Matthew 11:8

But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(8) A man clothed in soft raiment?-Had they seen, then, one who shared in the luxury, and courted the favour of princes? No, not so, again. They that wear soft clothing, or, as in St. Luke’s report, “they that are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately,” are in kings’ houses. The words had a more pointed reference than at first sight appears. Jewish historians (Jost, Gesch. Jud. I. 259.) record how in the early days of Herod the Great a section of the scribes had attached themselves to his policy and party, and in doing so had laid aside the sombre garments of their order, and had appeared in the gorgeous raiment worn by Herod’s other courtiers. The Herodians of the Gospel history were obviously the successors of these men in policy, and probably also in habits and demeanour; and the reference to “kings’ houses” admits of no other application than to the palace of Antipas. We may trace, with very little hesitation, a vindictive retaliation for these very words in the “gorgeous robe” with which Herod arrayed Him in mockery when the Tetrarch and the Christ stood for one brief hour face to face with each other (Luke 23:11).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:7-15 What Christ said concerning John, was not only for his praise, but for the people's profit. Those who attend on the word will be called to give an account of their improvements. Do we think when the sermon is done, the care is over? No, then the greatest of the care begins. John was a self-denying man, dead to all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense. It becomes people, in all their appearances, to be consistent with their character and their situation. John was a great and good man, yet not perfect; therefore he came short of glorified saints. The least in heaven knows more, loves more, and does more in praising God, and receives more from him, than the greatest in this world. But by the kingdom of heaven here, is rather to be understood the kingdom of grace, the gospel dispensation in its power and purity. What reason we have to be thankful that our lot is cast in the days of the kingdom of heaven, under such advantages of light and love! Multitudes were wrought upon by the ministry of John, and became his disciples. And those strove for a place in this kingdom, that one would think had no right nor title to it, and so seemed to be intruders. It shows us what fervency and zeal are required of all. Self must be denied; the bent, the frame and temper of the mind must be altered. Those who will have an interest in the great salvation, will have it upon any terms, and not think them hard, nor quit their hold without a blessing. The things of God are of great and common concern. God requires no more from us than the right use of the faculties he has given us. People are ignorant, because they will not learn.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Clothed in soft raiment - The kind of raiment here denoted was the light, thin clothing worn by effeminate persons. It was made commonly of fine linen, and was worn chiefly for ornament. Christ asks them whether they were attracted by anything like that. He says that the desert was not the place to expect it. In the palaces of kings, in the court of Herod, it might be expected, but not in the place where John was. This kind of clothing was an emblem of riches, splendor, effeminacy, feebleness of character. He meant to say that John was a man of a different stamp - coarse in his exterior, hardy in his character, firm in his virtue, suited to endure trials and privations, and thus qualified to be the forerunner of the toiling and suffering Messiah.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. Now when John had heard in the prison—For the account of this imprisonment, see on [1261]Mr 6:17-20.

the works of Christ, he sent, &c.—On the whole passage, see on [1262]Lu 7:18-35.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Matthew 11:9".

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But what went ye out for to see?.... Since it cannot be thought it was to see the reeds in the wilderness blow to and fro by the wind, or a man like one of them, either in gesture or doctrine; was it to see

a man clothed in soft raiment? In raiment made of soft materials, as fine wool, cotton, silk, &c. such as Mecaenos wore, and who was therefore called Malacinus (y): one finely dressed, and richly apparelled, draws the eyes of persons to him; but such an one is not to be expected in a wilderness: and if the Jews went to see such a person, they were greatly disappointed; for John's raiment was of camel's hair, undressed, and he had a leathern girdle about his loins; and as for his diet, it was locusts and wild honey: no,

behold they that wear soft clothing, or, as Luke says, are "gorgeously apparelled"; to which he adds,

and live delicately, are in kings' houses, or "courts"; not in a desert, where John came preaching, nor in a prison, where he now was: he was no light, inconstant, flattering person, as generally courtiers are; had he, he would not have been in a prison; it was for his uprightness and faithfulness, in reproving Herod the king, that he was in such a place and condition. Thus from his very garb and diet, his character is vindicated from the charge of levity and change.

(y) Alex. ab Alex. Genial Dier. 1. 5. c. 18.

Geneva Study Bible

But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Matthew 11:8-9. Ἀλλά] no, on the contrary; it is assumed that what has just been asked was not the intention; Hartung, Partikell. II. p. 38. Klotz, ad Devar. p. 13. It seems, from the fact of his sending those messengers, as if John were (1) a man of hesitating, unstable character, Matthew 11:7; or (2) a voluptuary, whose sole concern was how to exchange his condition of hardship for one of luxurious ease, Matthew 11:8. Jesus removes any impression of this sort by appealing to His hearers to consult their own hearts as to what they had expected, and what they had found in John. Certainly they had expected neither a man of fickle mind, nor a voluptuary; but what they had looked for, that they had found in him, namely a prophet (Matthew 21:26), indeed more than a prophet! Accordingly, there is no apparent reason for regarding (Oppenrieder, Zeitschr. f. luth. Theologie, 1856) the clauses containing a statement of the intention as the rhetorical expression of the result (as if the words were τί ἐξελθόντες εἰς τὴν ἔρ. ἐθεάσασθε). But even to find in the negative questions an ironical allusion to the character of the Galileans (Keim), is foreign to the connection, especially as the real motive is given in the third of these questions.

Matthew 11:9. ναί confirms the προφήτην ἰδεῖν which has just been asked (see the critical remarks), and that in accordance with its result: “Certainly, I tell you (you saw a prophet), and more.” περισσότερον is regarded by Erasmus and Fritzsche as masculine (Symmachus, Genesis 49:3 : οὐκ ἔσῃ περισσότερος, excellentior). Nowhere, however, in the New Testament does the simple περισσότερος occur as masculine, and in this instance the interrogative τί tells in favour of its being taken as neuter. Comp. Matthew 12:41 f. Therefore to be rendered: something more (Vulgate: plus) than a prophet,—inasmuch, that is, as he is not only the last and greatest of the prophets, but also because he was sent by God to prepare the way of the Messiah through the preaching and baptism of repentance, Matthew 11:10. In a different sense, viz. as the source, the aim, and the fulfiller of all prophecy, is Christ more than a prophet. Comp. Kleinschmidt, d. typolog. Citate d. vier Evang. p. 45.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Matthew 11:8. ἀλλὰ assumes the negative answer to the previous question and elegantly connects with it the following = “No; well, then, did you, etc.?”—ἐν μαλακοῖς, neuter, ἱματίοις not necessary: in precious garments of any material, silk, woollen, linen; the fine garments suggestive of refinement, luxury, effeminacy.—ἰδοὺ οἱ τ. μ. φοροῦντες: ἰδοὺ points to a well-known truth, serving the same purpose as δή here; those accustomed to wear, φορ., frequentative, as distinct from φέροντες, which would mean bearing without reference to habit.—οἴκοις τ. βασ., in palaces which courtiers frequent. Jesus knows their flexible, superfine ways well; how different from those of the rudely clad and rudely mannered, uncompromising Baptist!

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

8. A man clothed in soft raiment] Mr Plumptre (Smith’s Bib. Dic. i. 1166) suggests that there may be a historical allusion in these words. A certain Menahem, who had been a colleague of the great teacher Hillel, “was tempted by the growing power of Herod, and with a large number of his followers entered the king’s service … they appeared publicly in gorgeous apparel, glittering with gold.” (See Lightfoot, Hor. Hebr., on Matthew 22:16.)

Bengel's Gnomen

Matthew 11:8. Ἀλλὰ, but) The conjunction is employed to show that the preceding hypothesis has been dismissed.—ἐν μαλακοῖς ἱματίοις ἠμφιεσμένον, clothed in soft raiment) They would have wished the forerunner, and the Messiah Himself, to have been such.—τὰ, the) The article refers to the preceding μαλακοῖς.[515]—φοροῦντες, who wear) John, if he had wished it, might have been a courtier.—οἴκοις, houses) Not in the desert or the prison.—τῶν βασιλείων,[516] of palaces) See Esther 4:2. The LXX. have τὰ βασιλεία in Esther 1:9; Esther 2:13.—ΟἾΚΟΙ ΤῶΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΊΩΝ = the halls of the palace.

[515] Thus identifying μαλακὰ with μαλακοῖς ἱματίοις, and showing that the μαλακα “soft things,” now spoken of are, as in E. V., “soft clothing.”—(I. B.)

[516] E. M. has “τοῖς οἴκοις τῶν βασιλέων” which E. V. renders “Kings’ Palaces.”—(I. B.)

The reading τῶν βασιλείων is regarded as equal to the other in the margin of the larger Ed.: but the margin of Ed. 2, as well as the Germ. Vers., prefer βασιλέων.—E. B. All the primary authorities read βασιλέων. But Griesb. and Scholz, with some inferior Uncial MSS., read βασιλείων or βασιλειῶν.—ED.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 8. - Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. Menahem the Essene was by the wish of Herod the Great made deputy to Hillel in the Sanhedrin, but afterwards left his office. "Whither did he go out? Abai said. He went out to destruction. Rabba said, He went out for the service of the king. There is also a Baraitha [i.e. an 'uncanonical' Mishna] to this effect, that Menahem went out for the service of the king, and there went out with him eighty pairs of disciples clothed in Syrian robes" (Talm. Bab., 'Chagigah,' 16b, edit. Streane). It has been conjectured, though hardly on sufficient evidence, that our Lord was thinking of this case; but the Talmudic passage at least illustrates the gorgeousness of the apparel of the courtiers, and suggests the luxury of living that St. Luke speaks of ("They which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts"). It is, however, only fair to Menahem to say that Gratz ('Geschichte der Judaer,' 3. p. 230, edit. 1877) is able to suppose that he merely went back again to his solitude. Matthew 11:8