Luke 7:33-35 33For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35And wisdom is justified by all her children.”
John lived a simple lifestyle, so simple that he did not eat bread or drink wine. He lived off the resources of the desert, including locusts and wild honey. He did not meet the expectation for someone who had influence, like the religious authorities in Jerusalem who had their find clothes and ate fancy foods at banquets. Bread and wine could be symbolic in many ways. First, John was not to drink fermented juices of any kind (see 1:15). Bread was the common food for most people. The combination of bread and wine recalls the Lord’s Supper for Christians, based on the Passover for Jews. Because John did not fit in the paradigm of a religious person, the elite and legalistic Jews, like the Pharisees and scribes said he must have had a demon. People often attribute to Satan those things of God that do not fit their preconceived ideas or narrow theology.
The religious leaders who rejected John also accused Jesus of the same thing. Jesus did not fit into their little box because he was a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Jesus had a different ministry approach than John. John called sinners to repent but separated himself from the world by going out to the desert. People had to seek him out. Jesus, however, spent time with people and went to where they were. He brought the kingdom because he is the King of this kingdom. Being with him was a time of feasting, like at a wedding banquet. It was a time for eating and drinking. His critics even accused him of eating and drinking too much, but there is no reference or evidence of him ever doing that.
The proverbial statement in verse 35 personifies wisdom, which represents God’s righteous plan. God’s plan is proven true by the proof that people are changed, repent, and are born again. The worst of sinner can become holy through God’s plan of salvation. The Jewish religious elite should have known this but were missing it because of their prejudice and misunderstanding. God’s grace is more powerful than human understanding, religion, and interpretation.
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