Peter Barnes | Matthew 11:16-19
SERMON NOTES
AN UNDISCERNING GENERATION
Amos 7:10-17; Matthew 11:16-19
– different reasons for the same rejection.
1. Unbelievers are like selfish children playing games.
– 11:16-17; the children are not playing together well; they are dissatisfied no matter what is suggested.
– Rom.8:7; John 5:44
2. Unbelievers complain that John is ascetic and Jesus is overly sociable.
– 11:18-19; John was ascetic (Matt.3:4; Luke 1:15) with a stern message (Matt.3:7-10)
– Jesus dined with tax collectors and sinners (e.g. Matt.9:10-13). Perhaps they cited Proverbs 23:20.
– J. Gresham Machen opposed Prohibition and was accused of being a drunkard. Whitefield and Spurgeon were two very different personalities but people opposed both of them.
3. Wisdom is justified by her deeds.
– 11:19b; ‘children’ in Luke 7:35, but same general meaning.
– John’s deeds back his claim, and the same is true of Christ’s deeds. Old Testament prophecies also back them.