Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 7:31

And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

31. And the Lord said ] These words are almost certainly spurious, being omitted by all the best uncials.

Whereunto then shall I liken ] Our Lord seems more than once to have used this formula to arrest attention for His parables. Mar 4:30.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Luk 7:31-34

Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation

The Baptist and Christ

In the metaphor of the reed shaking in the wind, we traced that close observation of nature which enabled Christ to interpret so much of human life to man.

In the similitude He uses here we trace His close observation of the ordinary aspects of human life, and the use which He made of them to interpret to men His own thoughts, and the times in which He lived. Every one knows from pictures, from descriptions, the general appearance of the market-place of an Eastern town. One may image the quiet figure of Christ moving through the throng, enjoying its humours, with now a gentle smile, and now an inexplicable sadness on His face, as if all things spoke to Him of far-off analogies. One sight He often saw–the children at play in the unoccupied spaces and corners of the markets. They had their games in and out among the serious doing of the place, and one of these games is often spoken of in Eastern tales. It is the acting of childish dramas which the children themselves invent. Often three or four exhibit their little talents for the rest, while now and then a bearded man or a veiled woman loiter by to watch the sport. Sometimes the invented story is sportive, sometimes sorrowful, and the acting of them is good or bad, according to the sympathy given to the children. One such scene, at least, remained vividly in His mind (and He uses it with astonishing force), when the little band of actors, having tried to win the favour of their comrades with tiny tragedy, and then with tiny comedy, failed in their hopes, and said, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. In this slight scene Christ saw a picture of the religious state of Palestine. There was no moral depth in that society, no vital strength to carry out in a life the wavering feelings of repentance. At first they tried the Baptist, but they soon had enough of that resolute teaching. They turned away with indignation, and said, He hath a devil. They were mourned unto, and they had not lamented. All the same, they could not get rid of the religious impulse in their hearts. It seemed that Christ required no ascetic life, that He did not wish them to separate themselves from the world. This is the teacher for us, they said, and they sought Him out and followed Him. We will dance to His piping, was their thought, and possess a religion. But the result was a still more complete failure.

1. The religion of the Baptist had been too hard for them because of its stern morality. It demanded outward purity. We shall be better off with Christ, they thought. And they found themselves worse off than before. It was bad enough to hear that the whole of the outward life had to be reformed; it was ten times worse to hear that the inward life had to be reformed.

2. The religion of the Baptist had been too hard for them because of its demand for self-sacrifice. And lo! Christ was ten times more severe on this point than John. They turned away in wrath, but the little grain of conscience that still remained made them bitter. To relieve their conscience, they turned to abuse and vilify Him who had shown them a vision they could not bear. If they could put Him in the wrong, they might put themselves in the right. Behold, then, a gluttonous man, &c. They were piped unto, and they had not danced. There is much the same sort of thing among men now.

3. Another class of men turned from the Baptist to look at the religion of Christ–the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees. These drifted out to John in the wilderness; the wave of religious excitement had sent its tide even into their land-locked harbours; one wonders what took these models of piety to John. He could not understand it; his astonishment was frank enough. Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? When they found that John did not pay them snore attention than the rest, when they saw that he talked with the publican as he did with them, they turned back, saying, He hath a devil. So the hypocrites among them thought they would hear what Christ had to say. He might do them more honour. He might recognize their proud position as leaders of religion. But alas! they were disappointed. I suppose no sharper or more indignant language was ever used by man against other men than the words with which Christ denounced them. As to the other class of Pharisees who were pious bigots, they found in Christ all that they had disliked in John multiplied tenfold. He would have nothing to do with them unless they came to Him and humbly confessed themselves sinners. Not among their ranks, but among unlearned fishermen and villagers He chose His special followers. He dined with the publicans; even at one of their houses He admitted the sinful woman to salvation. It was snore than could be borne. This was music no man could dance to. There are men of this sort at this time among us. (Stowford A. Brooke, M. A.)

Children at play

(To children.) The children of two thousand years ago were very like the children of to-day, even in their sports. Then, as now, when a number of children came together, and especially when they came together out of doors, they found it impossible to sit still or stand still. Whatever the game at which they played, there was pretty sure to be some mimicry in it, some quaint imitation or comic burlesque of what they had seen their elders do. Now it happened one day that the Lord Jesus, as He passed through the streets and bazaars of a Galilean town, came on a number of children who were thus employed. They played first at a wedding, and then at a funeral. And we cannot wonder that they chose these two ceremonies for imitation. For a Jewish wedding was then, as to this day an Eastern wedding is, a very gay spectacle, sure to seize the fancy of children. The bridegroom and the young men who accompanied him were tricked out in their best and brightest robes; and they went in public procession, with music and with perfumes floating in the air, to fetch the bride to her new home. For many days after the wedding open house was kept. There was much mirth and feasting. The friends of the wedded pair went, with trains of their kinsfolk and servants, to carry them their presents, or to pay calls of ceremony and congratulation. The whole town was alive with music and dancing and feasting; and in the streets gay companies were continually passing to and fro. That was thought a very poor marriage, the festivities of which were not kept up for at least a week. So, again, a Jewish funeral must have been a very striking and dramatic spectacle to children. The body was carried by on an open bier, so that all could see it. And not only did the kinsfolk and friends of the dead man follow him to the grave with the most extravagant expressions of grief; but they were foolish enough to hire professional mourners, who tore their hair, and beat their breasts, and raised a keen cry or wail. Now children who saw these sad processions constantly going about the streets could not fail to be impressed by the dramatic features of the scene, and were likely enough to imitate and burlesque it in their play. That was what the children whom Jesus watched had been doing. First they had said, Lets play at marrying! And then the more forward and lively children of the company began to march, and to move their fingers up and down as if they were stopping and unstopping the holes of a flute. One of them, no doubt, was chosen to personate the bridegroom, and others to stand for the sons of the bridechamber, i.e., the young men who accompanied him; and off they started, as though to fetch the bride home, expecting that the rest of the children would follow, dancing and shouting, and pretending to carry torches. But those who should have filled this part declined to fill it. They were sulky, and would not play at this game. And so the cheerful children had to say to the sulky ones, Why, whats the matter? We fluted to you, and you did not dance. Then they thought they would try another game. Perhaps the first was too lively. And so they say, Lets play at burying I And off they go like bearers of the bier, or like the hired mourners, walking with folded hands and downcast heads, but every now and then flinging up their heads, and howling, Oh, so dreadfully. But their companions wont play. This game does not suit them either. For, again, the first place is not assigned to them. And so, the livelier, the merry, good-tempered children have to turn upon them again, and say, Whatever is the matter with you to-day? We wailed, and ye did not beat your breasts. Now if these children had known that Jesus was watching them; if, moreover, they had known how kind and good He was, do you think that any of them would have turned sulky and refused to play? It will do much to make you and those about you happy if you will learn to play in the right spirit. But this is not the only or the best lesson which Christ has made these children teach us. He told the men who were listening to Him that they were like those children in their treatment of John the Baptist and Himself. The fault, He said, is in you, not in the Baptist or the Son of Man. We are to show the very opposite spirit. Instead of hating the truth, and refusing to listen to it, wherever or however God speaks to us, we are to love the truth, and to welcome it, whatever the form or the tone it takes. Put yourselves to this test: Am I really trying to do Gods will and to love it, as Jesus did? Whether I work or play, do I try to show the kindly, unselfish, cheerful temper which He approves? (S. Cox, D. D.)

On the impossibility of pleasing everybody

Explain the phrases, children; market -place; piped unto you; mourned unto you. Learn–

I. THE GOSPEL IS SENT ONLY TO SINNERS.

II. IT IS RIGHT TO USE VARIOUS MEANS TO BRING MEN UNDER THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL. Look at the difference between the ministry of Jesus and that of John.

III. IN THE USE OF THESE MEANS IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE EVERYBODY, John was a recluse, and they said he had a devil. Jesus came eating and drinking, and they said, Behold a gluttonous man, &c.

IV. ALL TRUE PREACHERS OF THE GOSPEL MAY EXPECT OPPOSITION.

V. NEVERTHELESS, WE MUST NOT CEASE DECLARING THE TRUTH. (A. F,Barfield.)

Transition periods

This little picture of childrens plays, which Jesus gives us, is an illustration of the illogical objections made against the truth, and shows us many things.

1. It shows us how uniform are the tendencies of human nature in all ages and times. Jesus, passing through the market of Nazareth, or Cana, saw the children playing their games, just as children play them now. The little Syrian boys and girls belonging to the great Semitic race, living eighteen hundred years ago, amid Asiatic customs and scenery, were just such little children as you and I saw playing on the common yesterday. They played games, imitating the customs of grown people; just as little children now play soldiers, play horse and driver, so they then played weddings and funerals.

2. It shows us Christs habit of taking illustrations from everyday life. In His teachings there is nothing conventional, nothing formal. No fact in Gods world is to Him common or unclean.

3. It also shows how much easier it is for good men, though differing in ideas, tastes, and methods, to agree in a mutual respect and sympathy, than for self-willed men to form any permanent union. No two were more unlike than Jesus and John; but they had a common aim. It was to do Gods will; to make the world better. So they had a mutual respect for each other. There was a real union between them. John made the turning-point from the law to the gospel; his was the transition period, within sight of the gospel, yet with the terror of the law behind it. Such a transition period has continued in the Church down to our time. Perhaps the majority of Christians are now living, not under the dominion of law, nor yet in the kingdom of heaven, but in the dispensation of John the Baptist. But halfway convictions are not very satisfactory, and the remedy for this evil is to put both the law and the gospel in their right place. We cannot dispense with either, but we wish to distinguish between their sphere and their work. (James Freeman Clarke.)

Fickleness and folly in dealing with religion and its professors and teachers

I. THE CONTRARIETY BETWEEN THE CONDUCT OF CHRIST AND THAT OF JOHN, AS DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT, WAS RENDERED NECESSARY BY THE DIFFERING STANDPOINTS AND MISSIONS OF EACH. These descriptions–neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and eating and drinking–are particular features, put for general character and conduct. Johns abstemiousness and austerity befitted him as the last prophet of the Old Dispensation. Christ had come to establish a new order of things, to substitute for the bondage of the law the liberty of the gospel, to insist on inward purity as of in finitely greater importance than outward observance. Specifically his eating and drinking meant–

1. His oneness with humanity.

2. The sacredness of common life and occupations.

3. That the natural appetites are to be reasonably and legitimately satisfied, not trampled upon.

4. That religion has its social side.

5. That it is possible to be in the world while not of it.

II. THE PEOPLE, WITH THEIR LEADERS, NOT RECOGNIZING THAT THIS DIVERGENCE WAS FITTING AND NECESSARY, MISJUDGED BOTH CHRIST AND JOHN. The really austere life of John was a reproach to the pretended austerity of the Pharisees, whilst the immaculate purity of Him who could yet suffer His feet to be washed by the tears of the woman who was a sinner rebuked alike their uncharitableness and their hypocrisy. Hence, not being willing to repent at the call of John, or to humble themselves at the command of Christ, they must, to be consistent in their hypocrisy, condemn alike Christ and John-pronounce them to be either immoral in life, or endued with power from below. But the point in which they most pointedly warn us not to copy their example is here–that they formed their judgments upon grounds so insufficient. Learn the danger of hasty judgments–

1. As regards the person judged.

2. Others, who might be benefited by him.

3. Ourselves. Prejudices hide the truth.

III. THE TEXT SHOWS HOW EASY IT WAS FOR THE MEN OF CHRISTS DAY, AS IT IS FOR US, TO FIND AN EXCUSE WHEN ONE IS WANTED. HOW did the Pharisees, feeling conscious that they were wrong, excuse themselves the trouble of putting themselves right? They adopted the plan which is said sometimes to be resorted to by legal pleaders: If you have a weak case, blacken your opponents counsel. How true a picture of the way in which men generally treat unpalatable truth! Note some of the flimsy grounds on which many reject Christianity, or refuse to make a Christian profession, e.g., difficulties in the Bible; inconsistency in professing Christians. (J. R. Bailey.)

The sanctity of the common life

1. Poverty the common lot.

2. The happy endurance of poverty rare. The secret of its trust.

3. Besides these sweet virtues of resignation, trust and contentment, there is another which seems to me to become rarer and rarer–cheerfulness. Our age is not only perplexed but sad. There is not enough of enthusiasm and unselfishness left among us for hearty and wholesome laughter. (Archdeacon Farrar.)

The use of the world

Christian self-sacrifice is not asceticism. The idea of the essential badness of pleasure has been very commonly held and advocated by the propounders of ethical and religious systems. Even Plato says that every pleasure enjoyed is as a nail fastening the soul more securely in its dungeon; every pleasure given up a nail withdrawn, and hastens on the period of its release. Like many other views which find no warranty in the Christianity of Christ, it has had a considerable influence upon the Christianity of Christendom. The pillar saints, e.g. If pleasure were essentially sinful, Stylites was the wisest of men. This not the kind of self-denial which Christ requires from us. Serious and earnest as He was, no one can say that He was a harsh or gloomy ascetic. Think of Him at the marriage-festival. Think of His friendly visits to the family at Bethany.

Think of Him at the great feast in Levis house. Think of His final interview with the disciples on the shore of Tiberias, when He accosted them with the words, Children, have ye any meat? and then, leading the way to a fire, with fish laid thereon and bread, said to them, come and dine. Christ never bids us give up anything that is good, unless it would keep us from something that is better. The Son of man came eating and drinking. Ay, the very Man of Sorrows refused to join in the irrational worship of pain. (A. W. Momerie, M. A. , D. D.)

The Son of man

This title is in the New Testament significantly enough used, with one exception [Stephen], by Christ alone. It emphasizes the humanity of Him who bears it, but a humanity that accomplishes a Divine work, creates and controls a society which is so finely human because so entirely a realization of the thought or mind of God as to man. Schleiermacher rightly said: Christ would not have adopted this title had He not been conscious of a complete participation in human nature. But His use of it would have been meaningless had He not had a right to it which other men could not possess. The Son of man is the bond between earth and heaven, belongs in an equal degree to both; He is the medium through which God reaches man and man reaches God. The title, so often and so emphatically used, enables us to see what Christ conceived Himself to be, and where He believed Himself to stand; He affirmed that He possessed our common human nature.

But He also affirmed His pre-eminence—

The Son of man.

Other persons had been, or were, sons of individual men, members of particular nations or families; but Jesus, as the Son of man, was no mans son, but the child of humanity; belonged to no age, but to all ages; to no family or people, but to mankind. He is, as the Divine idea realized, universal and everlasting, an individual who is, in a sense, humanity. (A. M. Fairbairn, D. D.)

Divine friendship

In the Bible Christ is presented to us in many aspects–as a Judge, a Saviour, a Counsellor; as Brother, Prophet, Priest, and King. In this passage He stands forth in the light and garb of a Friend. I do not intend to analyse friendship, and enumerate its elements. I will only suggest one or two of the more prominent.

I. CONSTANCY.

II. IMPARTIALITY. Not a friend only to the good.

III. SYMPATHY.

IV. THE SPIRIT OF HELPFULNESS. Christ was the friend of those who were morally all wrong. It is to those whose lives have been a failure, whose natures, spiritually considered, are all in ruins, that Jesus comes in the spirit of friendly assistance. (W. H. H. Murray.)

Sinners wilful and perverse

I. THE COMPANIONS OF THESE PERVERSE CHILDREN EMPLOYED VARIOUS MEANS TO CONQUER THEIR OBSTINACY AND PERSUADE THEM TO JOIN IN THEIR AMUSEMENTS. SO God has employed a great variety of means to persuade sinners to embrace the gospel. He has sent judgments to subdue, and mercies to melt them; arguments to convince, and motives to persuade them; threatenings to terrify, and invitations to allure them. In different parts of His Word He has exhibited Divine truth in every possible variety of form. In one place it is presented plainly to the mind in the form of doctrines; in another, it is couched under the veil of some instructive and striking parable; in a third, it is presented to us in a garb of types and shadows; in a fourth, it is illustrated by the most beautiful figures; and, in a fifth, exemplified in some well-drawn character, or interesting portion of history. Corresponding to these various means, and to the different modes of instruction adopted in His Word, are the various gifts and qualifications, with which He furnishes those who are sent as His ambassadors to men. As He knows the different tastes and dispositions of men, and the modes of address best adapted to convince and persuade them, He endues His messengers with a great diversity of gifts, so that by one or another of them, every class of hearers may be gratified.

II. Notwithstanding the different means employed with these perverse children, THEY WOULD NOT BE PREVAILED UPON TO COMPLY WITH THE WISHES OF THEIR COMPANIONS. We have piped unto you, say they, but ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, but ye have not lamented. Precisely similar is the conduct of impenitent sinners.

III. THE REASON WHY THESE PERVERSE CHILDREN COULD NOT BE PERSUADED TO COMPLY WITH THE WISHES OF THEIR COMPANION WAS, THAT THEY WERE OUT OF HUMOUR, OR FOR SOME OTHER REASON FELT INDISPOSED TO GRATIFY THEM. Similar is the reason, why sinners will not be persuaded to embrace the Gospel, by all the means which God employs for this purpose. They do not come to Christ for life, because they will not. (E. Payson, D. D.)

The success of the gospel

I. OBSERVE GODS GRACIOUS DEALING WITH MAN. He useth all kind of means, sendeth men of several natures, austere John, and meek Christ. He turns Himself into all shapes to gain wretched man unto Him.

II. OBSERVE THE ORDER GOD USETH; FIRST JOHN, THEN CHRIST. John prepares the way, throwing down hills: O ye generation of vipers Mat 3:7). Oh, say they, this man is too harsh, I think he hath a devil. Then Christ comes with blessed: Blessed are the poor, blessed are you that weep, &e. (Mat 5:3, seq.). So He sent the law first, then the gospel; first He threatens, then promises.

III. OBSERVE THAT THE MANNER OF THEIR TEACHING IS DOUBLE, BY DOCTRINE AND LIFE, AND THESE AGREE, wherein observe it is good that life and doctrine should suit; for Johns life was austere and retired, his doctrine was also tending to beat down the proud conceits of man. Christ came to all, conversed with all meekly and lovingly; and the reason of Gods making use of men of severe dispositions is because of the different natures of men, whereof some can better relish one nature than another. Some love the hot and fiery nature, others delight in the meek spirit; and though there be diversity of gifts, yet they come from the same Spirit. Even as the diverse smells of flowers comes from the same influence, and the diverse sounds in the organs comes from the same breath, so doth the Spirit diffuse itself diversely, as it meets with diverse natures. Yet all tendeth to the perfecting of one work. And the papists shall never be able to prove their foolish austere vows of a solitary life, &c., to be preferred before communication and society, unless they will prove John better than Christ. And again, this should teach us to moderate our censures of the diverse natures and carriage of men, as knowing that God in wisdom hath appointed it for excellent use, and that all agree in the building up of the spiritual temple of the Church.

IV. OBSERVE THAT WHERE GRACE DOTH NOT OVERPOWER NATURE, NO MEANS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE OBDURATE NATURE OF MAN. Neither John nor Christ could work anything upon these Pharisees.

V. In the next place, observe, from the calumniation of the scribes, THAT REBELLION AND OPPOSITION AGAINST GOODNESS IS NEVER WITHOUT SHOW

OF REASON; and men they will never go to hell, but they have reason for it. Austere John hath a devil; sociable Christ is a wine-bibber. And the reason is, the pride of man, that will not be thought so foolish as to speak, or do anything without reason, and therefore when it is wanting they will feign one.

VI. For use therefore of this doctrine, LET US ACCOUNT IT NO STRANGE MATTER IF WE BE TRADUCED, DISGRACED, AND SCANDALISED, for it was Christs and Johns lot. Great slanders must be maintained from great men, such as them that sit in Mosess chair, the Pharisees and Scribes.

VII. LET US TAKE HEED WE TAKE NOT A THING IN THE WRONG SENSE AND OF VAIN PREJUDICE. Men are witty to lay stumbling-blocks in their own way to heaven. This preacher is too strict, that too mild; this too plain, that too poor. But wisdom is justified of all her children (verse 35).

I. From the connection of these words with the former, by this word but, we may observe, THAT IT IS THE LOT OF GODS TRUTH TO HAVE DIVERSE ENTERTAINMENTS IN THIS WORLD. Some will be children of wisdom, and justify it; others, as the Pharisees, will scandalise it. This is wisdom; and called so here by way of emphasis, showing it is the only excellent wisdom, which will further appear in these respects.

1. It doth arise from a higher beginning than all other wisdom whatever; for it comes from Gods goodness and mercy.

2. The matter. It is a deep mystery. Christ, God-man; His nature, offices, and benefits.

3. It is more powerful than all other wisdom; for it transforms us. It makes us wise, and changes us from wicked, and makes us good.

4. It is better than the law, which was a killing letter. This gives life.

5. Furthermore, this wisdom is everlasting, and it is ancientest: intended before the world was. It is also inviolable. God will change the course of nature for His Churchs sake; and sooner will He break covenant with the day and night than this covenant, which shall be for ever (Psa 19:9).

6. The end of it is to bring us home to God (1Jn 1:3).

1. From the doctrine we may observe, therefore, that those that follow the best rule, which is Gods Word, and intend the best end, which is their own salvation, these are the most wise.

2. And, in the second place, let this persuade us to attend upon wisdom, be we who we will be, a publican, an extortioner, a persecuting Saul.

3. In the next place, observe the children of wisdom do justify it; that is, they receive it, approve it, defend it, maintain it. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)

On profaneness to disparage religious characters

I. I design, in the first place, TO EXPLAIN THIS PASSAGE.

II. HOW SHALL WE APPLY TO OUR EDIFICATION THE LESSONS WHICH THIS PORTION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE CONVEYS?

1. Let us consider it as a very unfavourable symptom of the state of our hearts, if we discover in ourselves a propensity to cavil at religion; and to impute blame to those persons, whether ministers of the gospel or individuals among the laity, who, by holiness of life and conversation, conspicuously demonstrate the power of faith.

2. If, through the influence of Divine grace, you have been brought to the love of religion, wonder not, nor be discouraged, when you hear the truths of the gospel slandered, or yourself made the theme of evil-speaking for their sake. Thus it always has been; and thus, until Christianity shall have established a more general dominion over the hearts of those who avow themselves her subjects, it always will be.

3. Justify wisdom, justify true religion, by manifesting yourselves to be her children.

4. If you thus justify wisdom, behold the hour approaches when before the assembled world wisdom shall justify you. (T. Gisborne.)

Children sitting in the market-place

I. THAT THE PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION TO SINNERS MAY FITLY BE COMPARED TO SWEET AND SOUL-RAVISHING MUSIC.

1. Music hath its distinct notes, and that makes it melodious; so ministers should preach distinctly, not confusedly, for that makes no music. If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare to the battle? (1Co 14:8.)

2. He that would make sweet music, must not harp too much upon one string, or have only one distinct note. So a preacher that would, make right gospel-music, must not always preach upon one particular gospel truth.

3. It is a curious art to attain to the clear knowledge of music, and to be very skilful, or play well upon an instrument. So it is a most blessed spiritual art to know how to preach the gospel with all true spiritual wisdom; for as music is a mystery, so is the gospel a great mystery.

4. Some musicians make sweeter music than others, though all may have some skill in it; so some ministers make more sweet gospel music than others.

5. Music elevates the hearts of some people wonderfully; so the doctrine of the gospel tends to raise, nay, to ravish, the hearts of gracious persons.

6. But though music is sweet to some, others love it not, but cry, Away with it, it makes our hearts sad.

II. THAT THOUGH THE MINISTERS OF CHRIST DO WHAT THEY CAN, OR STUDY WHAT WAYS AND METHODS THEY CAN, AND LIVE NEVER SO CIRCUMSPECTLY, YET THEIR PERSONS NOR THEIR MINISTRY SHALL BE ACCEPTED OF SOME PEEVISH AND FROWARD PEOPLE. (B. Keach.)

Criticism easy

Nearly everybody has heard the story of the painter of olden time who exposed his picture to the public criticism, and put a paintbrush handy, that anybody might paint out any particular feature he did not approve. Of course, the stupid man soon found that everybody had some fault to find, and his picture was totally obliterated. Just as it was with that artists picture, so it is with the life-work of the majority. Somebody will be pretty sure to take a crooked and distorted view of our characters and doings, however meritorious they may be. Some will do this wilfully and maliciously, others through misunderstanding.

Unfair objections are often prompted by selfishness

Many an objector to Christianity in our day, if he said out what he really thinks, would say, I disbelieve Christianity, because it does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil; it makes such serious demands, it sets up so high a standard, it implies that so much I say and do is a great mistake that I must away with it. I cannot do and be what it enjoins without doing violence to my inclinations, to my fixed habits of life and thought. This, before his conversion, was the ease with the great Augustine. Augustine tells us in his Confessions how completely he was enchained by his passions, and how, after he had become intellectually satisfied of the truth of the creed of the Christian Church, he was held back from conversion by the fear that he would have to give up so much to which he was attached. (Dr. Talmage.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 31. And the Lord said] Almost every MS. of authority and importance, with most of the versions, omit these words. As the Evangelistaria (the books which contained those portions of the Gospels which were read in the Churches) began at this verse, the words were probably at first used by them, to introduce the following parable. There is the fullest proof that they never made a part of Luke’s text. Every critic rejects them. Bengel and Griesbach leave them out of the text.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

See Poole on “Mat 11:16” and following verses to Mat 11:19, where we have this smart reflection upon the scribes and Pharisees, and the generality of the Jews. They were neither pleased full nor fasting, but censorious of the different manner of living of John and Christ. John showed a more austere and severe humour, and lived like a recluse: you had nothing else to say; you said he had a devil. I have chosen not a less innocent, but a more free converse with men of all sorts, and eat and drink as other men; of me you say that I am a wine bibber, a glutton, a friend of publicans and sinners. Such was their perverseness, that proceeded from their enmity to the doctrine of John and Christ.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

31-35. the Lord said, c.Ascross, capricious children, invited by their playmates to join themin their amusements, will play with them neither at weddings norfunerals (juvenile imitations of the joyous and mournful scenes oflife), so that generation rejected both John and his Master: the onebecause he was too unsocialmore like a demoniac than a rationalman the other, because He was too much the reverse, given to animalindulgences, and consorting with the lowest classes of society. Butthe children of Wisdom recognize and honor her, whether in theaustere garb of the Baptist or in the more attractive style of hisMaster, whether in the Law or in the Gospel, whether in rags or inroyalty, for “the full soul loatheth an honeycomb, but tothe hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet” (Pr27:7).

Lu7:36-50. CHRIST’S FEETWASHED WITH TEARS.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And the Lord said,…. This clause is not in the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, nor in some copies, nor in Beza’s most ancient copy; and being omitted, more clearly shows, that the two former verses are the words of Christ, and not an observation the evangelist makes, on the different behaviour of Christ’s hearers, upon the commendation he had given of John:

whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation; or “to what men shall I liken them”, as the Persic version: the phrase “men of this generation”, is Rabbinical; so , the men of that “generation”, are more beautiful in work than these, says the Targumist on Ec 7:11. “And to what are they like?” To that which follows.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

And to what are they like? ( ;). This second question is not in Mt 11:16. It sharpens the point. The case of is associative instrumental after . See discussion of details in Matthew.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) “And the Lord said,” (eipe de ho kurios) “Then the Lord continued his message,” and said,

2) “Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation?” (tini oun homoioso tous anthropous tes geneas tautes) “To what then may I compare the men of this generation?” the Jewish one at hand, Mat 11:16; Mat 23:13; Mat 23:24-25; Mat 23:27-29; Mat 23:33. Jesus used words of severity and sharpness against the religious leaders of Judaism only. He always spoke with pity to the masses of the common people.

3) “And to what are they like?” (kai tini eisin homoioi) “And to what are they like or similar?” in their behavior, their attitude, their conduct, in rejecting me, at the mouth of John’s preaching, and now at my own teaching and preaching, Joh 1:11; Mat 23:37. To what may they as leaders be compared? is the idea raised, only to make the message clear to His hearers.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

31. To what shall I compare? He does not include all the men of his age, but speaks particularly of the scribes and their followers. He charges them with this reproach, that while the Lord endeavored, by various methods, to draw them to himself, they repelled his grace with incorrigible obstinacy. He employs a comparison, which was probably taken from a common amusement of children; for there is probability in the conjecture, that the children divided themselves into two bands, and sang in that manner. And, indeed, I think that, in order to abase the pride of the scribes, Christ intentionally borrowed from children the materials of his reproof: thus declaring that, however distinguished they were, nothing more was necessary to condemn them than a song which children were wont to sing in the market-place for their amusement.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(31-35) Whereunto then shall I liken . . .See Notes on Mat. 11:16-19. Some of the better MSS. omit the introductory words, and the Lord said.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

“To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace, and call one to another, who say,

‘We piped to you, and you did not dance,

We wailed, and you did not weep.’

For these Pharisees and lawyers and their ilk are like children sitting and complaining that John and Jesus will not take part in their games. They will not dance to the Pharisaic tune, nor will they enter into the Pharisaic ways of expressing their mourning. One goes too far, the other does not go far enough.

The words may well be taken from a well known children’s song, sang at play, as the children sang and danced together, referring to the miming of mourning, and playing at wedding and funerals.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Parable of the children in the marketplace:

v. 31. And the Lord said, Whereunto, then, shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

v. 32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.

v. 33. For John the Baptist came, neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.

v. 34. The Son of Man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!

v. 35. But wisdom is justified of all her children.

The Lord here scores the inconsistency of the Jewish people as a whole, and especially of their leaders, by comparing their actions to those of capricious, peevish children, whom no game will suit that their playmates propose. If these play on the flute, they refuse to dance to the tune; if they sing a mournful song to them, they refuse to simulate sorrow. In the language which Jesus spoke, there is a fine play on words in this passage, which brings out the emphasis of His thought very beautifully. Just as in the case of these children, no one can please the Jews, neither John nor Christ. John preached the baptism unto repentance and led a strict and austere life, and their verdict was: He is possessed of a demon; he is not in his right mind; why listen to him? When Jesus came, He introduced no such peculiarities, but lived and acted like other people, only with a kindly sympathy for all men. And this behavior they distorted into a frightful caricature; calling Him a glutton, a drunkard, a companion of publicans and sinners. Thus the Jews contradicted themselves to their own condemnation. But Jesus reminds them of a proverbial saying: Wisdom is justified of all her own children. There is no disagreement between this passage and that Mat 11:19. By a slight change in vocalization the Aramaic word used by Jesus may mean either “works” or “children. ” Both renderings arc inspired and accepted by God. The personal, divine Wisdom, Christ, Pro 8:1-36, was obliged to justify Himself against the judicial verdict of those who should have been His children by faith, but who refused to accept Him. His work stood the test of God’s judgment in spite of their unbelief.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

DISCOURSE: 1501
THE PERVERSE CHILDREN

Luk 7:31-32; Luk 7:35. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.But wisdom is justified of all her children.

THOUGH man is distinguished from all other animals by the faculty of reason, he is far from submitting readily to its dictates. In things that are agreeable to his mind he is easily persuaded: but where he is at all swayed by prejudice, or passion, or interest, he cannot be prevailed upon, even by the clearest arguments, to embrace truth, or to fulfil his duty. Thus it was with the Pharisees in our Lords time; on which account he compared them to perverse children, who could not be induced by their companions to participate in their amusements, notwithstanding every endeavour on their parts to accommodate themselves to their wishes [Note: It was customary to use pipes both at marriages and at funerals; at the one in cheerful, at the other in plaintive strains. And the children, in their play, are supposed to represent first the festivity of a marriage, and afterwards the lamentations of a funeral: in neither of which could they get their companions to join them.].

In this parable our Lord intimates,

I.

The reception which his Gospel meets with

God has used a great variety of means in order to recommend his Gospel
[He published it to the Jews under types and shadows, and gradually unfolded it to them in a long series of prophecies. When the time came for its more general promulgation, he sent the Baptist to prepare their minds, and the Messiah himself to preach it to them, and to confirm his word by miracles without number. He endued also a few poor fishermen with miraculous powers, and sent them to publish the glad tidings, that their divine mission being unquestionable, their testimony might be universally received. Nothing was wanting that could in any wise promote the acceptance of the truth.]
But in every place the Gospel has been rejected by those to whom it has come
[The Jews rested in the letter of their law, but hated the spirit of it; they embraced the shadow, but rejected the substance. By whomsoever the Gospel was preached, or under whatsoever form, the great majority of that nation could not be prevailed upon to receive it. Thus at this day, the truth of God is generally disregarded and despised. Men, it is true, profess to be followers of Christ, and to approve of his religion: but they are not suitably affected with it in any respect; they neither rejoice in its promises, nor are humbled by its threat-enings; if we pipe to them, they will not dance; and if we mourn to them, they will not lament. Notwithstanding there is such a transcendent excellence in the Gospel, and such an exact suitableness to mens necessities, yet we still have reason to complain, Lord, who hath believed our report?]
It is a matter of no small importance to ascertain,

II.

The true ground of this reception

The ostensible ground is, that the Gospel is not properly administered

[The Jews could not confute the arguments of the Baptist or of Christ; but they took occasion from the peculiarities of each to reject their testimony. John, agreeably to the dispensation under which he ministered, was austere in his manners; and Christ, agreeably to the dispensation which he came to introduce, was affable and social: yet, so far were the people from being pleased with either, that of one they said, He hath a devil; and of the other, He is a glutton and a drunkard.
Thus it is at this time: men will not say, I hate the Gospel, and therefore will not attend to it; but they will find fault with the persons who administer it; and make their peculiarities a plea for despising their message. At one time they represent the ministers of Christ as speaking too much about faith, and thereby depreciating morality: at another time, as insisting so strongly on good works, that they drive men to despair. Sometimes they will object to the truth because it is not read to them from a written discourse: and sometimes because of the earnest and impressive manner in which it is delivered. Even the virtues whereby ministers endeavour to adorn and recommend the Gospel, are often made occasions of offence; and the strictness of their lives, the condescension of their manners, and their assiduity in labours, are stated as grounds of heavy complaint. And as no terms were too opprobrious to be applied to the Baptist and to Christ, so there is no name so ignominious, nor any treatment so harsh, but it is thought a proper portion for every faithful servant of the Lord.]
The true ground, however, must be found in the perverseness of mankind

[We, at this distance of time, see clearly enough the perverseness of the Jews in their treatment of Christ and his Apostles: but we are not aware of the same principle operating in ourselves. Nevertheless the truth is, that we have imbibed notions, which we do not like to have controverted; and have adopted practices, from which we will not recede. The Gospel proposes humiliating doctrines which we are too proud to receive; and self-denying rules of conduct which we cannot endure to follow. Hence we must either acknowledge that we ourselves are wrong, or find some reason for rejecting the truth. But we cannot altogether profess ourselves infidels and despise the Gospel as a fable; we therefore are constrained to blame the mode in which it is administered, and to condemn the preachers of it in order to justify ourselves. But the real ground of our conduct is, that we love darkness rather than light; and, if Jesus Christ himself were again to preach to us, the same conduct which he formerly pursued would give the same offence to his hearers, and be made a pretext for rejecting his testimony.]
But in the close of the parable, our Lord suggests,

III.

The encouragement which ministers, notwithstanding this reception, have to preach the Gospel

The Gospel of Christ, when justly stated, is the truest wisdom
[It is called by St. Paul, The wisdom of God in a mystery: and the wisdom of God does indeed beam forth in every part of it, whether we consider the mysteries it reveals, or the mode of its administration. Who can contemplate the method prescribed by God for effecting our reconciliation with him, or for fitting us to enjoy his presence, and not be filled with rapture and amazement? The more we consider the satisfaction of Christ, or the agency of the Spirit, the nature of faith or the beauty of holiness, or, in a word, the union of Gods glory and mans happiness in the whole scheme of redemption, the more shall we be overwhelmed with wonder at the depths of wisdom contained in it.
The progressive steps also by which it has been dispensed, together with the means by which it has been confirmed and propagated, yea, even the manner in which it has been brought home with power to our own hearts and consciences, will furnish abundant matter to increase our admiration.
And must not the consideration of this be a rich encouragement to ministers under all the contempt and obloquy with which they and their ministrations are regarded? Yes, they know that what the world account foolishness is indeed the wisdom of God [Note: 1Co 1:23-24.]; and that if they be beside themselves, it is to God [Note: 1Co 4:10 and 2Co 5:13.].]

Moreover, the children of wisdom will assuredly receive their testimony
[They are the children of wisdom who are willing to sit at wisdoms gates, and to obey her dictates; and, such are to be found in every place, notwithstanding the generality prefer the ways of sin and folly. Now of all these the Gospel will be approved, embraced, justified. They will shew to the world, both by their profession and conduct, that it is indeed worthy of all acceptation. While others pour contempt upon it, these will be nourished by it; and while others make it a stumbling-block, over which they fall and perish, these will be rendered by it wise unto salvation.
What can a faithful minister wish for more? He knows that his labours shall not be altogether in vain, but that there shall be some who shall be saved by his means, and be his joy and crown of rejoicing for evermore: and this far outweighs all the injuries and insults, which in the discharge of his office, he meets with at the hands of a perverse ungrateful world.]

To improve this subject, observe,
1.

What enemies are men to their own happiness!

[What end had the Baptist or Christ in view, when they preached to the people? Was it to raise a party? to get a name? to gratify their own vanity? Was it not rather to instruct and save mankind? Yet, men every where set themselves against them. And of what concern was it to John or Christ that they were called by opprobrious names? But to those who thus despised them it was of infinite moment; because they thereby ensured and aggravated their own eternal condemnation. Thus it is of small concern to us to be loaded with ignominy and reproach: but to those who thus requite our labours, it is an awful matter; for they despise their own mercies, and accomplish their own ruin. Let those who are thus disposed, remember, that they are far greater enemies to themselves than they are to us.]

2.

What a blessing is an honest and good heart!

[They alone who possess this gift can profit from the Gospel. With such a disposition men will overlook the little peculiarities which there may be in those who minister the word, and will endeavour to derive benefit from the word they hear. They will consider that every minister has his proper gift; and that the method which they disapprove, may be well suited to others. They will be thankful that the glad tidings are sent to them; and will receive the word with the affections suited to it [Note: Act 17:11.]. They will either dance or weep according as the subject calls for humiliation or joy. Thus, instead of rejecting the counsel of God against themselves, they will justify God [Note: ver. 29, 30.] by an unfeigned acknowledgment of his truth, and a ready compliance with his will.

Let us then cultivate this disposition; so shall that which is to many a savour of death unto death, be to us a savour of life unto life [Note: 2Co 2:15-16.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

31 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

Ver. 31. See Mat 11:16-17 , &c.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

31 35. ] See on Mat 11:16-19 .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Luk 7:31-35 . The children in the market place . . . . The pointed reference in the previous verse to the Pharisees and lawyers marks them out as, in the view of the evangelist, the “generation” Jesus has in His eye. This is not so clear in Mt.’s version, where we gather that they are the subject of animadversion from the characterisation corresponding to their character as otherwise known. Jesus spoke severely only of the religious leaders; of the people always pitifully.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 7:31-35

31″To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32They 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.’ 33For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34The 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!’ 35Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Luk 7:31-34 This paragraph is paralleled in Mat 11:16-19. John and Jesus came with different styles of ministry (John as an ascetic; Jesus as socially available), yet the Jewish leaders rejected them both. Luk 7:30 shows the close-mindedness and self-righteousness of the Jewish leaders.

Luk 7:31 “this generation” This term is used in a negative sense of current hearers who see and hear God’s truth, but refuse to respond appropriately (cf. Luk 7:31; Luk 9:41; Luk 11:29; Luk 11:50; Luk 17:25). This may be an allusion to Deu 32:5; Psa 78:8; Jer 2:31; Jer 7:29. There is far more guilt connected to those who hear the truth and refuse to embrace it than to those who never have seen or heard.

Luk 7:33 “John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine” John the Baptist was a Nazarite (cf. Numbers 6). He also lived in the wilderness and did not freely socialize with those to whom he preached (like Elijah). See Special Topic below.

SPECIAL TOPIC: NAZARITE VOW

“and you say, ‘He has a demon” This was the same charge that they used of Jesus (cf. Luk 11:14-26). They could not explain away God’s mighty use of this man so they attributed his power to a supernatural force of evil.

This accusation reveals

1. the animosity of the religious elite

2. the compassion of Jesus.

Luke was writing to Gentiles who were also poor. This shows Jesus’ love and identification with the common person.

Luk 7:35 This was a cultural proverb much like Luk 6:44, “each tree is known by its own fruit.” The actions and attitudes of those baptized by John (cf. Luk 7:29) were clearly distinct from the religious leaders (cf. Luk 7:30). The Jews often used the OT idiom “son of. . .” as an adjective to describe a person.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

And the Lord said. All the texts omit these words. this generation. See note on Mat 11:16.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

31-35.] See on Mat 11:16-19.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Luk 7:31. , shall I liken) viz. in words.-, like) viz. in actual fact. True words express the actual fact.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Chapter 41

Wisdom Justified

This Generation

First our Lord speaks about a group of people called, this generation. At first glance, it looks as though he is using the word generation the way we commonly use it, to speak of that specific group of people living at the time. But that clearly is not the case. If you look through the scriptures, every time these words are used together, they are used to describe self-righteous religionists. They always refer to lost religious people, like the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians of our Lords day. And those people called this generation are always hostile, persecuting people. They are the people of whom our Lord spoke specifically when he said, In the world you shall have tribulation. The words this generation speak of the enemies of our God and of our souls in every age (Psa 12:1-8; Psa 71:12-18; Mat 12:41-42; Mat 23:29-38).

In Luk 7:31-34 the Lord Jesus shows us that unbelieving religionists are always opposed to, find fault with, and are quick to slander Gods servants and his people, because the carnal mind is enmity against God.

We ought to always take care not to offend the people of this world. We should always strive to be kind, gracious, thoughtful, and caring of those people among whom we live and with whom we work in this world. As much as possible, live peaceably with all men. Try to get along with people. Make sacrifices to do so. Endeavour to live blamelessly before your neighbours, for Christs sake, for the honour of God, for the gospels sake. Yet, we must not concern ourselves with the cavils of men. If men and women are determined to set themselves in opposition to us, as we endeavour to serve our God, they should not disturb us. We must not court the favour of men; and we must not fear the frowns of men. This generation is a hard, implacable, peevish, childish generation, which will never be made friends to the cause of Christ. The cross of Christ has always been an offence to them and always will be.

This is the lesson to be learned by our Lords comparison describing this generation as children. If we would be saved, we must become as little children; meek, humble, inoffensive, trusting. Yet, lost religionists are also like little children, not adorable, sweet children, but peevish brats. Our Master compares this generation to perverse, rebellious children, who can never be pleased with anything. Nothing satisfies them. Nothing contents them. They find some fault with everything and everyone, but themselves.

John the Baptist came, leading a stern, austere, separated life of self-denial; and they said, he hath a devil. After him, the Lord Jesus came adopting the habits of a more social man, a man who mixed with people; and the very same men of this generation said of him, he is a glutton and a winebibber.

Their animosity was not really against either John or Jesus of Nazareth as men, or as preachers, but against the message they preached, the doctrine they taught, the God they represented. The men and women of this generation really do not care at all what kind of man the preacher really is. They know they can make their kind of preachers become whatever they want them to be.

John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ preached exactly the same thing. Both preached repentance toward God and faith in Christ. But the men and women of this generation are determined not to hear Gods Word, bow to his Son, confess their sin and seek salvation by free grace alone. The fact is, the carnal mind is enmity against God. Nothing will ever change that, but grace itself.

The pretended objections of this generation to Gods servants are only a smoke screen to cover their rebellion and hatred of God. Anyone who would hear Gods message from the lips of the Master would also gladly hear it from Johns lips. And any who would hear Gods message from the lips of John the Baptist would gladly hear it from the lips of the Lord Jesus.

How often we see religious men and women who have a blind attachment to a preacher! They follow not the Shepherds voice through the preacher, but the preachers voice. Such people are always fickle and unstable. And rebels will always find an excuse for their rebellion. The carnal mind will always attempt to cover its hatred of God and justify its unbelief. For proud, self-righteous, self-willed religious men and women, no matter who the preacher is, free grace is too easy, faith in Christ is too simple, substitution is too dangerous.

Notice this, too. Most of those things which divide the unbelieving religious world are matters of complete insignificance and indifference. What was it that caused these people to talk? What was it that kept some from hearing John and others from hearing the Lord Jesus and all of them from hearing either? John the Baptist was a strict separatist, a Nazarite. The Lord Jesus was far more free in his conduct.

Let us not behave as such peevish, silly children. Rather, let us ever behave as mature men and women. We have no right to make indifferent matters of importance. Let us learn to be silent about all those things about which the Book of God is silent. We have no right to impose rules upon Gods people that God never imposed. And we dare not make essential matters of indifference. The gospel of Christ, believers immersion, the observance of the Lords Supper are matters of primary importance. The doctrine of the gospel, (righteousness by the obedience of Christ, redemption by his effectual blood atonement, salvation by the irresistible gift and operation of grace) cannot be compromised; and these things are held forth perpetually in the symbolic ordinances of the gospel, when those ordinances are observed as our Lord gave them.

This generation is a wicked, perverse generation. But our Lord also speaks of something else.

Another Generation

There is another generation, called his generation, the generation of thy children, the generation of the upright, and a chosen generation. Look at Luk 7:35. Here our Master draws a direct and distinct contrast between those of this generation and his own elect. But wisdom is justified of all her children.

Certainly there is at least a reference here to the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who is our Wisdom (1Co 1:30). Christ is the wisdom of God. He is the Word, that One in whom and by whom we know God. He lived in wisdom here and shows us the way of wisdom. The Lord Jesus stood for us as our Wisdom in the council chambers of the Almighty in eternity. He fulfilled the wisdom of the covenant. He makes believing sinners wise unto salvation. And he gives us wisdom as we need it in the face of our numerous, subtle foes.

All Gods elect justify him in all his person and work. Wisdom is justified of ALL her children. All who are born of God, born of wisdom, repent before him and thereby justify God (Psa 51:4). Repentance is taking sides with God against ourselves, coming into agreement with God, and justifying God in the way he saves sinners.

Yet, there is more. Believers justify Gods wisdom in all things and thereby prove themselves wise indeed. The scriptures make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ (2Ti 3:15). And God the Holy Spirit is in his people the Spirit of Wisdom, Revelation and Grace. Thus, we are taught and enabled to see the justice and equity of our God in all his works and in all his ways (Psa 36:6; Psa 48:11; Psa 97:8; Psa 119:75; Isa 26:8-9; Rev 19:1-6).

A Great Saviour!

Even when he is spoken of in derision, our Lord Jesus Christ proves himself to be a great Saviour. His enemies constantly derided him, calling him a friend of publicans and sinners. How I rejoice to declare that that is exactly who and what the Lord Jesus Christ is. In fact, he is the only friend of publicans and sinners, the only friend we have; and he is the Friend only of publicans and sinners (Mat 9:12-13; Mar 2:17; Luk 5:31-32).

Oh, how willing God is to be gracious! Did you ever notice how often the Lord God refers to our sins as sicknesses, diseases and infirmities? One reason for that is this: our heavenly Father views the sins of his people as sicknesses calling for pity, not as crimes calling for punishment!

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore.

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden, lost and ruined by the fall.

Come, ye sinners, come and welcome, Gods free bounty glorify!

True belief and true repentance, every grace that brings us nigh!

Joseph Hart

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

Whereunto: Lam 2:13, Mat 11:16-19, Mar 4:30

Reciprocal: Deu 32:20 – a very Luk 13:18 – Unto

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

5

This paragraph is explained at Mat 11:16-19.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

WE learn, in the first place, from these verses, that the hearts of unconverted men are often desperately perverse as well as wicked.

Our Lord brings out this lesson in a remarkable comparison, describing the generation of men among whom He lived while He was on earth. He compares them to children. He says, that children at play were not more wayward, perverse, and hard to please, than the Jews of His day. Nothing would satisfy them. They were always finding fault. Whatever ministry God employed among them, they took exception to it. Whatever messenger God sent among them, they were not pleased. First came John the Baptist, living a retired, ascetic, self-denying life. At once the Jews said, “he hath a devil.”-After him the Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and adopting habits of social life like the ordinary run of men. At once the Jews accused Him of being “a gluttonous man, and a winebibber.”-In short, it became evident that the Jews were determined to receive no message from God at all. Their pretended objections were only a cloak to cover over their hatred of God’s truth. What they really disliked was, not so much God’s ministers, as God Himself.

Perhaps we read this account with wonder and surprise. We think that never were men so wickedly unreasonable as these Jews were. But are we sure that their conduct is not continually repeated among Christians? Do we know that the same thing is continually going on around us at the present day? Strange as it may seem at first sight, the generation which will neither “dance” when their companions “pipe,” nor “lament” when they “mourn,” is only too numerous in the Church of Christ. Is it not a fact that many who strive to serve Christ faithfully, and walk closely with God, find their neighbors and relations always dissatisfied with their conduct? No matter how holy and consistent their lives may be, they are always thought wrong. If they withdraw entirely from the world, and live, like John the Baptist, a retired and ascetic life, the cry is raised that they are exclusive, narrow-minded, sour-spirited, and righteous overmuch. If, on the other hand, they go much into society, and endeavor as far as they can to take interest in their neighbor’s pursuits, the remark is soon made that they are no better than other people, and have no more real religion than those who make no profession at all. Treatment like this is only too common. Few are the decided Christians who do not know it by bitter experience. The servants of God in every age, whatever they do, are blamed.

The plain truth is, that the natural heart of man hates God. The carnal mind is enmity against God. It dislikes His law, His Gospel, and His people. It will always find some excuse for not believing and obeying. The doctrine of repentance is too strict for it! The doctrine of faith and grace is too easy for it! John the Baptist goes too much out of the world! Jesus Christ goes too much into the world! And so the heart of man excuses itself for sitting still in its sins.-All this must not surprise us. We must make up our minds to find unconverted people as perverse, unreasonable, and hard to please as the Jews of our Lord’s time.

We must give up the vain idea of trying to please everybody. The thing is impossible, and the attempt is mere waste of time. We must be content to walk in Christ’s steps, and let the world say what it likes. Do what we will we shall never satisfy it, or silence its ill-natured remarks. It first found fault with John the Baptist, and then with his blessed Master. And it will go on caviling and finding fault with that Master’s disciples, so long as one of them is left upon earth.

We learn, secondly, from these verses, that the wisdom of God’s ways is always recognized and acknowledged by those who are wise-hearted.

This is a lesson which is taught in a sentence of somewhat obscure character: “Wisdom is justified of all her children.” But it seems difficult to extract any other meaning from the words, by fair and consistent interpretation. The idea which our Lord desired to impress upon us appears to be, that though the vast majority of the Jews were hardened and unreasonable, there were some who were not,-and that though multitudes saw no wisdom in the ministry of John the Baptist and Himself, there were a chosen few who did. Those few were the “children of wisdom.” Those few, by their lives and obedience, declared their full conviction that God’s ways of dealing with the Jews were wise and right, and that John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus were both worthy of all honor. In short, they “justified” God’s wisdom, and so proved themselves truly wise.

This saying of our Lord about the generation among whom He lived, describes a state of things which will always be found in the Church of Christ. In spite of the cavils, sneers, objections, and unkind remarks with which the Gospel is received by the majority of mankind, there will always be some in every country who will assent to it, and obey it with delight. There will never be wanting a “little flock” which hears the voice of the Shepherd gladly, and counts all His ways right. The children of this world may mock at the Gospel, and pour contempt on the lives of believers. They may count their practice madness, and see no wisdom nor beauty in their ways. But God will take care that He has a people in every age. There will be always some who will assert the perfect excellence of the doctrines and requirements of the Gospel, and will “justify the wisdom” of Him who sent it. And these, however much the world may despise them, are they whom Jesus calls wise. They are “wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2Ti 3:15.)

Let us ask ourselves, as we leave this passage, whether we deserve to be called children of wisdom? Have we been taught by the Spirit to know the Lord Jesus Christ? Have the eyes of our understanding been opened? Have we the wisdom that cometh from above? If we are truly wise, let us not be ashamed to confess our Master before men. Let us declare boldly that we approve the whole of His Gospel, all its doctrines and all its requirements. We may find few with us and many against us. The world may laugh at us, and count our wisdom no better than folly. But such laughter is but for a moment. The hour cometh when the few who have confessed Christ, and justified His ways before men, shall be confessed and “justified” by Him before His Father and the angels.

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Notes-

v32.-[They are like unto children.] Let it be noted that the one point to be kept in mind, in the comparison of the generation among whom our Lord lived, to children, is the waywardness and determination not to be pleased, which is often observable in some children. In this respect they were exact types of the Jews when John Baptist and our Lord successively preached to them. Their two ministries were peculiarly unlike one another. But neither pleased the Jews.

To attach deep spiritual meanings to the “market place,” the “piping,” “dancing,” “mourning,” and “weeping,” of the similitude, is, to say the least, unprofitable.

[Ye have not danced.] The dancing here mentioned must not be tortured into an excuse for modern dancing-parties and balls. The dancing spoken of in Scripture had no resemblance to the dancing of modern times.

v34.-[Eating and drinking.] The utmost that can be made of this expression amounts to this, that our Lord’s habits in the matter of eating and drinking were different from those of John the Baptist, that He was less ascetic, and more like other men.

Comparing this verse with the preceding one, and remembering, also, our Lord’s miracle at the marriage in Cana, and the Institution of the Lord’s Supper, I certainly think there is a strong probability that our Lord did not altogether abstain from the use of wine. I say this with the utmost respect for the friends of temperance. But I do not like to see a good cause injured by its advocates taking up untenable ground.

v35.-[But wisdom is justified of all her children.] There is some obscurity about these words. At any rate, there is much diversity in the interpretations which commentators put upon them.

Some take the expression “children of wisdom” in a bad sense, and consider the meaning to be, “those who ought to have been, or were reckoned children of wisdom, having rejected wisdom’s offers, wisdom is now acquitted and free from all blame at their hands. Divine wisdom tried all things needful for their conversion and salvation, and they would have none of her counsel. She is, therefore, justified, absolved and excused from all blame, if they are lost.” This is Chrysostom’s view.

Some take the word “justified” in the strange sense of “condemned,” and make out the meaning to be as follows. “Those who professed themselves to be children of wisdom have actually condemned wisdom, by refusing her counsels.” This, according to Parus and Chemnitius, is the view maintained by Luther.

I believe the right interpretation is to regard the “children of wisdom” as the truly wise, the elect, the believers, the people who are really taught of God. By them “the wisdom of God’s ways is always justified, whatever others may please to think of it. They assent to them, approve of them, and regard them as being entirely right.” This sense will be found ably defended in the commentary of Parus on Matthew,-and well and briefly stated by Euthymius.

The “children of wisdom” is a Hebraism for “those who are wise.” Thus, the “children of rebellion” means the rebellious, Num 17:10, the “children of wickedness” the wicked, 2Sa 7:10, the “children of pride” the proud, Job 41:34, the “children of transgression” transgressors, Isa 57:4. The “children of this world,” and “children of light,” Luk 16:8, are similar expressions.

It seems unnecessary to take “wisdom,” at the beginning of the verse, in the sense of the Personal Wisdom, Christ Himself. It is more likely a general expression for the “wisdom of God’s ways.”

The word “but,” at the beginning of the verse is more commonly translated “and.” Beza and others however show that it should be taken here in the sense of “and yet,” or “but,” as we have rendered it in our version. Alford points out that “and,” should be so rendered in Mat 10:29. It should be “and yet one,” &c.

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Luk 7:31-35. See Mat 11:16-19. The only variation is in Luk 7:35 : all her children. In Matthew: by her works. Here the persons are contrasted. The children of Wisdom are childlike, not childish, like the men of this generation (Luk 7:31-32). Instead of petulant treatment of the different teachers, sent of God, they have seen the wisdom of God in sending both teachers, have learned the truth from each, and thus, by estimate and corresponding act, justified that wisdom.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Our blessed Saviour in these words describes the perverse humor of the Pharisees, whom nothing could allure to the embracing of the gospel, neither John’s ministry nor Christ’s.

This our Saviour sets forth two ways, allegorically and properly: by way of allegory he compares them to sullen children, whom nothing would please, neither mirth nor mourning; if their fellows piped before them, they would not dance; if they sang mournful songs to them they would not lament: that is, the Pharisees were of such a censorious and capricious humor, that God himself could not please them, although he used variety of means and methods in order to that end.

Next our Lord plainly interprets this allegory, by telling them that John came to them neither eating nor drinking, that is, not so freely and plentifully as other men, being a very austere and mortified man, both in his diet and habit; all which was designed by God to bring the Pharisees to repentance and amendment of life.

But, instead of this, they censure him for having a devil, because he delighted in solitude, and was not so free in conversation as some men, according to the ancient observation, “That he that delighteth in solitude, is either an angel or a devil,” either a wild beast or a god.

John being thus rejected, Christ himself comes to them, who being of a free and familiar conversation, not shunning the society of the worst of men, no, not of the Pharisees themselves, but complying with their customs, and accompanying them innocently at their feasts. Yet the freedom of our Saviour’s conversation displeased them as much as John’s reservedness of temper; for they cry, Behold a man gluttonous, a friend of publicans and sinners; Christ’s affability towards sinners they account an approbation of their sins; and his sociable disposition, looseness and luxury.

Learn hence, that the faithful and zealous ministers of Christ, let their temper and converse be what it will, cannot please the enemies of religion, and the haters of the power of godliness; neither John’s austerity, nor Christ’s familiarity, could gain upon the Pharisees. It is the duty of the ministers of God, in the course of their ministry, to seek to please all men for their good: but after all our endeavors to please all, if we strenuously oppose the errors and vices of the times, we shall please but very few. But if God and conscience be of the number of those few, we are safe and happy.

Observe, 2. That it has been the old policy of the devil, that he might hinder the success of the gospel, to fill the minds of persons with an invincible prejudice against the ministers and dispensers of the gospel. Here the Pharisees are prejudiced unreasonably both against John and against Christ, that the success of both their ministries must be frustrated and disappointed.

Observe, 3. That after all the scandalous reproaches cast upon the Christian religion, and the ministers and professors of it, such as are Wisdom’s children, wise and good men, will justify religion, that is, approve it in their judgments, honor it in their discourses, and adorn it in their lives: Wisdom is justified of all her children.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Vers. 31-35. The Application.Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? 32. They are like unto children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. 33. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, He hath a devil. 34. The Son of man is come eating and drinking, and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. 35. But Wisdom is justified of all her children.

Here it is no longer the ministry of John simply that is the subject. Jesus is expressing His judgment of the conduct of the generation then living, with respect to the two great divine messages with which it had just been favoured. There is something severe in the double question of Luk 7:31. Jesus has a difficulty in finding a comparison that will adequately set forth the senseless conduct which He has witnessed. At last His mind fixes on an image which answers to His thought. He recalls a game at which the children of His time were accustomed to play, and in which perhaps He had Himself in His youth taken part of an evening, in the market – place of Nazareth. This game bore some resemblance to that which we call a charade. The players divided themselves into two groups, of which each one in turn commences the representation of a scene in ordinary life, while the other, taking up the scene thus begun, finishes the representation of it. It is not therefore, as with us, the mere guessing of a word; but, in conformity with the more dramatic character of the oriental genius, a passing from the position of spectators to that of actors, so as to finish the representation commenced by the players who imagined the scene. In this case two attempts are made alternatively, one by each of the two groups of children ( , calling one to another, Luk 7:32); but with equal want of success. Each time the actors whose turn it is to start the game are foiled by the disagreeable humour of their companions, whose part it is to take up the representation and finish the scene. The first company comes playing a dance tune; the others, instead of rising and forming a dance, remain seated and indifferent. The latter, in their turn, indicate a scene of mourning; the others, instead of forming themselves into a funeral procession, assume a weary, sullen attitude. And thus, when the game is over, each company has reason to complain of the other, and say: We have…, you have not…

The general meaning is obvious: the actors, in both cases, represent the two divine messengers joined by the faithful followers who gathered about them from the first: John, with his call to repentance, and his train of penitents; Jesus, with His promises of grace, and attended by a company of happy believers. But while the means they employ are so different, and so opposed even, that it seems that any man who resists the one must submit to the other, moral insensibility and a carping spirit have reached such a height in Israel that they paralyze their effects. De Wette, Meyer, and Bleek give quite a different application of the figure. According to them, the company which begins the game represents the people, who want to make the divine messengers act according to their fancy; the other company, which refuses to enter into their humour, represents John and Jesus, who persevere, without deviation, in the path God has marked out for them. But, in this case, the blame in the parable should fall not on the second company, which would be justified in not entering into a part imposed upon them, but on the first, which tries to exact a tyrannical compulsion on the other. Now it is not so at all. It is evident that those on whom the blame falls are the dissatisfied and peevish spectators, who each time refuse to enter into the proposed game (and ye say…, and ye say…, Luk 7:33-34). Besides, when did the people seek to exert such an influence on John and Jesus as would be indicated here? Lastly, there is an evident correspondence between the two reproaches: We have piped…, we have mourned…; and the two facts: John came…The Son of man is come… What has led these interpreters astray is the somewhat inaccurate form in which the parable is introduced at Luk 7:32 : This generation is like to children calling one to another. But in these preambles the connection between the image and the idea is often indicated in a concise and somewhat inaccurate manner. Thus Mat 13:24 : The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man which sowed, and elsewhere. The meaning, therefore, of Luk 7:32 is simply this: The conduct of the present generation towards the messengers sent to it by God is like that which takes place amongst children who… By the repetition of and ye say (Luk 7:33-34), Jesus translates, so to speak, into words the refusal of the people to enter into the feeling of holy grief or holy joy with which God would impress them.

But, notwithstanding this general resistance, divine wisdom finds some hearts which open to its different solicitations, and which justify by their docility the contrary methods it adopts. These Jesus calls the children of wisdom, according to an expression used in the book of Proverbs. (Luk 7:35): And nevertheless. The preposition , from, indicates that God’s justification is derived from these same men, that is to say, from their repentance on hearing the reproof and threatenings of John, and from their faith, resembling a joyous amen, in the promises of Jesus. , all: not one of these children of wisdom remain behind…; all force their way into the kingdom.

The term wisdom recalls the word counsel (Luk 7:30); the expression is justified, the justified of Luk 7:29. This connection will not allow of the meaning being given to Luk 7:35, which some have proposed: Divine wisdom has been justified from the accusations () brought against it by its own children, the Jews. This meaning is also excluded by the word all, which would contain an inadmissible exaggeration (Luk 7:29).

Instead of , children, reads , works: Wisdom has derived its justification from the excellent works which it produces in those who submit to it. But the epithet , all, does not suit this sense. The reading is taken from the text of Matthew, in certain documents (. B. Syr. Cop.). It would be more allowable in that Gospel, in which the word is omitted. But even then it is improbable.

This discourse is one of those which best show what Jesus was as a popular speaker. The understanding is brought into play, and the curiosity stimulated by the interrogative form (Luk 7:24; Luk 7:26; Luk 7:31); and the imagination excited by lively images, full of charm (Luk 7:24-25; Luk 7:32). Lastly, there is a striking application to the conscience: John failed through his austerity; I shall fail through my gentleness; neither under one form nor another will you obey God. Nevertheless there are those whose conduct by condemning you justifies God.

5. The Gratitude of the Woman who was a Sinner: Luk 7:36-50.

The following narrative seems to have been placed here as an illustration of wisdom being justified by her children (Luk 7:35), and particularly of this last word: all.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

Verse 31

And the Lord said; that is, in continuation. These words, however, are not found in the earlier and better copies of the New Testament, and probably do not belong here. If retained, they must be understood as above.–The men of this generation; the Pharisees and lawyers, who were not satisfied with either Jesus or John.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

7:31 {5} And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

(5) Whatever manner God uses in offering us the gospel, most men bring offences upon themselves: yet nevertheless a Church is gathered together.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

This second group, the present generation of unbelievers, was similar to faithless Israel in the past (cf. Deu 32:5; Deu 32:20; Jdg 2:10; Psa 78:8; Psa 95:10; Jer 7:29). They, too, were subject to God’s wrath. They were behaving no better than fickle children who become upset when their peers refuse to cooperate with them. Jesus pictured the religious leaders as children sitting down and calling out to others to march to their tune. However, their peers would not cooperate, so the religious leaders criticized them.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)