Jesus was speaking to the crowd about John the Baptist. Jesus said that John was a prophet, and one about whom this was written:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”
Jesus then said that from the time of John the Baptist until the time in which Jesus was speaking, “the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it… And if you are willing to accept it, he” (John) “is the Elijah who was to come…” Then, Jesus continued by saying, “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We sang a dirge,
And you did not mourn.’
“For John came neither eating or 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.”’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”
Playing the flute, evidently, was a reference to weddings (according to a commentary I read), and a dirge is a funeral song; a song of mourning or lament (Encarta). This was evidently in reference to the ministries of Jesus and John, i.e. that the people wanted Jesus and John to be something other than who they were, and who they were called to be. The word “dance” has the connotation here of being asked to change one’s behavior, so when it says here, “You did not dance,” it means that you did not give in and change who you are. John and Jesus were both being criticized and rejected because of the way they lived. Yet, “wisdom is proved right by her actions,” i.e. in God’s providence these men were exactly who they were supposed to be, and doing precisely what they were predestined to do. Basically, the people did not like the messages Jesus and John were preaching, so they wanted them to change and become more like men, rather than obeying God the Father.
“Don’t Dance the Dirge” combines the two together and means basically that we are not to change who we are and who God made us to be in order to please men and to become who mankind thinks we should be, unless of course we are clearly sinning. Even if that man or woman is a brother or a sister in Christ, and he or she tries to convince us to be someone else, we will continue to be who God created us to be, and for the purpose he created us. The Lord taught this to me through many hard knocks over the years of my life. When I was much younger, I did try to please men only to find that if I pleased man in one area, he then had another area in which he wanted me to change, and sometimes those contradicted each other, and soon I found I did not even know who I was. When I gave my life to Jesus unreservedly to be his and his alone, and to obey him in all things, then I had clear direction and purpose for my life, I knew why I was created, and the Lord gave me the strength and determination to continue on his path for my life, despite the rejection of man - Peace!
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Acts 25-26 (NIV 1984), so I will summarize most of it, and quote some.
Paul had been arrested for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. He was to be on trial before Festus. Festus met with Paul’s accusers – the chief priests and Jewish leaders, who presented their charges against Paul. These “spiritual” guides of the people requested of Festus to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. Yet, Festus did not yield to their request, but told them they needed to come to Caesarea to press their charges. So, when Festus returned to Caesarea, “he convened the court and ordered Paul to be brought before him.” The Jews from Jerusalem brought many serious charges against Paul, “which they could not prove.” Paul stated that he had done nothing wrong… and he appealed to Caesar, so Festus said that to Caesar he would go.
“A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king.” “When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”
Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”
He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”
The next day, Paul appeared before King Agrippa. Agrippa gave Paul permission to speak for himself. Paul began with a cordial greeting and an appeal for Agrippa to listen patiently. Then, Paul gave his testimony of what he was like before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus – a Pharisee and a persecutor and murderer of believers in Jesus – and then how Jesus Christ had met him on the road to Damascus and had transformed his life and thinking. Jesus, as a voice from heaven, spoke to Paul and asked him why he was persecuting him, for in Paul’s obsession against followers of Jesus Christ he was, in actuality, persecuting Jesus Christ. Paul responded to Jesus’ question by asking him who he was, yet he did call him “Lord,” so he recognized this was a voice from heaven.
“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”
This is absolutely my most favorite of all Paul’s recollections of his conversion to faith in Jesus Christ, for it not only represents God’s specific calling upon Paul’s life, but it represents what each and every believer should be doing in following Jesus Christ as his servants and messengers (his witnesses).
Though Jesus was speaking literally to Paul about standing on his feet, I believe there is another thought being expressed here, as well, and it has to do with spiritual strength, wisdom, courage and determination to do the will of God. Paul was going to be called upon to stand for Christ and for his gospel in the face of much opposition and severe persecution, yet Jesus promised to rescue Paul, not from the circumstances, necessarily, as is evidenced by Paul’s life and ministry, but that Jesus would be there with him through the circumstances and would rescue him from fear, failure, discouragement, etc., and would fill him continuously with hope and courage, and the strength and power of the Lord at work in and through him, so that he could complete the task to which he was being assigned. And, all throughout scripture we are encouraged to stand strong in the faith and to trust the Lord to give us what we need when we need it for whatever jobs he has assigned us to do, too.
As well, all throughout the New Testament we learn that we are to be servants and witnesses for the Lord, so this is for us, too. And, we are all being sent of God to open the eyes of the spiritually blind by teaching and witnessing as to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are all being sent of God to turn our fellow man from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that he may receive forgiveness of sins, and so he may be among those who are being sanctified (purified; made holy) by faith in Jesus Christ. And, we do this through our witnessing – both by our lifestyles and by sharing with them the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, i.e. by sharing with them, as did Paul, “That they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” And, Paul said that he was not disobedient to “the vision,” i.e. to this assignment from Jesus Christ for his life. And, we, as well, should not be disobedient by dancing the dirge of men, i.e. by conforming our lives to the pattern of this world and to men’s thinking in order to please men, but rather we must determine to not “dance the dirge,” but to be faithful and obedient to the task that Jesus Christ has assigned each and every one of his true followers and servants.
Paul said that the reason the Jews were trying to kill him was because he preached that they must repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. Ouch! And, we will be hated for those same messages, too, and even by our brothers and sisters in Christ, many of whom have rejected this gospel of repentance and obedience to Christ, and this idea that our deeds reveal whether or not we have truly repented of our sins. Yet, Paul had God’s help right up to this very moment he was standing before King Agrippa, so that he could stand there and testify. He added on to this that what he was saying was not beyond what the prophets and Moses had said would happen – “that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
At this, Festus interrupted Paul and accused him of being out of his mind and that he was insane (crazy). Jesus was accused of the same, as I am sure were many of the prophets of scripture. And, we may be termed crazy, too, for following the Lord Jesus Christ in being his servants and witnesses, and in doing what he has assigned us to do and to be. Paul defended himself by countering Festus’ accusation with “I am not insane,” and that what he was saying was true and reasonable. Then, Paul asked Agrippa if he believed the prophets, to which Agrippa replied: “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”
So, God has a calling upon each one of our lives. He has a calling that fits every one of us, i.e. to repent of our sins, to turn to God by his grace and through faith in Jesus Christ, to walk humbly in obedience before Christ all our days, to be his servants and witnesses in sharing the love of Jesus and the truth of his gospel (the whole gospel) to the world around us, and to take up our cross daily (die to ourselves) and follow Christ wherever he leads us, etc. Yet, he, as well, has a specific assignment for each one of us to do, in order that we might serve the specific role he has for us in the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must be willing to obey him in being who he created us to be, and to do what he has called us to do, for truly he has chosen us in his providence to be who he wants us to be, and he will give us all we need to be and to do what he has called us to be and do. I know!
He is also calling out to each one of us to not dance the dirge of men, because it is the “dance of death,” but to follow Christ in all things. So, stand strong in your faith, keep trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t dance the dirge of men, and remain faithful to Christ in all you do. “Set your hearts and minds on this above where Christ sits with God; not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ. When Christ, who is your life, is seen, you will be with Him.” Amen!
Your Life / An Original Work / October 22, 2011
Based off of Colossians 3:1-17
Set your hearts and minds
On things up above
Where Christ sits with God;
Not on earthly things.
For you died and your life
Is now hidd’n with Christ.
When Christ, who is your life, is seen,
You will be with Him.
Your sins, put to death.
Don’t walk in these ways.
Don’t lie to yourselves
Or to others, too.
Since you have taken off
Your old sinful past;
Put on the new self in Jesus,
Get rid of such things.
Therefore, holy ones,
Put on gentleness;
Kindness; patience, too;
Be compassionate.
Bear with one another;
Forgive others, too.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
O’er all, put on love.
Let the peace of Christ
Rule in your hearts now.
You were called to peace.
Be ye so thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell
In you richly now
As you teach and instruct others;
Sing songs unto Christ.
Spoken: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17 NIV 1984).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3rBIcdt7uI
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