The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
In this passage, Jesus is speaking about both himself and John the Baptist — his cousin, a prophet known for strict fasting and an austere life in the wilderness. The religious leaders of the day criticized John for being too severe and strange. Then they turned around and criticized Jesus for the exact opposite: eating regular meals, attending social gatherings, and spending time with tax collectors — Jews who collected money for the Roman occupiers and were despised as traitors — and people labeled as moral failures. "Son of Man" is a title Jesus uses for himself throughout the Gospels. His point is that critics will always find a reason to reject what they don't want to hear, but the real proof of wisdom is what it actually produces.
God, thank you that Jesus didn't keep a safe, clean distance — he came and sat down with people. Help me follow that example. Give me the courage to be genuinely present with people others have written off, and let my actions speak louder than my defensiveness. Amen.
You can't win with some crowds. John the Baptist shows up eating locusts and honey, calling people to repentance in the desert, and they say he has a demon. Jesus shows up at dinner parties, laughing with the wrong people, and they call him a drunk. It's almost darkly funny — until you realize this is the oldest deflection in human history: discredit the messenger so you don't have to deal with the message. And Jesus, rather than playing defense, simply says: watch what happens. Wisdom doesn't need to argue for itself. It proves itself. There's something quietly radical about the picture of Jesus here — not in a stained-glass pose, but reclining at a table with the people polite society had written off. Tax collectors were collaborators with an occupying empire. "Sinners" was the catch-all label for anyone who didn't meet the religious bar. And Jesus was there, eating bread, genuinely present. The question this leaves you with isn't abstract: whose table are you avoiding? Who in your life has been labeled in a way that keeps you at a comfortable distance? Because wisdom, according to Jesus, isn't proved by who you avoid — it's proved by your actions.
Why do you think both John's extreme austerity and Jesus's open table fellowship were criticized? What does that tell you about the hearts of the critics — and maybe something about human nature?
Have you ever been misunderstood or unfairly labeled for doing something you genuinely believed was right? How did you respond, and what do you wish you'd done differently?
"Wisdom is proved right by her actions" — does that always hold true in your experience? What about situations where someone does the right thing and it still isn't vindicated? How do you sit with that?
Jesus chose to be genuinely present with people who were socially and morally marginalized. Who might be in that category in your own community, and what would real presence — not charity from a distance — actually look like?
Is there someone in your life whose reputation or label keeps you at arm's length? What would one concrete step toward them look like this week?
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Matthew 5:46
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Ephesians 2:2
Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
Luke 15:1
And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.
Luke 14:1
And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
Luke 7:36
God forbid : yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Romans 3:4
That no flesh should glory in his presence .
1 Corinthians 1:29
The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
Luke 7:34
The Son of Man came eating and drinking [with others], and they say, 'Look! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews]!' Yet wisdom is justified and vindicated by her deeds [in the lives of those who respond to Me]."
AMP
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
ESV
'The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.'
NASB
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.”’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”
NIV
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”
NKJV
The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”
NLT
I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riff-raff. Opinion polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating."
MSG