Luke 7:31

31 "What can I compare today's people to?" Jesus asked. "What are they like?

Luke 7:31 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 7:31

And the Lord said
This clause is not in the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, nor in some copies, nor in Beza's most ancient copy; and being omitted, more clearly shows, that the two former verses are the words of Christ, and not an observation the evangelist makes, on the different behaviour of Christ's hearers, upon the commendation he had given of John:

whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation;
or "to what men shall I liken them", as the Persic version: the phrase "men of this generation", is Rabbinical; so (yvwa awhh ard) , the men of that "generation", are more beautiful in work than these, says the Targumist on ( Ecclesiastes 7:11 ) . "And to what are they like?" To that which follows.

Luke 7:31 In-Context

29 All the people who heard Jesus' words agreed that God's way was right. Even the tax collectors agreed. These people had all been baptized by John.

30 But the Pharisees and the authorities on the law did not accept God's purpose for themselves. They had not been baptized by John.

31 "What can I compare today's people to?" Jesus asked. "What are they like?

32 They are like children sitting in the market place and calling out to each other. They say, " 'We played a flute for you. But you didn't dance. We sang a funeral song. But you didn't cry.'

33 "That is how it has been with John the Baptist. When he came to you, he didn't eat bread or drink wine. And you say, 'He has a demon.'