Children in the Market
Matt 11:16-19. "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, and say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon!' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
Luke 7:31-35. "To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.' For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children."
Here Jesus is comparing “this generation” (ie: the Pharisees, Sadducees and Jewish leadership) to petulant children who are going to bite their noses off to spite their faces. First offered to “play the flute”, they do not want to. Then offered to “sing a dirge”, they did not want to. In the original language, this was, in effect, playing “wedding” and playing “funeral”. These were make believe games that children of the day would play in the market place to pass the time. They are also about as opposite each other as one can get.
The Pharisees, however, were not satisfied with either of these options.
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, but he was very strict in his livelihood. He did not indulge in fancy food and did not drink wine. The “generation” that Jesus spoke of said that John “had a demon”. They did not want to believe in what he was saying.
Jesus entered into His ministry and He would often teach at the dinner table. There would be food to eat and wine to drink. The leaders of the day then accused Jesus of gluttony and being a drunkard. Jesus was neither, of course, but “this generation” did not like what Jesus was saying, either, and they needed an excuse not to listen to Him.
“Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds (or children).” We can see that God has prepared a way using two very different techniques. John was a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way for Messiah. While stern, he used the law to show the need for repentance and turning to the coming Messiah. Jesus, while acknowledging the justice of the law, and the need for it, emphasized more the love of God. Using two different approaches, God provided for the salvation of His people.
“This generation” that Jesus speaks of, however, was not happy with either choice, so they had to find ways to criticize and marginalize both of them. They wanted their own personal version of the Messiah – not God’s version of Messiah.
This is idolatry – placing our own version of what we think God SHOULD be ahead of what the bible says God IS. We see this very much in today’s generation. People are too wrapped up in what they believe God should be, and not wrapped up enough in the word of God (the bible) to KNOW who God is.
Luke 7:31-35. "To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.' For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children."
Here Jesus is comparing “this generation” (ie: the Pharisees, Sadducees and Jewish leadership) to petulant children who are going to bite their noses off to spite their faces. First offered to “play the flute”, they do not want to. Then offered to “sing a dirge”, they did not want to. In the original language, this was, in effect, playing “wedding” and playing “funeral”. These were make believe games that children of the day would play in the market place to pass the time. They are also about as opposite each other as one can get.
The Pharisees, however, were not satisfied with either of these options.
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, but he was very strict in his livelihood. He did not indulge in fancy food and did not drink wine. The “generation” that Jesus spoke of said that John “had a demon”. They did not want to believe in what he was saying.
Jesus entered into His ministry and He would often teach at the dinner table. There would be food to eat and wine to drink. The leaders of the day then accused Jesus of gluttony and being a drunkard. Jesus was neither, of course, but “this generation” did not like what Jesus was saying, either, and they needed an excuse not to listen to Him.
“Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds (or children).” We can see that God has prepared a way using two very different techniques. John was a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way for Messiah. While stern, he used the law to show the need for repentance and turning to the coming Messiah. Jesus, while acknowledging the justice of the law, and the need for it, emphasized more the love of God. Using two different approaches, God provided for the salvation of His people.
“This generation” that Jesus speaks of, however, was not happy with either choice, so they had to find ways to criticize and marginalize both of them. They wanted their own personal version of the Messiah – not God’s version of Messiah.
This is idolatry – placing our own version of what we think God SHOULD be ahead of what the bible says God IS. We see this very much in today’s generation. People are too wrapped up in what they believe God should be, and not wrapped up enough in the word of God (the bible) to KNOW who God is.
posted by MarkD at 12:18 PM
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