January 24 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Matthew 11:16–19

Devotional

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.—Matthew 11:18, 19

The people of Israel heard the preaching of John the Baptist. The crowds saw his demeanor and they rejected him. They called him a devil. They heard the preaching of Christ, witnessed His miracles and said of Him, “Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.” John the Baptist did not appeal to them for he was too somber. They rejected Jesus of Nazareth because He was too free in His offer of salvation.

Was John too harsh and was Christ too permissive? No! The gospel is not according to man’s liking. According to the natural man the gospel is either too narrow or too broad. It either asks too much or too little; it is either too restrictive or it is too broad-minded. The Jews could be likened to the children in the market place. They were both unwilling.

Whatever John the Baptist said about the seriousness of sin and whatever Christ did in showing miracles of grace was not to man’s liking. The issue was not the lamentations nor the flute playing, but man’s heart. Their hearts were hardened and unruly. The gospel is not according to man’s liking. It deeply exposes man’s guilt. But proud hearts do not want to hear this. At other times the gospel speaks of free grace but man lives in enmity against that. No, the preaching of John the Baptist did not suit polite, neat, and religious people. And they had no use for Christ.

Is it any better with us? The Word of God has also come to us in the lamentations of God’s judgments as well as in the playing of the flutes of free grace. Has the righteous judgment of God humbled us? Have we seen our guilt because of the demands of God’s holy law? Have we wept before God in response to the lamentations sung concerning our lost condition? And if the wrath of God cannot humble you, will God’s love be able to soften you? There is a way to escape the well-deserved punishment. God has done all things necessary to be able to save a sinner.

John the Baptist is not too harsh for the unregenerate. Such a sinner will only underscore his righteous judgment. Christ is not too free in His offer of salvation and the door of grace cannot be too wide for a lost sinner. His burden of sin is so great that he needs an open door.

In the school of John the Baptist the sinner learns to see his depravity. There God’s law smites and convicts him. The demand for payment is presented to him. There he cries lamentations because of his own sin and guilt. Therefore, John the Baptist directed his students to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” From the school of John the Baptist these people are led to the school of Christ where lost sinners learn to sing the song of the marriage of the Lamb. Both law and gospel save the sinner.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.