11:6
(Ver. 6.) And blessed is he who is not scandalized in me. He strikes down the messengers, as will be shown in the following.
11:7
(Verse 7.) But as they were departing, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Look, those who wear soft clothing are in the palaces of kings. If a harsh judgment had been pronounced against John, as many believe, then why is he now being praised so highly? But because the surrounding crowd did not know the mystery of the question, and thought that John doubted about Christ, whom he had pointed out with his finger, so that they would understand that John was not asking for himself, but for his disciples: Why, he said, do you go out into the desert? Is it perhaps to see a man resembling a reed that is carried by every wind, and to have doubts about the one he had previously proclaimed? Or is it possible that he is compelled by the stings of envy against me, and his preaching seeks empty glory, so that he may seek profits from it? Why does he desire riches, so that he may abound in feasts? He feeds on locusts and wild honey. Does he dress in soft clothing? The covering of his body is made of camel hair. Such food and clothing are received in the prison's lodging, and the preaching of truth has such a dwelling. But those who are flatterers and pursue gains, seeking wealth, and abound in pleasures, and dress in soft clothing, they are in the houses of kings. From which it is shown that a strict and austere life and preaching should avoid the courts of kings, and decline the palaces of soft people.
11:8
(Verse 8.) But what did you go out to see, a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. In him, John is greater than the other prophets, because while they had predicted someone who was to come, he pointed to the one who has already come, saying: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. And because to the privilege of being a prophet, John added the reward of baptizing his Lord, it follows that he increased in merits, fulfilling the testimony of Malachi, in which even an angel is prophesied (Mal. II). However, here the term 'angel' cannot be understood as referring to John by nature, but rather by the dignity of his office, that is, as a messenger who announced the coming of the Lord.
11:11
(Verse 11) Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For it does not immediately follow that if others are not greater than him, he is greater than others; but that he has equality with the other saints.
But whoever is lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him. Many want to understand this about the Savior, that whoever is lesser in time is greater in dignity. But let us understand simply: that every saint, who is already with God, is greater than him who still stands in battle. For it is one thing to possess the crown of victory, another to still fight in the battle. Some want to receive the last angel in heaven ministering to the Lord as better than any first man who dwells on earth.
11:12
(V.12) But from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
11:13
(Verse 13) For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. Not that they exclude the prophets after John. For we read in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 11:21) that Agabus and the four virgin daughters of Philip prophesied. But what the Law and the prophets, whose writings we read, prophesied, they prophesied about the Lord. Therefore, when it is said, 'All the prophets and the Law prophesied until John,' it indicates the time of Christ, so that John, who they said would come, would show that he has come.
11:14-15
(Verse 14, 15.) And if you want to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This which was said, if you want to receive it, he is Elijah, signifies a mystical understanding and requires intelligence, as the following words of the Lord demonstrate, saying: He who has ears to hear, let him hear. For if the meaning were clear and the sentiment evident, why would it be necessary for us to be prepared for its understanding? Therefore, John is called Elijah, not according to foolish philosophers and certain heretics, who introduce reincarnation, but because, as another testimony of the Gospel states, he came in the spirit and power of Elijah, he had the same grace or measure of the Holy Spirit. But the austerity of life and the firmness of mind of Elijah and John are equal. For Elijah lived in the desert, and so did John: Elijah wore a leather belt, and so did John. Elijah, because he accused King Ahab and Jezebel of impiety, was forced to flee (3 Kings 19); John, because he accused Herod and Herodias of unlawful marriage, was beheaded. There are those who think that John is called Elijah because just as Elijah is said to precede the second coming of the Savior according to Malachi, and announce the coming Judge, so did John in the first coming; and both are messengers of either the first coming of the Lord, or the second.
11:16-19
(Verse 16 onwards) But to whom shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to their playmates, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' And wisdom is justified by her children. To the boys sitting in the marketplace and shouting and saying to their companions: We sang to you, and you did not dance; we mourned, and you did not weep. The generation of the Jews is compared, the Scripture saying: To what shall I compare this generation? It is like the boys sitting in the marketplace, and so on. Therefore, not to us is attributed free intelligence, and the passive interpretation of allegories: but whatever we are going to say about the boys, it must be referred to the likeness of the generation. You are the children who sit in the forum, of whom Isaiah speaks: Behold, I and the children whom God has given me (Isa. VIII, 18). And in the 18th psalm (Verse 8): The testimony of the Lord is faithful, providing wisdom to the little ones. And elsewhere: Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise (Ps. VIII, 3). Therefore, these children sat in the forum, or ἐν ἀγορᾷ as it is more significantly expressed in Greek, where many things are for sale. And because the people of the Jews did not want to listen, they not only spoke to them, but shouted with full mouths: We have sung to you, and you did not dance; we have provoked you to do good works to our song, and to dance to our pipe, just as David danced before the ark of the Lord (2 Samuel 6), and you did not want to. We have lamented, and we have provoked you to repentance, and you did not want to do this either, rejecting both preaching, both exhortation to virtues and penance after sins. It is not surprising if you have despised the double way of salvation, both the fasting of God and also abundance. If fasting pleases you, why was John displeasing? If feasting, why was the Son of Man displeased? One of them you call possessed by a demon, the other a glutton and a drunkard. But because you did not want to accept both disciplines, wisdom has been justified by her children: that is, by the dispensation and teaching of God. And I, who am the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1), have been proved right by my apostles and sons, to whom the Father has revealed what he had hidden from the wise and prudent among themselves (John 17). In certain Gospels it is read: Wisdom is justified by her works (Luke 7:35). For wisdom does not seek testimony from words, but from actions.
11:20
(Verse 20.) Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. The reproach of the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum is explained by the heading of this chapter. He reproached them because after performing many miracles and signs, they did not repent.
11:21-22
(Verse 21, 22.) Woe to you, Chorazin; woe to you, Bethsaida: for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. Chorazin and Bethsaida, cities of Galilee, are mourned by the Savior because despite the many signs and miracles, they did not repent, and are surpassed by Tyre and Sidon, idolatrous cities given to vice. They are preferred, however, because Tyre and Sidon have only violated natural law, whereas these, after transgressing natural law, have also disregarded the signs that were performed among them. We are inquiring where it is written that the Lord performed signs in Chorazin and Bethsaida. Above, we read: 'And he went through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction' (Matthew 9:35). Therefore, among the other cities and villages, it is to be presumed that the Lord also performed signs in Chorazin and Bethsaida.
11:23
(Verse 23) And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the realm of the dead. In another version, we find: And you, Capernaum, which was exalted to heaven, will descend to the depths. And there are two different understandings. Perhaps you will descend to the depths because you have proudly resisted my preaching. Or perhaps because you, exalted to heaven in my presence and witnessing my signs and miracles, having such privilege, will be punished with greater sufferings for refusing to believe in them as well.
11:23-24
(Vers. 23, 24.) Because if in Sodom (or, as some say, in Sidon) the miracles had been done that have been done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. Let the prudent reader ask and say whether Tyre and Sidon and Sodom could have repented at the preaching of the Savior and the signs of miracles, and it is not their fault that they did not believe, but the sin of silence is in him who did not want to preach repentance to those who would have acted on it. To which the easy and clear answer is: to be ignorant of the judgments of God, and to not know the sacraments of his dispensations. The purpose was for the Lord to not exceed the boundaries of Judea, so as not to give the Pharisees and priests a just occasion for persecution. Therefore, before the passion, he commanded the apostles: Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into the cities of the Samaritans (Matthew 10:5). Therefore, Chorazin and Bethsaida are condemned because they refused to believe in the present Lord. Tyre and Sidon are justified because they believed in his apostles. Do not question the times when you witness the salvation of the believers. However, in Capernaum, which means the most beautiful town, unbelieving Jerusalem is condemned, to whom it is said through Ezekiel: Sodom was justified because of you (Ezek. XVI, 52).