John the Baptist, who is in prison, dispatches two of his disciples to confirm Jesus’ identity. He asks the question,”Are you the one who is to come ….?”
As these men were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John:
What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who wear soft clothes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.
Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you’re willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone who has ears listen.
To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to other children:
We played the flute for you,
but you did not dance;
we sang a lament,
but 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, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.
(Matthew 11:2-19)
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