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An earnest censure for the Jews:
v. 16. But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets and calling unto their fellows,
v. 17. and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
With whom shall I compare this race, especially the Pharisees and those people that follow their leadership, that permit themselves to be influenced by their mode of thinking? Jesus points to the capricious, willful children of the streets and the market-place, whose selfishness prevents their entering into the spirit of any game with proper energy. If the others play on the flute, they refuse to be merry; if the others tried to please them by imitating the mourning wail of funeral dirges, they would not beat their breasts nor show signs of mourning. The irony with which Christ describes the characteristic spoil-sport is brought out still more strongly in the original language which He used, where it includes a play on the words "danced" and "lamented."