Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 11:9

"But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet." — Matthew 11:9 (ASV)

What did you go out to see? A prophet? — These words again direct the hearers back to the impressions made on them when they first saw and heard the Baptist. They went out to see a prophet, and they were not disappointed. Nothing they had seen or heard since should lead them to think less worthily of him now. He was indeed a prophet, taught by the Spirit of Jehovah and predicting the glory of the kingdom; but he was also something more than this—one who participated in the fulfillment of what he proclaimed.