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So, we left off with Jesus healing the only son of a woman who was brought dead to the city gates.
At this point he is going to embark on quite a bit of insight on none other than . . . John the Baptist. So, let’s read our text beginning at verse 18.
Luke 7.18-35
Meat
August 25th 2019
Luke 7:18 And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.
19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.
26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
31 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.
Okay, back to verse 18 which says:
Luke 7:18 And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.
Apparently, John the Baptists disciples were observing the teachings and miracles of Jesus and would go an report to the Baptist what they had observed – with Luke’s “showed him all these things” it appears to refer to him healing the only son who was dead and perhaps the servant of the Centurion who we discussed last week.
And we read something really interesting here folks. John had been put in prison. And while there we developed some questions about Jesus, perhaps some concerns.
And so verse 19 says
19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
We know from Matthews account that John was in prison when he sent his disciples to Jesus.
Herod had thrown him into confinement, on account of John’s reproving him for marrying his brother Philip’s wife.
Remember, John was the last of the Prophets and was radically bent on righteousness and repentance from sin. He would not hold back on anything or anyone – including Herod and his hateful wife, Herodias.
But doing what a person is called by God to do is not always filled with certainty. And this is evidenced by the story we are about to study. After all, did not John have some really powerful evidences about the person of Christ dating all the way back to his in-utero experience where he leapt in his mothers womb at the presence of Jesus who was also in-utero?
And when John saw Jesus of Nazareth did he not proclaim:
“Behold, the Lamb of God!” And when Jesus was baptized by John was not John himself given the sign of the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove which confirmed that He was in fact the Promised Messiah?
Yes, yes and yes! And yet still, while suffering, and left alone with his thoughts, and perhaps knowing that he was actually headed toward his death at the hand of Herod and the request of His daughter, did John and his resolve in the face of all the spiritual confirmations weaken?
It seems so.
We could we wrong on this assumption, but it appears that while he had certainly chosen to decrease in his stature among men (so that Jesus could increase) he was taken out of the scene, and found himself in a cell with only his thoughts.
And perhaps in this lonely state he began to wonder, perhaps doubt – if he had seen and interpreted things rightly? IF this is the case (and again, it SEEMS to be but we could be wrong) but IF this is the case, it is an amazing example of how tenuous, and uncertain the human mind can be in the face of mitigating circumstances.
And how we ought to never judge another nor believe ourselves to be impervious to failure in the faith.
It is possible that some of John’s disciples (remember, he was very popular before Jesus arrived on the scene) had wondered if Jesus was actually the one and so John sent them to find out for themselves – which would be a very different story, wouldn’t it – and entirely possible – but in the end we aren’t sure why John sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus (verse 20):
20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
It sort of amazes me that they would ask but at the same time, I understand how we can over or under think things and in the end talk ourselves out of accepting the plain truth when it is set before us.
This very fact confirms to me the fact that human beings have to seek and search and to work to assess truth and to use discernment and acuity to remain in the light. I think it was something to do with our being made in His image, having the ability and responsibility to reason and weight things out and therefore the ultimate responsibility to choose this day whom we will serve.
I also think that external signs and evidences can be inferior to faith because the former can be justified away as aberrational but faith, good faith, acquired by and through the hearing and knowing of the word is much harder to shake lose from its foundations.
Matthews account doesn’t include what Luke will say next but that does not mean a contradiction, just an omission on Matthews part. But Luke, in the face of this disciples coming to Jesus to discover if he was the one, says:
21 And in that same hour he (Jesus) cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
And then after performing all of these miracles we read
22 Then Jesus answering said unto them (John’s disciples), Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. (And then Jesus adds a line that causes most to believe that John has become unsettled in His witness of Jesus)
23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
We note that Jesus does not appeal to the personal witnesses that John had we mentioned earlier but resorts to the way He was prophesied to be known – by the miracles that he would do. In fact, these things that Jesus mentions doing are mentioned in different places prophetically in the Tanakh like in Isaiah where the deaf hearing, the blind seeing and the lame walking are all mentioned.
And just as the Prophets of old had done such things by the power of God, Jesus, in doing them too, performed the works which none but the Messiah could do and John would be reminded that these were the signs that would accompany the Messiah.
Jesus does not limit the signs of his Messiahship to miracles however, as he also says to the disciples of John:
“to the poor the gospel is preached.”
This was also a clear indication of His identity as the Pharisees were not known to care for the poor and historically most other world systems paid little attention to them as a whole.
But Again, Isaiah 29 says
18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
So, John was then given further evidence that there was no other to look for – he was true.
As stated, Jesus doesn’t stop there. He adds:
23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
The word here translated, offended in me, is best understood as, a stumblingblock, as in “happy is the man to whom I am not a stumbling block.”
The word, stumblingblock is a bit of a mystery. In the Hebrew, its Mik-Sholem and literally translates to obstacle.
But in the Greek it is Skandalon (where we get the English word Scandal) and it more succinctly means to cause one to fall.
We read all the way back in Leviticus 19:14:
“Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.”
And so if we put it all together, Jesus is saying to the disciples of John, to say to John himself:
Happy is John if I do not become an obstacle he trips over on his path that has been obscured.
That is how I understand the meaning of these words. Perhaps Jesus knew that John was going through a time of self-doubt and wonderment.
Perhaps he could sympathize with the fact that even though John was called from the womb, and who lived an austere life of dedication, and saw the fulfillment of the promised Messiah among them by the Spirit, that in his dark dank lonely cell, where he knew he was probably headed to death, he wondered if he was correct in the course of life he had taken.
That is a VERY human thing to do – for most people – even the strong like John. Because of what Jesus will say about John in the coming verses I think He had GREAT compassion on him and his circumstance. And we know that once John gets beheaded Jesus retires alone all night into the desert to commune with His father.
I think these last words to John’s disciples were a means to encourage the man in his final hour. (verse 24)
24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he (Jesus) began to speak unto the people concerning John, (saying) What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
It appears that on this occasion that Jesus decided to talk about John. Remember, John had a viable and popular ministry that was aimed at paving the way for the Lord and making the paths strait prior to His arrival by calling the people of the Nation to repentance.
Multitudes had gone out to hear him, when he preached in the desert, and in all probability many disciples of Jesus were once disciples of John.
And so he appears to ask those in the audience some questions about what attracted them to John and speaking of him asked:
What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
The region of country in which John preached, being overflowed annually by the Jordan, produced great quantities of reeds, or canes, of a light, fragile nature, easily shaken by the wind.
Jesus uses the reeds which would have been familiar to these people as an image of a weakly, easily shaken individual.
Perhaps some of his disciples or former disciples had heard that John had openly been wondering if Jesus was the Messiah and were talking about him being weak or unstable and lacking the fixed principles he once possessed.
In asking this question, I think Jesus was openly declaring that John was anything but a shaking reed.
Then at verse 25 he presents another view of John the Baptist to them, saying:
25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.
What attracted you to John, is the question here. What did YOU go out to see? Was it a willy-nilly type of man? Or perhaps you went out to see a man dressed in soft robes – like those who lounge about in Castles or men of a softer perhaps more effeminate nature.
Of these Jesus says:
Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.
So obviously, if you went out into the desert to see or witness John you did not do so because he fit this description in the least.
That kind of clothing was an emblem of riches, splendor, and often weakness of moral fiber or character.
In saying this I think Jesus was setting up a contrast to the actual person of John who was certainly not a shaking reed nor was he the type to wear clothes that were worn by house-men.
He was coarse, hardy in his character; firm in his virtue; and lived up with endurance to trials and deprivations.
Those who actually went out to find and see John the Baptist knew this, and so his comparison was effective in combating any criticisms that may have been flying around about him at this point in his life.
Finally, Jesus asks (verse 26):
26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
I’ve read a number of interpretations on these words of Jesus – and I find most of them lacking and stating what seems to be the obvious.
For Jesus to call John MORE than a prophet that is saying something really important. Prophets were known for speaking the truth without hesitancy, for often losing their lives for the truth, for being rejected for speaking the truth, and for being inspired to say what they were sent to say.
Going back to the creation of John in his mothers womb and our discussion of it all, there are a number of things about John that stand head and shoulders above the rest of the human race.
He was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb – which is one of them. Leaping in the presence of the in-utero Messiah is another. A Nazarite from birth, his austere life-style only to be called out for a short season to do what he was made to do in that day and age of true religious hypocrisy.
John was, as Jesus called him, the Greatest of the Prophets.
And then Jesus further identifies John for the audience by citing Old Testament prophesies of John (another distinguishing factor about him and his life) saying (at verse 27)
27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Which is yet another distinguishing characteristic of John as he was the prophet to prepare the way for the Messiah Himself where others only prophesied of Him.
Of course Jesus is citing Malachi 3:1 and 40:3 where both prophets Malachi and Isaiah prophesied of John! (which is yet another factor that makes John more than a prophet – the prophets prophesied of HIM!)
And then Jesus lays out on last compliment about John before dropping a bomb. He says (at verse 28)
28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
Now the phrase, “them that are born of women,” is a colloquialism that is an emphatic way of saying that there had never been a greater man than John.
Born of women, and since all human beings are born of woman, Jesus was therefore saying that John was the greatest.
However, I would suggest that this might be a way to set up a contrast between people who are born naturally in this world (like John of the Old Covenant) and comparing all of them with those who by faith are born from above (in other words, of the Spirit) which is why Jesus adds:
“but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Remember, Jesus told Nicodemus that unless a person is born from above, meaning born of the Spirit, he or she won’t even see the Kingdom of God. So IF Jesus is comparing all people who are born of flesh (born of a woman) and John is the greatest of these) then what he means by this is, “but in terms of greatness, the least in the Kingdom of Heaven (who are born of the Spirit) will be greater than the Baptist.
And that is how I see these terms.
Natural men and woman can be good – they can be great (like John the Baptist who is greatest among those born of women) but the most ignorant Christian, born of the Spirit, Jesus says, is greater.
At verse 29 Luke describes the response the people had to Jesus words who had been baptized with the baptism of John.
29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
In other words they were happy to have followed and been baptized unto repentance by John in all probability because it has now lead them to find and discover the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, as a side note, Matthews account includes the following verses that Luke omits, where Jesus says a few other things relative to John the Baptist and I figure since we are talking about this setting we might as well include these passages – even though a few of them are super difficult.
But in Matthew 11 we read Jesus say at verse 12 -13:
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
Using really vivid language Jesus seems to be saying that when John began to preach there was a great rush from the masses to hear him and the push toward the message has been great (“From the days of John the Baptist until now” “the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence”) meaning that just as a city could be overrun violently by invading multitides, knocking down their walls and stalls and such violently, so did people go out to receive the Good News – and this started in the days of John and his ministry.
And then Jesus adds
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
Meaning, everything of the former oikonomea or economy continued up until John who was helping to pave the way for a new dispensation – and that the old one, where the prophets and the law of Moses were the guide, was going to close in the near future.
Why until John? (verse 14)
14 And if ye will receive it, (Jesus says, which is a way of saying, if you will accept this interpretation which is not the common way of understanding things) “this (John the Baptist) is Elias, which was for to come.
In other words, This is Elijah which was promised to come before the Great and Dreadful day of the Lord.
Elias is the Greek mode of writing the Hebrew word Elijah. We read about Elijah in first and second books of Kings. He was a distinguished prophet, and was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire according to 2nd Kings 2:11.
The prophet Malachi, in chapter 4:5-6, predicted that Elijah should be sent before the coming of the Messiah, to prepare the way for him.
But Jesus here clears the interpretation of this up by saying that John is this expected Elijah, and was therefore not supposed to appear in person, but that one should appear with a striking resemblance to him, or (as Luke 1:17 expresses it, “that John would come in the spirit and power of Elijah.”)
Because the Jews expected a literal appearance they had a hard time seeing Jesus as the Messiah. Which is why Jesus adds at verse 15:
15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
So that is the information that Matthews account adds to Jesus words about John the Baptist.
Let’s pop back to Luke 7:30 where we left off with the Publican rejoicing that they had received the witness and ways of John. But now Luke writes:
30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
What this is saying is that the Pharisees and lawyers (for the most part) rejected the witness and ministry of John and therefore were not baptized of him, which was to their own hurt, or as Luke puts it
“rejected the counsel of God against themselves.”
And at this point Lukes account picks back up and matches Matthews, with Jesus saying in response to these religious leaders and their obstinance: (verse 31)
31 Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?
How shall I describe the men of this generation (meaning these Pharisees and scribes and lawyers and sadducees?)
What is the best way to depict them? What are they like?
And he answers his own question saying:
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.
Now, it is in part what Jesus will say in verses 33 and on that help us interpret what Jesus means here. But let me explain what he means and then prove it by reading on at verse 33 and beyond.
Jesus asks, How will I describe these men? And then immediately says:
“They are like children in the marketplace, calling to one another.”
Going back anciently and perhaps even out to our day and age – or at least close to it – children in the markets typically are left to their own devices as their parents are either there working and cannot be bothered with them or they are orphans and go to the markets where the people are as a means to beg.
Whatever the case, children in the marketplace are survivors, play actors, and or mischievous little monkeys goofing around as a means to get the attentions of the masses swarming around them.
And Jesus says seems to be describing some sort of game or contest that goes on between the market children – a game where they go back and forth imitating the things that they see their parents doing in life.
One group may assume to play the role of an entertainer and another child or group of them may embrace the role of a mourner over the dead.
And in their play-acting they try to engage each other to participate in the act that they are presenting.
Have you ever seen children do this with each other? They attempt to draw the other children in to the thing that they want to do? And have you ever seen how children react when the other children don’t respond to them and their performances? They get sullen and angry and moody, crying:
“I was trying to sing a song and Johnny wouldn’t sing with me!”
So, Jesus says that these religious rulers are like these children who say in the marketplace:
“We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.”
The tricky thing about this is what Jesus is really saying is that is that THEY are like the children putting on performances and getting angry that the other children are NOT responding.
In other words Jesus is likening them NOT to the children who pipe (entertain) and mourn (play-act a funeral) but that they are like the other bratty children who won’t respond to the presentations made!
This is an important distinction to see but we know it’s the case because of what Jesus says next
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
Just as the children came piping to try and get the other children to dance, John came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, but your response to him was: He is possessed.
And so (verse 34)
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!”
In other words, this generation of men are a bunch of spoiled bratty children who, no matter what, will get along with others – whether it be the acerbic John or the Son of Man Lord – you will not participate.
Of course we know that John, as foretold by the angel to his father, would abstain as a Nazarite living in austerity.
But it is interesting that Jesus came both eating and drinking, isn’t it?
He came living as others live – not practicing austerity – but in this the children of religiosity accused him of being fond of excess – calling him a glutton and a wine-bibber, and seeking the society of the wicked.
Undoubtedly, Jesus lived according to the general customs of the people of his time. He did not affect singularity; he did not separate himself as a Nazarene; he did not practise severe austerities. He ate that which was common, and drank that which was common. As wine was a common article of beverage among the people, he drank it.
And Luke ends our time together quoting Jesus as saying:
“But wisdom is justified of her children.”
Meaning, the children of wisdom are the wise and he apparently means that though that generation of Pharisees and fault-finders did not appreciate the conduct of John and himself, yet the wise, the candid–those who understood the reason of their conduct–would approve of both and understand their place and purpose.
Let’s wrap it up here.
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Nancy and Dave
Jax and parents
