For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
Parallel translations
- WEB For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
- BSB For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
- NKJV For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
- NASB For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
- NLT For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John's austere lifestyle led critics to claim he was demon-possessed. They dismissed his ascetic ministry rather than repent.
Overview
John came as an ascetic, fasting and abstaining, and his opponents slandered him as having a demon. This illustrates the marketplace parable: they rejected his 'mournful' call. The verse shows how unbelief twists even holy self-denial into grounds for accusation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Matt 3:4And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
- Luke 1:15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
- John 10:20And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
- Matt 10:25It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
- John 8:48Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
- Jer 15:17I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
- Hos 9:7The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.
- John 7:20The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?
- 2 Kgs 9:11Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication.
- Jer 29:26The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.
- Jer 16:8–9Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.
- Acts 26:24And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.
- 1 Cor 9:27But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 11:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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