When
all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they declared God to be just, having been baptized with John’s baptism. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God, not being baptized by him themselves.
Luke 7:29-30
Luke 7 [28.] “For I tell you, among those who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptizer, yet he who is least in God’s Kingdom is greater than he.”
Luke 7 [29.] When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they declared God to be just, having been baptized with John’s baptism. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God, not being baptized by him themselves.
Luke 7 [31.] “To what then will I liken the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace, and call to one another, saying, ‘We piped to you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned, and you didn’t weep.’ For John the Baptizer came neither eating bread nor drinking 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!’ Wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Meaning:
John the Baptizer, in prison, had sent messengers to ask Jesus whether he was the one who was to come. After answering them, Jesus spoke to the crowds about John, calling him more than a prophet: “among those who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptizer.” These two verses, a comment by Luke, describe how different groups had responded to John’s ministry, and so how they were now responding to Jesus’ words.
- “All the people and the tax collectors”
Ordinary people and tax collectors had gone out to the Jordan to hear John. Tax collectors were despised as collaborators with Rome and often as cheats, yet they came humbly asking what to do: “Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, ‘Teacher, what must we do?’” (Luke 3:12). John told them to collect no more than was appointed.
- “They declared God to be just”
Literally, they “justified God.” By accepting John’s call to repentance and being baptized, they agreed that God was right in his verdict on their sin and right in his way of salvation. They did not argue with God’s judgement; they submitted to it. Jesus later told of a tax collector who prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” and went home justified (Luke 18:13-14).
- “The Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God”
The “counsel of God” is his plan and purpose. God had sent John to prepare his people for the Messiah. The Pharisees, devoted to the Law, and the lawyers, experts in interpreting it, refused to be baptized, because baptism meant admitting they needed to repent. In rejecting John they rejected God’s purpose for themselves. When some Pharisees and Sadducees did come to watch, John called them “offspring of vipers” (Matthew 3:7).
- Wisdom justified by her children
Jesus went on to compare that generation to children in the marketplace who would neither dance nor mourn. They called John demon-possessed and Jesus “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet, he said, “Wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:35). Those who received God’s messengers proved the wisdom of his way.
- The same point in Matthew
In the temple, during his last week, Jesus told the chief priests and elders the parable of two sons. He said, “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him” (Matthew 21:32). Luke 7:29-30 shows the same division at an earlier stage.
The Significance of Luke 7:29-30
- Humility opens the door
Those who admitted their sin received God’s grace; those who thought they had no need of repentance shut themselves out.
- God’s plan can be refused
God’s counsel is good, but people can reject it for themselves. Each person must respond to his call.
Cross-References:
Luke 3:12: "Tax collectors also came to be baptized," The humble response to John.
Matthew 21:32: "but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him." Jesus’ verdict on the leaders.
Luke 18:13: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" The prayer of a humble tax collector.
Conclusion: Luke notes that when Jesus praised John the Baptizer, the people and the tax collectors who had been baptized by John declared God just, while the Pharisees and lawyers, who had refused John’s baptism, rejected God’s purpose for themselves. The passage shows that humble repentance receives God’s grace, while pride rejects it, the same contrast Jesus drew in the parable of the two sons.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible