The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (30 page)

10:42 these little ones:
i.e., the apostles. They must rely on the hospitality of others for daily necessities during their mission (11:9-11). Service rendered to them is service to Jesus himself (11:40; 25:34-36). Children are elsewhere used as examples in Jesus' teaching on faith in 18:1-4 and 19:13-15. 
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11:2 deeds of the Christ:
i.e., the works and credentials of the awaited Messiah. Jesus performs messianic signs in Galilee in chaps. 8-9 (11:5). His works stir such great public interest that
John
hears of his ministry even in
prison.
 
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11:5 the blind . . . the lame . . . lepers:
Jesus' miracles recall Isaian prophecy and link him with an agent of God's healing (Is 26:19; 29:18; 35:4-6; 61:1-2; CCC 549).
See note on Mt 8:17
. 
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11:7 A reed shaken . . . ?:
John is not swayed by earthly comforts or diverted from the path of discipline. 
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11:10 Behold, I send:
John the Baptist's ministry recalls Mal 3:1 (Sir 48:9-10). As in Is 40:3 (Mt 3:3), this
messenger
is also the Lord's forerunner. • Malachi's prophesies associate the Lord's forerunner with Elijah, the great prophet of the OT (Mal 4:5). Jesus views John as this prophet, who preaches repentance to Israel in the "spirit" of Elijah (Lk 1:17) and offers God's faithful remnant a final opportunity for salvation (11:15). Even John's clothing recalls Elijah's distinctive dress.
See note on Mt 3:1
. 
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11:11 no one greater:
John is the greatest OT prophet (11:9). In the New Covenant, however, even the least NT saint outshines the most illustrious saints of old. These prophets looked ahead to the New Covenant but did not share fully in its blessings (13:17; 1 Pet 1:10-12). Jesus thus contrasts the Old and New Covenants; he does not undermine the saintly life of John (CCC 523, 719). 
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11:12 suffered violence:
Notoriously obscure. Some interpret the word
violence
as a reference to asceticism. In this case, it is those who discipline themselves by prayer and fasting who seize hold of the kingdom. From a historical viewpoint, it seems likely that Jesus is referring to the onset of the "messianic woes". This was the Jewish expectation that the kingdom of God would come during a time of intense tribulation and distress. These days would witness mass apostasy, rampant lawlessness, and a violent persecution of the saints. John the Baptist, executed for his witness to the Messiah (14:10), is the first of the faithful to perish with the arrival of these woeful days. Jesus will suffer the same violence (20:18-19), as will his disciples (10:17-18, 23; 24:9). 
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11:17
Jesus exposes the excuses of his contemporaries. The children's song highlights both the joyousness of a wedding
(We piped)
reflected in Jesus' ministry (11:19; 9:15), and the solemnity of a funeral
(we wailed)
reflected in John's ministry of penance. The unbelievers of Jesus' generation (11:16) refuse invitations to embrace the kingdom. 
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11:19 a glutton and a drunkard:
Jesus is accused of dangerous and irreligious behavior. • Many viewed Jesus as a "stubborn and rebellious" son, in accordance with Deut 21:20. Evoking the context of this OT verse, they implied that Jesus should be killed (Deut 21:21).
wisdom . . . her deeds:
Recalls OT traditions that personify wisdom (Prov 8-9; Wis 7:22-8:21; Sir 51:13-30). Jesus transfers these to himself in light of his messianic signs (11:1-5). Paul similarly regards Jesus as "our wisdom" (1 Cor 1:30).
See note on Mt 11:28-30
. 
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11:21 Chorazin . . . Bethsaida:
Two cities north of the Sea of Galilee. Both are within five miles of Jesus' home in Capernaum, and both are unresponsive to his ministry. Privileged by Jesus' presence and works, they bear greater guilt for rejecting him than the Gentile cities of
Tyre and Sidon,
north of Palestine on the coast of Phoenicia (cf. Lk 12:48). 
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11:23 Capernaum:
Jesus' home during his Galilean ministry (4:13). Like his childhood home of Nazareth, this city too rejects Jesus and his works (13:53-58; Lk 4:1630). • Jesus' rebuke upon the city recalls God's judgment on the king of Babylon in Is 14:13-15. •
Morally:
Capernaum signifies the soul that receives Christ but falls into mortal sin. Because Christ dwelt there, the fallen-away and prideful soul is subject to harsher judgment (2 Pet 2:20-22; CCC 678).
Sodom:
The city destroyed by God in Gen 19:24-25. It was a proverbial OT example of sexual sin and inhospitality that called down God's wrath (Is 1:9; Jer 23:14; Ezek 16:44-46; Amos 4:11). 
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11:25-27
Jesus' thanksgiving prayer stands in contrast to kilkJ the preceding narrative (11:20-24). While several towns reject Christ, there is a remnant (including the disciples) who trust him with the simplicity of
infants
(11:25; cf. 18:1-4; 19:13-15). Jesus' language is similar to several statements in John's Gospel that articulate his unique relationship with the Father (Jn 3:35; 10:14-15; 17:25). • The intimacy between the Father and Son points to their oneness within the Blessed Trinity—i.e., their shared divine knowledge implies a shared divine nature. 
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11:28-30
Jesus invites disciples to follow and learn from him as the model of perfect obedience to the Father (11:27; CCC 520). • Jesus evokes "wisdom's" invitation to the humble in the OT. In Sir 51, wisdom calls "Draw near to me" (51:23), "put your neck under the yoke" (51:26), and "see with your eyes that I have labored little and found for myself much rest" (51:27). These parallels reinforce Jesus' self-identification as "wisdom" in 11:19. 
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11:29 you will find rest:
Jesus' invitation cues the following controversies regarding the spiritual significance of the Sabbath (12:1-14). While the Old Covenant celebration of the Sabbath centered on earthly rest from earthly labor (Ex 20:811), Jesus offers heavenly rest in the New (Heb 4:1-11). 
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12:2 not lawful . . . on the sabbath:
The Pharisees charge the disciples with violating Ex 34:21, which forbids harvesting on the Sabbath. Although Deut 23:25 differentiates between plucking grain and harvesting it, the Pharisees forbade even plucking grain by a rigid extension of the Exodus prohibition. •
Allegorically
(St. Hilary,
In Matt.
12, 2): Christ's passing through the field signifies his passing into the world through the Incarnation. The standing grain is the harvest of souls ready to believe in the gospel and be gathered into the Church by the hungry disciples. 
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