The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel’s Messiah, Part 7: Matthew 8 – 11:5, by Kevin M. Williams

Ultimately, we come back around to where we began. We opened with Luke 7:22. We end on the same note in Matthew 11:1-5:

Now when John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples, and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

Here is what Dr. David Stern says in the Jewish New Testament Commentary (p.42, parenthesis mine):

Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptist), apparently discouraged by being put in prison after having announced Yeshua as the Messiah, asks, “Are you the one who is to come?”—the one who will put an end to political oppression and get me out of jail? The question is in code, for the phrase, “the one who is to come,” would be clear only to those acquainted with Yochanan’s teaching. Had they asked, “Are you the Messiah?” it would have been more difficult for Yeshua to send an answer to Yochanan without revealing his identity, which he was not yet wanting to do.

We already know that the Pharisees and Scribes are following and examining Yeshua—His theology and His ministry. If John’s messenger had bluntly asked, “Are you the Messiah?” Yeshua’s answer may have gotten Him prematurely jailed. As it was, we had a “code,” one of the secret codes of the gospel of Matthew we have been examining.

We also see that at this time, the will of the Father was not to overthrow the yoke of political oppression, but something of a personal nature, changing the hearts and souls of men. Yeshua’s answer was not the politically correct one, but it was the biblically correct answer for His first coming. “Report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

Yeshua’s answer is also in code. He refers to the prophecies in the book of Isaiah of six signs which the Messiah will give when he comes: he will make the blind see (Is. 29:18, 35:5), make the lame walk (Is. 35:6, 61:1), cleanse lepers (Is. 61:1), make the deaf hear (Is. 20:18, 35:5), raise the dead (implied in is 11:1-2 but not made specific), and evangelize the poor (Is. 61:1-2). Since he has done all these things (Chapters 8-9), the message should be clear: Yeshua is the one, Yochanan need not look for another.²

Men are empire builders and perhaps it seems natural to us that the Messiah would be an empire builder as well. But for Yeshua, who already had the cattle on a thousand hills, through whom the entire creation came into being, He had the confidence of one who already owned it all. He was not concerned with the yoke of oppression of Rome, but of the yoke of tyranny of sin and the curse of death. His answer may not have delighted John—or us if we had been there—but it was the right answer nonetheless.

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In the next issue, Part Eight, we shall examine chapters 11-12 seeing that Yeshua’s covert message, that He is the Messiah will be continued, along with an examination of what some consider to be some very strong, anti-Semitic comments. Was Yeshua an anti-Semite?

Bibliography

Jewish New Testament Commentary, by David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Publications, Jerusalem, Israel, 1992.

All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise noted.

Endnotes
¹ In the previous section, we discussed Yeshua’s relationship to the Torah. If He had, in fact come to annul the Law, this was a great opportunity to make that message clear. Instead, He carefully reminds the man previously known as a leper to “but go, show yourself to the priest, and present the offering that Moses commanded.”
² Jewish New Testament Commentary, by David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Publications, Jerusalem, Israel, 1992, p. 42.

Tags: bible commentary, codes, Kevin M. Williams, matthew, messiah, secret

Category: Biblical Studies, Fall 2002, Pneuma Review