Matthew 11:19 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Matthew 11:19

Comments

Well then: what would they make of the ministry of Christ, which was so outwardly different? Exactly the same; they complained about that and rejected that also. None of their complaints against John were applicable to Christ, for Christ did not preach in the wilderness requiring the people to come out to him; he lived among the people and went from town to town, village to village; and moved among them so that they might say, ‘We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets’ (Luke 13:26). But they rejected him just the same. Christ did not abstain from ordinary food and drink in the same way that John did – John, who was a Nazarite from hi birth – he went to their wedding feasts, sat eating with publicans and sinners (Matthew 9:10-11). Though in some ways the ministries were quite different, nothing seemed to please the people; they just wanted to please themselves. What an unusual, but what an apt illustration! Christ implies that one of the great impediments was that, like children who refuse to cooperate with each other, they were only interested in what they wanted. When John came, they thought he was Messiah and wanted an earthly political deliverer. Why does Christ use this illustration? Not because he or John were accurately represented as children playing music, but because the second group of children so accurately represented the nation. The illustration makes use of the fickleness of children and that was the main feature of the nation’s response which Christ wished to draw attention to. The nation was behaving like children spiritually. Children can be very uncooperative and difficult to please. In terms of the illustration, the group of children representing the guests were behaving unreasonably in both games, obstinately refusing to cooperate. The unreasonableness of this is brought out by the fact that the games are so different. If they had any good reason for not wanting to be joyful and play weddings, then why were they also unwilling to play funerals and to mourn (and vice versa). ‘A friend of publicans and sinners.’ Much of what they say is not true, but still, contained in the words of his enemies is evidence of what Christ did do. They want to turn it into an offence. It was obvious to them he had a heart for those who needed salvation. He was a friend of the despised tax gatherer who collaborated with Romans, and enriched themselves. They were regarded as social outcasts, so there is no hope for them. ‘If there is a God in heaven,’ they said, ‘these are surely the lowest.’ They wanted to get across that he was one with them in every respect. Christ of course was not their friend in the sense that he approved of what they did, but in the sense that he offered them true friendship: a friend in heaven.

Application

Have you had someone dear to you, who will stand by you, understand you no matter what? But you need more than a poor fallible human being as your friend. You need God who is above the level of a human. It is so sad that some turn to human institutions to get help which can only truly come from Christ. The world treats you like a number. The government sets up help systems, but it does not care about us personally. How can it? But Christ loves every one of his disciples individually and eternally. He paid for our salvation with his own blood. If we befriend someone, we often look for someone like ourselves, who will benefit us in some way. Thanks be to God that Christ is not like that. He is the ultimate genius; we are blockades to him. What does he stand to gain from us? He is nothing like us, until he works in our hearts and changes us. And yet he has befriended a multitude which no man can number.

Sometimes in this land we wonder what can be done, yet we should not forget that during Christ’s life and preaching, there were times of great hardness. Great crowds saw the miracles, but very few were touched. He experienced some of the worst hardness of heart. Why did they fall away when they had been drawn so strongly? Because they wanted to please themselves. Tragically, many churches try to give people what they want, and to adapt the message to the carnal tastes of the unbeliever – hence the seeker sensitive movement. Some open the door too wide, and say, ‘Come and dance and sing popular music.’ This produces some huge congregations. Yes, but they come then, but on the basis of what they want. Nobody will be converted through such a message. Now many churches are modelled on the world, so you can do exactly the same things and yet have conversion. The gospel must speak plainly to us and address our sin; God commands us to leave the world behind and come to him and live by his standards. If those churches had said, ‘Your whole life is sinful and must change’, they would soon have emptied out. One church in USA had 6000 to 7000 in the congregation, and yet for 25 years every year they supposedly had 5000 converts. What does that mean? They need 5000 new members to replace the 5000 that left.

Questions

We must note that although Christ draws attention to the differences between himself and John the Baptist, both preached the same gospel. According to Matthew the opening message of both was the same (Matthew 3:2; 4:17).

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

Matthew 11:19 Commentary and Bible Study