Keegan Lenker
Dr. George Lyons
12-13-00
Matthew 11:16-19 || Luke 7:31-35
“To what can I compare this generation?
They are like children sitting in the
marketplaces and calling out to others: “ ‘We played the flute for you, and
you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they
say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and
“sinners.”’ But wisdom is
proved right by her actions” (Matthew 11:16-19 NIV). |
“To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the
marketplace and calling out to each other:
“ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you
did not cry.’ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a
demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a
glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’
But wisdom is proved right by all her children” (Luke 7:31-35 NIV). |
“Interpreters are widely agreed that the parable existed in
the Q, and that Matthew and Luke made use of that source here . . .” (Hultgren
204). There are many similarities between the two versions of this parable in
Matthew and Luke, suggesting a common source. “Interpreters of various
approaches consider the parable to have originated with Jesus . . .” (Hultgren
204). Only minor differences exist between the two parables.
The minor difference is found in relation to eating and
drinking. "Bread" and "wine" are explicitly referred to in
Luke’s account, but not in Matthew’s. “The omission can be attributed
to harmonization with Matthew’s version” (Hultgren 203).
For the most part the two parables are entirely similar to one
another.
In both Gospels the
parable is spoken by Jesus within his Galilean ministry. It follows a series of
sayings concerning John the Baptist (Matt 11:2-15 ||Luke 7:18-30), who is currently
imprisoned by Herod Antipas (Matt 11:2; Luke 3:20) at Machaerus, a fortress-palace near
the Dead Sea. In both cases Jesus speaks the parable to the crowds and in the
presence of his disciples (Matt 11:7 || Luke 7:24). In part, the message of the
parable is that the crowds had understood neither John nor Jesus” (Hultgren 204).
John
the Baptist was a man who prepared the way for Christ’s coming into the world. His leadership and
preparation preceded him and his unwillingness to suppress what he knew was right landed
him in prison. All of these things that Jesus had been active in doing paved the way for the
telling of this parable.
The parable begins with a sign of confusion or frustration on the part of Jesus as
he asks a question as to what he should compare the generation he was dealing with to
(11:16). How they respond and understand things was confusing, but he knew that they
could understand through a story, if they would only think.
Jesus goes on to say that the people that were listening were like children
sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others. Modern readers need to
understand that when Jesus said the people of his day were “like children sitting in
the markets—the Agora, [he referred to the] main meeting place of people in any city
of that day . . .” (Earle 116). We understand this to say that the people were
aware of the gathering of children in the marketplace and it was a routine event in the
everyday lives of many. This might be compared to teens hanging out in the mall in
our day.
The next aspect of the story has the children calling out to other people that
they play music and the people would not dance, then they sang a funeral dirge and the
people would not even cry about it. The dirge is a sad song sung at funerals
allowing people to mourn. These two statements are thought to be in connection with
games that the children enjoyed playing -- wedding vs. funeral games.
. . . two clusters of
children at play. The picture is not entirely clear and has been interpreted as
depicting two groups proposing alternate games, ‘wedding’ and
‘funeral,’ or one group proposing the two different games to their recalcitrant
companions who refuse to join in either (Blomberg 208).
Jesus
explains that John the Baptist came as an ascetic prophet, neither eating fine food nor
drinking fermented beverages. His contemporaries were put off by his self-denying,
conservative ways. Most of them dismissed him as a crank -- they explained their
refusal to take him seriously by saying that he had a demon. Jesus then talks about
himself as he says that he came as a fun-loving party-goer. His contemporaries
dismissed him as bad, because he hung out with the people who were considered sinners in
the society (11:18-19a).
What we have are two people who came in two totally
different ways. Reference is made in comparing these two men to the games that the
children were talking about playing. “John’s ascetic lifestyle identifies
him with the ‘funeral’ game. Instead of repenting in response to
John’s preaching, the opponents claimed that he had a demon and so could be ignored
as ‘crazy’ and even possessed” (Harrington 157). Harrington goes on
to explain Jesus. “Jesus’ nonascetic lifestyle identifies him with the
‘wedding’ game. Instead of rejoicing that sinners were sharing in the
banquet that foreshadowed life in God’s kingdom, the opponents made personal attacks
on Jesus’ character” (158). To be an ascetic meant that an individual did
not partake or do the norm found within society. John was this way and Jesus was not.
The people did everything that they could to push aside
or to compromise what was being taught as far as any connection to their lives.
Jesus is saying that when John came and offered the way of God, the people did not
respond. Then Jesus came along and offered a way to God as well and the people again
did not respond. The people were more concerned with finding fault in their lives
than seeing the reality that either John or Jesus were talking about.
The last part of the verse in the 19th
chapter says, “But wisdom is proved right by her actions” Jesus is calling these
people to show that they are wise in what they hear and to take action and show that they
understand.
Contemporary Understanding
And thought
it time to teach,
About two
men who did their job
So to God
their lives would reach.
He thought
how should I tell this story
So they get
the information?
Maybe
I’ll tell about children, yes!
From
this generation.
He said,
“The children played the flute for you
But you did
not respond,
They tried
to get you to react
To
merely a funeral song.
The story
does not finish there
It continues
right along,
As the two
men of the story are seen
As
two who don’t belong.
John is a
man who lived his life
Different,
so as grow,
He
didn’t do the norm you see
He
went against the flow.
His life
impacted many
As he
prepared the way,
For someone
whose way was better
And
whom maybe the people would obey.
John was
compared to the flute
That the
children played real hard,
But the
people would not listen
They
just put up a stronger guard.
The next man
was Jesus
Whose life
thrilled so many folks,
He healed
the sick and raised the dead
He
cast out demons, No Joke!
He liked to hang out with the “others”
The sinners
here on earth,
Who took the
money and did bad stuff
Who
seemed to have no worth.
Jesus’ comparison was to the children,
Who sang a
real sad song,
And the
people we hoped just might see
But
boy were we all wrong.
We are
called here to this world
To love and
cherish all,
To show the
way to a relationship
To prevent a
mighty fall.
That
relationship is found in God you see,
For He alone
we need,
So look
around you and watch everyone
And begin to
plant your seed.
We can know
the truth just in our heads
But be
blinded to the Light,
Be wise,
take action and make a pact
To always do
the right.
Blomberg, Craig. Interpreting the Parables. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1990.