Contrary And Condemned

I want to begin our message with a sermon illustration: “All too many Christians today go to church to find fault, to gossip, and to criticize . . . An incident in the life of Joseph Parker, the great British preacher, illustrates this tragic truth. He was preaching at the City Temple in London. After the service, one of the listeners came up to him and said, ‘Dr. Parker, you made a grammatical error in your sermon.’ He then proceeded to point out the error to the pastor. Joseph Parker looked at the man and said, ‘And what else did you get out of the message?’”(1) There are way too many people who miss God’s message for them, and even Jesus Himself, as they are focused on finding fault. This behavior resulted in the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum being rebuked.

A Contrary and Dissatisfied People (vv. 16-19)

16 But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.” 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.

In verse 16, Jesus used the imagery of “children sitting in the marketplaces” (agorais). The marketplace was the agora, which was the public square where people gathered for trade or discussion, as in Athens.(2) This was also the place where children came out to play.(3) To Jesus, those who rejected His message were like children playing games.(4) Now, His words might seem derogatory, but in Matthew 18:3, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus had a high regard for children; but right here, He was using an analogy to describe His own generation as being very childish. There is a big difference between having a “childlike” spirit and being “childish.”(5)

According to commentator John Gill, verse 17 is an allusion “to Jewish children, who having seen their parents and friends at their festivals and weddings, some [playing] upon the pipe and others [dancing] to [their songs], mimicked the same in their [playtime]; and also having observed at funerals the mourning women making their [laments], and others answering to them, acted the part of these persons, expecting their [playmates] would make their responses, but [they] did not: hence the complaint.”(6) “Jesus compared His own generation to children who criticized their friends for not playing games their way. They had played music for the wedding game, but their friends had not danced. They had wailed for the funeral game, but their friends had not joined the mourning.”(7)

In verse 18, Jesus said, “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’.” The phrase “eating and drinking” is to be understood as eating a meal with other people and socializing. John the Baptist lived a strict, withdrawn life as a prophet of God. He had little contact with others and did not socialize with the rest of society; and so, they gave an explanation as to why. In Jewish thought, one that was unsociable and melancholy was seen as being under the influence of Satan.(8) Needless to say, it was a bad thing to be introverted during that day and time. “In the imagery used by Jesus in this passage, John had angered the people [and religious leaders] by being unwilling to dance to their [cheerful] music.”(9) They complained that John was just too somber. He needed to dance!

In verse 19a, Jesus said, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” “Jesus, the Son of Man, had been the opposite of John. His attitude toward life had been a joyful one. He had enjoyed fellowship with others.”(10) But as they did with John, the people and religious leaders provided a slanderous description of Jesus’ activities, calling Him “a glutton and a winebibber” (v. 19). “They were enraged by His friendship with religious outcasts and the tax collectors.”(11) “They could not understand why Jesus refused to play the funeral game they were demanding that He play.”(12) They complained that Jesus was just too happy. He needed to mourn.

So, to summarize their complaints, John was too somber and needed to cheer up, and Jesus needed to tone it down a bit. This is what you call being contrary and always dissatisfied. Commentator William Barclay says, “The plain fact is that when people do not want to listen to the truth, they will easily enough find an excuse for not listening to it. They do not even try to be consistent in their criticisms; they will criticize the same person and the same institution, from quite opposite grounds and reasons. If people are determined to make no response, they will remain stubbornly and sullenly unresponsive no matter what invitation is made to them. Grown men and women can be very [much] like spoiled children who refuse to play no matter what the game is.”(13)