Matthew 11:16 - Meaning and Application

Christ had been praising John the Baptist and his ministry, but then he suddenly turned to rebuke those who heard both John and Christ’s own preaching, and still gained nothing from it. When he speaks about that generation, we should notice the people he compares them to in Matthew 11:16-19. When he speaks about the places he names, we should notice the people he compares them with in Matthew 11:20-24.

He is speaking of the Jewish people of that time. Many were pressing into the kingdom of heaven, but the majority still stayed unbelieving and stubborn. John was a great and good man, but the generation that had him among them was barren and unprofitable, and did not deserve such a minister. The badness of the people around a good minister makes his goodness stand out more clearly. Noah’s honor was that he was righteous in his generation. Christ had just praised John, and now he condemns those who had John among them and did not profit from his ministry. The more people are praised, the worse their guilt will be if they neglect such a servant of God, and that will be shown on the day of judgment.

Our Lord sets this out in a parable, and speaks as if he can hardly find a fitting comparison: “To what shall I compare this generation?” There is no greater folly than having good preaching and gaining nothing from it. It is hard to say what such people are like. The picture comes from a common custom among Jewish children at play. Children, as children do, copied weddings and funerals, with rejoicing and lamenting. But because it was all play, it left no lasting effect. The ministry of John the Baptist and of Christ had no more effect on that generation.

He especially points at the scribes and Pharisees, who thought very highly of themselves. To humble them, he compares them to children and their conduct to children’s play. The parable is best understood by looking at the picture and its explanation together.

First, God in heaven uses many fitting means and methods to turn poor sinners and save them. He wants all people to be saved, so he leaves nothing undone for that purpose. His great goal is to make our will agree with his will, and to do that he shows us himself in ways meant to move us. Since different people are moved by different things, he uses different ways, though all of them lead to the same end. In the parable, this is described as his piping to us and his mourning to us. He has piped to us in the precious promises of the gospel, which are fit to awaken hope. He has mourned to us in the terrible warnings of the law, which are fit to awaken fear, so he might frighten us out of our sins and draw us to himself. He has also piped to us through gracious and merciful providences, and mourned to us through painful and afflicting providences, setting the one against the other. He has taught his ministers to change their voice (Galatians 4:20), sometimes speaking like thunder from Mount Sinai, and sometimes in a still small voice from Mount Zion.

In the explanation of the parable, we see the different temper of John’s ministry and Christ’s ministry, the two great lights of that generation. John came mourning to them, neither eating nor drinking. He did not live among people in a familiar way, nor usually eat in company. He lived apart in his wilderness cell, where his food was locusts and wild honey. One would think such a severe and self-denying life would have moved them, because it matched the message he preached. A minister is most likely to do good when his conduct agrees with his teaching, yet even such preaching is not always effective.

On the other hand, the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and so he piped to them. Christ mixed freely with all kinds of people. He did not make a show of special severity or strictness. He was approachable and easy to speak with, not avoiding any company. He often attended feasts, both with Pharisees and with tax collectors, to see whether he could win those who were not moved by John’s reserve. Those who were not shaken by John’s sternness might be drawn by Christ’s gentleness. From this, Paul learned to become all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:22). Yet Christ’s freedom did not at all condemn John, any more than John’s way of life condemned Christ, though their outward conduct was very different. We should not judge others by our own practice, even when we are sure our own practice is right. There can be many different kinds of work, while it is still the same God working all in all (1 Corinthians 12:6), and this variety of the Spirit’s gifts is given for the good of all (Matthew 11:7).

We should especially notice that God’s ministers are gifted in different ways. Some have one kind of ability, and others another. Some are sons of thunder, and others sons of comfort, yet it is one and the same Spirit who works in all of them (1 Corinthians 12:11). So we should not condemn either kind, but praise both, and praise God for both. In this way, God tries different methods with people of different temperaments, so that sinners may either be made willing or left without excuse. Whatever the result, God will be glorified.

Second, the different methods God uses to convert sinners are often fruitless in many people. “You have not danced, you have not mourned,” means they were not properly affected by either kind of message. Each means has its own purpose, like medicine has its own specific effect, and people must submit to those effects if the larger purpose is to succeed. If people will not be ruled by commands, or drawn by promises, or frightened by warnings, if they will not be awakened by the greatest things, or attracted by the sweetest things, or startled by the most terrible things, or made thoughtful by the plainest things, then what more can be done? The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed, the refiner works in vain, and the people are called rejected silver (Jeremiah 6:29). The labor of ministers is spent in vain (Isaiah 49:4), and, which is even worse, the grace of God is received in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1).

This should comfort faithful ministers when they see little success from their work. It is no new thing for the best preachers and the best preaching in the world to fall short of the hoped-for result. “Who has believed our report?” If Christ and John so often returned empty from their labor, as David once said of mighty warriors whose weapons did not return from battle empty (2 Samuel 1:22), then it is no surprise if our own work also seems to bear little fruit, and if we prophesy to dry bones with little effect.

Third, ...

People who do not profit from the means of grace often become stubborn, and they turn on the very ministers through whom they receive those gifts. Because they do not gain good for themselves, they try to do harm to others by spreading distrust against the Word and its faithful preachers. If people will not submit to God and walk with him, they will oppose him and walk against him. That is what this generation did.

Because they were determined not to believe Christ and John, and would not honor them as they should have done, they tried to smear them instead. They said of John the Baptist, “He has a demon.” They took his strictness and quiet way of life and blamed it on gloom or some kind of demonic influence. In effect, they said, “Why listen to him? He is just a sad, disturbed man, full of strange ideas.”

They said of Jesus Christ, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard.” They turned his friendly, open way of dealing with people into a charge of sinful living. This was a foul and malicious accusation, like the charge made against the rebellious son in (Deuteronomy 21:20). Yet it was completely false. Christ did not please himself (Romans 15:3), and no one ever lived such a life of self-denial and contempt for the world as he did. He was undefiled and separate from sinners, yet they pictured him as joined with them and polluted by them.

The purest innocence and the greatest goodness do not always protect a person from evil talk. In fact, a person’s best gifts and best actions, even when meant well and useful for others, can become the very reason for reproach. David’s fasting was turned into a source of shame (Psalm 69:10). It was true in one sense that Christ was a friend of tax collectors and sinners, the best friend they ever had, because he came to save sinners, even the worst. But what should have been his praise they made into an insult. They lost the benefit of his friendship by twisting it against him.

The reason many people gain so little from the means of grace is that they are like children sitting in the marketplace. They are childish in mind, easily distracted, and playful when they should be serious. If they would only grow up in understanding, there would still be hope for them. The marketplace can picture idleness (Matthew 20:3), business (James 4:13), or constant noise and entertainment. So when people hear the Word and profit little, the reason is often that they are lazy and careless, or that their minds, hands, and hearts are crowded with the world. The cares of life choke the word and, in the end, choke their souls too (Ezekiel 33:31; Amos 8:5). They keep themselves busy with distractions and choose to stay there.

Even so, though many, even most, slight and abuse the means of grace, there is still a remnant who, by grace, make good use of them. They answer the purpose of those means, to God’s glory and to the good of their own souls. “Wisdom is proved right by her children.” Christ is Wisdom, for in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom. Believers are the children God has given him (Hebrews 2:13). The gospel is wisdom from above, and true believers are born of it and made wise by it. They are wise for their own true good, unlike the foolish children in the marketplace.

These children of wisdom show that wisdom is right. They accept Christ’s ways, answer the purpose of his grace, and are rightly moved by the different methods he uses. In this way they show the wisdom of Christ in using those methods. This is explained in (Luke 7:29), where the tax collectors justified God by being baptized with John’s baptism and then receiving Christ’s gospel. The success of the means of grace proves the wisdom of God in choosing them, against those who accuse him of folly.

The cure of every patient who follows the doctor’s directions proves the doctor’s wisdom. That is why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, because, whatever others think of it, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). When the cross of Christ seems foolish and offensive to others, it is to believers the wisdom and power of God (1 Corinthians 1:23, 1 Corinthians 1:24). They make knowing Christ their highest aim (1 Corinthians 2:2), and they count his work as their only boast (Galatians 6:14). In that way, wisdom is justified by her children.

Wisdom’s children are also wisdom’s witnesses in the world (Isaiah 43:10), and they will stand as witnesses on that day. Then wisdom, which the saints now justify, will be glorified in them and admired by all who believe (2 Thessalonians 1:10). If unbelief reproaches Christ by calling him a liar, faith honors him by proving that he is true and wise (1 Corinthians 1:25). Whether people acknowledge it or not, it will be shown. God’s justice will be justified when he speaks and when he judges, and so will his wisdom.

This is how Christ described that generation, and that kind of generation is still with us in every age. It was true then, and it has been true ever since. Some believe what is spoken, and some do not (Acts 28:24).

The great doctrine that John the Baptist, Christ, and the apostles preached was repentance. The main aim of both the joyful call and the warning call was to move people to change their minds and their ways, leave their sins, and turn to God. Yet they would not be persuaded. He does not say they did not believe, because many of them had some kind of faith that Christ was a teacher sent from God. But they did not repent, so their faith did not change their hearts or reform their lives.

Christ corrected them for their other sins so he could lead them to repentance. But when they would not repent, he rebuked them for that, since it was their refusal to be healed. He rebuked them so they might rebuke themselves, see how foolish they had been, and understand that this alone makes their sad condition desperate and their wound incurable.

The sin was also worse because these were the cities where most of his mighty works were done. He had made his main home in that region for a time. Some places enjoy the means of grace, the help God gives for spiritual growth, in greater fullness, power, and purity than others. God acts freely in all his dealings, both in nature and in grace, whether he gives common grace or special grace.

Christ’s mighty works should have persuaded them not only to accept his teaching, but also to obey his law. Healing bodies should have led to healing souls, but it did not. The stronger the reasons we have to repent, the more serious our stubbornness is, and the heavier our judgment will be. Christ keeps account of the mighty works done among us, and of the gracious works done for us, and both should lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

Chorazin and Bethsaida are named here, and each receives its own woe: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!” Christ came into the world to bless us, but if people reject that blessing, he still has woes ready. His woes are the most terrible of all.

These two cities stood by the Sea of Galilee, one on the east side and the other on the west. They were rich, busy places, and Bethsaida had recently been raised to city status by Philip the tetrarch, a ruler under Rome. Christ had taken at least three of his apostles from there, so these places had been greatly favored. Yet because they did not know the time of their visitation, they fell under these woes. Soon after, they declined and became small, unimportant villages. Sin brings cities to ruin, and Christ’s word always takes effect.

Chorazin and Bethsaida are compared with Tyre and Sidon, two seaport cities often mentioned in the Old Testament. They had once been ruined, but were beginning to prosper again. They lay near Galilee, but the Jews had a very bad opinion of them because of idolatry and other wickedness. Christ sometimes went near the region of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21), but he did not go there openly, because the Jews would have been deeply offended if he had. So to humble them and show their guilt, he says that Tyre and Sidon would not have been as bad as Chorazin and Bethsaida.

If those cities had heard the same preaching and seen the same miracles, they would have repented long ago, in sackcloth and ashes, like Nineveh did. Christ, who knows every heart, knew that if he had lived and preached among them, he would have done more good there than where he was. Yet he stayed where he was for a time, to encourage his ministers to keep working even when they do not see the success they want. Among those who disobey God, some are easier to reach than others. It is a serious aggravation of guilt when people have the means of grace in full supply, because many others under the same means are changed, and even more would have been changed if they had enjoyed the same help (Ezekiel 3:6, 7).

Our repentance is often slow and delayed, but theirs would have been quick. Ours has been shallow and outward, but theirs would have been deep and sincere, in sackcloth and ashes. Still, we must bow in awe before God’s rule over all. The people of Tyre and Sidon will justly perish in their sin, even if they would have repented under better light, because God owes grace to no one.

Tyre and Sidon will therefore be less miserable than Chorazin and Bethsaida, and it will be more tolerable for them on the day of judgment (Matthew 11:22). On that day, the eternal state of all people will be fixed by a fair and final sentence. That is why Hebrews 6:2 calls it the eternal judgment, because it decides what people will be forever.

At that judgment, all the means of grace enjoyed during life will be taken into account. People will be asked not only how evil they were, but how much better they might have been if their fault had not stood in the way (Isaiah 5:3, 4). The punishment of all who are lost will be unbearable, yet the punishment of those who had the clearest view of Christ’s power and grace, and still did not repent, will be the worst of all.

The light and message of the gospel open the mind and enlarge the heart. They prepare people either to receive God’s grace in its riches, or, if that grace is despised, to receive his wrath more fully. If self-reproach is part of hell’s torment, then it must be especially awful for those who had such a clear chance to reach heaven. Son, remember that.

Capernaum is condemned with special force in Matthew 11:23: “And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be brought down to hell.” Capernaum was honored above the other cities of Israel because Christ usually lived there. It was like ancient Shiloh, the place God chose to put his name, and it suffered the same fate as Shiloh (Jeremiah 7:12, 14). Christ’s miracles there were so common that people treated them like daily bread, and, like the manna in the wilderness, they despised them as common food.

Christ had given them many sweet and comforting lessons about grace, but they had little effect. So he now gives them a dreadful lesson about wrath. Those who will not hear the first must feel the second. Capernaum’s doom is stated plainly: “You who are lifted up to heaven will be brought down to hell.” Those who enjoy the gospel in power and purity are lifted, as it were, toward heaven. They have great honor now and great advantage forever. But if they still cling to the earth, they can blame only themselves if they are not lifted into heaven. Gospel privileges misused will sink sinners all the lower into hell.

Our outward privileges will be far from saving us if our hearts and lives do not match them. In that case, they only increase our guilt. The higher the cliff, the more terrible the fall. So we should not be proud, but humble and watchful. We should not be lazy, but diligent. See (Job 20:6, 7).

Christ also compares Capernaum with Sodom, a city more famous than most for its sin and its ruin. He says that Capernaum’s opportunities would have saved Sodom. If those miracles had been done among the Sodomites, as wicked as they were, they would have repented, and their city would have remained to this day as a sign of mercy instead of judgment, as it now stands as a sign of destroying justice (Jude 1:7). True repentance through Christ can pardon even the greatest sin and prevent the greatest ruin, even the ruin of Sodom.

Angels were sent to Sodom, but the city still fell. If Christ himself had been sent there, it would have remained. How good it is for us that the future world is placed under Christ’s rule, not under angels’ rule! (Hebrews 2:5). Lot would not have seemed like someone making a joke if he had worked miracles.

Christ also says that Sodom’s ruin will be lighter at the great day than Capernaum’s. Sodom will still have much to answer for, but it did not have the sin of rejecting Christ, as Capernaum did. If the gospel becomes a smell of death, a deadly thing, it is doubly so, bringing death to death itself (2 Corinthians 2:16). Christ had already said the same about all places that do not receive his messengers or welcome his gospel (Matthew 10:15). It will be more bearable for the land of Sodom than for that city.

We now have the written Word in our hands, the gospel preached to us, the gospel ordinances given to us, and we live under the work of the Spirit. Our advantages are no less than those of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, and our account at the last day will fit our light. It has rightly been said that the Christians of this age, whether they end in heaven or hell, will be the greatest debtors in either place. If they go to heaven, they will owe the most to God’s mercy, because rich means brought them there. If they go to hell, they will owe the most to God’s justice, because rich means should have kept them from there.