Matthaeus 11
Hoffnung für Alle
11 Nachdem Jesus seinen zwölf Jüngern diese Anweisungen gegeben hatte, zog er weiter, um die Menschen in den Städten des Landes zu lehren und ihnen die rettende Botschaft zu verkünden.
Jesus und Johannes der Täufer (Lukas 7,18‒30)
2 Johannes der Täufer saß zu der Zeit im Gefängnis und erfuhr dort von den Taten, die Jesus Christus vollbrachte. Er schickte seine Jünger zu Jesus und ließ ihn fragen: 3 »Bist du wirklich der Retter, der kommen soll, oder müssen wir auf einen anderen warten?«
4 Jesus antwortete ihnen: »Geht zu Johannes zurück und erzählt ihm, was ihr hört und seht: 5 Blinde sehen, Gelähmte gehen, Aussätzige werden geheilt, Taube hören, Tote werden wieder lebendig, und den Armen wird die rettende Botschaft verkündet. 6 Und sagt ihm: Glücklich schätzen kann sich jeder, der nicht an mir Anstoß nimmt.«
7 Als die Männer wieder gegangen waren, wandte sich Jesus an die Menschen, die sich um ihn versammelt hatten. Dann fing er an, über Johannes zu reden: »Was habt ihr von ihm erwartet, als ihr in die Wüste hinausgegangen seid?«, fragte er. »Wolltet ihr ein Schilfrohr sehen, das bei jedem Windhauch hin- und herschwankt? 8 Oder wolltet ihr einen Mann in vornehmer Kleidung sehen? Dann hättet ihr in die Königspaläste gehen müssen! Dort leben solche Menschen. 9 Oder wolltet ihr einem Propheten begegnen? Ja, Johannes ist ein Prophet, und mehr als das. 10 Er ist der Mann, von dem es in der Heiligen Schrift heißt:
›Ich sende dir meinen Boten voraus, der dein Kommen ankündigt und dir den Weg bereitet.‹[a]
11 Ich versichere euch: Von allen Menschen, die je geboren wurden, ist keiner bedeutender als Johannes der Täufer. Trotzdem ist selbst der Geringste in Gottes himmlischem Reich größer als er. 12 Seit Johannes der Täufer zu wirken begann, ist Gottes himmlisches Reich immer näher gerückt. Bis heute setzt es sich machtvoll durch, auch wenn andere das mit Gewalt verhindern wollen.[b] 13 Das ganze Gesetz und die Propheten bis hin zu Johannes haben auf dieses Reich hingewiesen. 14 Wenn ihr es annehmen könnt, dann begreift doch: Johannes ist Elia, dessen Kommen angekündigt wurde.[c] 15 Wer Ohren hat, der soll auf meine Worte hören!«
Das Urteil von Jesus über seine Zeitgenossen (Lukas 7,31‒35; 10,13‒15)
16 »Wie soll ich die Menschen von heute beschreiben? Sie sind wie Kinder, die sich auf dem Marktplatz streiten und einander vorwerfen:
17 ›Wir haben fröhliche Lieder auf der Flöte gespielt, und ihr habt nicht getanzt. Dann haben wir Klagelieder gesungen, und ihr habt nicht getrauert.‹
18 Johannes kam, fastete oft und trank keinen Wein. Da hieß es: ›Der ist ja von einem Dämon besessen!‹ 19 Nun ist der Menschensohn gekommen, isst und trinkt wie jeder andere, und jetzt heißt es: ›Er frisst und säuft, und seine Freunde sind die Zolleinnehmer und Sünder!‹ Doch wie recht die Weisheit Gottes hat, erweist sich in dem, was sie bewirkt.«
20 Mit scharfen Worten tadelte Jesus dann die Städte, in denen er die meisten Wunder getan hatte und die trotzdem nicht zu Gott umgekehrt waren: 21 »Weh dir, Chorazin! Weh dir, Betsaida! Wenn die Wunder, die ich bei euch getan habe, in den nichtjüdischen Städten Tyrus oder Sidon geschehen wären, dann hätten ihre Einwohner längst Trauerkleider angezogen, sich Asche auf den Kopf gestreut und wären zu Gott umgekehrt! 22 Ich versichere euch: Am Tag des Gerichts wird es Tyrus und Sidon besser ergehen als euch. 23 Und du, Kapernaum, meinst du etwa, du wirst zum Himmel erhoben? Nein, ins Reich der Toten wirst du hinabfahren! Wenn die mächtigen Taten, die du erlebt hast, in Sodom geschehen wären, würde die Stadt noch heute stehen. 24 Du kannst sicher sein: Es wird Sodom am Gerichtstag besser ergehen als dir!«
Die neue Lebensordnung (Lukas 10,21‒22)
25 Zu der Zeit betete Jesus: »Mein Vater, Herr über Himmel und Erde! Ich preise dich, dass du die Wahrheit über dein Reich vor den Klugen und Gebildeten verborgen und sie den Unwissenden enthüllt hast. 26 Ja, Vater, das war dein Wille, so hat es dir gefallen. 27 Mein Vater hat mir alle Macht gegeben. Nur der Vater kennt den Sohn. Und nur der Sohn kennt den Vater und jeder, dem der Sohn ihn offenbaren will.
28 Kommt alle her zu mir, die ihr euch abmüht und unter eurer Last leidet! Ich werde euch Ruhe geben. 29 Vertraut euch meiner Leitung an und lernt von mir, denn ich gehe behutsam mit euch um und sehe auf niemanden herab.[d] Wenn ihr das tut, dann findet ihr Ruhe für euer Leben. 30 Das Joch, das ich euch auflege, ist leicht, und was ich von euch verlange, ist nicht schwer zu erfüllen.«
Footnotes
- 11,10 Maleachi 3,1
- 11,12 Oder: Bis heute wird ihm Gewalt angetan, und andere wollen sein Kommen mit Gewalt verhindern.
- 11,14 Vgl. Maleachi 3,23.
- 11,29 Wörtlich: Nehmt mein Joch auf euch und lernt von mir, denn ich bin sanftmütig und von Herzen demütig. – Der griechische Begriff für »Joch« stand zur damaligen Zeit sinnbildlich für die Deutung des alttestamentlichen Gesetzes durch einen Rabbi.
Matthew 11
EasyEnglish Bible
Jesus talks about John the Baptist
11 Jesus taught all these things to his 12 disciples. After he had finished, he went away from that place. He went to the towns near there to teach his message to people.
2 At that time, John the Baptist was in prison. But people told him about all the things that Jesus the Messiah was doing. So John sent some of his own disciples to ask Jesus some questions.[a] 3 They said to him, ‘John the Baptist wants to know this: Are you the special person that God has promised to send to us? If not, should we still look for someone else?’
4 Jesus replied, ‘Go back to John. Tell him what you have been hearing. Also, tell him what you have been seeing. 5 Blind people can now see again. People who could not walk can now walk again. People who had a bad disease of the skin are now well again. Deaf people can now hear again. People who had died now live again. Poor people are hearing God's good news. 6 If anyone believes in me and does not turn away, he will be really happy.’
7 John's disciples went away again. Jesus spoke to the crowd about John. He said to them, ‘You went out to the wilderness. What did you go there to see? Was it a tall piece of grass which the wind was blowing this way and that? No, you did not go to see that. 8 Did you go to see a man who was wearing expensive clothes? No! People like that do not live in the wilderness. They live in kings' great houses. 9 So what did you go to see? Did you go to see a prophet sent by God? Yes! But I tell you, John was even more important than a prophet. 10 This is what someone wrote about him a long time ago in the Bible. God said:
“Listen! I will send someone to go in front of you.
He will speak my message.
He will prepare a way for you.” ’[b]
11 Jesus then said, ‘I tell you this: John the Baptist is greater than any person who has ever lived until now. But now, anyone who belongs in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. Even the least important of them is greater than he is.[c] 12 From the time that John the Baptist began to teach until now, the kingdom of heaven is becoming very strong. Strong people are trying very much to attack it. 13 All the prophets and the books of the Law spoke God's message until the time that John the Baptist came. 14 The prophets wrote about Elijah. They said he would come again, to prepare for the Messiah. They were writing about John, and you should believe their message. 15 You have ears, so listen well to what I say!’
16 Jesus said, ‘I will talk to you about the people who are alive today. They are like children who are sitting in the market place. They are playing games and they shout to other children,
17 “We made happy music on a flute for you,
but you did not dance.
We sang a sad song but you did not cry.”
18 People today are like those children. John the Baptist did not eat ordinary food. He never drank wine. So people say that he has a bad spirit in him. 19 Then I, the Son of Man, came. I eat meals with other people and I drink wine. So people say about me, “Look at him! He eats too much and he drinks too much. He is a friend of bad people and men who take taxes from people.” God is wise. The good things that he does show that he is right.’[d]
20 In some of the cities Jesus had done many powerful things. But some people in those cities did not want to stop doing wrong things. They did not want to change how they lived. So Jesus spoke against those people. 21 He said to them, ‘You people in Chorazin, it will be very bad for you! And it will be very bad for you, people in Bethsaida. I have done great and powerful things in your cities. If I had done such great things in Tyre and in Sidon, the people there would have changed how they lived. They would have shown they were sorry for their sins. They would have put on clothes made from goat's hair. They would also have put ashes on their heads. 22 Yes, when God judges everyone, he will punish the people from Tyre and Sidon. But he will punish much more you people from Chorazin and Bethsaida. 23 And what will happen to you people in Capernaum? You think that God will lift you up to heaven, do you? No! He will throw you down to Hades, the place for dead people. I did powerful things in your town. If I had done these powerful things in Sodom, it would still be there today. 24 I tell you this. When God judges everyone, he will punish the people from Sodom. But he will punish you people much more!’[e]
25 At this moment, Jesus said, ‘Father, you rule over everything in heaven and on the earth! People who do not know many things can now understand your message. And so I thank you. But you have hidden these things from some other people. Those people think that they understand everything. They think that they are wise. 26 Yes, Father, this is how you wanted it to happen.
27 My Father has given me authority over all things. Only the Father really knows me, his Son. Only I really know my Father, because I am his Son. I also choose to tell some people about him. Then they also know him.
28 Come to me all of you who are tired. You are like people who have worked for a long time. You are like people who have carried heavy things. Come to me. If you do that, you will find a place to rest. 29 Do what I teach you to do. Listen to my message and learn from me what is true. I am very kind and I do not make myself important. I will help you. Then you will have peace in your mind. 30 I will not tell you to do things that are too difficult. I will not tell you to carry anything that is too heavy for you.’
Footnotes
- 11:2 John was alone in prison. He had trouble in his mind. He was thinking about Jesus. Everyone was waiting for God to send a special person. John had told everyone about that person. He thought that Jesus was that person. But now he was not sure. So he sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus who he was.
- 11:10 See Malachi 3:1. John the Baptist was a very important man. He brought a message from God. He told all the people that Jesus was coming soon. God had promised that he would send a special person to save them.
- 11:11 The people who believed John's message about Jesus now knew God as their king. They are in the kingdom of God. This means that they are very important to God. They are all even more important than John was.
- 11:19 John and Jesus were very different. But they both lived as God wanted them to live. The Pharisees thought about themselves as men who understood God's word. But they would not agree with either John or Jesus.
- 11:24 One day, God will punish those people who do wrong things. Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum were towns and cities in Israel. The people in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum had heard Jesus speak. But they did not believe him. The people in Sodom had never seen Jesus or heard his message. God will punish the people who refuse his message more than those who have not heard it.
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