Jesus’ Enemies Accuse Him

Jesus’ Enemies Accuse Him

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon.” The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ‘sinners.’“ [Matt. 11:18–19]

In this passage Jesus accuses his enemies of being perverse; there was no way to please them. John the Baptist’s, ascetism offended them. They said John was demon possessed. Jesus was relaxed and joyous in his lifestyle, and they charged him with being a glutton and a drunkard.
Was Jesus a glutton? No. Was he a drunkard? Of course not. Then why did people make such accusations? Jesus scandalized those who had reduced the things of God to superficial matters. Sadly we see this very thing all too often today. For many Christians religion is a list of dos and don’ts not found in the Bible.
Why did they call Jesus a glutton? He earned that unwarranted reputation because he went to feasts and ate. Why did they call him a drunkard? He was slandered because he went to weddings and even provided wine for one marriage feast (John 2:1–11).
Imagine if a minister went to a wedding and drank a champagne toast to the wedding party. In many churches he would be censured by the leaders. But what if he brought several cases of champagne to the wedding? Imagine the charges that would be leveled.
The religious leaders were offended because Jesus went to taverns and ate dinner with tax collectors, crooks, and prostitutes. If ever guilt by association could have destroyed a man, it would have been Jesus of Nazareth. We need to face this if we are going to have a biblical understanding of Jesus.
This does not mean Jesus wants us to go out and embrace worldliness and participate in sin. Not at all. Jesus was sinless. But he did go to sinners and ministered the gospel to them where they were. He came to seek and to save the lost.

Coram Deo

Jesus ran the risk of being seriously misunderstood in order to minister to people. Sometimes being faithful to Christ means risking our reputation, but Jesus tells us, “Blessed are you when people … falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me” (Matt. 5:11). Let us make sure, however, that if our opponents are speaking evil of us, they are doing so falsely. Be prepared for opposition, even from within the church.
Sproul, R.C., Before the Face of God: A Daily Guide for Living from the Book of Romans, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books) 1992.