18 John’s followers told him about all these things. He called for two of his followers 19 and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?”
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you with this question: ‘Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?’”
21 At that time, Jesus healed many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and he gave sight to many blind people. 22 Then Jesus answered John’s followers, “Go tell John what you saw and heard here. The blind can see, the crippled can walk, and people with skin diseases are healed. The deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. 23 Those who do not stumble in their faith because of me are blessed!”
24 When John’s followers left, Jesus began talking to the people about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed blown by the wind? 25 What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, people who have fine clothes and much wealth live in kings’ palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you, John is more than a prophet. 27 This was written about him:
‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare the way for you.’
28 I tell you, John is greater than any other person ever born, but even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John.”
29 (When the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they all agreed that God’s teaching was good, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts on the law refused to accept God’s plan for themselves; they did not let John baptize them.)
31 Then Jesus said, “What shall I say about the people of this time? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying,
‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;
we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’
33 John the Baptist came and did not eat bread or drink wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon in him.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is proved to be right by what it does.”
Read Luke 7:18-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
At the close of Jesus sharing His thoughts on John the Baptist, He makes an interesting observation that is surprisingly relevant for us living today.
Verses 31-35 share Jesus big idea:
Then Jesus said, “What shall I say about the people of this time? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying,
‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;
we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’
John the Baptist came and did not eat bread or drink wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon in him.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is proved to be right by what it does.”
In these verses, Jesus basically describes a group of people who are engaged with what is happening around them who are getting no reaction from others who are too busy to pay attention to the world around them. If there is reason to celebrate, these people ignore or discount the celebration and don’t join in; and if there is reason to be sad, these people ignore that as well, and simply go on with their lives.
This is strikingly similar to today. In today’s connected culture, there are people who are giving reasons to celebrate and reasons to cry all the time. It has gotten to the point that many people give up and simply disconnect – which in many ways is not a bad thing.
However, disconnecting from the superficial relationships online is not the same as disconnecting from the real relationships offline, and while offline, we should remain connected with others.
Jesus shares His big point immediately following this that says there will always be people who discount someone based on what they do or don’t do. People discounted John because he lived apart from society, while these same people discounted Jesus because He lived incorporated into society. For some people, there is no happy middle. For some people, they will always find something negative to say.
Jesus didn’t come for those people. He came to help the people who were willing to accept Him. If Jesus lived in such a way that not everyone agreed with His decisions and ministry, who are we to think that our ministries should be relevant and/or agree with everyone? If Jesus couldn’t please everyone, there is no way you or I will be able to.
Instead, like Jesus, we should focus on the people God brings our way, and ignore those who are going to ignore or discount us.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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