16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation ? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
17 And saying. We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced ; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented,
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a man gluttonous, and a winebiober, a friend of Publicans and sinners. But wis- dom is justified of her children.
20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they re- pented not :
21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Si- don, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyro and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell : for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodoiu, it would have remained until this day.
24 But I say unto you. That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
These sayings of the Lord Jesus were called forth by the state of the Jewish nation, when He was upon earth. But they speak loudly to us also, as well as to the Jews. They throw great light on some parts of the natural man's character. They teach us the perilous state of many immortal souls in the present day.
The first part of these verses shows us the unreasonable- ness of many unconverted men in the things of religion.
The Jews, in our Lord's time, found fault with every teacher whom Grod sent among them. First came John the Baptist preaching repentance — an austere man, a man who withdrew himself from society, and lived an ascetic life. Did this satisfy the Jews ? No ! They found fault and said, " He hath a devil." — Then came Jesus the Son of God, preaching the Gospel, living as other men lived, and practising none of John the Baptist's peculiar austerities. And did this satisfy the Jews ? No ! They found fault again, and said, " Behold a man
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gluttonous and ca wine-bibber^ a friend of publicans and sinners." In sliort, they were as perverse and hard to please as wayward children.
It is a mournful fact, that there are always thousands of professing Christians just as unreasonable as these Jews. They are equally perverse, and equally hard to please. Whatever we teach and preach, they find fault. Whatever be our manner of lifCj they are dissatisfied. Do we tell them of salvation by grace, and justification by faith ? At once they cry out against our doctrine as licentious and antinomiard. Do we tell them of the holiness which the Gospel requires .? At once they ex- claim, that we are too strict, and precise, and righteous overmuch. — Are we cheerful .^ They accuse us of levity. — Are we grave ? They call us gloomy and sour. — Do we keep aloof from balls, and races, and plays ? They denounce us as puritanical, exclusive and narrow-minded. — Do w^e eat, and drink, and dress like other people, and attend to our worldly callings and go into society .^ They sneeringly insinuate that they see no difference between us and those who make no religious profession at all, and that we are not better than other men. What is all this but the conduct of the Jews over again ? " We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced : we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented." He who spake these words knew the hearts of men.
The plain truth is, that true believers must not expect unconverted men to be satisfied, either with their faith or their practice. If they do, they expect what they will not find. They must make up their minds to hear objec- tions, cavils, and excuses, however holy their own lives