Why does Jesus immediately mention the wilderness when he speaks to the crowds concerning John the Baptist?
The ESV reads: What did you go into the wilderness to see?
The wilderness here refers to the place where John had gone to preach and where the crowds went to hear him at the time (Matthew 3:1).1
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?