10 of 30) The Unreasonable Children THUS Jesus could use quick wit and ironic humor to turn aside the plots of His enemies. But Hi humor also comes out in other ways. A great deal is revealed in the parables, those simple stories from daily life that Jesus often told to illustrate religious truths. For instance, one thing that apparently irritated Him was the inconsistency in the objections that people made. John the Baptist had been severely criticized for being too strict, and Jesus was denounced for being too lenient. “I’ll tell you what the people of this generation are like,” Jesus said one day. “They are like a big group of children in the market place. One minute the children yell, ‘What’s the matter with you? We play music for you, but you won’t dance. Come on and have a good time!’ The next minute you see their faces drop and the tears begin to form, and they sob out, ‘We cry, but you won’t cry with us!’ Children, you can’t have it both ways. John the Baptist was as strict as they come. He didn’t drink wine; he wouldn’t even eat bread. And what did you say? You said, ‘Aha, he’s got a demon in him.’ Then I came along, and you see Me eating bread and drinking wine. And what do you say? ‘Look at that glutton and drunkard.” Take your choice, children—you can’t have it both ways,” He smiled. Some of the parables have the dry humor one associates with men swapping stories around the traditional cracker barrel in a country store. It is a humor based on common sense and a canny understanding of human nature. “Let Me tell you about a farmer,” Jesus once said. “He owned a big vineyard, so early one morning he went to into town to hire some day laborers. They agreed to work for a dollar a day. He put them to work in his vineyard, but around nine o’clock he saw he was going to need some more hands, so he went into town again, and there was the usual cluster of men, idling in the market place, having a drink or just passing the time of day. ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘I can use some hands in my vineyard. I’ll settle up with you at the end of the day—I’ll make it right with you.’ “So they went back with him and set to work. The day was getting pretty hot by now. Several times more he went to the market place and hired people. The last time it was almost sunset. But each time he said he would pay them what was right. 11 of 30) The Payment “AT LAST the sunset. ‘Time to knock off,’ the farmer said. He called to his foreman. ‘Line the men up and give them their pay. Start with the last ones first.’ “The men lined up and the foreman passed down the line, handing out the money. ‘A dollar!” exclaimed one of the men hired just before sunset. This farmer was more stupid than he had taken me for! “The men who had been hired at sunrise craned their necks. If the fellows who were hired last were going to get a dollar—let’s see, we early birds had worked ten times as long—that ought to come to ten dollars! “The foreman moved down the line as though he had all evening to do it. Finally he reached the men who were the dirtiest and sweatiest. ‘Here’s your dollar,’ the foreman said. “ ‘Look here,’ one of the men protested. “ ‘Talk to the boss,” the foreman said wearily. “The man turned to the farmer. ‘Look here, mister, we’ve been working all day till our backs are fit to break, pruning these grapes of yours, and these johnny-come-latelies get the same pay as we do! It’s not right, I tell you, not fair!’ “The farmer looked him in the eye: “How much did I promise to pay you? A dollar, wasn’t it? What have you got in your hand? Looks like a dollar to me. It isn’t counterfeit—it’s good money. Now, if I choose to pay everybody the same wages, is that any business of yours? It’s my money, isn’t it?’ “ Jesus added, as He smiled at His disciples, “That’s what the kingdom of Heaven is like. You’re not going to like it unless you get used to seeing people at the end of the line served first.” -Dr. Chad Walsh, an excerpt from A Narrative Account on The Personality of Jesus, based upon the events related in the Four Gospels.
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 08:20:37 +0000