QUESTION #18 Where unto shall I liken this generation?

 QUESTIONS JESUS ASKED BIBLE STUDY









  Read Matthew 11:16-19 KJV: 

 

  Whereunto shall I liken this generation? (Matthew 11:16)

 

WHAT SHALL I COMPARE THIS GENERATION TO?

Reference: Matthew 11:16-19; Luke 7:31-35

 

Jesus asked this question following the message he gave to the people concerning John in the lesson preceding this one. Jesus compared the unbelieving as to spoiled children who whined when they did not get their way.

 

Jesus asks, “To what can I compare this generation to?” The children in Jesus' parable react with disappointment because they cannot convince others to join in their play. They say we have played lively tunes, and danced, but you would not join with us; also, we have mourned, and you have not mourned with us.

 

Isn’t that just like children? Games are the favorite pastime of children who play until their energy is spent, the more interaction the merrier the game. They become unhappy or sullen if you don’t join in with them.

 

Essentially Jesus is saying, “Nothing pleases you. John came one way “neither eating nor drinking” in a very strict, austere way, and they say he hath a devil, and you were not pleased with him. I, the Son of man, have come in a different manner “eating and drinking” conversing in a free, familiar way, and they say “behold a man gluttonous and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners; and you are equally dissatisfied – nay you are less pleased. This wisdom comes by the way you act.”

 

Spiritual indifference and deaf ears can block God's word for us. Jesus' message of the kingdom of God was an announcement of good news that produces great joy and hope for those who will listen - but it is also a warning of disaster for those who refuse to accept God's gracious offer. Why did the message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus meet with resistance and deaf ears? It was out of jealously and spiritual blindness that the scribes and Pharisees attributed John the Baptist's simple and harsh ways to the devil and they attributed Jesus' table fellowship as evidence for pretending to be the Messiah. They succeeded in frustrating God's plan for their lives because they had closed their hearts to the message of John the Baptist and now closed their hearts to the message of Jesus whom God sent to redeem from the bondage of sin. 

 

What can make us spiritually dull and slow to hear God's voice? Like the generation of Jesus' time, our age is marked by indifference and contempt, especially in regards to the message of God's kingdom. Indifference dulls our ears to God's voice and to the good news of the Gospel. Only the humble of heart that is hungry for God can find true joy and happiness. Do you listen to God's word with expectant faith and the willingness to trust and obey? As my man of God often refers to: are you willing to say “yes Lord! I will!


Those who hunger for God will be satisfied “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

 

Notes:

 

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