Matthew 11

₁When Jesus finished talking to his disciples, He went to the towns and cities in Galilee and He started to teach the people and preach to them. ₂John the Baptist was in jail and they told him what Christ was doing. John sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him: ₃‘Are You the Christ, the One we are waiting for? Or must we wait for another Person?’

₄Jesus said to them: ‘Go back to John and tell him what you hear and what you see. ₅Tell him: Blind people can now see, people who could not walk can now walk, lepers are healed, deaf people can hear, people who have died live again and poor people hear the Good_News that Jesus is the Christ. ₆And tell him: God will bless every person who does not doubt but keeps on believing in Me.’

₇John's disciples went back to him. Then Jesus told the people something about John. Jesus said: ‘You went to see John when he was in the desert. What did you think you would see? Did you think you would see a person bowing like a reed in the wind? No. ₈Did you think you would see a rich man who has beautiful and expensive clothes? No. The people who wear beautiful clothes, that cost a lot of money, live in a king's palace. ₉What did you think you would see? A prophet? Yes. I tell you: You saw more than a prophet. ₁₀God talked about John in the Old_Testament when He said:

₁₁I tell you this and it is sure: There is no person who is more important than John the Baptist, not one of all the people who are born on the earth. But where God in heaven rules, all the people are more important than John the Baptist, even the people who are the most unimportant. ₁₂John the Baptist started to preach in the desert. And from then until now, people rebel_against God in heaven who rules over all. They want to be kings themselves. ₁₃All the books of the prophets and of Moses said what would happen until the time when John came. ₁₄If you believe what the prophets said, then you will know that John the Baptist was Elijah who had to come. ₁₅If anyone can understand what I say, he must do what I tell him.’

₁₆Jesus said: ‘What can I say of the people who live today? You are like children sitting on the market place ₁₇and you say to the other children:

And the other children say:

₁₈The people did the same to John and Me. John the Baptist did not drink wine and he often fasted and you said: “There is a devil in John.” ₁₉Now I, the Son of man, eat and drink and you say: “He eats too much. He drinks too much. He is a friend of tax-collectors. He is a friend of sinners.” The things that I do, and that John did, show that we come from God. People who believe in Me, and in what John said, really know what wisdom from God is.’

₂₀In the towns where Jesus did most of his miracles, the people did not want to turn their lives to God and do what He wanted. Then Jesus got angry and He said to them: ₂₁‘You, people of the town of Chorazin, you will suffer. You, people of Bethsaida, you will suffer too. If I had done the same miracles in the towns of Tyre and Sidon, those people would have turned their lives to God. They would have worn sack-cloth and shown that they were sorry. They would have shown that they had turned their lives to God and started to live as He wanted. ₂₂I tell you: On the day when God judges everyone, He will punish you more than He will punish the people of the towns of Tyre and Sidon. ₂₃And you, people of the town of Capernaum, you think that God will lift you up and take you to heaven. No. He will humiliate you and throw you down into hell. I have done a lot of miracles for you. If I had done the same miracles in Sodom, they would have turned to God and started to live as He wanted. And then Sodom would still have been here today. ₂₄But I tell you: On the day when God comes to judge, He will punish you more than He will punish the people of Sodom.’

₂₅Then Jesus prayed. He said: ‘Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank You because You have helped people who are like children to understand your words and signs. But smart and clever people do not understand your words, because You have not helped them to understand. ₂₆Yes, Father, You did this because You wanted to do it.’

₂₇Jesus said: ‘My Father has given Me everything. No one really knows Me, the Son of God. Only the Father really knows Me. And no one really knows the Father. Only I, the Son of God, really know the Father. And who knows the Father? I choose who may know the Father and only those people will know the Father, no one else.

₂₈Come to Me, all of you who work hard and are suffering because you want to do what the laws of Moses say. I will help you so you can rest. ₂₉You must listen to what I teach you and you must do it, because I have a soft heart and I am friendly. Do what I say and you will always rest and be with Me. ₃₀The laws that I give you are not difficult to do and if you follow Me, you will not suffer.’