It amazes me how applicable the bible and its teachings are to each person of each race of each gender of each creed in every generation.

Whenever your life goes from one crisis to another, or one problem to the next, the only way out of that cycle is to ask yourself, “Are the results I’m getting really want I want for my life?” And second, “If what I’m getting is not what I want, am I willing to change the input in order to get different results?”

Jesus exposed a very keen and simple way to discern if someone (ourselves, or others) is operating in wisdom, or walking on God’s well-designed path.

In response to harsh criticisms, false judgments, and wrongly held opinions of his behaviors in and among the people, Jesus said this;

“…wisdom is proved right by her actions.” (Matthew 11:19)

Basically, “You’ll know what I’m saying about how to approach life is right, when you see what I do.”

Interestingly, Jesus said this in response to a cultural and generational issue he was witnessing among the people of his day.

Look at what he said in verses 16 and 17;

“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; We sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’”

What Jesus was pointing out, was that the people of his day were emotionally and spiritually dead. Nothing moved them.

If someone tried to make them happy, they wouldn’t ‘dance’, and if someone mentioned a tragedy, or sad situation, they wouldn’t even ‘mourn’. They were totally disconnected from the humanity of life.

But then, Jesus pushed the envelop even further and began criticizing the people’s response to both his and John the Baptist’s ministry.

He said,

“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.’”

What Jesus was saying was, “You who are spiritually and emotionally dead, who don’t pay attention to any of humanity’s wins or losses, who aren’t moved if something good happens to someone, or something bad happens – you’re trying to cast judgment on us, telling us we’re the ones demonized and unrighteous? You’ll see how wrong you are about your judgment toward us, when you see the fruit of our actions.”

Unfortunately, we can see how well those words were received by Jesus’ listeners, when in the next verse, Jesus’ answers their haughty complaints;

“Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.” (Matthew 11:20; emphasis added)

Do you understand the significance of this verse?

Jesus just told them that his own actions would prove that he was wise in all of his dealings with people. Then, in the next verse, the bible reveals that Jesus denounced any person from any town who saw his works and yet did not repent and believe in him.

To “denounce” means “to publicly pronounce to be blameworthy or evil.” Jesus equated true wisdom with denouncing people with unrepentant hearts.

All around we see people judging the actions of others as “evil,” “reprehensible,” and even “sinful!” But what Jesus said was that real sinful and reprehensible behavior is whenever anyone sees Jesus’ miraculous work in this world, yet lacks the wisdom to repent.