V.2-9 John the Baptist is in prison because he had the courage to speak out against the immorality of King Herod (Matt. 14:3-43For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. 4For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. (Matthew 14:3‑4)). In prison he hears reports of the work of Christ. In his Jewish heart there lurked some uncertainties. “If Jesus is the real Messiah, doing all these miracles, why am I, the forerunner, in prison?” would be something like the thoughts he had. But Christ, the Messiah, having come, He was going to be His own witness. So John’s work was done. But he was being tested, and the Lord graciously sends a reassuring message to John. Instead of John the Baptist being a witness about Jesus, the Lord becomes a witness about John.
V.20-24 This is the Lord’s statement of what awful punishment lay ahead for these very cities in which the Lord was visiting. The more a person hears and therefore knows, the more responsible he is. We must not forget this fact.
V.25-30 The Lord is being rejected, and He feels it, He speaks to His Father, and we are allowed to hear the words. He reveals the Father to us believers.
V.28-30 When all the world has turned against Jesus, He holds out one hope for everyone “Come unto Me.”
V.29 Then, when we have come to Him, and received Him as our Savior, He says this. In this invitation we find responsibility for every believer. Then we find rest.