Luke 7:31-35
“Therefore, to what will I compare this generation of
mankind? And to what is it similar? They are similar to children in the
marketplace who sit down and call to one another while saying, ‘We played the
flute for you and you did not dance. We sang
a dirge and you did not weep.’ For John
has come while neither eating bread nor drinking wine and you all said, ‘He has
a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating
and drinking and you all say, ‘The man is a glutton and drunkard – a friend of
tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom
is being shown righteous by all her children.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
John the Baptizer came with a very stoic and subdued
life. He readily pointed to the problems
of the world around him. He called
people to repentance. In talking about
John, Jesus is reminding us that there most certainly is a place in the world
for the prophets in the world who so easily focus on the errors and the sins of
the fallen world around them. We are
expected to mourn when human beings act sinfully towards one another. This is why Jesus quotes the children in the
marketplace in saying that they played a dirge and the people didn’t wail. The problem with the people is that when
faced with the reality of their sinfulness they do not repent or show any kind
of sorrow.
Where do you mourn humanity and its sinfulness? Where do you accept God’s invitation to call
yourself and others to repentance?
Second Thought:
Jesus comes in happiness and celebration. Jesus comes to enjoy life. Jesus is the optimistic, always looking
towards the grace of God and the mercy that He bestows upon us. In talking about Himself, Jesus is telling
the people around Him that there is a place in the kingdom for happy people and
people who focus on grace. We are
expected to hear about God’s grace and celebrate. When God’s brings us to a place of
celebration, we are to respond! This is
why Jesus quotes the children in the marketplace about playing a flute and the
people not dancing. The problem with the
people is that when a reason to give glory to God comes along, they don’t
respond.
Where do you give glory to God? Where do you accept God’s invitation to
celebrate His grace and mercy?
Third Thought:
The last phrase in this passage is a
neat expression. Wisdom is justified by
all of her children. In other words, a
person who is truly wise will say wise things and the actions taken out of
wisdom will lead to good results. If we
really want to know who is wise, we shouldn’t just listen to people. If we really want to know wisdom, we should
look into people’s lives.
Who are the people around you who are
clearly living out of the benefit of their wisdom? Do you live out of wisdom? How do you know?
Passage
for Tomorrow: Luke 7:36-39
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