The Description of this Generation

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you once again for the great salvation that we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. So many times we'll go through the day and never thank you for that. We'll go through a day and never thank you for anything. And yet, Lord, on this day, the day we come to honor you, to worship you, to praise you, we need to thank you for the wonderful saving grace that you bestowed upon us. And this morning, as we look at the generation you appear to, how you spoke to them and their response, may we learn how not to respond to the gospel.

May we learn how to truly respond to the saving grace that you bestow upon those of us who are so unworthy. And may we learn how to better present the truth to those who need to hear the truth, Lord Jesus. We pray in your blessed name. Amen. Turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to Luke chapter 7.

Yes, we're still in the seventh chapter of Luke, and we'll be there for a little longer until we move to chapter 8. But we're making our way through the gospel of Luke, understanding how it is that Jesus depicts his generation. If you ever ask yourself the question, what did Jesus think of the generation he addressed? Well, the passage we're going to cover today is going to explain to you how Jesus describes his generation. He describes him in a way that is truly amazing. He describes them as spoiled children.

Children who don't get their way and how they respond when they don't get their way. He describes them as belligerent. He describes them as impossible to please. He describes them as impossible to satisfy. And you will see that in his description of his generation, that the description he gives is the same description of this generation. You see, the Bible is timeless. The Bible goes across every culture. It applies to every person, no matter when they lived or where they live. We tend to forget that.

We tend to think that sometimes, well, the Bible is not relevant for me today, or the Bible doesn't speak to me today, but it does. And we will see in this passage, as Jesus addresses his generation and describes to them exactly how they are, you'll see that it's like the people of today. Let me read it to you.

It's Luke chapter 7, beginning at verse number 31. He says, To what then shall I compare the men of this generation? And what are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another. And they say, We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not weep. 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 gatherers and sinners.

Yet wisdom is vindicated by all our children. Now you read that and you think, What on earth is Jesus saying? Well, that's why I'm here today to help explain to you what exactly is going on in Luke chapter 7, when Jesus gives us a description of his generation. It all comes together because of a story about John the Baptist. We've been talking a lot about John. We talked to you about his identity in chapter 1. We talked to you about his ministry in chapter 3. And here we've talked to you about his popularity as well as his authority in chapter 7.

John the Baptist is a major character in Luke's gospel. He begins with John the Baptist because he is the forerunner to the Messiah. And so he wants to introduce the Messiah to us. And the best way to introduce the Messiah to us is to introduce to us who the forerunner was to the Messiah. So he begins with the story of John the Baptist as he was born to Zacharias and Elizabeth. And as he speaks in Luke 7 verse 31 and following, he wants to help us understand how people respond to the gospel. How the people of his generation were responding to the gospel.

As I said earlier, the principle itself is timeless. John came preaching the gospel. Jesus came preaching the gospel. It was the gospel that called man to repent and to turn from their sin and embrace Jesus Christ as the Messiah. It's the gospel that centers around the forgiveness of sins. It's the gospel that centers around the grace and mercy of God. And the people, they didn't receive it. They rejected it. Why is it when people hear the gospel about the forgiveness of God and his great mercy bestowed upon us that they would reject that message?

Why is it when Christ offers to them the free gift of eternal life that they would turn away from that message and not embrace it? Well, Jesus explains to us why the people of his day did not embrace the message. Why they did not accept the message of the gospel as it was presented by John and by Jesus himself. Remember, there's only two preachers in Israel at this time. John the Baptist, he's in prison, and Jesus. The 12 are not sent out to Luke chapter 9. So at this point, there are only two preachers in the land of Israel.

And yet, the response of the people is the same to both preachers. The response of the people is the same to both of these preachers. Remember, John the Baptist was a prophet accepted by the people. Jesus told them back in verse number 26, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet. When you went out to be baptized in the Jordan River, you went down there because you knew that this man John was more than just a prophet. He was the prophet who was prophesied to come.

He goes on to say these words, this is the one about whom it is written, behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. And this prophet is the greatest prophet who ever lived. In fact, he's the greatest man who ever lived. And there was no argument about that, because that was true of John. And these people, they would make their way down to the Jordan River, and yes, they would be baptized by John in that Jordan River, because they believed that John was truly a prophet of God.

The Bible says in verse number 29, and when all the people and the tax gatherers heard this, they acknowledged God's justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

The people acknowledged the fact that John truly was a prophet. They went down there, all these, the riffraff, the harlots, the tax gatherers, the sinners, they would make their way down to the Jordan River. They would believe in the message that John was preaching. They would be baptized in the Jordan River, because they wanted to be ready for the arrival of the Messiah. Well, the problem was, when John pointed to the Messiah, they didn't accept the Messiah. They didn't want Jesus to be their Messiah.

In fact, the Bible says in verse number 30, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

The religious leaders, they would go down to the river, and there they would encounter John, but they would not fulfill the purpose of God. They would not come to a place where they would repent of their sin and turn to the living God. No. Instead, they rejected God's purpose, and in so doing, they would end up influencing the people away from the truth. John the Baptist was so popular and so influential in the lives of people, that the religious establishment had to go down and see what was going on at the Jordan River.

And when they did not embrace John, and did not embrace the message of John, they began to turn the tables on John, and turn the tables on Jesus, the Messiah. So they would influence the people another direction. So much so, that at the end of Christ's ministry, they were yelling, crucify him, crucify him. The influence of false teaching, the influence of false teachers, is absolutely astronomical in the lives of people. It easily influences people away from the truth. The religious leaders would end up turning the populace away from John and away from Jesus.

They had to, because the people had made a commitment that John was a prophet. They went down there because he was more than a prophet. They knew that, and they were convinced that John was the prophet sent from God. Well, the religious establishment had to turn their thinking, had to turn them away from the truth. Remember back in John chapter 5, it says this, verse 35, John the Baptist was the lamp that was burning, and was shining, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in the light. You see, there was a part of the people that for a little while, they would rejoice in the light of the message of John, but it was only for a little while.

Why? Because it didn't take root. It wasn't that which transformed their lives. The revival was like a euphoria in Israel at that time, and the rejection became even greater because the religious establishment would lead the people away from the truth. In Luke 7, John is already in prison. He's already there. He's soon going to lose his head. Jesus now is the only preacher in Israel, and Jesus says, what shall I liken this generation to?

What do you think the people of this generation are truly like? They're like little children who can't be satisfied. For lack of a better phrase, they're like spoiled brats who, because they don't get what they want, turn away and therefore will not acknowledge the truth. The people would ultimately be influenced by the religious elite. You see, when Jesus came preaching and John himself came preaching, this religious establishment didn't accept the message of repentance because, you see, they were self-righteous.

They believed in their self-styled religious system. They didn't believe they had to repent because they didn't see themselves as sinners. They saw themselves as righteous. And they weren't about to go down to the river, the Jordan River, to be baptized by John because John was doing a baptism that was characterized by Gentiles who wanted to become Jewish proselytes. And so for a religious person to go down to the Jordan River and be baptized by John's baptism would mean that he would be admitting that he was no better than a pagan Gentile.

And they weren't about to do that. That was too big a leap for them. They saw themselves better than that. They saw themselves as righteous. They saw themselves as good people. They had fulfilled their traditions. They had fulfilled their laws. And they had made up and re-translated the laws of God to fit their own system so they could view themselves as good people. They could view themselves as righteous people. Yet they didn't see the need for grace. In fact, they hated the message of grace. They hated the message of mercy because Jesus would forgive the worst of people.

And they looked at the worst of people. They looked at tax gatherers. They looked at prostitutes as the unworthy people. And yet Jesus was offering them grace and mercy. Remember Jonah when those at Nineveh repented from their sin, how angry he was because of the wretched pagans who would receive the mercy of God. Well, these religious leaders couldn't stand the fact that these people who were unworthy of anything in their religious system were being accepted by Christ. And he was telling them that he was God in the flesh and offering them forgiveness.

So Jesus labels them. We don't like to give people labels. But Jesus did. And John did. In fact, John tells us in Luke 3, he labeled them as a bunch of brood vipers. He labeled them as a bunch of snakes. He labeled them as chaff worthy of only being burned. That's it. And if you read Matthew chapter 23, the last public sermon that Jesus preached, it condemned the religious establishment. And he called the religious elite murderers, self-indulgent robbers. He called them hypocrites. He called them sinners.

He called them snakes. He labeled them. He put them in a category of wretched people. And that was his last public sermon. It wasn't, you know, one more opportunity to beckon them to come to saving faith. No, he labeled them as they truly were. And Jesus again will label them in Luke chapter 7 as he describes for us his generation. He gives us, number one, the assessment.

Then he gives us an analogy. And then he gives us the application. Those are our three points this morning. First of all, the assessment.

That's in verse number 31. He says, to what then shall I compare the men of this generation? What are they like? Jesus is going to tell us what the generation of his day was like. He's going to explain to us how it is they truly are. He tells us that this generation is unlike anything we can imagine. Now the phrase this generation is a phrase used throughout Luke, listen carefully, to describe the perversity and the faithful, faithlessness of Israel. In fact, over in Luke chapter 9, Luke chapter 9, Christ says these words in verse number 41.

Oh, unbelieving and perverted generation. When Jesus talks about his generation, he uses it in terms of their perversity, in terms of their faithlessness. Because when you go all the way back to the book of Deuteronomy, the 32nd chapter, Moses describes unbelieving Israel. He describes the perversion of Israel by telling us that they were a perverted generation, that they were a wicked generation. Jesus will pick up on that and use that throughout the gospels to describe his generation. They are faithless and they are perverted.

You can read about it in Luke chapter 11, verse number 29. Luke chapter 11, verses 50 and 51. Luke 16, verse number 8. Luke 17, verse number 25. It is a condemning accusation. It is a condemning accusation. It refers to their obstinacy. It refers to their rebellion. It refers to their perversion. That is a description of this generation. It is the age in which he lived in. Paul would say these words over in Philippians chapter 2, verse number 15. He says that we need to prove ourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God, above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world.

Listen, every generation that rejects the gospel message, every generation that refuses to believe the message of the gospel is described as being unbelieving, perverse and wicked. So any generation that doesn't believe the gospel is a perverse and wicked generation. Why? Because it was used by Moses way back in Deuteronomy 32 to describe unbelieving Israel and Christ would use that throughout the gospels to describe the unbelief of his people that they were perverted and they were wicked. And Jesus says, here's my assessment.

It's this. This generation is perverse. This generation is wicked. This generation is obstinate. This generation is belligerent against the truth. That's his assessment. And then he gives that analogy. He gives an analogy. He says they are like children, little children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another and they say, we played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not weep. Jesus says, let me give you an analogy.

This generation is like little children, spoiled children. When they, when they, when they beckon you to come out and play a game, you know, children like to play games. In fact, this is the only place in the Bible where it mentions children playing games, but children play games and the games they play usually imitate their parents. For instance, children, little girls play dress up because their moms dress up. Boys play war, play ball because their dads are engaged in war or some kind of athletics.

And so they imitate their children. And in those days there were two main events, two, two huge events in every village, every city. One was a wedding and one was a funeral. One was a happy occasion. One was a sad occasion. And the games that children played in those days was the game of wedding and the game of funeral. And it happened in the marketplace. Christ says, but like little children in the marketplace, the agoura, that's the place where throughout the week people would come to, to buy and to, and to sell goods.

But when it was closed, it was an open market square in the middle of the village. And there the children would go out to play. And so he says, the, the, the people of this generation are like, are like children, spoiled children, little children who, who, when they call you out to play and they say, well, we, we played the flute, but you didn't dance. We sang the dirge, but you didn't weep. He says, like little children who play the game of wedding. How do you play the game of wedding? I don't know.

A lot of people marry, play the game of wedding. But the bottom line is, you know, someone's a bride and someone's a bridegroom and someone's the attendant of the, of the bridegroom and some, some of the guests and some of the musicians and they gather together to play, to play wedding. And, and so we gathered together to play this wedding game that the, the, the, we played the flute, but you didn't dance. You didn't want to dance. We said, let's play. He said, no, we don't want to do that. That's not what we want to do.

You were indifferent to the game that was played. You were obstinate. You weren't happy. You weren't pleased, didn't like the happy game. So, so because you didn't like the happy game, we changed the game. We decided to play the sad game. We sang a dirge. We sang a dirge, but you didn't weep. We played the funeral game. Now, when you play the funeral game, someone's got to be the dead guy, right? So you've got the dead guy out there and you've got the pallbearers and, and, you know, remember weddings were festive occasions.

They would last a whole week. And, and Jesus would use the illustration of the wedding feast over and over again, because it depicts what's going to happen when the church is united. The bride is united with the bridegroom and Christ would use that over and over again, but it was the highest festive occasion in any village. And a father would, would, would, would go broke just providing a wedding for his daughter. It would last for about a week. And there'd be all these meals and festive occasions and, and dancing and joyous celebration.

And, and it was a great time. And, and Christ says, you know, the people of our day are, are like those who played the game of wedding.

We, we, we wanted to offer them the happy game. And, and so we offered it to them and he said, we don't want to play that. Okay. So we'll offer them the other game. That's the funeral game. We came and we, we sang the dirge, but she didn't weep. We came and, and again, funerals were big occasions. Remember in Luke chapter seven, when we talked about it with the raising of the widow's son at name, everybody was involved. There were, there were pallbearers. There were, there was a dead person. There was those who were weeping and wailing because they lost someone close to them.

There were hired mourners. It was a big, big deal in those days. And Jesus says, well, we sang a dirge, but she didn't weep.

You were stubborn. You wouldn't play that game either. Played the flute because we wanted to celebrate the happy occasions, but you didn't want to dance. So we sang a dirge thinking that you'd want to play that game, but you didn't want to weep. You didn't want to play that game either. This generation is like spoiled brats. They want nothing to do with the games we offer. Nothing whatsoever. And so Jesus says, the people of this generation are like spoiled children who are unsatisfied because they don't get their way.

That's the analogy. See, how does that all play in to the gospel? Well, that's the application. Listen to what Jesus says.

He says, for John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine. And you say he has a demon. John the Baptist in the application is analogous to the funeral game. Jesus in the applications we will see is analogous to the wedding game. John the Baptist came, he preached a message, a message that was like a dirge. It was a message of judgment, hellfire, damnation. He came and he preached the message, but nobody weeped. It was a message that would cause people to come to a point of repentance.

It was a message that caused people to mourn over their sin. It was a message that sang the minor key. It was a sad message because it caused people to recognize their sin, to weep and to wail and to mourn over the fact they were sinners and they were separated from God. When John came preaching, he came preaching fire, vengeance. He came preaching that the axe is laid at the root of the tree and the Messiah is going to chop it down. He came preaching the fact that the chaff is going to be burned and you need to repent of your sin.

It was a message that dealt specifically with the negative side of the gospel, getting people to come to a point of repentance that they would weep and they would wail over their sin and so John came preaching that message. They didn't weep. That wasn't for them. Now the Bible says that John the Baptist came eating no bread and drinking no wine.

That's important because it's a phrase, it's just a colloquialism to explain normal everyday living. Remember in Luke 17 when Christ speaks about the end times and before the Messiah comes, people will be eating and drinking and being married and given a marriage. It's just a description of normal everyday living. Well John the Baptist, when he came, he came eating no bread and drinking no wine. In fact he was a total disconnect from society. He was not normal, he was abnormal and we know that because we've studied the life of John.

John was a total disconnect from everybody. He was separate. He was abnormal. He wasn't like Jesus. He was completely different. He didn't come eating bread because we know he ate honey and wild locusts. We know he came, when he came, he didn't come drinking wine because he drank no wine. He had taken a Nazarite vow and so Christ is describing to us that when John arrived, he arrived eating no bread, drinking no wine. In other words, he was completely disconnected from society, completely isolated from society, completely different than society.

He was bizarre. He was strange and when John the Baptist came, he came out of the wilderness. He had been in the wilderness for years from probably the age around 13 to 14 all the way to the age of 30. I mean he wasn't, he was anything but cool, anything but hip. I mean he didn't read the paper, there was a paper in those days, didn't watch ESPN to get updated of all the sports scores. He didn't watch MSNBC or CNN to know who was going to be elected governor of Jerusalem. He didn't watch any of that stuff.

He was a total disconnect from society. He was way out there. He was completely isolated. He was truly the voice crying in the wilderness. He was a lone voice crying in the wilderness. That's who John the Baptist was. He was completely different. So much so that he at this point was in prison and so John the Baptist came. He came eating no bread, drinking no wine. He was not normal. He was completely abnormal because he was completely disconnected from society. And you say he is a demon. He's demon possessed.

This was their conclusion. I mean after all, I mean come on, why would someone dress like that? I mean it had to be demon possession. Why would someone eat the things that he eats? This man's behavior is bizarre. This man's life is weird. He is totally out to lunch when it comes to social skills. Nobody would have John over to their house for dinner. He wouldn't use utensils. He would use his fingers. He would smell. So no one would invite him over to our house for dinner. He was completely isolated from society and your conclusion was he's got a demon.

I mean come on. He can't be a true prophet. He must be a demon. He was a madman. He was a man, not a prophet from God. He was a man filled with the demon. They weren't about to play the game that John preached. Not about to. In fact, so much so that they blasphemed the Spirit of God in John. Remember John was filled with the Spirit of God from his mother's womb. Remember that? He was dominated by God's Spirit from his mother's womb. Okay, so when they said John, his manners are so, he must be demon possessed.

They blasphemed the Spirit of God in John. Notice they will soon blaspheme the Spirit when it comes to Christ, right?

You can read about that in John chapter 7, verse number 20, John 8, 48, John 10, 20, Luke 11, 19, Matthew 11, uh 12, 27, and Mark 3, 22. They were blaspheming the Spirit in Christ and they would attribute the works of Christ to Satan, right? Now they're attributing the man, John, and his message to whom? Satan. He's demon possessed. They hated his message. Why? Because they wouldn't accept the divine diagnosis that the truth presented to their lives. They would not accept it. They didn't believe that their condition was sinful.

They did not believe that they were separated from God. They were the children of Abraham. How can they be separated from God? So when John came preaching a gospel of repentance, they rejected it. They hated the message of grace. They hated the message of mercy. They hated the message of forgiveness. So what did they do? They attacked the style of the man. But it wasn't the style they hated, it was the substance they hated. It wasn't the man they hated, it was the message the man gave. And so in order to discredit the man's message, they attacked the man himself and said, he's demon possessed.

He has a demon. Folks, that happens today, by the way. People come and they hear the gospel. They don't like the message, so what do they do? They attack the man. They don't like the subject or the substance of truth, and so they attack the style of the one who speaks the truth to somehow try to find a way to discredit the message. But it's not the style, nor is it the man. It's his message and the subject he preaches, which truly is God's holy word. The greatest man ever born of a woman, they attacked as being demon possessed.

Why? Because they would not accept the message of sin, that they were sinners. They would not accept the message that they were in danger of being judged. They couldn't be judged. They were righteous people. They were the people of God. A loving God doesn't judge righteous people, so they would say. And so they attacked the man. John came. He was the sad song, yet they did not weep. Jesus says in verse 34, the son of man has come.

Son of man, title of the messiah, Daniel 7 13. The messiah has come and he has come eating and drinking. He was the complete opposite of John. While John would never be invited to your house for dinner, Jesus was always invited to people's house for dinner. Jesus was there at your birth. Jesus was there at the weddings. Jesus was there at the funerals. Jesus was there in the villages. Jesus was always around the people. He was in the mainstream of life. He was in the flow of life. He was always there.

People, they wanted to be around him so much he had to try to escape just to be alone for a short while. I mean, he was in the mainstream of Israel. And so Jesus says when John came, he came eating no bread, drinking no wine.

He didn't do anything that was normal. But when the son of man came, he did all those things that were normal. He was there all the time. All the time eating and drinking. He, Jesus preached the kingdom. John preached the kingdom too. But John preached the kingdom from the standpoint of the judgment that would come when the king arrived. Jesus preached the kingdom from the standpoint of the joy and the pleasure that was there when you embrace him as Messiah. Jesus came, he played the happy song. John came, he sang the sad song.

When John came and played the sad song, he didn't weep. When Jesus came and played the flute, he didn't dance, he didn't celebrate, he didn't embrace the Messiah. He didn't do those things. In fact, he got upset. He got upset. In fact, the Pharisees were so mad that the disciples of Jesus weren't fasting. Instead, they were rejoicing. Remember back in Luke chapter 5, they said these words. And they say to him, the disciples of John often fast and offer prayers. The disciples of the Pharisees also do the same.

But yours eat and drink. I mean, we are fasting and you are celebrating. And Jesus said, you cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? You can't do that. This is the time of rejoicing. Why? Because the bridegroom is here. And the attendants of the bridegroom are so excited that the bridegroom is here that they can't help but rejoice. Oh, there will come a time where they will be sad because the bridegroom is going to be killed according to the scriptures.

But at this point, he is among them and they are celebrating. It's a festive occasion. Jesus came eating and drinking. He came in the normal flow of life and he came with a message of the kingdom that said, hey, you can celebrate the bridegroom. You can celebrate the Messiah. You can embrace the forgiveness that God has to offer you. It's all there. But you didn't want that. Didn't want that. You didn't want what John offered. Remember, there's only two preachers, John and Jesus. So John comes preaching judgment, comes preaching vengeance, come preaching hellfire.

He sang the dirge. He sang the minor key. He didn't weep. So the Son of Man came. He came eating and drinking. He came presenting to you the kingdom and the festive occasion that was offered to you because the great forgiveness of God. And you didn't want that either. You like spoiled children. We don't want that. We don't want that. So because you didn't like the message that was given, you said John was demon possessed. He's got a demon. Must be because of some dementia in him going on. He must be demon possessed.

He truly can't be a prophet of God. Son of Man came. He came eating and drinking. And the text says in Luke chapter 7, behold, you say, he is a gluttonous man, a drunkard, a friend of tax gatherers and sinners. Jesus came offering the free gospel of grace and mercy bestowed upon all those who turn from their sin. And as he came eating and drinking, carrying on in the normal affairs of life, this man is a reprobate. This man is a drunkard. This man is gluttonous. Again, they attacked the style. They attacked the man.

You see, his message would cut to the quick. His message was true. And so in order to discredit the message, they attacked the man to somehow gain influence over the people to move them away from John, to move them away from Jesus so that they would believe a lie. Jesus truly is that wedding feast. He invited them to the wedding. He invited them to the grand celebration, but they would not come. So you see, the analogy has a great application because the application is simply this, that when the message of the gospel is preached, whether it's from the mouth of that one who is bizarre or from the mouth of that one that is absolutely beautiful, John or Jesus, they reject it because they would not accept the message that you were sinners in need of repentance.

Jesus says, let me tell you about this generation. Let me explain to you what they're like. This perverted and wicked generation is the way they are because when the flute was played, they didn't dance. When the song was sung, when the dirge was sung, they didn't weep. He says, when John the Baptist came, he came in the minor key, came sober, came somber, came steadfast. He came and he spoke the truth. He came preaching judgment in view of God's coming wrath, separate from sinners, and yet you said he had a demon.

Son of man came, he came preaching the kingdom of God in all of its mercy and all of its grace with all of its compassion, and you treated him as if he was a gluttonous man and a sinner. That's what the generation did. But Jesus ends on this note, verse 35, yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children. Sophia, wisdom, the wisdom of revelation that leads to salvation in spite of being rejected by the religious elite and they influencing others to reject it as well. Wisdom is vindicated by all her children.

In other words, salvation's wisdom is vindicated by what it produces in the lives of its children. Jesus says simply this, wisdom's children prove the power of the gospel.

And while there would be many who rejected the gospel, and we know that at the end of the ministry there were 120 nondescript disciples in the upper room in Acts chapter 1, right? And Jesus appeared to some 500 people. So somewhere around 620 converts after a three and a half year ministry by the Son of God. Not very many, is it? But wisdom's revelation that produces salvation is vindicated in the actions of the children. You see, God's word produces its result in the lives of those who accept the message.

It does. It truly has power. Remember, the sacred writings, Paul told Timothy, make you wise unto salvation. Wisdom comes to those who understand the revelation of God as it depicts their condition, and they embrace it and receive the revelation of Christ. And wisdom is truly vindicated in the life of its children because God's word, when it takes effect in people's lives, it changes them. Unless we think all is lost, it's not. It's not at all, because the wisdom of God's word truly does produce everlasting results.

Listen, folks, this generation today is exactly like the generation in the days of Jesus. This is an unbelieving and perverted generation that's filled with wickedness. Well, how do we know that? Because this generation, like the generation of Jesus, is filled with spoiled little brats, people who hear the message and they don't want to embrace the message. They hear the message of repentance. They hear the message of coming judgment. They hear the message of fire, hell, damnation, and they reject that message.

They hear the dirge, and they will not weep. They hear it, but they will not wail. They hear it, but they will not mourn over their sin. And they hear the message of the grace and the mercy and the forgiveness of God and the cleansing that comes through Jesus Christ alone, and they will not engage in the celebration of the kingdom. They won't. Why? Because they hate the message. It confronts their sin. It calls them to a place of repentance. It calls them to a place of coming to the recollection and the realization that I am unworthy, that I deserve nothing but hell, that I am hell bound, unless for the grace and mercy of God.

And somehow we think that we don't need the grace and mercy of God because God will accept me just as I am. And I can go just as I am, and it's okay. And that was a religious establishment. Remember the words of Solomon? He spoke about wisdom and the revelation of God's salvation that comes through the wisdom of God. Wisdom shouts in the streets. She lifts her voice in the square. At the head of the noisy streets, she cries out. At the entrance of the gates of the city, she utters her sayings, How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity?

And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge. How long? John the Baptist came preaching wisdom. Jesus came preaching the wisdom of God that leads to salvation. He cried in the streets. How long, O naive ones, how long, you foolish ones, will you hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make my words known to you. Wisdom cries, Turn to my reproof. Because wisdom first reproves before it redeems.

It reproves a sinner, helps him understand his sinful ways, that I might redeem him. And so he says, Turn to my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make my words known to you because I called and you refused. I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention, and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof. That was Israel. They rejected all of his counsel. They did not want his reproof. Oh, they wanted his miracles. They liked those. They liked the fact that he could feed them.

They liked the fact that he could heal them. But they spurned his reproof. They spurned his message. You neglected all my counsel. You did not want my reproof. I will even laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your dread comes. When your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you, then they will call on me, but I will not answer. Why? It's too late. It's too late. You've hardened your heart. They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me because their hearts are hardened.

Why? Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel. They spurned all my reproof. Wisdom says, you spurned it all. Christ came preaching wisdom. John came preaching wisdom of God that leads to salvation. They spurned it all. They spurned all the reproof. They spurned the message about damnation. They spurned the message about vengeance. They spurned the message about judgment. They spurned it all. They would not turn to the reproof of wisdom.

So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them and the complacency of fools shall destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and shall be at ease from the dread of all evil. Wisdom says, he who listens to me and embraces my words, you shall live at ease and from the dread of all evil, you shall live securely. See, none of those people live securely because they would not embrace the wisdom of God.

So the message for us today is as we present the truth to people, most of them will not accept it. Most of them will reject it because they won't enjoy the celebration because they won't embrace the message of damnation. And they'll spurn the reproof. And wisdom says, they'll come a day where those people who spurn reproof will want to be reproved and will not be able to be because their hearts are heartened. So listen to me while you can, wisdom says. Listen now.

Why? If you do, you'll live securely. You'll embrace security and you'll be at ease from the dread of evil the rest of your life. In other words, you will live securely throughout eternity because there is no longer any fear of death. That's the message. That was a generation of Jesus's day. That's a generation of our day. And yet he gives us this one hope that wisdom is vindicated in every one of her children. It's proven to be true that when the gospel is preached, there will be those who believe and receive it with joy.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today and the truth of your word. And I pray that as the people of God, we would be steadfast in our preaching of the truth. No matter what our condition as people. May we please implore others to come to saving faith. May we be those who give the message of truth as John, as Jesus, knowing that it's not us they reject. It's the message itself. The message that convicts of sin, that convicts of judgment, righteousness, and pray that we be faithful stewards of the ministry of reconciliation.

Pray in Jesus name. Amen.