And wisdom is justified by all her children.
και εδικαιωθη η σοφια απο των τεκνων αυτης παντων
13 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 23 commentaries
Having declared the praises of John, he next exposes the great fault of the Pharisees and lawyers, who would not after the publicans receive the baptism of John. Hence it is said, And all the people that heard him, and the Publicans, justified God.
But by the children of wisdom, He means the wise. For Scripture is accustomed to indicate the bad rather by their sin than their name, but to call the good the children of the virtue which characterizes them.
Ultimately, the wisdom of God was validated and given honor, not by the Pharisees, but by her offspring, meaning those who embraced the teachings of John and Jesus.
There was a certain play among the Jewish children of this kind. A company of boys were collected together, who, mocking the sudden changes in the affairs of this life, some of them sang, some mourned, but the mourners did not rejoice with those that rejoiced, nor did those who rejoiced fall in with those that wept. They then rebuked each other in turn with the charge of want of sympathy. That such were the feelings of the Jewish people and their rulers, Christ implied in the following words, spoken in the person of Christ; Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? They are like to children sitting in the market-place.
They take upon themselves to slander a man worthy of all admiration. They say that he who mortifies the law of sin which is in his members hath a devil.
But where could they point out the Lord as gluttonous? For Christ is found every where repressing excess, and leading men to temperance. But He associated with publicans and sinners. Hence they said against Him, He is a friend of Publicans and sinners, though He could in no wise fall into sin, but on the contrary was to them the cause of salvation. For the sun is not polluted though sending its rays over all the earth, and frequently falling upon unclean bodies. Neither will the Sun of righteousness be hurt by associating with the bad.
But let no one attempt to place his own condition on a level with Christ’s greatness, but let each considering his own infirmity avoid having dealing with such men, for “evil communications corrupt good manners.” It follows, And wisdom is justified of all her children.
Now these words have reference to John and Christ. For when he says, We have mourned, and ye have not wept, it is in allusion to John, whose abstinence from meat and drink signified penitential sorrow; and hence he adds in explanation, For John came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine, and ye say he hath a devil.
But his words, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced, refer to the Lord Himself, who by using meats and drinks as others did, represented the joy of His kingdom. Hence it follows, The Son of man came eating and drinking, &c.
Or, when he says, wisdom is justified of all her children, he shews that the children of wisdom understand that righteousness consists neither in abstaining from nor eating food, but in patiently enduring want. For not the use of such things, but the coveting after them, must be blamed; only let a man adapt himself to the kind of food of those with whom he lives.
But singing and lamentation are nothing else but the breaking forth, the one indeed of joy, the other of sorrow. Now at the sound of a tune played upon a musical instrument, man by the concordant beating of his feet, and motion of his body, pourtrays his inward feelings. Hence he says, We have sung, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.
God is justified by baptism, wherein men justify themselves confessing their sins. For he that sins and confesses his sin unto God, justifies God, submitting himself to Him who overcometh, and hoping for grace from Him; God therefore is justified by baptism, in which there is confession and pardon of sin.
Let us not then despise (as the Pharisees did) the counsel of God, which is in the baptism of John, that is, the counsel which the Angel of great counsel searches out. (Is. 9:6. LXX.) No one despises the counsel of man. Who then shall reject the counsel of God?
But the prophets sung, repeating in spiritual strains their oracles of the common salvation; they wept, soothing with mournful dirges the hard hearts of the Jews. The songs were not sung in the market-place, nor in the streets, but in Jerusalem. For that is the Lord’s forum, in which the laws of His heavenly precepts are framed.
The Son of God is wisdom, by nature, not by growth, which is justified by baptism, when it is not rejected through obstinacy, but through righteousness is acknowledged the gift of God. Herein then is the justification of God, if he seems to transfer His gifts not to the unworthy and guilty, but to those who are through baptism holy and just.
He well says, of all, for justice is reserved for all, that the faithful may be taken up, the unbelievers cast out.
To whom shall I liken... In the aforementioned twentieth chapter, you will find a comprehensive account of all this.
Because also they believed, they justified God, for He appeared just to them in all that He did. But the disobedient conduct of the Pharisees in not receiving John, accorded not with the words of the prophet, That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest. (Ps. 51:4.) Hence it follows, But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God, &c.
For Christ would not abstain from this food, lest He should give a handle to heretics, who say that the creatures of God are bad, and blame flesh and wine.
These words were spoken either in the person of the Evangelist, or, as some think, of the Saviour; but when he says, against themselves, he means that he who rejects the grace of God, does it against himself. Or, they are blamed as foolish and ungrateful for being unwilling to receive the counsel of God, sent to themselves. The counsel then is of God, because He ordained salvation by the passion and death of Christ, which the Pharisees and lawyers despised.
The Jewish generation is compared to children, because formerly they had prophets for their teachers, of whom it is said, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou perfected praise.
The children of wisdom, who possess it abundantly, validate the teachings of Christ through their actions and lived experiences, which undoubtedly hold greater weight than mere words or arguments. Let us reflect as those who are often unfaithful disciples of that wisdom; do we not stand condemned by their active expression of wisdom, much like Noah once 'condemned' the entire prior 'world' (Heb. 11:7) through no other judgment than his steadfast faith? By their example, do they not render us guilty before God?
For we are aware of the doctrine, we witness its realization, and hence cannot conclusively claim it is unfulfilled or beyond comprehension; and yet, if we fail to embrace it with total faith and precise obedience, becoming preoccupied with worldly matters, do we not neglect the pursuit of the kingdom of God? Should we not prioritize seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness above all else?
What peculiar individuals! To what can I liken them? They resemble defiant children who, when with others, find themselves dissatisfied with the various tones of joy or sorrow in their songs. The Pharisees did not approach John; they labeled him as possessed by a demon and pointed to his ascetic lifestyle as evidence. Likewise, they turned away from the Son of Man, branding him a glutton and a drunkard, a companion to tax collectors and sinners. In contrast, the children of wisdom, as the Savior noted, validated the wisdom of God through their responses. They embraced both the severity of John in promoting repentance and the compassionate grace of the Son of Man in guiding reconciliation with God.
Nonetheless, these defiant and obstinate individuals did not show greater respect for the preaching of Jesus Christ. Therefore, in His desire to illuminate their misunderstanding, He employed a familiar analogy from daily life to highlight the cause of their disbelief stemming from their carelessness and rebellion. He referred to them as 'foolish and wayward children, who will not be pleased, even if you cry to them, or play the whistle.' To whom shall I compare this generation?
It resembles children who sit in the marketplaces and call out to their companions, saying, 'We mourn for you, and do not dance; we weep for you, and do not rejoice.' The Lord Himself elucidated the significance of this expression: John came, neither eating nor drinking, abstaining from certain foods and wine as an austere ascetic and Nazarene, and they labeled him as having a demon. The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, partaking of ordinary food and wine, and welcoming the company of others, and they remarked, 'Look at this man, a glutton and a wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' The wisdom of God, manifesting through various means, found vindication among its true followers—simple and faithful souls who embraced John’s stringent message of repentance and the comforting good news brought by the Lord regarding the arrival of His gracious kingdom for their salvation.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 9 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS