Ryan and Andrew,

Ryan, Andrew’s negative assessment of your article on Matt 11:12-13 not-with-standing, I find myself very much in agreement with your "new" understanding of this passage. I came across this idea several years ago and have since documented it from several different sources.

Andrew wrote: "It’s not clear that there are two figures in Micah 2:13. It looks to me rather as though the one who breaks out or breaks through is the same as the king who passes on before them,"

In the obverse, it is not clear that there are not two figures in Michah 2:13. It seems very strange to me that a "king" would do the laborious and dangerous task of a breaker. Thus the "breaker" certainly could be John the baptist and the King is most certainly Jesus Christ in His Parousia.

Andrew continued: “Nothing in Jesus’ words overtly suggests the sheep-shepherd metaphor.” Maybe not in this specific passage but Jesus own statement of His mission for the disciple is stated just a few verses earlier in Matthew 10:6 “"But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 10:6 NKJV)” And Jesus stated His own mission in Matthew 15:24: “But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24 NKJV)”

Thus the statement in Matthew 11:12 is in fact bracketed by direct references to the sheep-flock-shepherd metaphor.

 Lloyd