#43 Luke 7:31-35 Wisdom is Proved Right
On October 31, 2021 by Amy BurginJoy: Episode#43 Luke 7:31-35
Welcome
Amy:
Welcome to The Christgazing Podcast. We are so glad you’re here. I’m Amy Burgin.
Joy:
I’m Joy Burgin
Amy:
If you are anything like us, you desire God’s presence and divine direction every day of your life. This podcast makes space for that. Here, we offer few words of our own and make room for Christgazing, the act of looking steadily and intently at Christ. Each week we read one passage from scripture several times and create stillness after each reading that we might be still ourselves and intimately, personally know God.
We are in a series that takes us through the book of Luke, focusing on the things Jesus said and did when he walked the earth. In today’s episode, Jesus is speaking to a crowd of all sorts of people, in which he had cured many of blindness, sickness, disease, and evil spirits.
Pour Out Your Heart to God
Amy:
Before we begin, take the next minute to give God the things stored up in your body, your mind, and your heart. Maybe it is thanksgiving, anger, conflict at work or home, sadness, apathy, fear, expectation, or dread. Whatever your body feels, your mind thinks, or your heart desires, name it and bring it to the Lord in these next few moments.
What Does This Passage Say About God?
Joy:
going to read today’s passage two times. As I read, consider the question, What does this passage say about God?
Luke 7:31-35 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.’
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
Again?
Luke 7:31-35 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.’
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
Take the next minute to answer the question: What does this passage tell you about God?
[Pause and know]What Does This Passage Say About People?
Joy:
As I reread the scripture, consider the question: What does this passage tell you about people?
Luke 7:31-35 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.’
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
Take the next minute to answer the question: What does this passage tell you about people?
[Pause and know]Lord, What Would You Have Me Know or Do Today?
Joy:
As I read for the last time, ask God the question, “Lord, what would you have me know or do today in response to this passage?”
Luke 7:31-35 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.’
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
Take time to ask God, “Lord, what would have me know or do today?”
[Pause and listen]Blessing
Joy:
Christgazer, the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. May you keep your face turned toward Jesus today and know him more.
One Response
Amy:
Some people didn’t like John the Baptist, so they chastised him for his fasting. These same people didn’t like Jesus, so they criticized him for his eating. We people can tend to throw logic out the window to justify our emotions, desires, likes, and dislikes.
It reminds me of a parable Richard Wurmbrand shares in his book, The Answer to the Atheist’s Handbook. “A fool was sent to buy flour and salt. He took a dish in which to carry his purchases. He was told not to mix the two ingredients but to keep them separate. After the shopkeeper had filled the dish with flour, the fool, thinking of the instructions, inverted the dish, asking the salt to be poured on the upturned bottom. Therewith, the flour was lost, but he had the salt. He brought it to his boss, who inquired, ‘But where is the flour?’ The fool turned the dish over to find it. So the salt was lost too.”
The demands of this boss are reasonable, but this fool does not wish to carry two dishes. He justifies his desire by choosing a container that is concave on top and bottom. Maintaining a limited perspective that cannot see beyond one moment in time, he justifies the shunning of both flour and salt.
We people can be foolish. Make us the boss, and we can be fickle, dictating others to do this or that to please us. Keeping up with the demands of others can be exhausting. But the good news is that God is not a man that he should be illogical or inconsistent in his requirements.
In Micah 6:7, someone wonders if he can ever please God or keep up with God’s demands by asking, “Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
No, not at all. God does not keep this questioning heart waiting for an answer. He responds immediately in verse 8, “God has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Closing
Amy:
As always, you can find a transcript of this episode at amyburgin.com. Joy and I will be back again next week to go Christgazing together. Until then, remember with us, when you put your trust in Christ, you are one in whom he dwells and delights, a dearly loved child of God. You are royalty in his strong and unshakeable kingdom. Though trouble abounds, Christ prevails, and so do you.
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