Matthew 11:2

2 Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples ^[a]

Matthew 11:2 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 11:2

Now when John had heard in the prison
The person here spoken of is John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, who was now in the prison of Machaerus; being put there by Herod, for his reproving him for taking Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; and whilst he was there, an account was brought him by his own disciples, see ( Luke 7:18 ) of

the works of Christ,
the miracles he wrought; as the healing of the centurion's servant, the raising from the dead the widow's son of Nain, and the like; upon hearing of which,

he sent two of his disciples,
who might be the most prejudiced against Christ, because of the increase of his followers, and the decrease of their master's; and because he did not live such an austere life as John did; and who, notwithstanding all that they had heard, and their master had told them of Jesus, were not easily persuaded that he was the true Messiah. Moreover, two of them were sent, both because it was more honourable to Christ, and that they might be proper witnesses of what they saw and heard; and since it was not so much for himself, as for the sake of his disciples, that these messengers were sent.

Matthew 11:2 In-Context

1 After Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

2 Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples

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

4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:

5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

Footnotes

• [a] BYZ and TR he sent two of his disciples