Dr. Lyons
Parables
Exegesis #1
11/10/00
Children
In the Marketplace
Matthew
11:16-19 (Parallel Luke 7:31-35)
16 "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
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 drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds" (NRSV).
Setting
Matthew reports this parable of Jesus
immediately after his account of the calling of the twelve disciples and John’s
imprisonment. In the beginning of Matthew 11,
John sends disciples to Jesus to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should
we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3). Jesus responds and sends the disciples away. Jesus then begins to speak to the crowd about John
the Baptist. The whole chapter of Matthew 11
deals with the messianic claims of Jesus and John’s role as a messenger sent to
prepare the way for the coming of Jesus as the Messiah.
The parable itself deals with the immature or childish response of the common
people and their leaders to Jesus and John. The
parable in Luke is set in the same context.
In this
parable, Jesus uses an allegory to compare children playing in the marketplace with the
responses of “this generation” to Jesus and John.
Anyone who has had children or worked with children knows how disagreeable they are
with one another. One group says,
“Let’s play house!” Another
group says, “Let’s play tag!” Neither
group can agree on what to play and all become unhappy.
Jesus’
parable reflects this disagreeable attitude of children.
One group wants to play wedding: “We played the flute for you and you did not
dance”. That idea does not go over very
well, so they suggest playing funeral instead; but that idea is also not well received:
“We sang a dirge, and you did not mourn”.
The important aspect of this parable is that children are often disagreeable and
fickle. What they used to get excited about
they now look down upon. The children once
wanted to play wedding and funeral but now they do not; and they look down upon those
children who do want to play these now silly games.
Jesus compares
the fickleness and disagreeableness of children to “this generation”. “This generation” refers to the crowd
and contemporaries of Jesus who refuse to believe that he is the Messiah (Hill 201). All of Jesus’ critics are fickle and
disagreeable. They once accepted John the
Baptist and now they dismiss him as demon-possessed (Mt 11:18). Since the people do not accept John as a prophet
and preacher, they definitely do not accept Jesus as the Messiah.
Jesus makes an
important comparison about how John and himself preached.
John preached a harsh and rigorous message calling for national repentance. He even “denounced the religious leaders as a
brood of vipers” (Marshall 593). He
quickly gained widespread fame as a preacher, and many followers were baptized by him in
the Jordan River. Verse 18, “John came
neither eating nor drinking”, reflects John’s ascetic lifestyle. John lived in the wilderness, ate bugs, and wore
rags for clothes. He basically removed
himself from normal social interactions. After
he received his calling in the wilderness, little by little John came out of hibernation.
He did not seek
out crowds at first. He only spoke to those
who would come hear him speak. At one time,
he was praised for this lifestyle. Over time,
John came to be perceived as more radical. He
preached repentance and preparation for the coming Messiah.
His critics accused him of being too ascetic.
The last part of verse 18 is the people’s response to John and his message
“they say he has a demon.” John’s
demeanor and intensity made him seem possessed, even demon possessed in the view of those
who were unreceptive.
Unlike John, Jesus grew up in a secure home. He
was schooled in the teachings and laws of the Old Testament. He started his preaching at a young age. In verse 19, “The Son of Man came eating and
drinking”, implies that Jesus was active in his community, whereas John was not. John was an ascetic recluse. Jesus was a gregarious
extrovert. Jesus actively sought out followers and crowds. He hung out, and even
dined, with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus
also preached a message of repentance, but also claimed to inaugurate a new era of grace
and glory.
Just like John,
Jesus was criticized because of his actions. Since
he associated with the worst of the worst, sinners and tax collectors, Jesus was accused
of being one of them. Verse 19 proclaims
Jesus’ judgement; “they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of
tax collectors and “sinners”’”.
Verse 19 also proclaims Jesus’ triumph over his critics and foes. “But wisdom is proved right by her actions”. Wisdom does what is right and will eventually be vindicated by her deeds. Jesus did what was right. He preached His message to those who needed it the most, and he was crucified for it. In the end, Jesus overcame His adversaries by dying on the cross. “God’s wise design or purpose for man is proved right by its works, the mighty acts or signs which conclusively demonstrate that the kingdom has been manifested, that the decisive time has come” (Hill 203).
Message
The message Jesus was trying to get across to His listeners was that his “generation” was being childish. They rejected John because he was too plain and modest. They rejected Jesus because he was too outlandish. This generation once accepted Jesus and John, but then they changed their minds about both. They once wanted to play wedding and funeral, but now they do not. Jesus conveys the message that it does not matter. What matters is that the people open their eyes and think for themselves. Jesus is urging the people to broaden their thinking and to not judge by appearances only, but by what is true.
Application
Augsburger,
Myron. Matthew. The Communicator’s Commentary. Waco: Word
Books, 1982.
Gaebelin,
Frank. Vol. 8 of The Expositor’s
Bible Commentary. 12 vols. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1984.
Hendrickson,
William. Matthew. New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1973.
Hill, David. The Gospel of Matthew. The New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1972.
Keck, Leander
ed. Vol. 8 of The New Interpreter’s
Bible. 12 vols. Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1995.
Marshall,
Millard, et al. New Bible Dictionary. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1996.