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3. And said unto Him, Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another? 4. Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me. 7. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Rest Giver
'Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.'--MATT. xi. 28, 29. One does not know whether tenderness or majesty is predominant in these wonderful words. A divine penetration into man's true condition, and a divine pity, are expressed in them. Jesus looks with clearsighted compassion into the inmost history of all hearts, and sees the toil and the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Rest for the Weary
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. W hich shall we admire most -- the majesty, or the grace, conspicuous in this invitation? How soon would the greatest earthly monarch be impoverished, and his treasures utterly exhausted, if all, that are poor and miserable, had encouragement to apply freely to him, with a promise of relief, fully answerable to their wants and wishes! But the riches of Christ are unsearchable and inexhaustible. If millions and millions …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Messiah's Easy Yoke
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. T hough the influence of education and example, may dispose us to acknowledge the Gospel to be a revelation from God; it can only be rightly understood, or duly prized, by those persons who feel themselves in the circumstances of distress, which it is designed to relieve. No Israelite would think of fleeing to a city of refuge (Joshua 20:2. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Yoke of Christ.
"Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."--Matt. xi. 29, 30. These words, which are brought before us in the Gospel of to-day's festival[1], are also found in the address made to us upon Ash Wednesday, in which we are told that if we "return unto Him who is the merciful Receiver of all true penitent sinners, if we will take His easy yoke and light burden upon us, to follow Him …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xi. 2, "Now when John Heard in the Prison the Works of the Christ, He Sent by his Disciples,
1. The lesson of the Holy Gospel has set before us a question touching John the Baptist. May the Lord assist me to resolve it to you, as He hath resolved it to us. John was commended, as ye have heard, by the testimony of Christ, and in such terms commended, as that there had not risen a greater among those who were born of women. But a greater than he had been born of a Virgin. How much greater? Let the herald himself declare, how great the difference is between himself and his Judge, whose herald …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xi. 25, "I Thank Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, that Thou Didst Hide These Things From
1. When the Holy Gospel was being read, we heard that the Lord Jesus exulted in Spirit, and said, "I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." [2252] Thus much to begin [2253] with, we find before we pass on further, if we consider the words of the Lord with due attention, with diligence, and above all with piety, that we ought not invariably to understand when we read of "confession" in …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Again on the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xi. 25, "I Thank Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth," Etc.
1. We have heard the Son of God saying, "I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth." What doth he confess to Him? Wherein doth he praise Him? "Because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." [2288] Who are the "wise and prudent"? Who the "babes"? What hath He hid from the wise and prudent, and revealed unto babes? By the "wise and prudent," He signifieth those of whom St. Paul speaks; "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Again on the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xi. 28, "Come unto Me, all Ye that Labour and are Heavy Laden, and I Will Give You
1. It seems strange to some, Brethren, when they hear the Lord say, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." [2323] And they consider that they who have fearlessly bowed their necks to this yoke, and have with much submission taken this burden upon their shoulders, are tossed about and exercised by so great …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

The Sinner's Friend
"Savior of sinners they proclaim, Sinners of whom the chief I am." What the invidious Jews said in bitter spleen, has been turned by the Holy Spirit to the most gracious account. Where they poured out vials of hate, odours of sacred incense arise. Troubled consciences have found a sweet balm in the very sound. Jesus, "the friend of publicans and sinners," has proved himself friendly to them, and they have become friends with him; so completely has he justified the very name which his enemies gave …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864

Rest, Rest
We will, this morning, if we can, conduct you into the inner chambers of out text, place its words under the microscope, and peer into the recesses of each sentence. We only wish our microscope were of a greater magnifying power, and our ability to expound the text more complete; for there are mines of instruction here. Superficially read, this royal promise has cheered and encouraged tens of thousands, but there is a wealth in it which the diligent digger and miner shall alone discover. Its shallows …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Holy violence
"But," says one, "do you wish us to understand, that if a man is to be saved he must use violence and vehement earnestness in order to obtain salvation?" I do, most assuredly; that is the doctrine of the text. "But," says one, "I thought it was all the work of God." So it is, from first to last. But when God has begun the work in the soul, the constant effect of God's work in us is to set us working; and where God's Spirit is really striving with us, we shall begin to strive too. This is just a test …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

The Meek and Lowly One
I. First, then, I am to consider THE FIRST QUALITY WHICH JESUS CHRIST CLAIMS. He declares that he is "MEEK." Christ is no egotist; he takes no praise to himself. If ever he utters a word in self-commendation, it is not with that object; it is with another design, namely that he may entice souls to come to him. Here, in order to exhibit this meekness, I shall have to speak of him in several ways. 1. First, Christ is meek, as opposed to the ferocity of spirit manifested by zealots and bigots. Take, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Powerful Persuasives
I HAVE preached to you, dear friends, several times from the words, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." There is such sweetness in the precept, such solace in the promise, that I could fain hope to preach from it many times more. But I have no intention just now to repeat what I have said in any former discourse, or to follow the same vein of thought that we have previously explored. This kindly and gracious invitation needs only to be held up in different …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
(From the Gospel for St. Matthias'-day, 24th February) Of the proper marks of true humility. Matt. xi. 29.--"Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." CHRIST, our blessed Lord, the true master and teacher of all art and virtue, and a pattern of all perfection, when He came down from Heaven to instruct us poor ignorant men, did not see fit to make use of great subtleties, or mysterious and ingenious statements of truth; but in short, plain, simple words He delivered to us a maxim, and gave us …
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent
(From the Gospel for the day) How that we must wholly come out from ourselves, that we may go into the wilderness and behold God. Matt. xi. 7.--"What went ye out into the wilderness for to see?" OUR Lord Jesus Christ said unto the Jews, "What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?" In these words let us consider three things: First, the going out; secondly, the wilderness; thirdly, what we are to see there. First, let us consider the going out. This blessed going …
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

Sixth Day. Thankfulness.
"I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth."--Matt. xi. 25. A thankful spirit pervaded the entire life of Jesus, and surrounded with a heavenly halo His otherwise darkened path. In moments we least expect to find it, this beauteous ray breaks through the gloom. In instituting the memorial of His death, He "gave thanks!" Even in crossing the Kedron to Gethsemane, "He sang an hymn!" We know in seasons of deep sorrow and trial that every thing wears a gloomy aspect. Dumb Nature herself to …
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

Fifth Day. Meekness.
"I am meek and lowly in heart."--Matt. xi. 29. There is often a beautiful blending of majesty and humility, magnanimity and lowliness, in great minds. The mightiest and holiest of all Beings that ever trod our world was the meekest of all. The Ancient of Days was as the "infant of days." He who had listened to nothing but angel-melodies from all eternity, found, while on earth, melody in the lispings of an infant's voice, or in an outcast's tears! No wonder an innocent lamb was His emblem, or …
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

"I Will Give You Rest. "
A COMMUNION ADDRESS AT MENTONE. "I will give you rest."--Matthew xi. 28. "I WILL GIVE YOU REST." WE have a thousand times considered these words as an encouragement to the labouring and the laden; and we may, therefore, have failed to read them as a promise to ourselves. But, beloved friends, we have come to Jesus, and therefore He stands engaged to fufil this priceless pledge to us. We may now enjoy the promise; for we have obeyed the precept. The faithful and true Witness, whose word is truth, …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

A Devout Exhortation to the Holy Communion the Voice of Christ
Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you,(1) saith the Lord. The bread that I will give is My flesh which I give for the life of the world.(2) Take, eat: this is My Body, which is given for you; this do in remembrance of Me.(3) He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood dwelleth in Me and I in him. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.(4) (1) Matthew xi. 28 (2) John vi. 51. (3) Matthew xxi. 26; Luke xxii. 19. (4) John vi. …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Baptist's Inquiry and Jesus' Discourse Suggested Thereby.
(Galilee.) ^A Matt. XI. 2-30; ^C Luke VII. 18-35. ^c 18 And the disciples of John told him of all these things. ^a 2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent by his disciples ^c 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them unto the Lord [John had been cast into prison about December, a.d. 27, and it was now after the Passover, possibly in May or June, a.d. 28. Herod Antipas had cast John into prison because John had reproved him for taking his brother's wife. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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