Texts in Conversation
In Matthew 11, Jesus asks if John the Baptist is a reed shaken by the wind, using a common metaphor found throughout Jewish tradition, such as 3 Maccabees, where a king is shaken like a reed as a sign of judgment.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
3 Maccabees 2:22
Deuterocanon
20 Let your mercies quickly go before us. Grant us peace, that the downcast and broken hearted may praise you with their mouth.” 21 At that time God, who sees all things, who is beyond all Holy among the holy, heard that prayer, so suitable, and scourged the man who was greatly uplifted with scorn and insolence. 22 Shaking him back and forth as a reed is shaken with the wind, he threw him down on the pavement, powerless, with limbs paralyzed, and by a righteous judgment deprived of the ability to speak. 23 His friends and bodyguards, seeing the swift recompense which had suddenly overtaken him, struck with exceeding terror, and fearing that he would die, speedily removed him. 24 When in course of time he had come to himself, this severe punishment caused no repentance within him, but he departed with bitter threatenings.
Date: 100 BCE – 70 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Matthew 11:7
New Testament
5 The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them 6 —and blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me!” 7 While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Look, those who wear soft clothing are in the palaces of kings! 9 What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet!
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... After John's disciples leave, Jesus begins to address the crowd that was present and was perhaps puzzling over the dialogue they had just heard. He began by asking them a question about John, followed by two follow up questions. His initial question sought to obtain their opinion of John the Baptist and the follow-up questions focus on John the Baptist's identity. The first follow up question κάλαμον ὑπὸ ἀνέμου σαλευόμενον; gives a vivid metaphor and has four common interpretations. First, it could refer to someone who is easily swayed by public opinion. (The image was often used this way by Rabbis. See also 1 Kings 14:15; 2 Kings 18:21; 3 Maccabees 2:22) Second, it could refer simply to the scenery around the Jordan as if to suggest mockingly that the crowds may have ventured into the wilderness for some sight-seeing or some everyday task. Third, it could be a cryptic reference to Herod Antipas who took the κάλαμος as his symbol and minted it onto coins. Finally, it could refer to the crowd’s hope for a sign of the new exodus and be a reference to the sea of reeds that God split in two before Moses and Israel on their way out of Egypt. Most seem to find the first two options the most plausible and few find the fourth option plausible. Whatever the case, John was none of the options above and that is the point Jesus is making ..."
Aaron William Geddis, “The Concept of the Return of Elijah in Matthew 11:2–24 and Its Christological Implications” (ThM diss., University of Otago, 2020), 134.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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