“And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.” (Luke 7:31-32 KJV).
The Lord Jesus, in these passages, uses the analogy of children sitting in the market place playing contrasting genre of music to highlight His critical observation of the people of their generation and the present generation too. They are callous, and numb as a frozen rock, unresponsive and resistive to John the Baptist's message of repentance and the Lord's gospel of the grace of God. When the children calls out to one another to engage them to dance with the joyful songs they piped, the other children refuse to dance, much like how the people rejected the Lord's joyous message of grace and hope. When the children played a sad funeral song and expected others to mourn, the other children refused to cry, much like how they rejected John the Baptist's serious calls to repent.
The piping and dancing highlights the Lord's joyful invitation to celebrate in grace, while the mourning and weeping points to the serious approach of John's call to repentance and salvation. The rejection of both invitations reflects the spiritual apathy and contempt that the Lord Jesus encountered among the religious Jews. We are therefore reminded by these passages of the dangers of religion for us to be hindered responding to the message of truth that John the Baptist heralds and the Lord Jesus is offering to all so everyone shall have life everlasting. The Lord Jesus said: “...I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b ESV).
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
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