5 k the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers [1] are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and l the poor have good news preached to them.
20 And z he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, a and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for b yours is the kingdom of God.
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Matt. 11:1–12:50 Opposition to the Messiah Emerges. Resistance to Jesus' ministry has appeared occasionally (e.g., 9:3–4) but now begins to build significantly, occasioned first by the innocuous questions of John the Baptist (11:2–19), then through the overt hostility of the Jewish religious leaders (12:1–45).
Matt. 11:1–30 Jesus, John the Baptist, and Ministry in Galilee. Jesus responds to John the Baptist's questions (vv. 2–6) with a mild rebuke and a glowing tribute (vv. 7–19). He then speaks words of judgment on the unrepentant (vv. 20–24) and words of invitation to those who would find their rest in him (vv. 25–30).
Matt. 11:3–5 Are you the one who is to come? John is probably concerned because his present imprisonment does not match his understanding of the Coming One's arrival, which was to bring blessing on those who repented and judgment on those who did not (see note on 3:11). Jesus' ministry, however, is in line with prophetic promises about the time of salvation, as seen especially in these descriptions that recall the words of Isaiah: the blind receive sight (cf. 9:27–31; Isa. 29:18; 35:5), the lame walk (Isa. 35:6; cf. Matt. 15:30–31), lepers are cured (Isa. 53:4; cf. Matt. 8:1–4), the deaf hear (Isa. 29:18–19; 35:5; cf. Mark 7:32–37), the dead are raised (Isa. 26:18–19; cf. Matt. 10:8; Luke 7:11–17; John 11:1–44), and the good news is preached to the poor (Isa. 61:1; cf. Matt. 5:3; Luke 14:13, 21). Jesus' deeds gave sufficient proof of who he was and that the prophesied time of salvation had come (“the year of the Lord's favor”; Isa. 61:1; cf. Isa. 62:1).