Lord’s Day, Vol. 14 No. 11
Wisdom and Life
Luke 7:31-35 (KJV) And the Lord said, 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 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. 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 winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.
God’s wisdom or God’s way as given in God’s Word when imbibed will bring salvation and spiritual fruit in the life of God’s people in its season. When a man turns to Christ, repenting of his sins, he experiences the new birth which is forgiveness of sins, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the gift of eternal life.
Our Lord Jesus commended the wise-hearted who receives the gospel and is obedient to the truth of God’s Word as taught by His servant John and Christ Himself – “But wisdom is justified of all her children” (v35).
Our Lord Jesus also observed the generation of Jews in His time who ridiculed and belittled John and Himself. Our Lord described these men as likened to children playing together in the market-place who were childish in their behaviour, though they are adults.
The serious matter of human sin, its consequences and the remedy is addressed by the preaching of our Lord Jesus and John. Rather than seriously considering their messages, these men condemned John as being energized by the devil. John fasted and abstained from drinking wine, his austere self-denial were spiritual virtues that these men cannot see. Our Lord Jesus reached out to the publican and sinners by eating and drinking with them. He did not despised them but was amongst them to turn them back to God. Our Lord Jesus was instead accused by the Jews of being a glutton and an excessive drinker, amounting to a drunkard.
Though there were many gainsayers who rejected the message of John and our Lord Jesus, there were those who humbly listened to their preaching and were saved. They imbibed the wisdom that Christ and John were imparting to them and were made wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15).
The Apostle Paul explained well why these men rejected Christ and John’s message and the blessing of those who received the light of the gospel in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (KJV) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
In the face of persecution for preaching the gospel, God’s servants are exhorted to persevere with the good work of sharing the gospel even as John and Christ did for our example. Amen.