Wise Christians live lives worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

even if they are criticized.

“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).

As I meditate on the words, I would like to receive the lessons given through this passage:

(1)    As I meditate on today’s main text, Luke 7:33–35, I would like to do so together with the parallel passage, Matthew 11:18–19: “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’   Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

(a)    When meditating on these Scripture passages, I would like first to focus on the latter part of Luke 7:35 and Matthew 11:19: “Wisdom is justified by all her children” (Lk. 7:35), and “Wisdom is justified by her deeds” (Matt. 11:19b).

(i)                 First, I would like to consider what Jesus meant by “wisdom” here.  Here, “wisdom” refers to the wisdom or teaching by which John the Baptist and Jesus taught people the way of salvation (Internet).  More specifically, “wisdom” here is a personified expression referring to Jesus Himself and the gospel He proclaims (Internet).

·         And the way this “wisdom” is justified in the sight of the Lord is that all believers who believe in Jesus and follow Him (Rom. 9:7–8)—that is, “all her children” (Lk. 7:35)—live lives worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:27), even if Jesus and the gospel of Jesus Christ are distorted and criticized by opponents, and even if God’s servants like John the Baptist are persecuted (cf. Hochma).

(b)    Next, I would like to meditate focusing on Luke 7:33 and Matthew 11:18: “John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’” (Lk. 7:33), and “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’” (Matt. 11:18).

(i)                 These words refer to the criticism John the Baptist received from the Pharisees and scribes. Seeing John’s ascetic lifestyle, they accused him of being “demon-possessed.”  At that time in Israel and the ancient Near East, demon-possessed people could occasionally be seen.  Since their way of life and behavior was completely different from that of normal people, they were usually isolated (Internet).

·         John the Baptist lived in the wilderness and ate neither bread nor drank wine, but ate locusts and wild honey (Lk. 1:15; Mk. 1:6).  From birth he was set apart before God, like a Nazirite, not drinking wine or strong drink (Num. 6:2–4), and he lived a devout and holy life in the wilderness.

-          Nevertheless, the Pharisees and scribes criticized John the Baptist as being “demon-possessed” because he did not participate in their wicked feasts and luxurious lifestyle, but instead rebuked them (Hochma).

(c)    Finally, I would like to meditate focusing on Luke 7:34 and Matthew 11:19: “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!’” (Lk. 7:34), and “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ …” (Mt. 11:19).

(i)                 These words refer to the criticism Jesus received from the Pharisees and scribes.  They accused Jesus, saying, “A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Lk. 7:34; Mt. 11:19).

·         Unlike John the Baptist, Jesus did not live an ascetic or wild life, but lived an ordinary daily life like other people.  Moreover, unlike John, Jesus sat and ate with sinners and dined with tax collectors, and associated with the lowly crowds (Mt. 9:10–11; Lk. 15:1–2, etc.).  From Jesus’ perspective, this was a living rebuke of the hypocritical religious forms of the Pharisees and other religious leaders; but from the Pharisees’ perspective, Jesus’ behavior appeared deviant, and He could only be regarded as a destroyer of the Law (Hochma).

-          Like children who do not dance when a flute is played and do not beat their breasts when a dirge is sung (Lk. 7:32), these stubborn people—the Pharisees and scribes—criticized John the Baptist, who lived an ascetic life, as being demon-possessed (v. 33), and then accused Jesus, who did not live an ascetic life, of being a glutton and a drunkard who enjoys wine (v. 34).

-          They also criticized Jesus as “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (v. 34), particularly in connection with the fact that Jesus attended the banquet held at the house of the tax collector Matthew (5:27–32).   Beyond Matthew’s case, Jesus showed great concern for those who were socially and religiously marginalized (Hochma).

n  Thus, this generation showed no interest whatsoever in the message no matter what message was delivered, but only sought malicious grounds for criticism against the truth (Hochma).

(2)    Through this meditation on the Word, I receive the lesson that we who believe in Jesus must become wise Christians.

(a)    Wise Christians live lives worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, even if Jesus and the gospel of Jesus Christ are distorted and criticized by opponents.

(i)                 From the life of John the Baptist, who was criticized as being “demon-possessed,” we learn the lesson of living a devout and holy life set apart before God.

(ii)               From the life of Jesus, who was criticized as “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners,” we learn the lesson of having great concern for those who are socially and religiously marginalized and of loving our neighbors.