Big Buts of the Bible

An excerpt from Chapter 11.

Jesus turned to the crowd and began talking about John.

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” He asked.

What was it about John that drew such crowds? Was it simply that he was unusual? After all, his clothing, his diet, and the certainty with which he spoke made him quite a spectacle. Jesus essentially asks, Who did you think you were looking at?

In biblical times, names often carried far greater significance than they do in our culture today. We’ve already seen the importance of the name Jesus—”The Lord saves”—and the title Emmanuel, “God with us.”

I recently saw a list of popular baby names, and among them were names like Indigo and Deuce. Maybe I’m just showing my age, but I hear those names and think of a color and a number. Or ink and poker. Or the blues and a sandwich. I certainly don’t want to offend anyone named Indigo or Deuce—you really do have fine names. Please forgive me. I did, after all, dedicate this chapter to you.

But Elijah—now there was a name that carried tremendous weight.

For generations God’s people had lived with the expectation that another Elijah-like prophet would come before the Messiah. He would prepare the way for God’s promised Deliverer.

So when Jesus says of John, “If you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come,”

He is making an astonishing claim. Elijah had come.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of leading many Passover Seders. During that meal, a fifth cup of wine is traditionally set aside for Elijah. In some Jewish homes, the cup is even placed outside, symbolizing the hope that Elijah may yet come and announce the Messiah’s arrival.

For me, that moment in the Seder has always been deeply moving.

As a Gentile believer, I quietly realize that I have already embraced Jesus’ words. John the Baptist was that promised forerunner. Jesus is the Messiah John announced.

Many faithful Jewish people are still waiting.

It’s not surprising, then, that people in Jesus’ day wrestled with John’s identity. Nor is it accidental that Jesus concludes His testimony with the familiar words. “He who has ears, let him hear.”

Sadly, many who heard His voice that day never really listened.

But Listen

Jesus compared the people of His day to indifferent children. They simply hadn’t taken God’s invitations seriously. To illustrate the point, He quoted a short piece of poetry:

“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.”

What does that mean?

Believe it or not, it appears Jesus was drawing from Aesop—you know, the fellow famous for Aesop’s Fables. No, I’m not kidding.

Aesop lived in Greece during the sixth century BC. Although none of his original writings have survived, many familiar stories have been passed down under his name—The Tortoise and the Hare, for example.

The illustration Jesus uses seems to come from one of Aesop’s lesser-known tales. A fisherman stood by the water’s edge playing his flute, hoping the fish would be charmed into swimming toward him. He played his heart out, but the fish ignored him completely. Frustrated, he finally set the flute aside, picked up a net, and hauled in a great catch. As the fish flopped helplessly on the shore, he remarked, “I played the flute for you, and you would not dance. Now all you can do is dance.”

Have you ever watched a fish out of water? It’s quite a dance—but one born of desperation.

Placed here in Matthew’s Gospel, the illustration becomes remarkably powerful. John the Baptist had called people to repentance. Jesus came proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom. Between them they had played both joyful songs and funeral dirges, so to speak. They had extended invitations and sounded warnings. Yet many people’s hearts remained untouched.

Instead of listening, this generation dismissed John as demon-possessed and slandered Jesus as a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend of sinners.

Remember Jesus’ words from earlier? “He who has ears, let him hear.” Those words carry even more weight now, don’t they?

The Big But

This is where we find chapter 11’s big but:

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

The problem wasn’t John.

The problem wasn’t Jesus.

The problem was hearts that had already decided not to listen.