J.C. Ryle's Devotional Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke, Section 41, Jesus Exposes the Unreasonableness of Unbelief Luke Chapter 7, Verses 31-35 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced. We have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of Man is come, eating and drinking, and ye say, Behold, a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of all her children.

Our Lord brings out in this lesson a remarkable comparison. Describing the generation of men among whom he lived while he was on earth, he compares them to children. He says that children at play were not more wayward, perverse, and hard to please than the Jews of his day. Nothing would satisfy them. They were always finding fault. Whatever ministry God employed among them, they took exception to it. Whatever messenger God sent among them, they were not pleased.

First came John the Baptist, living a retired, ascetic, self-denying life. At once the Jews said, He is a demon. After him the Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and adopting habits of social life like the ordinary run of men. At once the Jews accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard. In short, it became evident that the Jews were determined to receive no message from God at all. Their pretended objections were only a cloak to cover their hatred of God's truth. What they really disliked was not so much God's ministers as God himself.

Perhaps we read this account with wonder and surprise. We think that never were men so wickedly unreasonable as these Jews were. But are we sure that their conduct is not continually repeated among Christians? Do we not know that the same thing is continually going on around us at the present day? As strange as it may seem at first sight, The generation which will neither dance when their companions play the flute, nor lament when they sing a dirge, is only too numerous in the Church of Christ.

Is it not a fact that many who strive to serve Christ faithfully and walk closely with God find their neighbors and relations always dissatisfied with their conduct? No matter how holy and consistent their lives may be, they're always thought wrong. If they withdraw entirely from the world and live, like John the Baptist, a retired and ascetic life, then the cry is raised that they are exclusive, narrow-minded, sour-spirited, and self-righteous. If, on the other hand, they go much into society and endeavour as far as they can to take interest in their neighbours' pursuits, the remark is soon made that they are no better than other people, and have no more real religion than those who make no profession at all.

Treatment like this is only too common. Few are the decided Christians who do not know it by bitter experience. The servants of God in every age, whatever they do, are blamed. The plain truth is that the natural heart of man hates God. The carnal mind is enmity against God. It dislikes his law, his gospel, and his people. It will always find some excuse for not believing and obeying. The doctrine of repentance is too strict for it. The doctrine of faith and grace is too easy for it. John the Baptist goes too much out of the world, Jesus Christ goes too much into the world, and so the heart of man excuses itself for sitting still in its sins. All this must not surprise us. We must make up our minds to find unconverted people as perverse, unreasonable, and hard to please as the Jews of our Lord's time. We must give up the vain idea of trying to please everybody. The thing is impossible and the attempt is mere waste of time. We must be content to walk in Christ's steps and let the world say what it likes. Do what we will, we shall never satisfy it or silence its bitter remarks. The world first found fault with John the Baptist, and then with his blessed master. And it will go on cavilling and finding fault with that master's disciples, so long as one of them is left upon earth.

We learn, secondly, from these verses, that the wisdom of God's ways is always recognized and acknowledged by those who are wise-hearted. This is a lesson which is taught in a sentence of somewhat obscure character. Wisdom is justified by all her children. But it seems difficult to extract any other meaning from the words by fair and consistent interpretation. The idea which our Lord desired to impress upon us appears to be that though the vast majority of the Jews were hardened and unreasonable, there were some who were not. And that though multitudes saw no wisdom in the ministry of John the Baptist and himself, there were a chosen few who did. Those few were the children of wisdom. Those few, by their lives and obedience, declared their full conviction that God's ways of dealing with the Jews were wise and right, and that John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus were both worthy of all honor. In short, they justified God's wisdom and so proved themselves to be truly wise.

This saying of our Lord about the generation among whom he lived describes a state of things which will always be found in the Church of Christ. In spite of the cavils, sneers, objections, and unkind remarks with which the gospel is received by the majority of mankind, There will always be some in every country who will assent to it and obey it with delight. There will never be lacking a little flock which hears the voice of the shepherd gladly and counts all his ways to be right. The people of this world may mock at the gospel and pour contempt on the lives of believers. They may count their practice madness and see no wisdom nor beauty in their ways. But God will take care that he has a believing people in every age. There will always be some who will assert the perfect excellence of the doctrines and requirements of the gospel and will justify the wisdom of him who sent it. And these, however much the world may despise them, are those whom Jesus calls wise.

they are wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verse 15

let us ask ourselves as we leave this passage whether we deserve to be called children of wisdom have we been taught by the Spirit to know our Lord Jesus Christ? have the eyes of our understanding been opened? have we the wisdom that comes from above? If we are truly wise, then let us not be ashamed to confess our master before men. Let us boldly declare that we approve the whole of his gospel, all of its doctrines, and all of its requirements. We may find few with us and many against us. The world may laugh at us and count our wisdom no better than folly. But such laughter is but for a moment. The hour is coming when the few who have confessed Christ and justified his ways before men shall be confessed and justified by him before his Father and the holy angels.