² Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples
³ and said to him, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?"
⁴ And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see:
⁵ the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
⁶ And blessed is he who takes no offense at me."
⁷ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind?
⁸ Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings' houses.
⁹ Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
¹⁰ This is he of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.'
¹¹ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

• The three sentences in 11:7-9 use a negating format to emphasize a point. First, the bold John is very different from a flimsy reed. Second, the simple and ascetic John is definitely not luxuriously clothed. Thus third, John is very different from a typical prophet, and this is the main point. What makes John so different, to underscore the point that there had not been anyone greater than John, is that he prepares the way of the Lord. That makes the Lord and those who followed Him even greater.
• John knew that Jesus was Christ, but he still could not figure Jesus out. First he wondered why Jesus wanted to be baptized, now he wondered why Jesus has not done anything significant, like striking down sinners and freeing the oppressed.
• "The blind receive their sight:" The Old Testament stated that the Messiah would heal the blind. Jesus is the only one in all of the Old and New Testaments to heal the blind, and it is the most frequent healing miracle of Jesus.
• "Lepers are cleansed:" Leprosy was a defilement that has to be cleansed in addition to being cured.
• "The poor have good news preached to them:" This is the last item, and the climax, echoing the beatitude in Mt 5:3.
• Favoring the poor has always been countercultural, and may not be what people expect of the savior. Therefore, " blessed is he who takes no offense in me."

THE GREATEST
John is the greatest. It is hard for these people to believe that one of them could be greater than Abraham, Moses, David, etc. How is it possible? Because he prepares for Christ. So naturally the people that Christ blesses would be even greater, and become the new greatest. Who are these? They are the poor, because God preaches to them the good news. Jesus turns the world completely upside down. No wonder even John could not understand.

1. Jesus said, "Tell John what you hear and see." What do I hear and see? What does Jesus say and do? How do people react? What do I react in thoughts, feelings, and actions?
2. Do I believe that Jesus' kingdom is the greatest? What is so great about it? Can I see the greatest of God's kingdom in my daily life?
3. How am I poor, or not? How is Jesus' good news so great for the poor?

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A synthesis by the Vietnamese Christian Life (Dong Hanh) Community