The Vindication of Wisdom (Luke 7:29–35) | The Gospel of Luke (Part 54)

Transcript

JRNT 105
4/12/2026
The Gospel of Luke (Part 54) The Vindication of Wisdom
Luke 7:29-35
Jesse Randolph

We are back in the Gospel of Luke this morning, and specially we’re going to be in verses 29-35 of Luke 7. After Palm Sunday and after Resurrection Sunday, we’re back in the swing of things, the normal flow of things. And we’re going to pick it up in our normal course of study here. I appreciated Aaron’s words of encouragement and exhortation this morning. You know, I wouldn’t have to say we’re back in Luke because you would already know because you’ve read Luke the night before, about the text we’re in, and your hearts can be worked over through the text, as we all gather to worship on Sunday mornings.
So, again, Luke 7, starting in verse 29, we’re going to work through verse 35 this morning.
God’s Word reads:
“And when all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the scholars of the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John. ‘To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children, sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, who say, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.” For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon!” The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.’”
The title of the sermon this morning is The Vindication of Wisdom. And the title comes from the last line of that passage, in verse 35. We just had that initial glance at it, but we do see a number of things unfolding in this text. All sorts of different terms and ideas and references. We have mention of tax collectors and baptism and John the Baptist, and Jesus and children and eating and drinking and dancing. It’s all wrapped into these seven or so verses. And then this line from the end of the passage, verse 35, that “wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” More on that later.

Now, to refresh our memories here, since it’s been a few weeks. Last time, we took a look at that scene where John the Baptist was imprisoned in the wilderness, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. And he has sent his disciples to go ask Jesus a question in verse 19 of chapter 7. Look up the page, verse 19 of chapter 7. The question is asked: “Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?”

And recall the origin of that question. Here’s John, John the Baptist, this foretold forerunner of the Messiah. The same John, remember, who had announced Jesus’ coming out in the wilderness when he said: “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” But since then, John had gotten himself into some trouble. He’s gotten himself into trouble by calling out King Herod, for the relations that he was engaging in with his brother Philip’s wife. And Herod had thrown John into prison. And there was John now, sidelined and shelved, and yet hearing from his own disciples about all that Jesus was out there doing. Performing these different amazing signs and wonders, though John sat there still shackled in jail.

Now John had this much different idea, we’ve seen of what the Messiah was supposed to do when the Messiah came. The Messiah thought John was supposed to come conquering the enemies of Israel. He was supposed to usher in His kingdom reign right away with an iron fist as He brought peace to God’s people, the chosen people – the Jews. And then struck down their opponents, their enemies. But then here’s Jesus, as we’ve seen up to this point in the narrative of Luke, healing the sick, and giving sight to the blind, and cleansing lepers. And as He’s doing all of this, ministering to all people, to the Gentiles. And for John it’s just not adding up. Though he’s proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, he’s got these seeds of discouragement and disillusionment and even doubt starting to set in. And so he asked this question through his own disciples in verse 19:
“Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?”

Well, you’ll recall that Jesus went on to answer John’s question, sending this message through John’s disciples, starting in verse 22, it says:
“And He answered and said to them, ‘Go and report to John what you have seen and heard; the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.’”
So then we saw having sent John’s disciples back to deliver that message to John, Jesus went on to publicly commend John in verses 24-28. It says:
“And when the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft garments? Behold, those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and even more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, “BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.” I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.’”

And that’s where we left off last time. With Jesus both challenging John through His disciples about some faulty ideas that John had about what Jesus had come to do, and then Jesus commending John publicly as a true prophet of God as a great man of God. Again, note those words in verse 28: “. . . among those born of women there is no one greater than John.”

And that’s our lead-in to the text this morning now, in verse 29. Again, look at verse 29, it says,
Luke narrating, and it says:
“And when all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.”
Now, about that word “this,” where it says that “all the people and the tax collectors heard this,” again, Jesus has just finished commending John in front of the crowds, and He’s essentially referring to John as the greatest man who has ever lived. And He’s also said, end of verse 29, that “he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than” John.
So, what we learn in our text here in verse 29, is that when those in the crowd “heard this” both the commendation of John, but also that statement that “he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than” John. You see it there, verse 29, they “acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.”

So, what’s going on there? Well, for starters, note that Luke has already described this group of individuals as “all the people and the tax collectors.” As he inserts his own parenthetical remarks here, Luke is intentionally drawing this contrast between two groups of people. One mentioned in verse 29, and one mentioned in verse 30.
In verse 29, Luke is recording the reaction of the rank and file . . . “all the people and the tax collectors.”
And then in verse 30, Luke is recording the reaction of the religious bigwigs of the day . . . “the Pharisees and the scholars of the Law.”
And the contrast between those two groups couldn’t be more pronounced. It couldn’t be more stark.

Having just heard Jesus declare that He was their Messiah, and then John, the forerunner, was this great man, but even then, that the one who is least in the kingdom of God is even greater than John. The “people” in verse 29, the common folk. And “the tax collectors,” meaning the lowest of the low, the turn-coated traitors, the most sinful of sinners, the bottom of the societal barrel. There, we’re told in verse 29, they “acknowledged God’s justice.” And they did so, it says: by “having been baptized with the baptism of John.” A baptism, we know, as we go back to Luke 3:3, was a “baptism of repentance.”
Luke 3:3 tells us that John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” So, this first group, in verse 29, made up of “all the people [it says] and the tax collectors” – they “acknowledged God’s justice.”

Now, if you want to talk about a word that is loaded in our day, that’s one to pick on, the word “justice.” Right? When we think of “justice” we often equate that term to “fairness.” We think of “justice” typically in comparative terms. We think of this idea of “justice” in terms of what it is we think we deserve. And almost always, we use, as the metric for our conceptions of “justice”, what other people have, for what other people have been given or not given, as the case may be.
You know, a toddler’s sense of “justice” is offended when they see a sibling or a playmate having more toys or snacks or attention than they do.
A teenager’s sense of “justice” is offended when they know of their friend who got the phone before they did, or social media privileges before they did, or a vehicle before they did.
A young adult’s sense of “justice” is offended as they watch all their friends around them traveling to fun places, or getting promoted at their jobs, or getting engaged, married and having babies, and all the rest.
And then later on into adulthood, our sense of “justice” being offended continues on. You know, “It must be nice to have kids who are so compliant and godly.” “It must be nice not to have to deal with in-law strife.” “It must be nice not to have to worry about whether you’ll be able to retire one day.”
And then that sense of “justice” being offended continues on into old age, does it not? When adult children aren’t calling as often as you’d like, or the aches and the pain start to become a little bit more excruciating, or whenever life just feels unfair.

Well, without minimizing the real circumstances that real people really go through, what’s often missing, even for believers is in their assessment of their circumstances, is a sense of God’s justice. And His justice in ordaining and allowing, and yes, even causing each of the events and circumstances that go on in our lives.

The reality is God is a just God. And God is a righteous God. Psalm 89:14 says: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of [His] Your throne.” In Isaiah 45:21, God says of Himself: “there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me.” In 2 Timothy 4:8, God is referred to as “the righteous Judge.” In other words, God is inherently just. He’s just in His essence. He’s just in His being.

And being a just God, a God of justice, He always does what is just. He always does what is right. He always does what is righteous. In Genesis 18:25 there’s this famous negotiation happening about whether God would spare Sodom if a certain number of righteous people were found there. And in Genesis 18:25, Abraham asked the question: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do justice?”
Now, that’s a rhetorical question. The answer is implied. The answer is, of course He will always do justice. Of course, the God of all the earth will do what is just. He always acts justly. He always brings about His justice. Now, His justice isn’t always brought about according to our preferred timetable. But His justice is always carried out perfectly according to His timetable.

The adulteress who thinks she’s getting away with it. The man who’s addicted to pornography and thinks it’s just between him and his screen. The homosexual who excuses his sinful thoughts and conduct on being “born this way.” The triple murderer who slips through the net of law enforcement, spending the rest of his life on the run. The tax cheat. The dispenser of little white lies. The gossip. The drunkard. The one who seethes in sinful anger. The grudge-carrier. In each case God’s justice goes forth. And in each case God’s justice is dispensed. Now for some, justice will be delivered in the form of eternal punishment that those sinners will receive in the eternal flames of hell. But for others, for Christians, for those who have repented of their sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, God has already meted out His justice against their sin. Doing so on the cross.

The follower of Christ recognizes that God is a just God. A God who always does what is just. And a God, who in their case, has already imparted His justice by causing His divine wrath to fall on His beloved Son. The follower of Christ recognizes that in the case of their sin, God’s justice means that they deserve to face His wrath. But they also recognize that as grace-bought saints, that the whole wonder of the gospel is that Jesus truly did pay it all.

Back to our text. For those described here in verse 29 as “all the people and the tax collectors”, in a manner similar to you and me, as Christians today they “acknowledged God’s justice.” Meaning, they understood themselves – as Jews – to be Abraham’s seed, the Lord’s chosen people. But far more important than who they were was who God is. These would have been the individuals who acknowledged God for who He is, the One who’s the foundation of His throne is justice and righteousness. They would have acknowledged who they were, sinners.
Psalm 14:3, “There is no one who does good, not even one.” They would have known this.
And then, keeping with the baptism which John the Baptist offered, there was acknowledgement on behalf to these individuals that they needed to repent. They acknowledged that this baptism, again
Luke 3:3, was tied to “forgiveness of sin.” And they would have acknowledged, as it says in
Luke 3:8, that their repentance would ultimately produce action – “fruit”, as they were called to “bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” And so, as a demonstration of that repentance, they underwent John’s baptism.

So, that’s the first group, identified there in verse 29. The people and these tax collectors. Now, as we turn to this second group in verse 30, look what it says:
“But the Pharisees and the scholars of the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”
Now, you couldn’t draw again, a more stark contrast, a clearer line of distinction between these two groups. The one in verse 29, and the one in verse 30. On the one hand there’s this crowd of ordinary sinners who recognize that they are sinners and understand their need to repent of their sin. They understand their need to undergo the baptism of John, as a demonstration of the repentance of sin. And on the other hand, there’s this group in verse 30, the “Pharisees and the scholars of the Law.” The doctors of theology during these times. Those who held PhDs in piety. Those who were experts in the Law of Moses. Those who we’ve seen had erected that fence of tradition around the Law. Those who, frankly, should have known better about what God’s Word said about the Messiah who would come, and those who should have been connecting the dots by this point, as they understood that the Messiah was right there in their midst, right in front of them.

Well, this group, we’re told in verse 30: “rejected God’s purpose for themselves.” What a statement that is. They “rejected God’s purpose for themselves.” I don’t know about you, but I really hope that when my bones are buried in a box one day that that is about the last thing that I’m known for. I really hope that the last thing I’m known for is that I “rejected God’s purpose” for myself. Rather, I hope that what people would know about me is that I always sought to do the will of the Lord, no matter the cost, no matter the consequence.

Well, here the Pharisees and the “scholars of the Law”, these lawyers, they did the exact opposite. God had called on them, through John’s preaching, and now Jesus’s preaching, to repent of their sin. Just as God had called on those other “people” in verse 29. The “tax collectors” even, to repent of their sin.

But these Pharisees didn’t see the need. And they certainly didn’t see the need to have some mangy wilderness-dweller like John, dunk them in the Jordan River. They were the holy ones. They were set-apart ones. Forget that Jesus Himself, the very Messiah who had come for them, had Himself undergone John’s baptism. Remember Matthew 3:15, Jesus says: “I came to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” But the Pharisees inexplicably didn’t see the need. And in refusing to repent, and refusing to undergo John’s baptism, they “rejected God’s purpose [it says] for themselves.”

Now, before we move on, I think it’s important that we recognize that though the Pharisees lived in a specific time and in a specific place, governed by a specific religious system, and though we can’t always draw these perfect, one-to-one correlations between the Pharisees of Jesus’ day and the experiences we have in our day, their example – and by that, of course, I mean their negative example — it is still highly relevant to us today. Still very important for the church-age believer to consider today.

I mean, think of this. On a number of occasions Jesus called the Pharisees and the scribes and the lawyers “blind.” Matthew 15:14 – “Let them alone; [says Jesus] they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Matthew 23:16 – “woe to you, blind guides.” Matthew 23:24 – “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!”
So, according to the Lord’s own assessment of these individuals the Pharisees were blind. Not physically blind, spiritually blind. And their spiritual blindness revealed itself in a number of different ways.

You know the Pharisees, number one, were blinded by their insatiable appetite for the esteem of others. You know, they were the learned ones. They were the pious ones. They were the ones whose noses were pointed high in the sky. And in certain quarters of society that recognition drove them. And it even paid some social dividends for them. But the reality is they wanted more. They wanted more esteem, more acclaim, more recognition. And Jesus called them out for it.
In Luke 11:43, Jesus pronounced this woe on the Pharisees, which was aimed at this very thing, their hunger for social status. He says:
“Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the marketplaces.”
He also said this about the Pharisees, and their appetite for social ladder-climbing, Luke 16:14, He says:
“You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts, for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”
See, the seeds of self-righteousness had sprouted in the souls of these Pharisees, and those seeds were being watered by their desire for even more recognition and status and clout and privilege.

In addition to being blinded by their desire for more esteem, the Pharisees were blinded by their form of morality and religiosity. You know, as a matter of their own man-made traditions, the Pharisees were known for keeping this long extra-biblical list of standards and requirements by which they defined righteousness. Righteousness for the Pharisees was defined by doing certain things externally, rather than going through heart-change internally. This group defined righteousness not according to what one believes, but rather, how one behaves.

We think of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18, where the Pharisee not only demonstrated his self-righteousness when he prayed — Luke 18:11— “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”
But he also demonstrated his work-based, legalistic, externally-oriented views on righteousness, when he said in his prayer further, Luke 18:12 – “I fast twice a week; [and] I pay tithes of all that I get.” Note, that he didn’t pray, “God, change me from the inside out. Redeem me, renew me.” He didn’t pray the prayer of David in Psalm 51:7 – “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” No, he prayed, really a brag, a boast: “Look at what I’ve done, God. I fast. I tithe. Aren’t I so great?”

See, the Pharisees were blinded by their insatiable hunger for esteem and acclaim. They were blinded by their morality and their religiosity, which was focused more on external appearances, rather than inward heart change.
Here’s another one: the Pharisees were blinded by knowledge. They were blinded by knowledge. They knew the scriptures. The Pharisees were experts in the scriptures. Few in history have had a better grasp on the scriptures than the Pharisees.
For instance, when Jesus in Matthew 21:42 challenged the Pharisees by saying:
“Did you never read in the scriptures, ‘the stone which the builders rejected, this has become the chief corner stone.’”
A few verses later, in Matthew 21:45, we’re told that “when the chief priests and the Pharisees” heard Him teaching this “they understood that He was speaking about them.”

The point is, the Pharisees knew the scriptures. They had a handle on the Word of God. The problem was the scriptures hadn’t gotten a hold of them. They thought that because they knew God’s Word they knew God. But clearly they didn’t. In fact, when God Himself was right there in their presence, right in front of their faces, right under their noses in the flesh, in the Person of Jesus, they totally missed Him. So, Jesus was right to call them “blind.” They were blinded. They were blinded by their hunger for esteem. They were blinded by their sense of morality and religiosity. They were blinded even by their knowledge.

Now, I did mention a couple of moments ago that it is important for us as modern-day church-age believers to learn from the negative example of the Pharisees, which present this warning to us. What we’re going to do now is work through a few different signs from the scriptures to help us all determine whether there might be certain Pharisaical seeds of self-righteousness, which might be sprouting up in our hearts today. I’ve got three of these, certainly, there are more.

Number One: Having contempt for others.
A few moments ago, I mentioned Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, in Luke 18. You can go ahead and turn there with me, to Luke 18, where this parable is recorded. Luke 18, and we’ll start in verse 10. These are the words of our Lord, He says:
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying these things to himself: “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ [and it says] But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his chest, saying. ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ [then our Lord says] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

It’s a familiar text, I’m sure, to many of you. And one, as we’ve already alluded to, highlights that works-based mindset from which the Pharisee was operating. But take a look up the page at verse 9. I had us start at verse 10, but look at verse 9 now where we have this divinely-inspired commentary from Luke. It says:
“And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt.”

How do you view others in your life who don’t measure up to your self-imposed standards?
How do you react when a brother or sister in Christ blows it?
Do you gloat – even silently- over the misdeeds or the stumblings of other people?
Do you glory in their shame?
Do you find yourself thinking that there would be no possible set of circumstances that you would ever do what they did?
Do you find yourself thinking there’s absolutely no way I could ever sink to that level of depravity?
Do you find yourself thinking of others, they’ll never be as good as me? No matter how you define that term “good.”
Are you arrogant about your list of accomplishments?
Do you glory in the things from which you abstain? “I don’t watch that.” “I don’t put that in my body.” “I don’t drink that.”
Careful, careful not to stumble. Careful that you not stumble into that deadly trap of ungodly contempt. One which might mark you as a self-righteous, contemptuous Pharisee, though you call yourself a follower of Christ.

Or how about this one: Do you have a shallow sense of forgiveness?
Turn back with me, to Luke 7. Not our text, but a few verses after, Luke 7, and let’s start in verse 40, where Lord willing, we’ll be next Sunday morning. Luke 7:40 says:
“And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ And he replied, ‘Say it, Teacher.’ A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he graciously forgave more.’ And He said to him, ‘You have judged correctly.’ And turning toward the woman [this is the woman who anointed the Lord’s feet with oil or perfume and her tears] He said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.’”

If you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ here this morning, you are commanded by God’s Word to forgive.
Ephesians 4:32 says it ever so plainly:
“. . . be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also graciously forgiven you.”
That is the bare minimum standard. Christians are forgiven people . . . and so Christians, putting it plainly, are to be forgiving people. No exceptions, no wrinkles, no loopholes. It’s as simple as that. As forgiven people, we’re called to be forgiving people – full stop.

Now, what this parable in Luke 7 is also telling us is that Jesus expects His followers to go above and beyond in forgiving. And we know this because He’s linked His command to forgive, with another command, which is to love. Note that language in verse 47 again. Speaking of this woman who anointed His feet, Jesus says:
“. . . her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
So, with those words, Jesus is drawing this connection, and we’ll get into this more next Sunday morning. He’s drawing this connection between our receiving God’s forgiveness and our depth of love for Him, for God which in turn we demonstrate toward others, when we forgive them. And conversely, there is, in the person who refuses to forgive, or forgives only begrudgingly, or forgives only when they’re forced to do so, kicking and screaming. A real concern that they have no sense of God’s love. And they have no sense of God’s forgiveness, in the first place.

A few more questions:
When you verbally offer forgiveness to somebody, do you do so from a pedestal?
Do you lord it over the one whom you claim to be forgiving?
When you offer forgiveness to somebody, do you attach conditions?
When you offer forgiveness to somebody, do you do so as some sort of benevolent dictator, where you’re not really extending the olive branch to them? But rather, holding the olive branch over them?
If you identify with Jesus Christ, you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, you’re called to forgive – period. Forgiveness is the natural and necessary fruit of one who is truly been forgiven by God.

So, one final word of warning on this. If you’re merely paying lip service to God’s command on your life to forgive while holding onto bitterness and contempt and unforgiveness in your heart, well, then, you have quite a bit in common with the self-righteous Pharisees of Jesus’s day.

Here’s our third one: Do you have a graceless outlook, and are you graceless in your interactions with others?
Luke 15 records Jesus’ account of the prodigal son. You’re welcome to turn there with me, I’m really just going to summarize it. The scene begins in Luke 15:3, with the Pharisees and the scribes once again “grumbling, ‘saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’”
And then, Jesus launches into this account of the prodigal son. And here we learn of this younger son, who went away and lived foolishly. He was squandering the portion of the father’s wealth that had been given to him. And there’s this older son, the older brother who remains behind, and he lives responsibly and prudently off the land, much like their father had. And then, the younger son, once wayward, he eventually returns home and the father throws a party for him. And that angers the older son. He says to the father, in Luke 15:30, once the younger son has come back:
“when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him [emphasis there].”
So, the older son’s point was that the younger son, his younger brother, didn’t deserve it! The older son is resentful, and all this animosity that had been building up in his heart toward his younger brother now comes spewing out in the direction of their father. The grace that the father had shown his irresponsible young son, what it really did, it shone this spotlight on the poison of self-righteousness which had been brewing and festering in the older son’s heart the entire time. And the Father called it out. He corrected his older son, the older brother, and he gave him this grace-fueled answer, in verse 32, the father says:
“But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive, and was lost and has been found.”

I will never forget the feelings of “unfairness” I once had as a younger boy, probably junior high age, when I learned that my mom had checked my sister out of school early one day . . . and not for a doctor’s appointment, and not me. Leaving me to suffer through fourth period and fifth period and sixth period, and so on. And all I could think of when I learned this news, that my mom had checked my sister out . . . and not me . . . as blood was rushing to my face . . . and as my throat constricted . . . and as tears of anger started welling in my eyes . . . was how “unfair” it all was.

I was like the older brother in that story of the prodigal son. You know, at that point I had no conception of grace. You know, this side of salvation, and this side of understanding what God has revealed in His Word. It’s so clear that grace, by definition, is unfair. Grace is all about favor being shown to the underserving. Like the younger son in this account of the prodigal son. Or like you and me, who were once these self-indulgent children of wrath . . . until God, in His kindness, in His grace, brought us into His family.

So, believer here this morning, take note of what’s going on inside you, when your heart is crying out, “unfair!” Take note of those pockets of self-righteousness which continue to disease and plague your heart. Take note of those temptations to show others not grace, but law: “I really hope they get what they deserve.” “That’ll show her.” “I’m going to force him to come crawling back to me.” “I’m going to give her the cold shoulder. I’m going to make her feel this small until she slinks her way back to me.”
If you have that temptation, if you live out that temptation as one who says you’ve been bought by grace, but your temptation is to show others law—Repent. That’s the charge— repent. Repent and lest you be like one of these self-righteous Pharisees who continually brought down the hammer of the Law. That makes no sense in your case, if you say you’re a child of grace.

Back to our text, Luke 7. We’re two verses in. We’ve looked at verses 29 and 30, where Luke is doing the narrating. Where he’s been bringing to light this contrast between these repentant common folk . . . the “people and the tax collectors”, those who “acknowledge God’s justice.”
And he’s drawing this contrast now with these unrepentant religious elites, the “Pharisees and the scholars of the Law” who “rejected God’s purpose for themselves.”

Next, what we’re going to do is consider the words of Jesus Himself in verses 21-34, where He continues to lay into these Pharisees with some colorful and illustrative language. Look at verses 31and 32. This is now Jesus speaking, He says:
“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children, sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, who say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’”

I promise what I’m going to share with you now, there’s a point to where this is going, ok? Another personal story. Personal time with Pastor Jesse, just for a couple of minutes, alright? But we’ll get back to the text, because I’m going to illustrate in just a minute.
I spent the first 10 years of my life in Huntington Beach, California. I was raised in an apartment complex called “Villa Yorba,” which might sound glamorous, but I promise you it wasn’t. It sat right off the “405 freeway” which is one of the busier freeways (interstates you call them here) in California. And we used to joke that it was the sound of the ocean, you know, in Huntington Beach. It was the sound of tens of thousands of cars whizzing by our house, all day long, all night long. And then, in the middle of this apartment complex, Villa Yorba, sat this large grassy, oval-shaped area that was encircled by a sidewalk where we’d ride bikes and play. This was where you had social time as a kid at Villa Yorba. We would run around, we would ride bikes, but it was also at Villa Yorba where I learned how to play the greatest game ever invented – baseball. Ok. So, I played baseball with my friends in the “big circle”, this grassy area at Villa Yorba, all day long. All summer long, from morning till night. Every day after school during the school year. But here’s the thing, Villa Yorba was low-income housing. And in those days, kids like me, we didn’t have all the baseball equipment that baseball players do today. You know, there were no sliding mitts and rope necklaces and all the stuff that kids, their parents paid tons of money for to play baseball now. No. It’s a low-income area and we only had a few things to go around. So, if a group of ten boys were playing you might have like four gloves, two baseballs, and one bat. That’s just how it worked.
And so, what would happen, and believe it or not, even back then, kids didn’t always get along. So, let’s say kids were bickering. You know, so-and-so was mad that they didn’t get picked to be on so-and-so’s team. Or so-and-so wanted to be the Dodgers today, or so-and-so wanted to be the Angels today. Or so-and-so was just mad. Well, if so-and-so happened to be the owner of the single bat that we all used, well then, our plans to play baseball that day were just about done. We weren’t playing.
I tell you that story to highlight what Jesus is doing here in verses 31 and 32. In these times, in first century Judea the kids weren’t playing baseball in the “big circle.” But these kids did play other games. Games like wedding or funeral. Games where you would act out. Games where you would role play certain scenes that you would watch the adults partake in. In fact, that’s the context of these words here in verse 31, where He begins by saying, Jesus says:
“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like?”
Now, in immediate context, He still has His sight set on the Pharisees and scholars of the Law. So, He’s trying to make a point here about that group of individuals.

So, He asked that question: “To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? Answer? Verse 32: “They are like children, sitting in the marketplace.”
Now, stop there. We might be thinking, “I thought you said this was bout children playing.” “You just told me this long story about your childhood, playing baseball in the “big circle. This says nothing here about children playing” “He’s describing children sitting in a marketplace.” “This sounds like kids are working – or selling . . . child labor, or maybe just hanging out.” “What gives?”

Well, there’s context to this. In these times, in these little villages scattered throughout Judea, it’s not like they had acreages, or yards, back yards or front yards. These are people living in town environments. People living in close quarters. People living on top of each other in tight settings. So, for the children who were raised in these villages, in Judea, at this time an ideal place to really spread out and play . . . maybe not baseball or basketball or football . . . but the game of your choice would not be in the front yard of your family home, you didn’t have one. Instead, what you’d do is go to the town marketplace, the town square, the town hub.

And what would happen is that if there was no business being transacted on this specific day, children were free to use the large open area of the town marketplace where vendors were typically setting up shop to use it as their playground. And then they could play whatever game they thought would be the funniest to play that day. Not football, not baseball, not basketball, those hadn’t been invented yet. But again, one of these role-playing games. Something we think about, you know, maybe in our childhood, it was cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians. That’s the idea here.

So, Jesus is painting a picture of a scene like that, here in verse 32 . . . children in a village playing games in the town marketplace. “They are like children, [He says] sitting in the marketplace.”

And note what He says next, still in verse 32:
“. . . and calling to one another, who say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’”
Now, the reference to the “flute” – “We played the flute for you.” That is suggesting that there would have been some children in this setting who wanted to play the wedding game. Someone would play the part of the bride. Someone would play the part of the groom. Someone would play the part of the officiant. And then someone would be the flutist – providing the musical accompaniment to a first century, Judean wedding.

But not everybody wanted to play “wedding.” Look at the next few words.
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance.” “You didn’t want to play wedding.” “You wanted to play something else so you didn’t dance.” Bringing in my childhood experience from many, many years ago. You took your bat, you went home.

Well, now look at what comes next, still in verse 32. Same illustrations, same picture that Jesus is painting here. “. . . we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.” Meaning, in this scene that He’s painting, same scene, same context, there were other children who didn’t want to play “wedding” but instead, wanted to play “funeral”, where some would be the mourners and some would be the pallbearers, and somebody would be the corpse, and somebody would sing “a dirge”, a traditional funeral song . . . a sad somber song that was sung at a funeral. But again, not everybody wanted to play along. He says, “you did not cry.”

So, what is Jesus driving at with this picture that He’s painting verbally in this scene? What’s His point in mentioning children who are either playing a game of “wedding” or a game of “funeral” in the marketplace? What’s the point of highlighting some children who elected to sit it out, choosing not to play? Well, again, recall the context of this teaching. The context of Jesus saying, what He’s saying here, is calling out the Pharisees, the scholars of the Law . . . the ones who “rejected God’s purpose for themselves.”

And what Jesus is doing here with these words is highlighting the fact that no matter who the messenger was, John the Baptist or Himself, the Pharisees didn’t want to listen. They didn’t want to partake. They didn’t want to, you could even say it this way – they didn’t want to play along. They were like these quarrelsome children, these entitled children, these bratty children, who didn’t get their way, so they refused to play along, and they take their ball and their bat and they go home.

And that really does describe the Pharisees and the scribes and the lawyers of Jesus’ day. Though they had studied the Law of Moses, though they knew their Messiah was coming, though they knew that Jesus bore all of these evident, obvious marks of being their Messiah, the Pharisees threw a collective tantrum. And instead of playing along and getting along with the One who had come for them, they not only studied Him, and then followed Him all around, tracking His every step – but they rejected Him. And we’ve seen already in the study of Luke, they were seething in their rage against Him, as it says in Luke 6:11.

These men, who as scholars and teachers of the Law, were called to lead others into truth; were actually just as Jesus had described them – “blind guides.” They were blinded by their self-righteousness and pride. They were blinded by their unbelief. And because of their self-righteousness, and because of their pride, and because of their unbelief, they refused to go along with the program that Jesus was unfolding for them in their midst. They refused, to borrow the point that Jesus is making here, to play nice with others. They refused to sit at His feet and learn. They refused to humble themselves before Him as Lord.

And it wasn’t only that they refused to humble themselves and be taught by Jesus, they refused to do the same with His forerunner, John. That’s brought out in the next two verses, verses 33 and 34. Look what it says:
“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ [that’s still Jesus speaking] The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

Now again, kind of like back in verses 29-30, here in verses 33-34 Jesus again is drawing this artful contrast between these two groups. You know, John the Baptist – the forerunner – came with his approach as this ascetic, nomadic, outdoorsman living off locusts and wild honey, preaching turn-or-burn, fire-and-brimstone sermons. Right?
In Luke 3:9, he says “. . . the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Well, the Pharisees and the religious leaders, they rejected that message. Instead, as Jesus reports of them here in verse 33, they said: “He has a demon!” So, John was more like that child in that marketplace play-scene who wanted to play “funeral.” He came bringing a somber message of repentance, and the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees, the scribes, the lawyers, they wanted nothing to do with that – so they rejected John.

Well, Jesus really didn’t have any better fortune getting through to that same group, which is what He’s saying in verse 34. So, after calling out the Pharisees’ for rejecting John’s harsher message in verse 33, note what He says about their rejection of His own message in verse 34:
“The Son of Man [contrasted to John] has come eating and drinking.”
So, if John is playing the “funeral” game, Jesus is offering to play the “wedding” game, the joyous game.
Verse 34: “You say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”

In other words, between these two verses, 33 and 34, Jesus is saying to this crowd:
“I can’t win with you people.” That’s the main point He’s driving at here.
“John came preaching this fire and brimstone message, and you excoriated him – saying that he has a demon.”
“I came preaching to the sick and the diseased. In fact, I show up, my first public appearance is at a wedding at Cana. And I’m preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. And you’re saying I’m irreverent.”
“John comes as the bad cop.” “I come as the good cop.” “And you reject us both.” That’s what is going on here.

Well, in the end, this embittered and blinded approach of these religious zealots – the Scribes, the Pharisees, the lawyers – who are acting like these foolish, impossible-to-satisfy toddlers. It would get them nowhere. They wouldn’t prevail, and that’s because victory is always found on the side of truth. Look at verse 35:
“Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Now, a number of different theories have been offered, through the years over what that expression means “. . . wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” Some think it’s an allusion back to Proverbs 8, where wisdom is personified in various different ways.
Proverbs 8:1: “Does not wisdom call, and discernment give forth her voice?”
Proverbs 8:12: “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.”
Proverbs 8:35: “. . . he who finds me [meaning wisdom] finds life.”
That’s one theory. Another is that “wisdom” here in verse 35 is referring specifically to Jesus and John, since they are the ones whose strategies and ideas are being called out here according to that theory. They now are being vindicated here as the ones who went out.

I hold to a third view which is that through this expression, “wisdom is vindicated by all her children” Jesus is saying that God’s wisdom is revealed and prevails through those who respond to Him on His terms. So, God’s wisdom is revealed and prevails through those who respond to Him on His terms. That’s my understanding of this expression “wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
Consider the context here.
To the world – Here, to these Pharisees and scholars of the Law – the message and the methods both of Jesus and of John made no sense. You know, John, again, was this crude killjoy who was constantly calling on people to repent. And then Jesus, inexplicably, is this friend of tax collectors and sinners.
So, to the Pharisees, to the lawyers, they had this mindset of John needs to lighten up and Jesus needs to tighten up. Right? John needs to show more levity and Jesus needs to demonstrate more piety. That’s how these Pharisees perceived these two men and what they stood for.

But a major theme of the account that we’ve been studying this morning, in these few verses, is that God doesn’t always bring about His plans and His purposes in the very ways and through the very people that we would hope and expect. You know, from our vantage point, what God ordains can be surprising. Or unusual, or difficult, or out of the ordinary, we would say, or even painful. God’s perfectly-laid out plans are sometimes slowed down by what we perceive to be bumps in the road. And they are sometimes, His plans, are flanked by different doubters on the side of that very road, and His plans are sometimes seemingly stymied by opponents, like these Pharisees in Jesus’ day.
But our call is not to question, or to argue against, or to fight with God over how He has laid things out perfectly according to His eternal decree. Instead, our call is to trust that His is the way of wisdom, and then to obey, and then to follow.

You know, the children of the devil, as the Pharisees were, that’s what Jesus called them in John 8:44. They would be the ones to complain that God’s plan hadn’t met their demands or their expectations. They were the ones, as we saw back in verse 30, who “reject God’s purpose for themselves.” But not the children of the light, not the children of God, not the children of wisdom. No. Wisdom’s children, i.e. the Lord’s followers, they continually seek the Lord’s ways, and they strive to walk in them.

It’s in that sense that verse 35, “wisdom is vindicated by all her children,” the ordinary “people” and the “tax collector” mentioned back in verse 29, God’s wisdom was vindicated through them.
Jesus, John the Baptist, as they went about proclaiming the message they had come to proclaim, God’s wisdom was vindicated through them.

This scene we’ll be in next week, Lord willing, in Luke 7, we’re going to meet another one of wisdom’s children. Another one through whom wisdom would be vindicated. A female sinner, likely a prostitute, the one who now had faith, one who is now repentant. One whom the Pharisees scorned.

And that’s really what’s at the heart of this expression in verse 35: “. . . wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day, like the mocking and unbelieving world of our day, you know, they in their self-righteous pride, they ultimately proved themselves to be fools, as they have been spending the last 2,000 years of their existence, in the flames of hell.
But for those who are right with God, those who have been made right with God through faith, even like these “tax collectors” in verse 29, or the repentant prostitute that we’ll encounter next week. Like you or like me, if we’ve put our faith in Jesus Christ, God’s wisdom will ultimately be vindicated through them.

I’ll close with the passage I read this morning in scripture reading – 1 Corinthians 1:18 –
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased, through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe.”
Or, one more time, Luke 7:35 – “. . . wisdom [indeed] is vindicated by all her children.”

Let’s pray.
Father, thanks so much for a chance this morning to work through a text here in Luke’s Gospel that we often can just blow by, as we move into more familiar sections of the Gospel accounts. But as we study this Gospel, week over week, we find such richness in it. And we praise You, God, for helping us to see with eyes of faith what You revealed here. God, for we who believe, I do pray that we would take the example of the Pharisees as a great warning of the self-righteousness which can creep up even in a redeemed heart. That we would be on guard against self-righteousness and pride and ungodliness and not take root in our hearts. Help us to be repentant people. Forgiven people and forgiving people, starting with our own self-evaluation of the sin that yet clings. And God, if there’s anybody here this morning who has yet to put their faith in Christ, I pray what they would not be hearing this morning is a sermon about how to be more moral. Or how to be better. Or how simply not to be like the Pharisees. I pray what they would hear is what I’m about to say – that the only hope for an unbeliever in this world is to trust in Jesus Christ, died and risen, for the salvation of sin. I pray that they would see that their works, their deeds, their human resume is but filthy rags, and what they need is faith. What they need is to trust. What they need is to believe that Jesus Christ is the world’s one and only Savior. And that eternal life, that heaven is found only through Him. God, I pray, that if it be Your will, You would work in hearts, unbelieving hearts, even this morning, and draw more into Your family. God, we praise You for who You are. We praise You for Your Son, who is the embodiment of wisdom. Help us to walk wisely this week, for His sake. In Jesus’ name. Amen