What Shall I Compare this Generation?

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Message

Matthew 11:16–24 ESV

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, 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 at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” 20 Then he began to denounce the cities where 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 done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Unresponsiveness to revealed mercy brings the reprimand of our Savior upon those who are unmoved by the Lord Jesus.

The second category of opposition comes from “this generation” or those who hear the Words and sees the deeds and rejects Jesus.

Now we saw Jesus tells the crowds last week that John the Baptist was Elijah who is to come.

If you remember Elijah’s story, you remember that Elisha comes after Elijah.

Elijah had prophesied judgment and the people should repent.

And Elisha who comes after Elijah doesn’t appear to bring judgment but goes around doing good.

He brings mercy to the land.

Matthew 11:6 ESV

6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Matthew 11:15 ESV

15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

The stumbling block that Jesus will lay before the people in this region is mercy.

It won’t be the stumbling block of judgment but mercy and unending kindness.

Everyone of the Jews longed for redemption but it came in the form of burning up all the “compromised Jews, Jewish sinners, and the Romans.” (Leithart).

But nobody was prepared for what came to them.

The Response – Unsatisfied with the “Music” Playing.

The People’s Estimation of Jesus and John

Matthew 11:16 ESV

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation?

Now who is Jesus talking to here?

We shouldn’t say that He is talking to all the Jews as a people or even all the Jews in His day.

“This generation” should be understood as those who were within Jesus and John’s day.

Like the sinful generation of those brought out of the Exodus that perished in the wilderness, so this generation is heading for destruction.

How do we know they’re headed for destruction?

Jesus gives a parable of sorts to illustrate the kind of rebellion they were currently living in.

Matthew 11:16–17 ESV

It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

Jesus’ parable paints a picture of children sitting in the gathering place of the time.

The marketplace of the day was where life happened.

It’s where you shopped, but it’s also where you live in community and spent time together.

Especially for children of the day because they spent time playing, laughing, and even crying together in those places.

Refusing to mourn at the funeral songs.

Matthew 11:17 ESV

…we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

When a funeral took place in the ancient world, you would hire professional mourners to come and “sing professional funeral songs.”

Don’t picture the Beatles, picture something akin to loud cries of agonies and anguish.

The people would come and sing songs that would alert everyone that mourning is happening here.

Matthew 11:18 ESV

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

John’s lifestyle was far more ascetic than Jesus’.

He spent his time in the wilderness.

Diligent to fast and abstain from food.

Focused on purity and righteousness.

And they treated John as though he had a demon.

Dismissed as a crazy.

Refusing to dance when the music plays.

Matthew 11:17 ESV

17 “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance…

You can picture the children standing in the marketplace with the sound of the flute playing.

Something that gets all the children up on their feet to dance and act silly.

But their response is to stand by sullenly as the flute plays.

Jesus correlates this to the manner that He came to the people of Israel.

Matthew 11:19 ESV

19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

Jesus came with a party.

As much as John was none for refraining from food, Jesus was known for eating.

Spending time with the worst of sinners.

Yet still they accused Him of being a “glutton and a drunkard”!

John played a somber note of repentance and abstaining.

Jesus played a joyful note of the coming kingdom.

And “this generation” stood by tone deaf to the music before them.

They wouldn’t be moved by anything.

They weren’t moved with somber cries of sorrow and sadness.

They weren’t moved by joy and glee.

Matthew 11:19 ESV

Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

Wisdom in the OT is concerned with how a person conducts their life.

It has been said before, “Knowledge can tell you what to do, but you need wisdom to know how to apply it .”

Jesus tells us here simply that the deeds of Jesus and John should be plain as day.

They should be able to see the right living before them.

The wisdom is God’s wisdom.

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary (c) The Response to John and Jesus (11:16–19)

(Gods) wisdom is justified (vindicated) by the very deeds which scandalize those who will not respond.

Wisdom demands a response.

The Bible repeatedly describes wisdom as a woman crying out in the streets to those who are foolish.

Proverbs 8:1–3 ESV

1 Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? 2 On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; 3 beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

Lady wisdom cries out and nobody moves.

The prophet calls out in the wilderness to repent!

Proverbs 8:4–5 ESV

4 “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. 5 O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.

Nobody moves.

Nobody weeps for their sin.

The Lord Jesus calls out, “Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”

Accompanied by wonders and mighty works that would make anyone rejoice.

Proverbs 8:10–11 ESV

10 Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, 11 for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

Nobody rejoices.

Nobody receives anything.

They stand still like an unimpressed teenager that is “too cool for school.”

Not moved by anything but only scoffs with derision.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke 2) The Unsatisfied Generation (11:16–19)

Like disgruntled children, “this generation” found it easier to whine their criticisms and voice their discontent than to “play the game.”

To the prophet they say,

“You must be possessed to be so serious about all this!”

“You’re just too stodgy and out of touch with the culture!”

To the Lord Jesus they say,

“You’re going too far in extravagance!”

“You’re inviting the worst of sinners! What do you think others will think about the kind of people you’re inviting?”

Not Moving is a Movement. — Unbelievers

Maybe you think…

“It’s always the way people present Jesus that I have a problem with!”

“I love Jesus, but I can’t stand the way people are about Him!”

I want you to notice how similar you are in that moment to these crowds.

Always criticizing but never responding with faith and obedience.

Christians

Learning to listen for the music in the life of our church.

More than listening, but responding to the music.

Moving with the music being played in an appropriate way.

“Refusing to mourn when God sings a dirge will make us like the generation of Jesus, lost and wandering in the wilderness. Refusing to dance when the Lord plays a wedding song will also leave us in the wilderness.” Peter Leithart, 231

What time is it, brothers and sisters?

What kind of music is playing?

Are we responding in the way we should?

Jesus will draw some implications based upon the lack of a response.

The lack of a response was their response and it was the wrong response.

So Jesus turns to warning them.

Stop signs as warnings.

It’s almost as if the warnings of scripture are stop signs.

Now the world is running every stop sign that scripture presents, but when God begins to change the heart of a person they begin to heed the warnings of scripture.

They begin to listen and obey what God has said.

The Christian no longer cruises through the next red light.

The Christian sees the clear warning of Scripture and stops.

Not perfectly.

Not every time.

But truly.

God perseveres his people through Scriptures warnings.

It is actually through the warnings of the Bible that God keeps his people.

It’s through heeding the warnings of scripture that person perseveres in the faith.

Matthew 11:20 ESV

20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.

The Reprimand – Judgement According to Mercy Revealed

All people everywhere no of God as creator.

Some people suppress this knowledge, and the fool says in his heart there is no God (Psalm 14:1).

But generally speaking all people everywhere know of God, the creator.

What is not known to them is God the savior.

2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

And these two towns stand as two excellent illustrations.

They saw the words of the Lord Jesus in action, and their hearts were hard.

They were hard because of their unbelief.

What does it mean when God judges a person?

The Bible tells us that for God to judge a person is to hand them over to their own desires.

Romans 1:24 ESV

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

Romans 1:26 ESV

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.

Romans 1:28 ESV

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

But the judgment of God has a point where His judgment will be poured out.

They were reprimanded because the signs revealed the truthfulness of the claim.

Matthew 11:21 ESV

21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Chorazin and Bethsaida were not important towns.

But they were indeed towns that Jesus did much ministry in.

Jesus claims that should have recognized Him.

They should have seen the signs and understood what He was saying.

They were reprimanded because they were viler than OT sinners.

Matthew 11:22 ESV

22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

The example of Sodom and Gomorrah in the book of Genesis is a great example of a people who have been handed over to their sin.

They were handed over to send in all sorts of ways.

Morally in their lying and thieving actions.

Relationally in their inhospitable and hostile ways.

The pinnacle of their sin though was their outward sexual sin.

Sodom and Gomorrah were partaking, reveals and utter bankruptcy of heart, mind, and action.

They were not fighting these desires.

They were actively pursuing them.

So before we act all high and mighty to towns like these.

We really ought to take an examination of our own hearts.

We really ought to take an examination of the hardness and rebellion that God has revealed in our own souls.

And instead of standing high and mighty and announcing these towns with the Lord Jesus, we need to see how utterly we deserve the same punishment that they do.

We deserve worse punishment because we see the picture all the more clearly.

We have the fullness of God‘s revelation in scripture.

We see the fullness of God‘s redemption of the world in Lord Jesus Christ.

We see clearly which makes the judgment all the more severe.

May God have mercy on the souls of those who have seen and yet have rejected.

And all the more fully for those who have seen and heard more clearly.

They were reprimanded because they refused to come to Him.

Matthew 11:23 ESV

23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Capernaum was the town Jesus lived in His earthly ministry.

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary ii. Towns Which Rejected Jesus’ Appeal (11:20–24)

Arrogance and immorality will be punished, but not so severely as the rejection of God’s direct appeal.

Now the Bible is very clear that this is already the judgment of God.

The Bible says over and over again that when the people are given over to send, they are currently under God‘s judgment.

But there’s something interesting with Sodom and Gomorrah because they become a prototype of the final judgment that will eventually come upon all humanity.

Sodom and Gomorrah Not only live under the judgment of God, but they will die under God’s fiery judgment.

They were reprimanded according to the mercy revealed.

Matthew 11:24 ESV

24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

The judgment received will correspond to the mercy revealed.

An equivalent in our generation would be:

“It will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Hollywood then for the town of Keyser.”

That sounds preposterous.

How could it be more bearable for Hollywood than for our little town?

The principal at play is that a person will be judged based upon what has been revealed to them.

So it’s very possible for a place like Hollywood that has very little revelation revealed to it directly then to our own little town.

So if people hear God’s word preached week in and week out and they are unmoved, they should beware.

We immediately rushed to the thoughts,

“What about the person who’s never heard the gospel?”

“What about the person who’s never had any mercy revealed to them?”

I want to make an observation about this: I think that’s the wrong question. The question we are to rather ask is:

Why would God reveal any mercy at all?

How is it that the Just, Holy God of heaven would reveal mercy to any sinner and rebel at all?

When we understand this issue correctly, it allows us to get to the heart of this text that we see in front of us today.

Instead of asking how God could judge those who have not seen mercy at all.

We ought to consider the depth of mercy you and I have seen and revealed, and yet are still hard too.

The fact you are sitting here hearing my voice from God‘s very word is evidence that mercy has been revealed to you.

The fact that you have heard the gospel at all is a sheer act of mercy in itself so instead of quibbling about how God could righteously judge sinners, we ought to stand in marvel at the utter unbelief revealed in our own hearts.

This past week, I have been abundantly impatient with my children.

I’ve raised my voice at them.

I’ve been impatient with them.

One evening in particular I walked outside after my frustration boiled over.

You know it’s amazing that I was not met by health fire and brimstone.

I was met by the crickets chirping.

I was met by a starry sky.

That was beautiful see the amazing thing for you and I is not the god has revealed mercy at all, but that he continues to reveal mercy and kindness in Christ to wretched and pitiable.

Romans 2:4 ESV

4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

But for some, God’s kindness only leads toward deeper rebellion and pride.

The way a person responds to the kindness of God reveals their heart posture.

Unresponsiveness to revealed mercy brings the reprimand of our Savior upon those who are unmoved by the Lord Jesus.