But what can I liken this Generation

Introduction: What do you think of this GENERATION? You might be asking, which generation are you speaking about Pastor Kim? And you would be right, for we are told that there are multiple generations alive at present:

Which Generation Are You?

See chart in printed notes

I will be providing a separate handout that provides you with insight into all these various generations. I think you will find it helpful in understanding the various age groups even within the church.

In this sermon, we are going to look at how Jesus Christ describes the generation of people alive at His time. We will look at how Jesus describes them, and how they responded to the messages of both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

I. What is this Generation like? – 11:16-17

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.’

Underline the word, “generation.” What did Jesus mean by the word, generation? Jesus was speaking about all the people who were alive at the time He walked upon the earth. He was speaking about all the people that He crossed paths with. You and I are living in our generation. Which I believe makes up all people without the generational titles that we have given them. Every one of us from the youngest child to the oldest senior make up the generation right now living in 2024.

One of my favorite verses in the Book of Acts is Acts 13:36. It reads,

“After David served his generation, he fell asleep”

The first part of verse 16 is a question. Jesus asked,

But to what shall I liken this generation?

And then Jesus answers His question by stating,

It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions,

Jesus compares His generation to children. Do you know how children act and respond to things? Very selfishly. Even the best of children are self-centered and are all about themselves. Most children only want to play games. They want to entertain themselves.

Are you aware that the old word “muse” means to think or meditate upon? If you place the letter “a” in front of it, it negates the word. So, “amuse” means not to think or not to meditate. We have created amusement parks so that we can get away from thinking. We can go off and play without having to think about all our responsibilities.

Children want to Amuse Themselves

Have you ever watched a group of children at play? One child

picks up a toy and begins to play with it. Another child comes along takes away the toy from the first child – pulls and jerks it right out of their hands. The child says, I’m playing with this, and I am also playing with the toy that you just picked up to play with, and if there is another toy that you are eyeing, well, I am playing with that one too. So don’t you even think about playing with anything that I am playing with? Keep your hands off my stuff. It’s all my stuff.

What I described is a good picture of the generation that was alive during the time of John and Jesus, and well, a good description of our generation today. Time is the only element that separates people’s behavior.

Jesus described His generation as children sitting in the marketplaces and calling for their companions. Parents were shopping, and the children were allowed to play. Perhaps the market was set up in a large square, and in the center was a play area for the children.

When I was a kid the children in our housing development got together towards the evening hours and we played hide-in-seek, kick the can, red rover red rover, and kick ball.

When we played hide-and-seek, we picked the seeker by having everyone place their thumbs in a circle and someone would begin to tap them saying, Bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish, how many pieces do you wish? Whoever it landed on would say a number (like 4), and you would count that number – 1234 and say, you are not it. The last person to remain was the person who counted to 10 (ever so slowly) while others would go out and hide.

My point is that children love to play games. We see this in verse 17,

‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance’ We mourned to you, and you did not lament.’

Wedding and Funerals

There are two games mentioned in this verse. The first is the wedding game, and the second is the funeral game. Probably half of the children wanted to play the wedding game. So, they begin to play the flute, expecting the other children present to play along, but they refuse to dance. These children didn’t want to play the wedding game, no, they wanted to play the funeral game, and so, they began to mourn, and try to get the other half of the children to lament, as if they were attending a funeral. But the other half of the children refused to play along with the funeral game. And here is the point – these children couldn’t be satisfied!

Jesus compares His generation to a bunch of spoiled children. Each one wanted their way, and they were unwilling to play along with the wishes of others.

This generation could have been called, the unhappy generation. Nothing pleased them. And I remind you that the only thing that separates the generation of John and Jesus’ day from our generation is time. People remain the same.

No wonder it is so difficult to reach people with the gospel – they act like children all wanting something different. Unhappy with the game of choice.

I would like to point out that verse 17 is a picture of the ministry of John the Baptist, and the ministry of Jesus Christ. And the children rejected both. Why? Because nothing pleases people.

II. What did this Generation say about John? – 11:18

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

I believe that it is important for us to remember what Jesus Christ said about his cousin John. Look back in Matthew 11:11a,

Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist;”

Jesus made it very clear that John was a GREAT MAN! Think about John the Baptist for just a moment.

· His birth was prophesized – Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 4:5-6

· His conception was a miracle (a God thing) – Luke 1

· His role was a prophet – Matthew 11:9

· His service was being a forerunner – Malachi 3:1

· His message was of repentance – Matthew 3:2

· His life was exceptional – Matthew 11:11

John the Baptist lived a life above reproach. He lived a very strict life. He spent his time in the desert along the Jordan River. His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. He dressed in uncomfortable garments of camel’s hair (Matthew 3:4). He called people to repentance (Matthew 3:2). And John didn’t spend a lot of time socializing with people at special events.

A lot of people thought John was strange, weird, odd, and perhaps a little too stuffy. And John’s generation said awful things about him. Look at verse 18,

For John came neither eating and drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

Hear what I am about to say: It is far more satisfying for some to say bad things about others than to look at their spiritual condition. Let’s play a different game!

A holy life is like a burning flame, and if you get close to it, it will burn off your façade (your false front). John’s generation saw him as being too holy, and they didn’t like it. They didn’t want John’s seriousness, they wanted something more relaxed. Something that made them feel more comfortable.

J.C. Ryle penned,  “The Jews in our Lord’s time found fault with every teacher whom God sent among them. First came John the Baptist preaching repentance – an austere man, a man who withdrew himself from society and lived an ascetic life. Did this satisfy the Jews? No! They found fault and said, “He has a demon!”[1]

III. What is this Generation saying about Jesus? – 11:19

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.”

You can be sure that if people had bad things to say about John the Baptist, they would have even worse things to say about Jesus Christ, and they did.

Notice what Jesus said about Himself,

“The Son of Man came eating and drinking,”

John and Jesus lived differently, and the generation at that time used that against Him. So, at the get-go of Jesus' ministry, they accused Him of three things. What were they?

1. Being a glutton – overeating.

Jesus ate meals with people. Isn’t that normal behavior?

This past week I had lunch with Dan Brandel, our IEBA director of missions. We ate at Apple Bee’s. I had a French Dip and fries, and he had something like pulled pork and fries (sounds good, doesn’t it).

Both of us are pastors. Could people accuse the two of us of being gluttons? Of course, they could. Just because people say bad things about through doesn’t make them true. And just because Jesus ate with people doesn’t make Him a glutton.

2. A winebibber – a drunkard or win-o.

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “The wine Jesus and most other Jews drank was oinos, a drink made by boiling or evaporating fresh grape juice down to a heavy syrup or paste to prevent spoilage and simplify storage. To make a beverage, water would be added as needed to a small quantity of the syrup. That mixture was nonalcoholic, and even when allowed to ferment it was not intoxicating, because it was mostly water. Perhaps Jesus miraculously made wine from water for the wedding at Cana by creating the paste.”[2]

We need to understand that Jesus NEVER sinned (Hebrews 4:15). Drunkenness is a sin. So, Jesus would have never gone there.

I have heard Christians use this verse as a proof text to justify their drinking. They say, Jesus drank, and if it's good enough for Jesus then it's good enough for me.

Here is something else I find interesting. In Greek, the word “drink” can mean: to receive into the soul what serves to refresh, strengthen, and nourish it unto life eternal.

Everything I hear today about alcohol, even in the secular media is that it is a poison to the body. What I find mind-boggling is that science has created a pill that you can take before drinking that is supposed to break down the chemicals in the alcohol that are toxic to the body.

3. He is a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

They were saying that Jesus was associated with a very bad crowd. What we have here is guilty by association. I would hope that most of us recognize that just because you might be seen with a certain group of people doesn’t mean that you approve of that group’s behavior or lifestyle. Reaching lost people means being around a lot of different types of people.

The generation living at the time of Jesus was saying that Jesus wasn’t holy enough. That Jesus spent too much time with unsavory people. If Jesus were a holy man, He would never be seen with certain groups of people.

How does Jesus bring this to a close? He makes a marvelous statement in the conclusion of verse 19,

But wisdom is justified by her children.

Tony Evans writes, “Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. – that is, your ability to apply spiritual truth will be demonstrated by what you do. Those who scorned John and Jesus proved that their wisdom tanks were on empty.”[3]

What is Wisdom?

What is wisdom? One answer: JOHN.

What is wisdom? One answer: JESUS.

The New Living Translation - But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.

The Christian Standard Bible - Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.

You see, the reality of both John and Jesus’ ministry is seen in the results of their ministry. Which was CHANGED LIVES!

So, to John and Jesus’ generation, as well as to our generation I would say, real wisdom would be to accept the teachings of both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

You can either be children who are unhappy with everything (the teachings of John and Jesus), or you can display some wisdom (receive the teachings of John and Jesus) and let it be seen by your deeds, by how you live your life in the light of knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

Abraham Lincoln said, “You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.”

That quote amply describes not only John and Jesus’ generation but our generation as well.

Conclusion: What are our takeaway truths from these few verses? They are:

1. We will always live among a fault-finding generation.

2. People often act like children and want others to join them.

3. Even people who live a quiet life, but a life for God will be attacked.

4. Even Jesus Christ, the one person who never sinned was openly and viciously attacked by His generation.

5. People will condemn us by our associations. Jesus spent time with tax collectors and sinners, and so the generation assumed He too was a sinner.

6. Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. Our deeds will show the world if we have any wisdom. What are your deeds testifying today?

[1] (Ryle, J. C. Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Matthew [Updated Edition]: A Commentary (p. 96). Aneko Press. Kindle Edition). [2]MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1985). Matthew(Vol. 2, pp. 261–262). Moody Press. [3] Tony Evans Bible Commentary