¹ After Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. ²Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples ³to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?” ⁴Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. ⁶Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.” ⁷ As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? ⁸Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces. ⁹What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’ ¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence, and the violent lay claim to it. ¹³For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵He who has ears, let him hear. ¹⁶To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ¹⁷‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ ¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”