And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 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. But wisdom is justified of her children. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: - Matthew 7:7-20
Have you ever tried to “soften” the image of Christ? Here is what I mean. The Christ of the Bible is not an easy person to accept. The Christ of the Bible condemns sin and condemns those who commit sin! He preaches hard messages against evil, and tells people that if they do not believe Him, they are on their way to hell! To put it another way, Christ does not seem to have good people skills.
Sometimes, we try to soften our image of Christ. Why? Because we do not want to be viewed as intolerant or unloving. Besides, no one like being told they are sinners and on their way to hell. If we want people to accept Christ, we must make Christ acceptable. So, we try to, in a sense, tone down Jesus. “Awe, He didn’t really think everyone is a sinner…” We focus more on Jesus’ love more than anything else. “Smile, Jesus loves you!” we say, and try to overlook when Jesus speaks of subjects like sin and hell. This makes Christ look better, and we do not look as arrogant or radical ourselves either.
According to this passage, Christ and Christians will never be accepted by the world at large. When John the Baptist came, people complained that he did not “eat or drink.” “Legalist!” the people shouted, “He’s just all about rules and regulations.’ Then Jesus came and the complaint was, “He eats and drinks!” You just can’t win sometimes…
The truth is, the world will never accept Christ because they are sinful. They love darkness, and Christ is the light. So, the lesson to learn is, never be ashamed of who you are and Who you serve. Do not water-down the gospel, but go ahead and tell other of Christ just as He is. The world won’t like it—but they do need it. Stand back and watch God work in their hearts, because that and that alone is what will make people accept Christ.
