For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
Parallel translations
- WEB For John the Baptizer came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
- KJV For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
- NKJV For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
- NASB For John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
- NLT For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John came in fasting austerity, and they accused him of having a demon. They rejected his ministry by slandering his self-denial.
Overview
John's ascetic lifestyle should have marked him as a holy prophet, yet critics dismissed him as demon-possessed. Their objection reveals not honest concern but a determination to reject God's messenger. This illustrates the generation's perverse refusal to receive God's call, no matter its form.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Luke 1:15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
- Mark 1:6John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- Jer 16:8–10You must not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down with them to eat and drink.
- Matt 3:4John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
- John 10:20Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
- John 8:48The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”
- John 8:52“Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death.
- Acts 2:13But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!”
- Matt 10:25It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 7:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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