“And blessed is he, whoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.”

And then He adds a rider to what He has said so as to remind John that although he may not understand, he must trust and believe. He must not stumble over the fact that Jesus is not exactly what he was expecting, for great prophet that he was, even his understanding was limited by his background and expectations. This reference to Jesus being a possible stumbling block links Him with Isaiah 8:24-25 where God Himself is the stumbling block.

Yet this is more than a rider, it is a reply to John's question. By accepting Jesus for what He is and truly believing, he will prove that he has been greatly blessed by God, and will continue to be blessed (note the echo of the beatitudes in Matthew 5:3). As in Matthew 5:3 ‘blessed' means ‘blessed by God'. That is why He knows that John will take His words to heart and be comforted, because it will result from God acting in blessing on him (as in Matthew 11:25.

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