Question 1

In vv. 31–32, what are the two opposite scenarios the children describe, and what is the common complaint?

Accepted Answer

Jesus’ picture includes two different “games” or social scripts: one linked with celebration (piping music with the expectation of dancing) and one linked with mourning (a funeral-like lament with the expectation of weeping). The common complaint is that the other children refuse to respond in either case. The point of the image is not about music or emotions for their own sake, but about persistent non-response: no matter what kind of invitation is offered—joyful or serious—the audience acts unmoved. That sets up the later examples of John and Jesus.

Question 2

How do vv. 33–34 use John and Jesus as parallel examples, and what contrast is emphasized?

Accepted Answer

The two verses are structured as a matched pair. John “came” with an unusually strict lifestyle, described as neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and the reaction is a severe spiritual smear: “He has a demon.” Jesus, “the Son of Man,” “came” doing the opposite—eating and drinking in ordinary settings—and the reaction is a moral and social smear: “glutton,” “drunkard,” and “friend of tax collectors and sinners.” The contrast is that opposite lifestyles receive opposite accusations, reinforcing the idea of a determined posture of rejection.

Question 3

What do the repeated words “you say” contribute to the meaning of the passage?

Accepted Answer

The repeated “you say” highlights that Jesus is quoting and exposing public talk rather than simply describing facts about John and himself. It puts the focus on the critics’ interpretations and labels—how they spin behavior into discrediting claims. The repetition also creates a rhythm: John’s behavior → “you say” a charge; Jesus’ behavior → “you say” a charge. That pattern supports the passage’s argument that the same audience can fault both austerity and normal fellowship, showing inconsistency and suggesting that their judgments are driven by refusal rather than careful evaluation.

Question 4

In v. 34, what is communicated by calling Jesus “a friend of tax collectors and sinners,” beyond the basic idea of having companions?

Accepted Answer

In the world of the passage, “eating and drinking” signals shared meals, and shared meals signal social acceptance and status. So “friend of tax collectors and sinners” functions as an accusation that Jesus crosses boundary lines that many people guarded. “Tax collectors” were widely resented because of their role in Roman economic systems, and “sinners” works as a broad label for those viewed as morally or socially compromised. The phrase is meant to suggest that Jesus’ openness is not compassion but complicity—an attempt to discredit him by association.

Question 5

What does v. 35 mean by saying “Wisdom is justified by all her children,” and how does it answer the criticisms in vv. 33–34?

Accepted Answer

The verse claims that “wisdom” is shown to be in the right by her “children,” meaning by what wisdom produces—its outcomes and the people shaped by it. In context, this functions as an indirect rebuttal to the insults aimed at John and Jesus. The critics offer verdicts based on appearances and labels (“demon,” “glutton,” “drunkard,” “friend of…”). Jesus points to a different kind of verdict: over time, the rightness of God’s wisdom (or true wisdom) becomes evident in its fruit, not in the accusations.

Question 6

How does the marketplace-children picture (vv. 31–32) illuminate the two examples (vv. 33–34)?

Accepted Answer

The children’s complaint—no dancing when music is played, no weeping when mourning is performed—illustrates a refusal to engage that is unaffected by the type of appeal. The John-and-Jesus examples then put that refusal into concrete form: when John comes in an abstinent, severe mode, he is rejected; when Jesus comes in an ordinary, table-sharing mode, he is rejected. The link is the same: a posture that will not be satisfied by either “tone.” That makes the criticism look less like sincere discernment and more like a settled unwillingness to accept either messenger.

Luke 7:31-35

Scripture