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,

but you did not cry."

18For when John came, he did not eat or drink, and they said, "He has a demon in him." 19And the Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they said, "Behold, a man who loves to eat and drink wine, and is friends with tax collectors and sinners." But wisdom is justified by its works[119]."

Woe to the unrepentant

20Then Jesus rebuked the cities in which he had performed many of his miracles for not repenting: 21"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If in Tyre, in Sidon, they had seen the miracles that have happened among you, they would have repented long ago, dressed in sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on their heads. 22 And I say unto you, Sidon and Tyre shall have it easier on the Day of Judgment than unto you. 23And you, Capernaum, think that they will exalt you to heaven? No. You will be cast down to hell. For if in Sodom the miracles that were done in you were performed, it would stand even now; 24I say to you, it will be easier for the land of Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you."

Christ's Attention to the Small and the Simple

25Then Jesus said: "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden all these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them as simple as children. 26Yes, Father, for it has pleased Thee!

27All things have been entrusted to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. neither does anyone know the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wants to reveal.