Bible Strands
Luke 7:24
After John’s messengers had left, 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?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to a crowd immediately after John the Baptist’s messengers depart, using the pause to direct their attention to John’s character and mission.
The words — ἤρξατο (ērxato) means He began, and λέγειν (legein) means to speak, marking the precise moment Jesus shifts from John’s physical absence to His own verbal assessment.
The thread — The wilderness location connects to Luke 1:80, where John lived, and Luke 3:2, where the word of God reached him. Jesus’ reed metaphor aligns with the instability Ephesians 4:14 describes when individuals are carried around by every wind of teaching.
Why it lands — The text asks readers to verify whether their spiritual pursuits seek authentic divine authority or merely fleeting, easily broken comforts. It requires an unflinching evaluation of what actually grounds conviction when visible signs are removed.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
Cross-references
- Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.
- Luke 1:80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.
- Luke 3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
- John 1:23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
- Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
- 2 Corinthians 1:17 When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” and also “No, no”?
- James 1:6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
- 2 Peter 2:17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
- 2 Peter 3:17 Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.
- Matthew 11:7 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?