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This Generation. The purpose of
the king - Jesus Christ - was being accomplished. He had come to die
first in order to save us from our sins and then to reign later as king
in an earthly kingdom. The purpose, mission and goals of the king were
being accomplished, and the hostile forces of this world were attacking
the forerunner and the king (Matt. 27:11; John 18:36-37). It was all
out spiritual war! Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that ultimately our real
struggle is not with men but with the dark forces of the spiritual world,
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (NASB) Eph. 6:12 These forces have always used men and women in an attempt to win. When
they are successful, spiritual tragedy and all kinds of evil occur.
Satan tried to stop Jesus by tempting Him to sin (Matt. 4:1-11), but
he failed. Then the dark forces in the spiritual world found men, women,
and Jewish leaders they could use. What was the result? Jesus described
it to the crowds this way,
But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, and say, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.” (NASB) Matt. 11:16-17 Jesus’ illustration is a picture of children who want others to
play their game, to cooperate, and do as they desire, and He applies
it to this generation. The word generation is GENEA in the Greek. It
means “race, descendents, progeny, and those who are living at
the same time.” The Jewish leaders wanted others to play by their
rules and adopt their religious practices and beliefs. Jesus’ illustration
is great. It sounds like kids, “We played the flute for you, but
you did not dance!” “We sang a dirge, a mournful song, and
you did not mourn!” You can just imagine them saying with a critical
tone in their voice, “Why do you not play with us?”
Neither John nor Jesus played the spiritual game of the religious leaders.
So they criticized and found fault with John the Baptist and Jesus. Jesus
illustrated their criticism like this,
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, “Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. (NASB) Matt. 11:18-19 It did not matter what they did. They were criticized
by the religious leaders and probably by some very devout Jewish
men and women.
Conclusion. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ were not engaged in
a struggle between different religious ideas or different religious
leaders. The great conflict that they were engaged in was a battle
for the souls of men and women and they were winning! John had failed
to understand that. John did not realize that he had to be rejected
and die too! it was part of the plan of God. Jesus’ death was
part of the plan (Acts 2:22-23). During Jesus’ ministry He
said that we are either for Him or against Him. We either believe
Him and commit ourselves to Him or we are against Him. Where are
you?
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (NASB) John 3:16-18
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||