Woe to an Unresponsive Generatiion

 Matthew 11:16-30; Luke 7:31-35 

Jesus has high regard for John the Baptist, but how do most people regard John?  "This generation, Jesus declares, "Is like young children sitting the marketplalce who call out to their playmates, saying:  "We played the flute for you, but you did not dance; we wailed, but you not beat yourselves ub grief," - MATTHEW 11:16, 17.

What does Jesus mean? He clarifies the thought:  "John came neither eating or drinking, but people say,  'He has a demon.' The Son of man did come eating and drinking, but people say,  "Look! a man who is a glutton and is given to drinking wine, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. (Matthew 11:18, 19) On the one hand, John has lived a simple life as a Nazarite, even abstaining from wine, yet this generation  says he is demonized.  (Numbers 6:22, 3; Luke 1:15) On the other hand, Jesus lives like other men. He eats and drinks in a balanced way, but he is accused of going to excess. It seems impossible to satisfy the people. 

Jesus likens  the generation to young children in the marketplace who refuses to respond by dancing when other children play the flute or by grieving when  others wail. "All the same,"he says, "wisdom is proved righteou by its works." (Matthew 11:16, 19)  Yes, the "works" -that is the evidence produced by John and Jesus-prove that the accusations against are false. 

Next time: Woe to an Unresponsive Generation - Conclusion

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