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And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Matthew 21:11 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB The multitudes said, “This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
  • KJV And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
  • BSB The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
  • NKJV So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
  • NASB And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

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

The crowds answer that this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. Their reply is true but falls short of his full identity as Messiah and Lord.

Overview

The crowds identify Jesus as 'the prophet' from Nazareth, an honorable but incomplete confession. While Jesus is indeed a prophet, he is far more—the Son of David and Son of God. The partial answer highlights how easily people honor Jesus without grasping the fullness of who he is.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • John 6:14When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.”
  • Luke 7:16Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!”
  • John 7:40Many of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, “This is truly the prophet.”
  • Matt 2:23and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
  • Acts 7:37This is that Moses, who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord our God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me.’
  • Deut 18:15–19Yahweh your God will raise up to you a prophet from among you, of your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him.
  • John 9:17Therefore they asked the blind man again, “What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
  • John 1:21They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”
  • Acts 3:22–23For Moses indeed said to the fathers, ‘The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him in all things whatever he says to you.
  • Matt 16:13–14Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
  • John 4:19The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
  • Mark 6:15But others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, or like one of the prophets.”
  • John 1:45–46Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
  • Luke 24:19He said to them, “What things?” They said to him, “The things concerning Jesus, the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people;
  • John 1:25They asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
  • Luke 13:33Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.’
  • Luke 7:39Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what kind of woman this is who touches him, that she is a sinner.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 21:11YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 21:11 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.