“Everybody’s a critic.” “Just do something.” These are phrases that we often hear in our culture that seem quite divergent from each other, but in reality are very much connected. And then there’s the heading of “Wisdom” for this devotion. How does wisdom fit with the other two? But bear with me for a minute or so before you take out your critic’s pen.
In terms of being a critic of everyone and everything, we are a society where Monday morning brings a variety of self-proclaimed experts who knew (or at least claim to have known) what the coach should have done, or the president or should have done, or -you fill in your favorite blank here – should have done. We have web sites set up to give out the “everyone’s a critic” award of the week. And certainly the proliferation of blogs have only expanded the ability of any one of us to gripe to the whole world about whatever ticks us off at the moment. (Side note – see my other blog at ilikecomplaining@selfabsorbed.com to see what I’m talking about – just kidding – well sort of.)
In this respect, the religious elite of John and Jesus’ day were way ahead of their time. They had this whole God-thing figured out to the nth degree. And it was to this stubbornness of heart and mind that Jesus now turned his attention. These were the same group of Pharisees and Sadducees who had come out on a so-called fact-finding tour into the wilderness to hear John preach (Matthew 3:7ff), But in reality, it was just an excuse to go and assure themselves that they were right in their preconceived notion that John was a self-deluded fraud. Now they were quickly getting the hang of rejecting Jesus in the same way (see Luke 5:17-26).
So Jesus begins by pointing out the inconsistency of their reasoning on this whole matter. When John came – he came living out that Nazerite vow of not drinking wine and basically possessing a personal make up that favored a more serious side of the faith. Therefore the religious leaders claimed he was too much an ascetic or as we might think – a gloomy Gus in his behavior. On the other hand, Jesus was being accused of being a party-guy, because he was known to drink a glass of wine and hang out with an element of society that these holier-than-thou types lumped together and labeled as “sinners.” In other words, when it came to how John and Jesus acted, neither could win with these guys. That’s the point of the whole illustration: “I played the flute, but you didn’t dance; I sang a dirge, but you didn’t cry.” Nothing – or at least nothing but criticisms was all that Jesus and John would get from them.
As Jesus points out the inconsistency of their arguments, what he is really doing is making it clear that there’s something in common behind both rejections. What it really came down to is captured in the verses right before this section. In verse 30 it says that these religious leaders “rejected God’s purpose for themselves” and wouldn’t be baptized. Have you ever heard much sadder words: “they rejected God’s purpose for themselves”? They reasoned that since they had this whole system of religion figured out, who was John or Jesus to tell them anything different. They weren’t about to listen to these pretender preachers. So they’d do nothing.
But other lives were being changed. There was a new direction and new hope springing up among the people who repented and recognized that God was doing something incredible here. Christmas was arriving and they embraced it with all their hearts. Or as Jesus put it: “Wisdom is proved right by all her children.” In other words, to have a “John the Baptist” Christmas is to realize that “Wisdom” has come in the flesh and is walking among us in the person of Jesus the Christ. So there’s a time to sing and celebrate and a time to weep and sing the sad songs. There’s a time to put your faith into action. There’s a time to demonstrate wisdom.
In terms of being a critic of everyone and everything, we are a society where Monday morning brings a variety of self-proclaimed experts who knew (or at least claim to have known) what the coach should have done, or the president or should have done, or -you fill in your favorite blank here – should have done. We have web sites set up to give out the “everyone’s a critic” award of the week. And certainly the proliferation of blogs have only expanded the ability of any one of us to gripe to the whole world about whatever ticks us off at the moment. (Side note – see my other blog at ilikecomplaining@selfabsorbed.com to see what I’m talking about – just kidding – well sort of.)
In this respect, the religious elite of John and Jesus’ day were way ahead of their time. They had this whole God-thing figured out to the nth degree. And it was to this stubbornness of heart and mind that Jesus now turned his attention. These were the same group of Pharisees and Sadducees who had come out on a so-called fact-finding tour into the wilderness to hear John preach (Matthew 3:7ff), But in reality, it was just an excuse to go and assure themselves that they were right in their preconceived notion that John was a self-deluded fraud. Now they were quickly getting the hang of rejecting Jesus in the same way (see Luke 5:17-26).
So Jesus begins by pointing out the inconsistency of their reasoning on this whole matter. When John came – he came living out that Nazerite vow of not drinking wine and basically possessing a personal make up that favored a more serious side of the faith. Therefore the religious leaders claimed he was too much an ascetic or as we might think – a gloomy Gus in his behavior. On the other hand, Jesus was being accused of being a party-guy, because he was known to drink a glass of wine and hang out with an element of society that these holier-than-thou types lumped together and labeled as “sinners.” In other words, when it came to how John and Jesus acted, neither could win with these guys. That’s the point of the whole illustration: “I played the flute, but you didn’t dance; I sang a dirge, but you didn’t cry.” Nothing – or at least nothing but criticisms was all that Jesus and John would get from them.
As Jesus points out the inconsistency of their arguments, what he is really doing is making it clear that there’s something in common behind both rejections. What it really came down to is captured in the verses right before this section. In verse 30 it says that these religious leaders “rejected God’s purpose for themselves” and wouldn’t be baptized. Have you ever heard much sadder words: “they rejected God’s purpose for themselves”? They reasoned that since they had this whole system of religion figured out, who was John or Jesus to tell them anything different. They weren’t about to listen to these pretender preachers. So they’d do nothing.
But other lives were being changed. There was a new direction and new hope springing up among the people who repented and recognized that God was doing something incredible here. Christmas was arriving and they embraced it with all their hearts. Or as Jesus put it: “Wisdom is proved right by all her children.” In other words, to have a “John the Baptist” Christmas is to realize that “Wisdom” has come in the flesh and is walking among us in the person of Jesus the Christ. So there’s a time to sing and celebrate and a time to weep and sing the sad songs. There’s a time to put your faith into action. There’s a time to demonstrate wisdom.
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