Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 11:16-19

"But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! And wisdom is justified by her works." — Matthew 11:16-19 (ASV)

St. Hilary of Poitiers: This entire speech is a rebuke of unbelief and arises from the previous complaint that this stiff-necked people had not learned from two different methods of teaching.

St. John Chrysostom: This is why He asks this question, showing that nothing had been omitted that should have been done for their salvation, saying, To what shall I compare this generation?

Glossa Ordinaria: By "this generation" He means the Jews, along with Himself and John. It is as if He had said, "John is this great, but you would believe neither him nor Me, and therefore to whom shall I compare you?"¹

Remigius of Auxerre: And He immediately answers Himself, saying, It is like children sitting in the market-place, crying to their companions, and saying, We have played music for you, and you have not danced; we have mourned, and you have not lamented.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: By the "children" are meant the Prophets, who preached with childlike simplicity of meaning. In the middle of the synagogue—that is, "in the market-place"—they rebuke the people. For when the prophets played for those they served, the people did not obey their words, just as the movements of dancers are guided by the rhythm of the music. The Prophets invited them to make confession to God in song, as is contained in the songs of Moses, Isaiah, or David.

St. Jerome: Therefore, they say, We have played music for you, and you have not danced; that is, we have called on you to do good works in response to our songs, and you would not. We have lamented and called you to repentance, and this you also refused, rejecting both kinds of preaching: the exhortation to virtue and the call to repent from sin.

Remigius of Auxerre: What does He mean when He says, "to their companions?" Were the unbelieving Jews then companions of the Prophets? He speaks this way only because they came from the same people.

St. Jerome: The children are those of whom Isaiah speaks, Behold I, and the children whom the Lord has given me (Isaiah 8:18). These children then sit in the market-place, where many things are for sale, and say,

St. John Chrysostom: We have played music for you, and you have not danced; that is, I have shown you a life without severe restrictions, and you are not convinced. We have mourned to you, and you have not lamented; that is, John lived a hard life, and you paid him no attention. Yet he does not say one thing and I another; we both say the same thing, because we both have the same objective. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came etc.

St. Augustine of Hippo: I wish the Manichaeans would tell me what Christ ate and drank, who here speaks of Himself as eating and drinking in comparison to John, who did neither.

This is not to say that John drank nothing at all, but that he drank neither wine nor strong drink—only water. Nor did he abstain from food altogether, but ate only locusts and wild honey. Why then is it said of him that he came "neither eating nor drinking," except that he did not eat the same food that the Jews ate?

Unless the Lord had eaten this common food, He would not have been described, in comparison to John, as "eating and drinking." It would be strange for one who ate locusts and honey to be described as "neither eating nor drinking," while one who ate only bread and herbs would be described as "eating and drinking."²

St. John Chrysostom: Therefore, He says, "Jesus came," as if to say, "John and I came by opposite paths to accomplish the same thing, like two hunters chasing the same animal from different sides so that it might fall into the hands of one of them." All people admire fasting and a severe life. For this reason, it was ordained from his infancy that John should be raised this way, so that what he said would be believed. The Lord also followed this path when He fasted for forty days, but He had other ways to inspire confidence in people. It was a much greater thing for John, who followed this path of austerity, to bear witness to Him, than for Him to follow that same path Himself.

Again, John had nothing to show besides his life and his righteousness, whereas Christ also had the witness of His miracles. Therefore, leaving the example of fasting to John, He Himself followed an opposite path, joining the tax collectors at their table and eating and drinking with them.

St. Jerome: If fasting pleases you, why were you not satisfied with John? If feasting, why not with the Son of Man? Yet you said one of these had a demon, and you called the other a glutton and a drunkard.

St. John Chrysostom: What excuse, then, can be given for them? Therefore He adds, And wisdom is justified by her children. This means that even if you were not convinced, you have nothing to accuse Me of, just as the Prophet says of the Father, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings (Psalm 51:4). For although nothing is accomplished in you by the goodness extended to you, He still fulfills His entire part, so that you may not have even the shadow of an excuse for your ungrateful doubt.

St. Jerome: Wisdom is justified by her children; that is, the dispensation or doctrine of God—or Christ Himself, who is the power and wisdom of God—is proven by the Apostles, who are His children, to have acted righteously.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: He is wisdom itself, not by His actions, but by His nature. Many indeed try to evade the Apostle's saying, Christ is the wisdom and power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), by claiming that the wisdom and power of God were simply shown mightily in creating Him from a Virgin. Therefore, so that it could not be explained this way, He calls Himself the Wisdom of God, showing that it was truly He—and not just the deeds relating to Him—to whom this referred. For the power itself and the effect of that power are not the same thing; the cause is known by its effect.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, Wisdom is justified by her children because the holy Apostles understood that the kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink, but of patient endurance. Such people are neither puffed up by abundance nor cast down by want, but as Paul said, I know how to abound, and to suffer want (Philippians 4:12).³

St. Jerome: Some copies read, Wisdom is justified by her works, for wisdom seeks the witness not of words, but of works.

St. John Chrysostom: You should not be surprised that He uses common examples, such as the one about the children, for He was speaking to the limited understanding of His hearers. In the same way, Ezekiel said many things that were adapted to the Jews but were unworthy of the greatness of God.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Mystically, the preaching of John did not persuade the Jews, to whom the law—with its difficult and grievous rules about food and drink—seemed burdensome. This law contained sin, which Christ calls "having a demon," for because of the difficulty of keeping it, they were bound to sin under it.

Nor, on the other hand, did the preaching of the Gospel, with its freedom of life in Christ, please them—the very Gospel through which the hardships and burdens of the Law were removed, and in which only tax collectors and sinners believed. Thus, with so many great warnings of all kinds offered to them in vain, they are neither justified by the Law nor do they receive grace. Therefore, Wisdom is justified by her children—that is, by those who seize the kingdom of heaven through the justification of faith, confessing that wisdom's work is just, for it has transferred its gift from the rebellious to the faithful.

1. ap. Anselm
2. Const. Faust., xvi, 31
3. Quaest. Ev. ii. 11