18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,
“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 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!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” Luke 7: 18-35 ESV
Luke 7: 18-35
The disciples of John reported all these things to him - John is in jail for standing up to a king, and sadly the king just wants blind obedience, and his wife wants to hear no negatives. John confronted him for the sin of adultery, and this is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for the king, but he doesn't recognize that he will one day have to stand before a God Who will be unimpressed with his title; a God Who said, "that shalt not commit adultery, and thou shalt not kill." His disciples bring news to him of what was just discussed, the miracles, including that of raising someone from the dead.
Are You the One Who is to come, or shall we look for Another - He believes in Jesus, and when he baptized Jesus he proclaimed Him to be the One that came after him, but was before him. He believed Jesus to be the Messiah, but John is in jail, and Jesus is growing just as much in unpopularity as He is in popularity. A person can believe and yet be tried by doubt, faith needs doubt in order to be tested. A person can believe but not comprehend all the details, have a confused chronology, see Christ, know that He is from God, but wonder why He has not yet set up His earthly kingdom. You see this same issue with the disciples, and a lot of it has to do with bad eschatology. The Messiah comes first to suffer, to be the Passover Lamb, that's what satisfies the eternal justice.
…10Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully, 11trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.… 1 Peter 1: 10-12
In that hour - John's disciples asked Jesus an immense question, and He answers like only He can. It is a beautiful response, full of action and strength. This will build, restore, comfort the man of God. John is the last of the OT style prophets, the one standing at the crossroads of time, probably some 400 years after Israel's last great prophets. He is the herald of the Messiah, the one clearing the way by calling men to repent. He has had an incredible ministry, but is now caged in a cell for saying what God says. Christ is the offering of the New Covenant, the halves through which the light passes while Abraham sleeps.
He healed diseases, plagues, evil spirits and blind - This was His answer to the question, and then He tells them, "go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raise up and the poor have the good news preached to them." That's His calling card, and this would be the reference for one so studied as John, it fulfills OT prophecy.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert; Isaiah 35: 5-6
…19I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her. 20No longer will a nursing infant live but a few days, or an old man fail to live out his years. For the youth will die at a hundred years, and he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.… Isaiah 65: 19-21
At that very time - At what time? The context indicates (1) this is the time when John the Baptist had a doubt and a question as to whether Jesus was the Messiah and (2) secondly the time when his disciples came to query Jesus. This verse gives a summary of what they actually witnessed. Note that the answer is not a letter, email or text (not words), but authenticating actions substantiating that Jesus was indeed the "Expected One," the Messiah.
Spurgeon - Our old proverb says that actions speak louder than words, so an answer in his actions would be more eloquent with these inquirers than even an answer in our Lord’s own words. He bade them look at the evidences of his Messiahship which he gave them by his miraculous cures, and then he said to them, “Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard.” It would be well if our lives were such that, if any enquired what we were, we should only have to say that they might judge us by what they had seen and heard in our common everyday life and conversation. - Precept Austin
Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me - Remember Job? His friends were comforting at first, but then pressing, and finally certain that he was more wicked than them and so deserved his discomfort for some great hidden offense. All the world is your friend when things go well, it is easy to believe or jump on the bandwagon of fun and entertainment. Here is the trial of John's faith, but let us not think ill of him, for Jesus sends him affirmation, confirms with action Who He is, but tells him not to take offense. Don't pick another gospel, John, it is not a prosperity gospel; it is the one and only true gospel that saves, and it says, "Christ died for me."
William MacDonald - This may be understood as a rebuke; John had been offended by the failure of Jesus to seize the reins of authority and to manifest Himself in the way people expected. But it may also be interpreted as an exhortation to John not to abandon his faith.C. G. Moore says: I know of no hours more trying to faith than those in which Jesus multiplies evidences of His power and does not use it ... There is need of much grace when the messengers come back saying: "Yes, He has all the power, and is all that you have thought; but He said not a word about taking you out of prison...." No explanation; faith nourished; prison doors left closed; and then the message, "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me." That is all! (Borrow Believer's Bible Commentary) - Precept Austin
A reed shaken by the wind - Did you come looking for a man who tests the winds everyday to see what he believes? Did you come to see a man who would recant of righteousness in order to appease an evil queen? He is not a wind vane like your politicians, not a suck up like so many corporate personalities; he is a true prophet of God declaring what men need to know about themselves and about God, that He is unchangingly holy and just, calling all men to repent. John didn't come to feel out the crowd, what's the temperament? What will go over well? No, he said what God was saying, "repent and believe, make the way straight."
…13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.… Ephesians 4: 13-15
Behold I send my messenger before Your face - Jesus has shown the works fitting His office, a taste of His coming kingdom, and now by acknowledging who John is, He is also telling these people Who He is by way of the Scriptures.
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.
5 “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3: 1-6
None is greater than John - Jesus doesn't want the crowd to diminish John's ministry. The things he preached were right, he fulfilled his purpose. He is not in jail because he offended God; he is in jail because he offended the wicked.
Spurgeon on why greater - “As we may say, as a rule, that the darkest day is lighter than the brightest night; so John, though first of his own order, is behind the last of the new or Gospel order. The least in the Gospel stands on higher ground than the greatest under the law.” - Precept Austin
…25I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God, 26the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.… Colossians 1: 25-27
And the tax collectors too, they declared God just - They heard the preaching of John and recognized their sin, being baptized unto repentance, a clear confession.
…3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge. 5Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.… Psalm 51: 3-5
But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purposes of God for themselves - They thought little of John's baptism, refused to call some things sin, were satisfied in their religious traditions and with the praises of men. They were self righteous so they didn't come to be baptized by John. That was for sinners, and they didn't see themselves that way. It is a very narrow and low door, the arrogant will never fit through.
…31Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” 33Then they said to Him, “John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees frequently fast and pray, but Yours keep on eating and drinking.”… Luke 5: 31-33
…5Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? 6But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “ God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.… James 4: 5-7
We played the flute for you - Jesus started His ministry with the first miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding. He met with the crowds, fed the crowds, laid hands on the sick and even lepers. The miracles and the healings were exciting, creating quite a buzz, yet when He ate the Pharisees called Him a glutton and a drunk, and when He reached out to the dregs of society, calling them to repent, the Pharisees accused Him of being a friend of sinners. John the Baptist sang the dirge, the same call to repentance, but he ate locust and didn't touch the fruit of the vine, so they said he had a demon. They could not hear the call of repentance regardless of the type of music that was played. Personality did not matter, the miracles would not suffice; they wanted a Messiah, but not the Messiah.
And they say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep - We are urged to have child-like faith, but not child-like immaturity and selfishness like these "brats." So here we see two "games," the first joyful as for example might be at a wedding, the second sorrowful as might be at a funeral. We played the flute pictures one group of children inviting others to join the game, but they would not join in and dance. When the joyful occasion (possibly a make believe wedding) did not attract the other children, they tried inviting them to a solemn setting (possibly a funeral). Again they refused to weep. This is why MacArthur likens them to brats.
MacArthur explains the refusal of the children to play - "The nature of the game was not the issue, since the peevish brats would not play either the happy or the sad game. They serve as an apt illustration of the people of that generation—ill-tempered malcontents."
MacArthur - Christ used strong derision to rebuke the Pharisees. He suggested they were behaving childishly, determined not to be pleased, whether invited to “dance” (a reference to Christ’s joyous style of ministry, “eating and drinking” with sinners— Lk 7:34), or urged to “weep” (a reference to John the Baptist’s call to repentance, and John’s more austere manner of ministry—Lk 7:33). - Precept Austin
Yet wisdom is justified by all her children - Look at the fruit of her tree; wisdom produces like, brings discernment and humility.
…8O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me. 9Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them. Hosea 14: 8-9
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