Matthew 11:1

And {1} it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of {a} commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in {b} their cities. (1) Christ shows by his works that he is the promised Messiah. (a) Of instructing them with precepts. (b) The disciples' cities, that is to say, in Galilee, where many of them were born; Ac 2:7.

Matthew 11:1 . When Jesus had made an end of commanding, that is, of giving instruction to his twelve disciples, and thereby of preparing them for the service they were now to undertake, he departed to teach and preach in their cities — The other cities of Israel, being unwearied and constant in his great work.

Matthew 11:1 . ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν διατάσσων . The participle here with a verb signifying to cease as often with verbs signifying to begin, continue, persevere, etc., vide Goodwin, § 879. ἐκεῖθεν , from that place, the place where the mission was given to the Twelve. Where that was we do not know; probably in some place of retirement (dans la retraite, Lutteroth).— πόλεσιν αὐτῶν : the pronoun does not refer to the disciples ( μαθηταῖς ) as Fritzsche thinks, but to the people of Galilee. While He sent out the Twelve to preach, He continued preaching Himself, only avoiding the places they visited, “giving room to them and time to do their work, for, with Him present and healing, no one would have cared to go near them,” Chrysos., Hom. 36.

XI. (1) He departed thence—i.e., from the place from which He had sent forth the Twelve. Where this was St. Matthew does not tell us, but Matthew 9:36 makes it probable that it was not in Capernaum nor any other city, but from some spot in the open country where He had rested with them. Their return is narrated, or at least implied, in Matthew 11:25, and hence we must infer that the messengers of the Baptist arrived while He was carrying on His work without them. Their cities might seem grammatically to point to the towns where the Twelve had been, or to which they belonged; but it is probable that it was used here vaguely for the cities of Galilee in general.

CHAPTER 11 Mt 11:1-19. The Imprisoned Baptist's Message to His Master—The Reply, and Discourse, on the Departure of the Messengers, Regarding John and His Mission. ( = Lu 7:18-35). 1. And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciple—rather, "the twelve disciples," he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities—This was scarcely a fourth circuit—if we may judge from the less formal way in which it was expressed—but, perhaps, a set of visits paid to certain places, either not reached at all before, or too rapidly passed through, in order to fill up the time till the return of the Twelve. As to their labors, nothing is said of them by our Evangelist. But Luke (Lu 9:6) says, "They departed, and went through, the towns," or "villages," "preaching the Gospel, and healing everywhere." Mark (Mr 6:12, 13), as usual, is more explicit: "And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils (demons) and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them." Though this "anointing with oil" was not mentioned in our Lord's instructions—at least in any of the records of them—we know it to have been practiced long after this in the apostolic Church (see Jas 5:14, and compare Mr 6:12, 13)—not medicinally, but as a sign of the healing virtue which was communicated by their hands, and a symbol of something still more precious.

It was unction, indeed, but, as Bengel remarks, it was something very different from what Romanists call extreme unction. He adds, what is very probable, that they do not appear to have carried the oil about with them, but, as the Jews used oil as a medicine, to have employed it just as they found it with the sick, in their own higher way.Matthew 11:2-6 John sendeth his disciples to Christ.Matthew 11:7-15 Christ’s testimony concerning John.Matthew 11:16-19 The perverse judgments of the people concerning bothJohn and Christ.Matthew 11:20-24 Christ upbraideth the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida,and Capernaum with their long unfruitfulness andimpenitency.Matthew 11:25-27 He thanks the Father for revealing his gospel to thesimple only,Matthew 11:28-30 and invites the weary to partake of his rest. We never find our Saviour idle, but continually going up and down doing good, and we find him most intent upon preaching and teaching, which doubtless is the great work of the ministers of the gospel; of what quality soever they be, they call pretend to no higher than Christ’s. Nor did our Saviour think it enough to send others in his stead, as his curates, he went himself. Luke notes, Luke 10:1, that he sent the seventy, two by two, into every city whither himself was to follow; so as it seems he did not judge it enough that one proclamation of the gospel should be made to them.

Matthew 11:1 . Ἐτέλεσεν , concluded ) Our Lord did nothing abruptly. See Gnomon on ch. Matthew 26:1 ; and Luke 7:1 .— κηρύσσειν , to preach ) sc. everywhere. Cf. John 3:2 , etc.[507]— αὐτῶν , of them ) the Israelites [the people, namely, who were deserving of His ‘compassion,’ ch. Matthew 9:36 .—V. g.] [507] The verb διδάσκειν implies private instruction, as κηρύσσειν implies public instruction.—V. g.

Matthew 11:1 . Ἐκεῖθεν ] from where the sending out of the apostles took place. It is impossible to define the locality further; at all events Capernaum is not intended, but some open space ( Matthew 9:36 ) on the road, along which Jesus was at that time prosecuting His journey through Galilee ( Matthew 9:35 ). Whilst the Twelve were out on their missionary tour, Jesus continued His labours by Himself; and it was during this interval also that He was visited by the messengers from the Baptist. Where these latter happened to find Him, it is impossible to say. For the return of the Twelve, see note on Matthew 11:25 . αὐτῶν ] in the towns of those to whom He came ( the Galileans ). Comp. Matthew 4:23 , Matthew 9:35 , Matthew 12:9 . Fritzsche refers αὐτῶν to the apostles: in which the apostles had already published the knowledge of the kingdom . Incorrectly, for the μετέβη , κ . τ . λ ., follows at once and immediately upon the conclusion of the instructions to the Twelve. On the following section, see Wieseler in the Göttingen Vierteljahrschr . 1845, p. 197 ff.; Gams, Joh. d. T. im Gefängn . 1853; Gademann, in d. Luth. Zeitschr . 1852, 4; Grote, ibid . 1857, 3, p. 518 ff. Comp. also Erlang. Zeitschr . 1857, p. 167 ff.; Keim, II. p. 355 ff.