31 And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.’ 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.”
In verses 31-35, Jesus critiqued His generation and compared them to obstinate children, who refuse to play with other children. They declined to respond to His or John the Baptist’s message.
4:31
And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men [people] of this generation, and what are they like?
Jesus asked to what He should compare the people of His generation.
4:32
They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.’
Jesus compared people of His day to children who did not play with other children in the marketplace. In the analogy, Jesus and John preached (played the flute) to their generation, but the crowds were obstinate toward them. People did not respond to the music of Jesus and John.
If John and Jesus mourned at a funeral for people, they did not cry.
4:33
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
Jesus now applied the illustration of children playing to Himself and John. When John the Baptist came with his message, he did not indulge himself; he fasted, yet people said he had a demon or that he was mad.
4:34
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
The name “Son of Man” originates from Daniel 7:13. Jesus presented Himself from His humanity; He came like a normal human being, eating and drinking.
By way of contrast to John, Jesus came and ate and drank with others. He dined with sinners. He did not fast, yet people rejected Him. Regardless of the approach that one took, people of their generation persisted in negative volition toward them.
The contrast between Jesus and John is one of style, not substance.
4:35
But wisdom is justified [vindicated] by all her children.”
Some people will accept the gospel. Jesus and John delivered wisdom in their preaching; the wise responded to their messages, justifying what they preached. Those who followed John and Jesus were proof of their message. The effectiveness of a message is evident in its results.
PRINCIPLE:
Wisdom vindicates itself by what it produces.
APPLICATION:
The “wisdom” or the message of John and Jesus was rejected because it demanded a change of worldview. People of our day in the 21st century reject the gospel because it requires a change in their deeply held and terminal beliefs. They want their own terms for salvation, not their need for mercy and grace. The effectiveness of the messages of John and Jesus became evident in the people’s belief in their messages.
