A REED SHAKEN BY THE WIND

[Anto9us]

Mat 11:7
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

What a strange phrase - I have always thought - "what does that mean?".

Last night I found the phrase in 3 Maccabees 2:22:

"He shook him on one side and the other, as a reed is shaken by the wind..."

Is this just coincidence, or was Jesus alluding to 3 Maccabees when speaking of John the Baptist?

?

 

[Dave-W]

Maybe he played a clarinet or sax. They have reeds that vibrate when a flow of air passes over them.

 

[Sam91]

Um..


My original answer was rubbish!

 

[Wordkeeper]

Mat 11:7
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

What a strange phrase - I have always thought - "what does that mean?".

Last night I found the phrase in 3 Maccabees 2:22:

"He shook him on one side and the other, as a reed is shaken by the wind..."

Is this just coincidence, or was Jesus alluding to 3 Maccabees when speaking of John the Baptist?

?

John was also described as the greatest ever born of a woman. Probably alluding to his impeccable record of being a server of God and not of mammon from birth.

So when Jesus asks, ¨Did you expect to see a reed shaken by the wind?¨ He meant, ¨Did you expect to see John waver or falter, deviate from his unstinting service to God?¨.

IOW, why were they surprised to see him eating honey and locusts and wearing garments made from animal skins?

 

[icxn]

Reeds are mentioned as the least of materials one may build his house with (1 Cor. 2:12). In Job 40:21 the Devil is said to hide among the reeds in the marsh. In Psalm 68:30 the psalmist asks God to rebuke the beasts among the reeds. These can be either the demons or the worst of those who practice evil. So the practice of evil deeds is what building your house with reeds means, a combustible material that won't pass the fiery test of God. In Ephesians 4:14 false teachings are likened to wind. Putting all these together, I would say that the phrase in Mat. 11 means John the Baptist was not one of those evil doers animated by the false and deceitful teachings of the demons. In other words, he was not one to easily succumb to temptations or change his words because of fear or to please people, as the details of his life clearly show.

 

[dqhall]

Mat 11:7
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

What a strange phrase - I have always thought - "what does that mean?".

Last night I found the phrase in 3 Maccabees 2:22:

"He shook him on one side and the other, as a reed is shaken by the wind..."

Is this just coincidence, or was Jesus alluding to 3 Maccabees when speaking of John the Baptist?

?

John was baptizing in the river Jordan. In that part of the world reeds grow where there are marshes. I have seen reeds growing over my head near where the Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee between Capernaum and Bethsaida. Although the lower Jordan is off limits to civilians, I imagine reeds are growing there also. Those going to be baptized by John were not going to see reeds but to listen to his teachings and to be ritually cleansed.

 

[1watchman]

Mat 11:7
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

What a strange phrase - I have always thought - "what does that mean?".

Last night I found the phrase in 3 Maccabees 2:22:

"He shook him on one side and the other, as a reed is shaken by the wind..."

Is this just coincidence, or was Jesus alluding to 3 Maccabees when speaking of John the Baptist?

?

The thought I have always seen by Bible teachers is that "a reed shaken with the wind" refers to a curiosity in the world. We are not to go off into the things of the world, but take our instructions and pathway from God in His Holy Word. I don't know what Maccabees or any other old writings say, and I hold to my Scofield KJV Study Bible. Keep looking up, friend!

Add: I tend to see the expression as: Why are you looking at everything and all natural phenomenon around you, rather than to God?

 

[Greg J.]

Mat 11:7
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

What a strange phrase - I have always thought - "what does that mean?".

Last night I found the phrase in 3 Maccabees 2:22:

"He shook him on one side and the other, as a reed is shaken by the wind..."

Is this just coincidence, or was Jesus alluding to 3 Maccabees when speaking of John the Baptist?

?

Jesus is probing what need people had such that they traveled to John the Baptist. In the instability of their times (corrupt religious leaders, occupied by Roman soldiers, wondering where God was), they went out for spiritual answers (v. 9) from someone who dressed, and to some degree, lived like Elijah. John's message was solid, clear, and his resolve unwavering, for people to turn back to God. (Notice the questions that people asked John were about things they would have already known the answers to if they had a knowledge of and belief in the Word and God.) They did not travel to John for guidance from one who was "shaking in the wind," but was hoping for help from a strong man of God who wielded the power and wisdom of God, IMO.

 

[Mark51]

Yes, definitely. “A reed being tossed by a wind,” is a metaphor for John the Baptist’s spiritual conviction and stamina as not wavering but being firm, stable, and upright.

 

[Greg J.]

Re: more specifically, what a reed shaken by the wind means

Speaking of Jesus, God said, through Isaiah:

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; (Isaiah 42:3, 1984 NIV) (Also referenced in Matthew 12:20.)

Which I interpret to mean Jesus will be gentle, quiet in spirit, and humble.

It may be that Matthew 11:7 is a reference the idea that people would go out into the wilderness to see if John the Baptist was going to "break," which might mean seeing the religious leaders succeed in rebuking whatever he was saying. Just guessing.