Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples
Parallel translations
- WEB Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
- KJV Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
- NKJV And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
- NASB Now while in prison, John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples,
- NLT John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,
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
Imprisoned John the Baptist hears of Christ's works and sends disciples to question Him. His inquiry sets up Jesus' testimony about Himself and John.
Overview
John, now jailed by Herod (Matt. 14:3-4), hears reports of 'the works of Christ' and sends messengers to Jesus. The scene introduces a key passage on Jesus' identity and John's role. That even the great forerunner sought reassurance shows the honesty of Scripture and the trials faith can face in dark circumstances.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Mark 6:17For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.
- Matt 14:3Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
- Matt 4:12When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee.
- Luke 7:18–35Then John’s disciples informed him about all these things.
- Matt 9:14At that time John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
- Acts 19:1–3While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples
- John 4:1When Jesus realized that the Pharisees were aware He was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John
- John 3:24–28(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)
- Luke 3:19But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done,
- Matt 1:17In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
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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 11:2 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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