4
Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—
5
the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.
6
And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me. ’”
7
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind?
8
Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces.
9
Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet.
10
John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’
11
“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!
12
And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.
13
For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.
14
And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come.