Those who received Jesus' prophets received him (10:41); most of Israel had accepted neither John the prophet nor Jesus (11:16-19) and hence invited greater judgment than wicked cities that had heard less of God's message (11:20-24). After encouraging John's faith, Jesus praises John's mission (vv. 7-15). Perhaps he does so only after the messengers' departure (v. 7; Lk 7:24) because it is not for us to know the magnitude of our service until the final day (10:26; 25:21), but in any case Jesus uses the event that has just transpired as an opportunity to provide the crowds with an object lesson about the kingdom (11:11-12).