Matthew 11:18 Meaning and Explanation

Jesus applies the parable. John "came neither eating nor drinking" -- living the stern, fasting life of the wilderness, set apart and severe. Rather than honor his self-denial, the critics dismissed it: "He hath a devil." His austerity, instead of provoking repentance, became an excuse to reject him.

Here is the unwillingness laid bare. When the dirge was played -- John's sober call to repentance -- the people would not mourn, and they slandered the messenger instead. The same fault-finding heart that ignores one approach will scorn the next. It reveals that the problem was never God's method but the hearers' refusal. Those resolved not to receive will always find a charge to level, no matter how the truth comes to them.