But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like to children sitting in the markets, and calling to their fellows,
whereunto.
Lamentations 2:13 What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?
Mark 4:30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
Luke 13:18 Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
this.
Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Matthew 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
It is.
Luke 7:31-35 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? …
They are like children sitting in the marketplaces
The marketplace, or agora, was a central place in ancient towns where people gathered for trade and social interaction. Children playing in such public spaces would be a familiar sight to Jesus' audience. This imagery suggests immaturity and frivolity, as children often engage in games without understanding deeper realities. The marketplace setting underscores the public nature of Jesus' ministry and the widespread exposure of His message, yet highlights the superficial response of many.
and calling out to others:
The act of calling out indicates an attempt to engage or provoke a response. In the context of Jesus' analogy, it suggests that the people of His generation were making demands or setting conditions for belief, much like children who expect others to join their games. This reflects a broader theme in the Gospels where Jesus encounters skepticism and demands for signs (Matthew 12:38-39). The call to others also implies a communal aspect, where societal norms and peer influence play a role in the collective rejection or acceptance of Jesus' message.
Jesus begins with a searching question, inviting His listeners to pause and consider.
• By saying “this generation,” He singles out the people living right then—especially those who had seen John the Baptist and heard Christ’s own teaching—yet broadened enough to fit any era that responds the same way (cf. Deuteronomy 32:5; Matthew 23:36).
• He is not wondering aloud but exposing hearts. Much as the prophets did (Isaiah 1:2; Micah 6:2), He summons the audience to weigh their attitude toward God’s messengers.
• The question frames the coming illustration as both diagnosis and warning: if they recognize themselves in the picture, they can still repent and believe (Matthew 4:17).
The marketplace was the busiest public square, filled with voices, trade, and news—an ideal setting for Jesus’ comparison.
• Children represent immaturity and distraction. Instead of working or listening to wisdom, they lounge around, absorbed in their own games (Proverbs 10:5; 1 Corinthians 13:11).
• “Sitting” underscores passivity. The crowds had heard John’s call to repent and Jesus’ call to believe, yet remained unmoved—spectators rather than participants (Hebrews 3:15).
• The scene spotlights wasted opportunity: truth was ringing out where life happened every day, yet it was treated as background noise (Amos 8:11–12).
The children shout invitations, but only to keep the game going on their terms.
• Verse 17 shows the specific calls: a lively tune and a funeral dirge. John’s austere preaching and Jesus’ gracious ministry covered both extremes, yet the people dismissed them both (Luke 7:31–34).
• The cry “to others” hints at peer pressure. When spiritual apathy becomes communal, resisting the gospel feels normal (Jeremiah 7:27; Acts 28:24).
• The real issue is not ignorance but unwillingness. They heard, understood, and still refused (Matthew 13:15; John 5:40).
Matthew 11:16 portrays a generation that treated God’s urgent call like the idle chatter of children at play—hearing yet unmoved, invited yet disengaged. Jesus exposes their childish resistance so they might see their need to repent and trust Him. The warning remains: whenever the gospel sounds in our everyday “marketplaces,” we either respond with childlike faith or with childish indifference.
(16) It is like unto children sitting in the markets.--The comparison is drawn from one of the common amusements of the children of an Eastern city. They form themselves into companies, and get up a dramatic representation of wedding festivities and funeral pomp. They play their pipes, and expect others to dance; they beat their breasts in lamentation, and expect others to weep. They complain if others do not comply with their demands. To such a company our Lord likens the evil generation in which He and the Baptist lived. They were loud in their complaints of the Baptist because he would not share their self-indulgent mirth; they were bitter against Jesus because He would not live according to the rules of their hypocritical austerity. Thus interpreted, the whole passage is coherent. The more common explanation inverts the comparison, and sees in our Lord and the Baptist those who invite to mourning and to mirth respectively, and are repelled by their sullen playmates. This would in itself give an adequate meaning, but it does not fall in with our Lord's language, which specifically identifies the children who invite the others (this rather than "their fellows," is the true reading) with the "generation" which He condemns. The verses that follow, giving the language in which the same generation vented its anger and scorn against the two forms of holiness, agree better with the interpretation here adopted.Verses 16-19. - Yet both John and he himself are rejected, though the results of their efforts were such as to fully justify the apparent difference of their methods. Parallel passage. Luke 7:31-35. Verses 16, 17. - But. In contrast to the obedience asked for in ver. 15, this generation closes its ears. Whereunto shall I liken. A common rabbinic phrase, which is often found in the fuller form recorded in Luke, "Whereunto shall I liken... and to what are they like?" (see Matthew 7:24, note). This generation?. It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. There are two ways of understanding the illustration which our Lord here uses.(1) Many modern commentators (e.g. Meyer; Trench,' Studies,' p. 148) insist on the grammar and on the historical order in which the complaints are made, and believe that the Jews correspond to the pipers and the mourners, while it is John that refuses to rejoice, and our Lord that will not be sad.
(2) But the more usual interpretation is preferable. For
(a) in an illustrative saying one has chiefly to regard its general sense; . . .
Parallel Commentaries ...