The Standard November 29, 2025
After teaching his twelve apostles, as recorded in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus goes out to instruct and preach in their cities. John the Baptist is in prison, and some of his disciples approach Jesus to relay a question from John. After Jesus answers and goes on to describe John’s lifestyle and mission, he elaborates on the fickle nature of the people. “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” Matthew 11:16-19
In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, the son of Zebedee, we learn the back story of John the Baptist, the son of Zechariah. An angel of the Lord appears to Zechariah in the temple, telling him that he and his wife Elizabeth, well advanced in years, will have a son.“… For he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” John 1: 15-17
As he grows up, John wears camel hair clothes and a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey. His life in the desert is one of asceticism, or self-denial and simplicity. During his ministry, he baptizes his cousin, Jesus.
John was sent by God to prepare the way of the Lord; Jesus was sent by the Father as The Way to God. Unlike John, Jesus lived amongst all kinds of people, eating and drinking in homes, at weddings, and at feasts.
Just like today, in the time of Jesus there were those who simply could not be satisfied. They found reasons to complain. In their minds, John was odd because he dressed in a peculiar way, did not indulge in delicious food or alcohol, and kept to himself. On the other hand, they grumbled that Jesus ate and drank too much, and with the wrong crowd. They were quick to find fault with both approaches.
Jesus concludes this section by explaining that “wisdom is justified by her deeds.” Both John the Baptist and Jesus were living the lives they were called to live. In the end, each of them accomplished God’s purpose. Their individual methods ultimately were shown to have been wise, because they bore good fruit.
We do not want to be like those who complain and find fault at almost every turn. If a fellow Christian discerns that God is leading them to decisions that are in no way inconsistent with Scripture, we should not judge them. In the same way, they should not judge us. Our paths will not all look the same, because God created us uniquely and for special, satisfying purposes.
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