11 After teaching these instructions to his twelve disciples, Jesus went out to teach and preach in the cities of Galilee.

Doubts of John the Baptist

2 When John heard in prison about the works that Christ was doing, he sent his disciples[111] 3 to ask him: "Are you the one who was to come, or are we waiting for another?"

4 Jesus answered them: "Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the deaf hear, and the lame walk; you see the lepers cleansed, the dead resurrected, and that the Good News is proclaimed to the needy. 6And blessed is he who finds nothing in Me that can confuse and repel him."

Higher than the Prophet

7When John's disciples had departed, Jesus turned to the multitude and spoke of John: "What did you want to see when you went into the wilderness? Isn't it a reed that sways in the wind? 8What then did you go to see? A man in splendid[112] clothes? But those who are in splendid clothes, they are in the royal palaces. 9Why then did you go? To see the prophet[113]? Of course he is, but I tell you, he is much more than a prophet. 10He is the one of whom the Scriptures say:

"Behold, ahead of Thee

I am sending my messenger,[114] and I am sending a messenger;

he will prepare Thy way before Thee"[115]b.

11 Believe me, among all those born of women, there was none greater than John the Baptist; but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12From the days of John the Baptist to the present day, the kingdom of heaven has been taken by force, and men have sought to possess it by their own efforts. 13But the prophecies of all the prophets and the Law led to John,117 14 and he, if you want to know, is Elijah who was to come.118 15Whoever has ears, let him hear!

16People of the present generation—with whom shall I compare them? With those children who sit in the market square and reproach each other 17:

"We played the pipe for you,

but you did not dance;

We sang funeral songs,