A generation of people who said no to God.

-
English: John the Baptist baptizing Christ
English: John the Baptist baptizing Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Matthew 11:16–19 “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates” (v. 16).

Jesus finishes His teaching on Elijah and John the Baptist with the enigmatic statement, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15). This saying presupposes the biblical view of human depravity, revealing that human beings
need more than ears to hear — to receive, understand, and act upon — divine revelation. It is not as if those who oppose Christ’s message cannot hear spoken syllables and sounds with their ears. Instead, the hurdle that prevents sinful humanity from receiving and embracing the Lord’s message is a moral one. Apart from God’s sovereign grace, His enemies do not want to believe His promises or follow His agenda (Ex. 7:13; Matt. 23:37–39; Rom. 1:18–32).

Christ makes this point forcefully in today’s passage, assessing the hearts of
His contemporaries using a back-and-forth exchange between two different
groups of children. Some kids complain that the other group does not dance to
the tune of a flute; the other group complains that their dirge does not make
the first crowd of children lament (Matt. 11:16–17). The kids represent those
set against the Father. On the one hand, they did not join in when John came
in the wilderness living an austere life and exhorting Israel to repentance
(3:4–6). Yet this same group does not rejoice when Jesus preaches about the
inauguration of God’s kingdom (4:17; 9:32–34). In other words, there is
nothing that the Lord’s messengers can do to make those who hate Him happy.
Whether the message is joyful or sad, the Father’s opponents will find an
excuse to deny it (11:18–19). Their hearts are hardened, and their failure to
embrace the Almighty’s word to their generation is the fault of neither Jesus
nor John.

As one commentator has noted, many of those living during the ministry of
Jesus are like children who pout and whine when others will not play their
game. They are hypocrites who will always find a reason to complain when God’s
Word offends their ears. Without seeing the inconsistencies of their view,
they reject both lamentation and celebration. But in attributing sin to John
and Jesus and not themselves, they show themselves to be fools. For the
miraculous works of Jesus show that the unbeliever’s estimation is patently
false (11:19b).

Matthew Henry asks, “If people will neither be awakened by the greatest
things, nor allured by the sweetest things, nor startled by the most terrible
things, nor be made aware by the plainest of things; if they will listen to
the voice neither of Scripture, nor reason, nor experience, nor providence,
nor conscience, nor interest, what more can be done?” There are none so blind
as those who will not see. Are you like those who refuse to heed our Lord’s
call? Author RC Sproul
Enhanced by Zemanta

Popular posts from this blog

Speaking in tongues for today - Charles Stanley

-
Image
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. … But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. … And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. … Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way - 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7, 28, 30—31 The Lord Jesus Christ had come and gone. The church—newly birthed—was in a transition time. The new covenant was seen as a threat to the Jewish leaders; therefore, there was persecution for those who had chosen to follow Christ. The new religion, in its infant stages, had no Bible, few leaders, and absolutely no support from the government. Astounding that it survived, isn’t it?  How in the world did it survive with so little going for it? Power. Not just a force, but mighty, visible power. Th...
Read more

What is the glory (kabod) of God?

-
Image
2 CORINTHIANS 4:17 "This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Scripture places a high value on God 's glory, and it is not hard to figure out why. Since the inherent glory of the Lord is something that He will not share with others (Isa. 42:8), we know that His glory is something that He prizes highly; indeed, He prizes it more highly than anything else. We should, therefore, set the glory of God as the goal and overarching emphasis of our lives. Whatever we lose for the sake of making the Lord's glory known will be worth it when we see the dazzling light and beauty of; the divine glory (28:5; Rev. 21:23). Glory has to do with light and beauty, but those aspects do not sum up what the Bible means when it speaks of the glory of God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word kabod , which is translated into English as "glory," has the root meaning of "weight" or "heaviness....
Read more

The Holy Spirit causes us to cry out: Abba, Father

-
Image
Pentecostés. Óleo sobre lienzo, 275 × 127 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) To bring out the same truth in another way, Paul says God sent Jesus (as a Man) to live under the Law in order “to redeem those under law, that we [Jews and Gentiles ] might receive the full rights [adoption] of sons” ( Galatians 4:5).  By “full rights” or “adoption” he means entering into the privileges and responsibilities of sonship. He uses it also of the sonship of Israel (Romans 9:4). Galatians 4:1, 2 indicate that the son and heir of a wealthy family in Paul’s day would be treated as a slave until he became of age.  Then he would receive the adoption, that is, all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that belonged to an adult member of that family. Adoption was also used in the modern sense, so that Gentiles who were not sons of Abraham became true heirs, true sons of God , by faith.  Jesus died, not just to save us from the fires of hell, bu...
Read more