It's the message, not the messenger

Matthew 11:16–24 NKJV

16 “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’ 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 winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.” 20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

1. Children in the market place.

Matthew 11:16–19 NKJV

16 “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’ 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 winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

Jesus relates His generation is like kids playing in the market place. Dancing or crying. it did not matter it made no difference.

Matthew 3:4 NKJV

4 Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

John the Baptist lived a very conservative life style.

Jesus Lived as the average Jewish man.

Mark 2:15 NKJV

15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.

it’s not you. it’s the message people reject.

for me, preaching the truth is not about being personally right or wrong. its about people not being in bondage to the lie.

fist it’s a matter of believing the lie, then as we walk in the life the lie has presented we end up in bondage.

2. We love to talk of truth....

John 3:19 NKJV

19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV

19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

2 Timothy 4:3 NKJV

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;

its not the better argument we are needing to present. We often love our little delusions more than the truth.

the delusion that I live in keeps me from seeing not only spiritual truth but

3. There where people who saw his miracles first hand that rejected Jesus.

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 11

11:20–24 Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were the cities in which most of Jesus’ miracles were performed, and yet their occupants rejected Jesus’ mission and remained unrepentant. For Bethsaida and Capernaum, see notes on Mark 1:21; Luke 9:10. Chorazin has been identified with Khirbet Karazeh, just northwest of Capernaum. Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities in Phoenicia (see Mark 7:24) and were often the object of condemnation by OT prophets for their Baal worship and arrogant materialism. Sodom was the epitome of a “city of sin.” Yet, Jesus says, even Sodom would have repented if it had witnessed his miracles and the reality of the kingdom.

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 1

1:21 Excavations at Capernaum (Talhum) have revealed residential structures, a synagogue, and an octagonal Christian site. Capernaum’s prominent, well-preserved synagogue has been dated (based on thousands of coins found below its pavement) to the fourth or fifth century A.D. (though some argue it is earlier); however, beneath this were found walls of a previous structure, which is very likely the synagogue of Jesus’ day. The fifth-century octagonal building, designed like many Byzantine commemorative Christian holy places, stands over a fourth-century church built by modifying a first-century house. This marks the traditional site of Peter’s home.