“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” – Luke 7:33-35 (ESV)
During His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ was not the person you wanted to try to trap in an argument. He had a way of exposing the biased agendas of those who opposed Him. He was adept at bringing the truth of God to bear on people and their lives. As God the Son, He had not only perfect knowledge and understanding of situations, but He also had utterly righteous views and divine authority. He spoke to people, issues, and events like no other person because of both His divine nature as God and His equally human yet sinless human nature. Jesus Christ is God Who took on flesh and became human. As a result, He is uniquely qualified to speak to us with divine truth, love, and authority. There are no political biases or hidden agendas with Jesus Christ because there is no self-serving need for such nonsense. Jesus Christ is Lord of all.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” – John 6:38 (ESV)
Our text above from Luke chapter 7 is an example Jesus Christ’s exposure of mankind’s biased and sinful ways. Jesus took the people to task over their contradictory comments that served their agenda. When it served their biased and sinful purposes, the people accused John the Baptist (the Godly forerunner of Jesus Christ) of being demon-possessed when he and his followers did not eat and drink. When it served their biased and sinful purposes another time, they accused Jesus Christ and His followers of being hard-driving partiers who hung out with the wild and godless crowd. Do you see the self-serving ways of Jesus’ opponents? They had an answer for every situation that served their own desires and purposes, regardless of the fact that their arguments were simply untrue. Rather than submit to the truth, they embraced excuses and fallacies.
Jesus calls them out for their thinly veiled schemes and weak attempts at entrapment. He uses the statement, “Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” What exactly does Jesus mean by this statement? There is an old saying that goes like this: “Children are a reflection of their parents.” According to Jesus in Luke 7:35, wisdom is described as a mother, and wisdom’s results are described as her children. In other words, the results of wisdom’s application either justify or deny something as truly wise. He let the people judge for themselves whether their assertions (i.e., their “wisdom”) of John the Baptist being demon-possessed and Jesus Christ being a godless sinner are true based on the results their ministries. Both John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ own works speak for themselves. Examine what Luke says…
Concerning Jesus Christ…“The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ And when the men had come to him, they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” “- Luke 7:18-23 (ESV)
Concerning John the Baptist…“When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’”” – Luke 7:24-27 (ESV)
Clearly, the crowd’s fickle and biased views were self-serving. How so? They were looking for ways to reject John the Baptist and Jesus Christ because they consistently proclaimed God’s call for sinners to repent and turn to Jesus Christ in faith and love. They sought a way to throw off God’s claim upon their lives rather than submit to their loving Creator and find salvation in Jesus Christ, God’s appointed means of saving sinners. The evidence was clear that John the Baptist and Jesus Christ were full of integrity, love for God, and desired to see sinners like you and me saved from God’s righteous wrath towards sinners that will come on the day of judgment.
Dear reader, I ask you to consider your own heart, mind, and the eternity that lies before you. Like the crowds in Luke chapter 7, are you looking for excuses and reasons to not believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Examine the works and words of Jesus Christ. The evidence of His power as God the Son is clear in His miracles. His love is clear in His compassion to people and His willing death on the cross in the place of sinners like you and me. His power and authority are further shown in His resurrection from the dead. Can you continue to spurn such a loving and powerful Lord and Savior such as Jesus Christ? Remember, today is still the day of salvation. Stop fooling yourself. Stop looking for excuses, worldly reasoning, and biased logic to not trust in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins. If you continue in disbelief and rejection of Jesus Christ, such efforts will lead you to stand on your own merits at the day of judgment rather than on Christ’s perfect merits that are acceptable and approved by God Almighty. Dear reader, I urge you to turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith today.
May Your Eyes Be Opened To Your Need of Christ,
Eric Conner
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels