UNLIKE JESUS! One Area Where Jesus-Followers Excel! (Part 2)

Jesus followers fail to follow Him in many ways.  But one way that seems to receive little attention in Christian circles is brought out in Matthew 11:16-19.  There we read,

¹⁶ “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

¹⁷ “‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

In evaluating His contemporary culture, Jesus says they are a lot like children hanging out in the marketplaces engaged in mocking and ridicule.  They call out to their friends, “We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.”

They are critical of both John the Baptist and Jesus.  Both did not meet their expectations.  Neither was joyful or mournful when they thought appropriate.  Both the forerunner of the Messiah and the Messiah Himself didn’t dance to their music.

Jesus goes on to say, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.'”  John’s frugal lifestyle matched his in-your-face message of “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”  We read in Matthew 3: “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.”  John wasn’t into fashion or food.  He wore the least expensive clothing one could find — and ate whatever he could gather for himself.  He placed no priority on the expectations of others.  What did he get for his bizarre lifestyle?  He was accused of having a demon!  Wow!  He did not “fit in.”  He did not try to.  He was laser-focused on proclaiming the message of repentance and getting ready for the coming Messiah.  (to be continued)