Jesus is continuing His explanation of John the Baptist and the kingdom of heaven. He turns the subject of his explanation to the people who are challenging and rejecting Him, the Scribes and Pharisees, who had also rejected John the Baptist. They refused to repent and practiced unbelief. There is a difference between unbelief and doubt. Christians know who God is but sometimes they might doubt like John the Baptist just did. The Pharisees are not doubting but actually know nothing and hate Jesus. J. C. Ryle says that a refusal to admit God’s word as truth and to live without depending on it is the essence of unbelief.
Three Aspects of Unbelief
Self Righteousness
The first cause of unbelief is self-righteousness. The Pharisees were correct in their own eyes even though the Lord Incarnate is speaking right before them. Self-righteousness is a challenge against the Creator, the source of life and truth.
In Luke 7:32, Jesus uses kids playing a game as an analogy. In ancient times, the children would play by pretending to be at a wedding or funeral, similar to how kids play make-believe today. When the joyful wedding music plays, the kids were supposed to dance. And when the funeral song plays then they are supposed to weep. In this analogy, Jesus says there are kids who do not react to either and ignore the rules of the game. The flute represents Jesus’ ministry which is full of joy and hope. John the Baptist’s ministry is the mourning song, which is more somber and warns of judgment. Regardless of the ministry, the self-righteous only consider themselves as righteous. They reject both when they should have known their sin (Romans 3:10, Luke 18:9). Self-righteousness can take many forms, from a great belief in self to a belief that you are beyond God’s salvation. Either way, you are setting your own standard of righteousness. Self-righteousness is unbelief because it believes in self rather than God and His word.
Men do not go to hell because they commit all sorts of sin but because they practice unbelief. To paraphrase Charles Spurgeon, self-righteousness denies the salvation that God provides through His Son Jesus but tries to make its own way. This arrogance is an insult to God’s glory and honor.
Forms of self-righteousness
- Legalism
- Adding to God’s commands. For example: claiming early morning prayer is most divine prayer
- Hypocrisy which is saying the truth but not living according to it (Luke 18:11-12)
- Being Religious: People who have the form of holiness without power. Jesus calls them alive but dead (Revelation 3:2)
The cure for self-righteousness is self-knowledge. Knowing yourself. We must read the Bible and pray to God to know who we are. When you encounter Jesus and reflect on who He is, then you will know who you are more (Romans 7:19,24). So, pursue Christ until you meet Him in His word and through prayer (Romans 7:25).
Misunderstanding the truth and falsely accusing true religion
In Luke 7:33 The Pharisees did not understand John the Baptist and as a result, accused him of demon possession. John the Baptist was not a typical prophet. His attire and tone were very identifiable. He lived in the wilderness wearing camel skin and eating locusts and wild honey. His message was focused on repentance to the people of Israel who had wandered from the truth (Luke 3:8). Jesus also proclaimed the same message (Matthew 3:2). They preached repentance because repentance is the true gospel and vital to being saved. Yet those who practice unbelief either ignore or deny repentance.
Stylistically, Jesus did the opposite of John the Baptist. He ate and drank with many people, even sinners. He was always surrounded by crowds wherever he went. This is why Jesus is called the Son of Man. He is like us, born of Mary, and lived like us. The Son of God came as the Son of Man and lived like men but righteous so that He might turn us from worshipping idols to serve the living and true God (Mark 10:45; Matthew 1:21,23;1 Thessalonians 1:9)
Even though Jesus’ ministry looked different from John the Baptist’s, they also accused Him of being false, gluttonous, a drunkard, and demonic because their message was the same. Still today, the self-righteous will continue to deny and accuse Christians and Christ. They say Jesus is not real or not true. They twist His words and deeds. How can we assure ourselves that Jesus and the gospel are true and truly save? There is no religion that can atone for sin. Only Christianity knows the way of atonement by depending on the work of Christ. Every other religion is based on works. Good deeds will never atone for sin. But by the power and work of Jesus, the believer is truly saved and they are forever changed (1 Cor 15:19). When you see a true believer changed by Christ, you can see it’s genuine and unique. There is nothing like it.
Foolishness
Jesus says “Wisdom is vindicated by all her children”. Wisdom is the wisdom of salvation. “you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” – 2 Timothy 3:15 The children of wisdom are the transformed believers. Reversely, the unbelievers are the children of foolishness. Jesus calls them foolish. There is no worst insult. “According to the Bible, to be called a fool is to be deemed irreligious and godless. The fool is the person who has no respect or reverence for God, and when someone does not have any reverence for God or adoration in his heart toward Him, his life will inevitably show it.” – R. C. Sproul The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 141:1). The fool pursues foolish things (Matthew 16:26). They pursue knowing it won’t save them. The fool knows their pursuit will not satisfy them yet they cannot help it.
Conclusion
Jesus offers wisdom to the self-righteous and foolish. “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” – Matthew 18:2-3. The solution to unbelief is conversion. Steve Lawson on conversion. Steve Lawson says, “Conversion means a turning—a spiritual turning away from sin in repentance and to Christ in faith.” Conversion is different from sanctification. Conversion is abrupt and complete turning in direction. Sanctification is a gradual progression in holiness but conversion is once and final. It’s a turning to God. Conversion should not be confused with a better morality or spirituality. Conversion is the work of God’s grace and is the sign of belief. To convert to Christ, you must repent of your self-righteousness, receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and believe in Jesus as Lord.
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
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