What Did You Go Out to See
Matthew 11:7-10
What Did You Go Out to See?
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’”
“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”[1]
Harry Ironsides stands out as one of the most gifted Bible teachers among North American Christians. Ironsides laboured within the Plymouth Brethren movement in the United States. On one occasion, speaking of the power of attraction in gifted preaching, the noted Bible teacher cautioned, “The brightest lights draw the most moths.” Wherever the Gospel is preached in power and God’s Spirit blesses, strange people come out of the woodwork. Every nut case within miles is attracted to the preaching of the Word when it is delivered in power. Fortunately, God works among the more sane individuals, using that same preached Word to convict, convince and convert the lost. Nevertheless, the brightest light does draw the most moths.
John was a novelty in Judea. The Word of God affirms John’s ministry by stating that all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him [Mark 1:5a]. They not only went out to see him, but superficially, his message had an impact on many of those who heard. Emphasising the effectiveness of John’s message, we read that those who went out to hear him were being baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins [Mark 1:5b].
It could perhaps be argued that many of those whom John had baptised were unconverted. That incomplete belief did occur is evident in light of an event during Paul’s ministry in Ephesus [Acts 19:1-7]. Such argument is often made of churches that win and baptise large numbers of souls. Those baptised were certainly more likely to have been saved, however, than if they had never heard the message and confessed faith in the coming Messiah. Without question, the majority of those whom John baptised were converted to faith in the coming Messiah. They were looking for the Anointed One to come, having testified to their faith through identification with Him at His coming.
Just so, there is little doubt that some who profess Christ, even to this day, have deceived themselves, and thus they become like weeds sown within the Lord’s garden. This should not dissuade us from seeking to win as many to the Faith as possible, incorporating them into the public fellowship of Christ. Rather it should make us determined to care enough to intervene in the life of those who are drifting from the Faith. And that brings us to the message.
Background to the Message — John the Baptist had been jailed. You will recall it was one of those incidents when political power demonstrated the depth of corruption that seems to frequently, if not ultimately, infect politicians. John had spoken the truth and Herodias, the wife of the tetrarch and former wife of Herod’s brother Philip, was so offended that she arranged for John’s death. She did so by most devious means.
First, Herodias arranged for John to be imprisoned. In prison, John grew discouraged. Permit me to pause for a moment and point out that the greatest saints are not immune from discouragement. When the entire world appears to be arrayed against you and it feels as though God has left you to face the enemy alone, it is well nigh impossible not to be discouraged. We must learn to look beyond the moment to see that God reigns even when the face of the sky appears black and foreboding.
In his discouragement, John together with his disciples began to question whether Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah as he had proclaimed Him to be. Therefore, the Baptist dispatched some of his disciples to ask whether Jesus was the Anointed One of God, or whether they should be looking for another. Jesus answered by pointing to His work. Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me [Matthew 11:4-6].
It was not long after this event that John would be executed. Perhaps you will recall that the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod on his birthday [Matthew 14:6]. Reviewing the divine text, we are led to believe that this was at the very least a salacious and a provocative dance—an event engineered by a mother pimping her own daughter. Clearly, Herod was motivated to make what can only be described as an “over the top” offer to this young woman. The lecherous old man offered her anything she wanted, up to one-half his kingdom [see Mark 6:23].
The young girl, not knowing precisely what she should ask for, consulted her mother, who seized the opportunity to settle her books. She incited her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. The girl appeared again before Herod in the banqueting hall to demand the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The spineless toad that squatted on the throne of Judea sent his executioners to behead John; and they brought the still warm head on a platter to the child, who in turn gave John’s head to her mother.
The Christian Faith is not an easy Faith—not if it is real. It is easy to initially believe the message of life, but you may be assured that if you live the Faith, a cost will be demanded of you. Therein lies the tragedy of much of what passes as the Faith in this day near the end of the Church Age. Too many Canadians seek an easy faith that will not cost them much. They seek a faith that will confirm them as nice people and not disturb them. They want a faith that does not ask much of them and that gives them good feelings about themselves when they manage to hear a sermon. John’s message and his life should disturb us, reminding us of the cost of being a Christian.
Jesus warned those who would be His disciples, If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: “They hated me without a cause” [John 15:18-25].
Who Was John — John the Baptist is at best an enigmatic figure in the New Testament. Unfortunately, few saints of this day know of John the Baptist. He is the last of the Old Testament prophets—Jesus clearly stated that John was the greatest member of the Old Dispensation. However, Jesus also said that the one who was least in the Kingdom of Heaven was greater than John.
The Baptist was the Forerunner prophesied through Isaiah [Isaiah 40:3-5] and sent to precede the revelation of the Anointed One of God. John was clearly great in the eyes of the Lord. The Evangelist John spoke of the Baptist as a man sent from God [John 1:6]. Before his birth, God announced his mighty ministry when John’s father Zechariah received a visit from the angel Gabriel. Listen to the divine announcement.
Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared [Luke 1:13-17].
Separated to God from before His birth, John was divinely prepared for a brief, though powerful, ministry. He did turn many of the Children of Israel to the Lord their God. He did preach in the power of Elijah with the result that many of the disobedient became wise and a people were prepared for the unveiling of the Lord. The years fled, and John remained anonymous to the masses until God was ready for Him. Then, God at last revealed His last great prophetic ministry. John flashed across leaden skies like lightning, thundering his message preparing for the coming Messiah. Mark introduces John in an appropriate fashion; John appeared, baptising in the wilderness [Mark 1:4].
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight,
and the rough places shall become level ways,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people [Luke 3:1-18].
Wow, you talk about Good News! “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Don’t trust your ancestry. God is going to cut you down.” Can you imagine a preacher declaring such “Good News” today?
John’s dress was strange—he wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist [Matthew 3:4a]. His diet was a guaranteed way to cause weight loss—even if the dieter never exercised. His diet consisted of foods low in fat, low in salt, and without any cholesterol. His food was locusts and wild honey [Matthew 3:4b].
I recall an admonition that I received following a message I delivered at a Baptist school. I had preached my usual low-keyed message, excoriating the students as not really being interested in seeing souls saved and thus wasting God’s time.
“You pray for revival,” I charged, “but are you willing to rejoice if God revives the Pentecostals? Can you praise Him if the Lutherans should be revived?”
After the assembly had been dismissed, the Dean of Students approached me to inform me that I would not be welcomed back to speak again. He concluded his mission with what could only be construed to be a warning. “If you intend to preach like John the Baptist, you will have to eat what John ate,” he solemnly intoned.
I snapped back, “Well, he didn’t starve to death.”
It required almost six years, but that man one day asked me to come to a church in another state where he had been called to pastor. He asked if I would preach a revival for his people. The message was not welcomed, but the results were. John’s message was a message of power that convicted the sinner and convinced the people of God to do right.
What Was the Reaction to John’s Message — People enjoyed John’s style, but the message had an impact which was incomplete. I don’t mean to depreciate the power in John’s message, but truth compels me to concede that the most of those who heard were essentially unchanged. As John’s disciples leave in order to relay Jesus’ answer to the imprisoned prophet, Jesus seizes the opportunity to address the crowd.
What did you go out to see? In asking the question, Jesus acknowledges that great crowds of people—including, perhaps those then present listening to Him on that day—had gone out into the desert to hear John. John wore the dress of a prophet and he dined on the food of a prophet. The people had flocked to the desert to see a prophet, just as Jesus acknowledged in verse nine. “It was commonly agreed that a true prophet had not appeared for centuries but only the B~t Kol (lit. “daughter of a voice”).”[2] John had not disappointed those who heard him. He thundered against sin and called the religious leaders together with all people to repentance, preparing the way for the coming Messiah.
Clearly, the crowds of people did not go out to see a reed swaying in the wind. This man who chose the rugged desert as his sanctuary would not likely be a weak, fragile or vacillating individual. Rather, the masses anticipated John to be resolute and stalwart. A man such as John would not be expected to be fickle, bowing first this way and then that. Politicians may test the polls before they speak, but a prophet does not consult his congregation before speaking. He gives the message that God has delivered and trusts that the spoken word will have the effect the Lord intended it to have. Religious leaders may test which way the wind is blowing before they speak, but the prophet of the Living God will fearlessly speak the Word of the One who sent him.
Likewise, the people did not go out into the wilderness to see someone dressed in silks and linens. The Greek term μαλακός means “soft” or “delicate to the touch.” It can even carry the connotation of effeminate[3] [cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9]. One did not go into the desert to find people such as those who dressed in delicate clothing and lived in kings’ houses. The point Jesus is making is that the people associated John with the ministry of a prophet both by the clothing he wore and by the harshness of his message.[4] The people were excited by the message of John, for he was truly a prophet.
John was a prophet, and the people indeed saw a prophet. However, Jesus says that John was more than a prophet—He was the fulfilment of prophecy. He was the Forerunner for the Anointed One of God. John was the greatest among the company of the prophets because he actually pointed out the Messiah. He saw the Messiah and initiated the Kingdom of God. Those in the Kingdom of God—those who have been born from above, those who are redeemed and who now worship as Christians—are greater than John in that they know the Christ and have the privilege of proclaiming Him.
Let me make this somewhat personal for you. The point is too important to permit you to miss it. If you are a Christian, if you have faith in the Living Son of God and if you have been born from above, you are greater than John. John was greater than any of the rest of the prophets because he introduced the Christ, having been the first to recognise Him. As a Christian, you are greater than John because you can point to Christ more clearly than could He—you have actually witnessed Christ’s saving work.
John identified the Christ without knowing that the Lord would be crucified and rise from the dead. You have opportunity to point others to the Christ knowing that He was crucified because of your sin and because you know that He has been raised for your justification. In this, you are greater than John the Baptist.
Do you understand what a great position you occupy? Do you actually understand how valuable you are in God’s sight because of this privilege? Can you actually grasp what an awesome privilege is yours—knowing God intimately and being known intimately by God? I suspect that if we really understood our position and our privilege, we would not lightly dismiss the opportunities to tell others of His mercy and of His grace. If we were convinced of the privilege that is ours, wouldn’t we actively seek to bring others to life through pointing them to Christ?
There is another aspect that we must consider in the context of this particular issue of the reaction of the people to John’s message. Focus your attention on the twelfth through the fourteenth verses of our text. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
The interpretation of the twelfth verse is controversial. At issue is whether the Kingdom of Heaven is advancing forcefully or whether forceful men are resisting the Kingdom of Heaven. The English Standard Version appears to adopt the translation that forceful men are resisting the advance of the Kingdom. This is consistent with translations in the lineage of the King James Version of the Bible.[5] Arrayed against this are Bibles representing a dynamic equivalent translation or translations that provide more of a paraphrase, such as the New International Version of the Bible.[6]
Careful study of the original language leads to the conclusion that Jesus was saying that the Kingdom of Heaven was advancing forcefully from the time John began to preach. This same point is also made in Luke 16:16. The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. However, not all the opposition has been swept away, as John expected.
Carson states, “simultaneous with the Kingdom’s advance have been the attacks of violent men on it. That is the very point John could not grasp… The statement is general because it does not refer to just one kind of opposition. It includes Herod’s imprisonment of John … the attacks by Jewish leaders now intensifying … the materialism that craved a political Messiah and the prosperity he would bring but not his righteousness…”[7]
The people were expecting a prophet presaging the Kingdom of a Messiah who would oust the Romans. They were not prepared, nor were John’s disciples prepared, for determined opposition to righteousness. The Kingdom of God was moving forward rapidly, but opposition to that Kingdom was also increasing exponentially. It is not those resisting the advance of the Kingdom who will find rest for their souls, but it is those who submit to the presence of the Messiah—those who are weary and burdened—who will find rest for their souls even as the Kingdom moves forward [see Matthew 11:28-30].
What Were the People Seeking — John jolted the people to attention, but the shock of John’s message did not necessarily lead to understanding. The throngs enjoyed John because he confronted the perfidy of the religious and civic leaders and seemed to promise something better than what the people now enjoyed. However, those same multitudes were unprepared to struggle for righteousness. They were willing to enjoy the benefits of the Faith, but they were unwilling to pay the price required of the Faith.
In verses 16 through 19 Jesus challenged the intellectual dishonesty demonstrated by the masses of people, especially those who were present that day. To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.
The people are compared to spoiled children who will not play regardless of what game is proposed. They will neither dance nor mourn. They don’t like John’s way of teaching, but neither do they like what Jesus does. The Kingdom is advancing, and Jesus here rejects violent terrorist efforts to accomplish the goals of the Kingdom. Likewise, He rejects oppressive authority. Within the Kingdom, there will be freedom and responsibility in dynamic tension.
James Montgomery Boice perceptively provided an appropriate application of these words. “It is no different today, of course. God has many messengers with many varying gifts. Some are powerful speakers who can move a crowd to tears. Others are intellectual; they make a careful case for Christianity and present many powerful proofs of the Gospel. Some teachers are outgoing, talkative, people-oriented. Others are retiring and thoughtful. Some write books. Others lead movements. Still others speak on radio or appear on television. Some are old and teach with the wisdom of their years. Some are young and proclaim the truth with youthful vigour. Some are prophetic. Some are analytic. None of this matters to a generation of determined sinners who say in opposition, ‘This one is too loud. That one is too quiet. This one is too intellectual. That one is too superficial.’”[8]
Don’t let this be true of you. If you hold back from committing yourself to the Faith of Christ the Lord, it is not because this preacher has not declared the message of life in Him; it is because you have refused to accept the truths that have been presented from this pulpit. You are rejecting Jesus as your Saviour and therefore, you are one of those who forcefully resist the advance of the Kingdom in this age. To your eternal misfortune, you shall at the last be held accountable and lose all hope of life and love.
Likewise, if you hold yourself back from openly identifying with the Messiah’s Kingdom, as John taught, it is not because you do not know the truth. It is because your stubborn pride keeps you from submitting to the call for open identification with the Son of God. You stubbornly continue to cling to the hope that an act that your parents performed when you were utterly incapable of making a decision will somehow suffice to secure the blessings of God. That act of your parents, no matter how well intentioned, is an insult to grace and does disservice to the cause of Christ the Lord.
In a similar manner, you who wait to openly unite with a church where you can participate in the labours that Christ our Lord has assigned know that you share in resistance to the advance of His Kingdom. You cannot honour Him so long as you align yourself with those who refuse to do those first things that He expects of His disciples. The call of the Son of God is the call to faith in Him—crucified and raised from the dead. Those who believe are commanded to openly identify with Him in baptism, symbolising their acceptance of His death and resurrection even as they account that their old nature is dead and buried with Him, though they have been raised to a new life. It is anticipated that all within the Kingdom will openly align themselves with a sound, New Testament church and there labour for the advancement of the Kingdom of Heaven.
In San Francisco, working in the Calvary Baptist Church in the Outer Mission District of that city, I pleaded week-by-week with a lovely young lady. She was cultured and sophisticated, a gracious young woman. She assured me that she had made peace with God through receiving Christ as Lord. She believed that He had died because of her sin and that He had risen for her justification. However, she did not believe it necessary to be baptised or to be a member of the congregation in order to be a good Christian.
I assured her that her faith was indeed primary, but nevertheless urged on her the need to obey the divine command to identify with Christ in baptism and the concomitant acceptance of membership in the congregation. I felt compelled to speak with this young woman, and on a certain Sunday following the service I pleaded once again.
Her reaction startled me. “You won’t be happy until you drive me away from this church, will you?” she exploded. I was left speechless as she turned on her heel and strode purposefully away. She was obviously agitated and angry, and I was devastated.
Had I driven her away? Was I wrong to insist upon the truths that are so evident in the Word of God? Should I have pleaded with her so often? All afternoon I was miserable as I prayerfully reviewed my actions and read the Word of God. I was disconsolate at the thought that I was overly aggressive and had perhaps dishonoured Christ the Lord through my persistence.
I went to church that evening. I was somewhat delayed in arriving—I was quite subdued because I was so saddened by the thought that my actions had possibly wounded a fellow child of God. It was our custom at the Calvary Baptist Church to observe baptism immediately prior to the evening service each Sunday. As I entered the auditorium, imagine my surprise as I saw that same young woman standing in the baptistery. She was just preparing to give her testimony of faith.
Her words encouraged me so very greatly. She looked out at the congregation, though she could not see the faces. The auditorium lights were dimmed and the lights were shining brightly into the baptistery. She spoke of her desire to identify with Christ.
“I never considered this baptism important,” she stated. “One man, however, persisted in insisting on my responsibility as a believer to obey Christ. I can’t see him, but I want to thank Mike Stark. He refused to quit even though I resisted and refused to do what I knew to be right. Now, I come to obey Christ and do what is right.”
I confess that it is with genuine fear and in great trepidation that I once again urge you to consider the teaching of the Word of God. Some of you have resisted uniting with this congregation. You have no excuse. I have played the flute and you wouldn’t dance. I have sung a dirge and you won’t mourn. You are insistent that you will do things your way, even though it dishonours Christ and resists the advance of His Kingdom.
Others of you have refused baptism, though you are convinced of the teaching of the Word of God. I cannot know the reasons for your refusal, but I know and you know that the message has been clearly delivered repeatedly—the message that you are responsible to obey the call of the Master.
There are others, and oh, I wish it were not so, but you have never been born from above and into the Kingdom of Heaven. You are perhaps even nice people, but you are condemned because you have not believed the message of life. This is the message I declare week after week.
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].
Scope in with me on the very last words Jesus spoke in this particular pericope, yet wisdom is justified by her deeds. Wisdom is demonstrated through obedience to the command of Him whom we call Lord. Wisdom consists of knowing Him and of honouring Him and of doing those things that He has commanded. To refuse to believe Him is to identify yourself as a fool. To refuse to obey Him is to exclude yourself from the marks of a wise person. May God make each of us wise. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Ó 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] D. A. Carson, Matthew, in Frank E. Gæbelein (ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8 (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1984) 263
[3] James Swanson, A Dictionary of Biblical Languages, Greek New Testament (Logos Research Systems, 1997)
[4] See Craig L. Blomberg, Matthew, Volume 22, The New American Commentary (Broadman Press, Nashville, TN 1992) 186
[5] Among translations adopting this particular interpretive view are the New King James Version, the New American Standard Version, the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version, and the New English Bible.
[6] See, also, the New Century Bible and the New Living Translation of the Bible.
[7] Carson, op. cit. 267-8
[8] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of Matthew: An Expositional Commentary, Volume 1, The King and His Kingdom, Matthew 1-17 (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 2001) 193
[9] D. A. Carson, Matthew, in Frank E. Gæbelein (ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8 (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1984) 263
[10] James Swanson, A Dictionary of Biblical Languages, Greek New Testament (Logos Research Systems, 1997)
[11] See Craig L. Blomberg, Matthew, Volume 22, The New American Commentary (Broadman Press, Nashville, TN 1992) 186
[12] Among translations adopting this particular interpretive view are the New King James Version, the New American Standard Version, the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version, and the New English Bible.
[13] See, also, the New Century Bible and the New Living Translation of the Bible.
[14] Carson, op. cit. 267-8
[15] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of Matthew: An Expositional Commentary, Volume 1, The King and His Kingdom, Matthew 1-17 (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 2001) 193