Luke 7:29-30 meaning

There are no apparent parallel Gospel accounts for Luke 7:29-30.

Here, Luke records the two main responses within the crowd after they had just heard what Jesus had said regarding John the Baptizer and Himself (Luke 7:24-28—see Matthew 11:12-15 for an extended account of the things Jesus said).

The upshot of the things Jesus alluded to as He spoke these things to the people was that John the Baptist was the Messianic forerunner and therefore, Jesus, Himself, was the Messiah.

When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John (v 29).

This was the first response from the people who heard what Jesus had just said regarding John and Himself. The first group was all the people and the tax collectors. 

The phrase all the people refers to the ordinary people. This idea would appeal to Luke’s Greek audience (especially if they were Athenians) who prided themselves on their history and legacy of democratic rule. Democracy means rule of the people. 

The tax collectors were those who were assigned from among the Jews to collect taxes from the people for Rome. Tax collectors were disliked and had a reputation for collecting more money than the required amount. The Jewish people hated tax collectors. Jews tended to view tax collectors as traitors to God and Israel by aligning themselves with the Roman occupation. 

The people and the tax collectors’ were receptive to Jesus’s message that John was the prophetic forerunner to the Messiah, and that Jesus was the Messiah. They acknowledged God’s justice. 

Luke’s Greek expression that is translated they acknowledged God’s justice is an interesting one. In Greek, the phrase is “ἐδικαίωσαν τὸν θεόν” which literally means “they justified God.” Luke’s expression is a figure of speech which means they aligned themselves with God, His kingdom, and His righteousness. The Greek word for justice can equally be translated as “righteousness.” 

The people and the tax collectors agreed with God’s moral assessment of themselves, namely that they were sinners. These people and tax collectors repented of their sins and wished to realign themselves with God’s kingdom standards. In other words, the ordinary people and the tax collectors were seeking and entering the kingdom of God and His righteousness. They were doing what Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount when He said: 

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
(Matthew 6:33—See also Luke 12:31)

Luke’s description of how all the people and the tax collectors were acknowledging God’s standards of righteousness and aligning themselves according to the justice of His kingdom is reminiscent of what Jesus would later tell the chief priests and elders in Jerusalem about the tax collectors and John:

“Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”
(Matthew 21:31-32)

The first group (all the ordinary people and tax collectors) from among those who heard Jesus speak about John the Baptist and Himself (Luke 7:24-28) responded well. 

Luke says the reason the first group responded well and acknowledged God’s justice was that they had been baptized with the baptism of John. 

John’s baptism was one of repentance of sins (Luke 3:3). 

The second group did not respond well because they did not repent of their sins, not having been baptized by John (v 30b).

But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John (v 30).

The second group consisted of the Pharisees and the lawyers.

The Pharisees were the cultural guardians of all things Jewish. They were the religious exemplars of society, known for their strict adherence to their interpretation of the Law of Moses. The Pharisees led and taught in the local synagogues promoting a form of Judaism that emphasized personal piety, ritual purity, and the importance of following the laws of Moses, as well as their own extensive interpretations and traditions. Their focus on legalism and purity set them apart as both religious leaders and scholars who sought to make Jewish law accessible and applicable to everyday life. But the Pharisees abused their authority to exploit the people for their own selfish gain (Matthew 23:1). 

The lawyers (also called “scribes”) were experts in Jewish law and were closely aligned with the Pharisees. They created legal loopholes for themselves and their allies while using the law to squash anyone who opposed them. They feigned to serve God but actually served their own power. 

Both the Pharisees and the lawyers leveraged God’s commandments to advance and protect their own selfish desires. 

In this context, Luke’s description of how the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves means three things.

First, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected John as the Messianic forerunner. That is, they did not heed John’s call to repent of their sinful behavior. Instead, they considered themselves to be righteous because they were the teachers of the Law. They believed they did not need to repent or be realigned to God’s standards of righteousness. And they believed John to be a wild lunatic. Therefore, they were not baptized by John. 

That they were teachers of the Law was confirmed by Jesus. He instructed the people to do what they said, since they “have seated themselves in the chair of Moses” (Matthew 23:2). Jesus said of them “therefore all that they tell you, do and observe” indicating that these leaders actually taught the law of Moses. However, Jesus continued, saying “but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them” (Matthew 23:3). These leaders were hypocrites, saying the truth but not following the truth. 

Second, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected Jesus as the Messiah. They believed Jesus was a charlatan who associated with sinful people and was a drunkard (Luke 5:30, 7:34). They believed that the Messiah, whenever He appeared, would support them. However, their actual agenda was to preserve their power. 

This is aptly illustrated by the fact that after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead these Jewish leaders assembled and said “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (John 11:48). This shows that these Jewish leaders completely overlooked Jesus’s miracles and wanted to preserve their own power and prestige rather than recognize Jesus as Messiah. 

And third, when Luke wrote that the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, he was saying that they rejected God’s kingdom and His standards of righteousness. 

As Jesus was speaking about John as the Messianic forerunner and alluding to Himself as the Messiah, Jesus was discussing the kingdom of God (Luke 7:28).

In this context, kingdom of God and “God’s purpose for people” are synonyms. Luke likely used the expression God’s purpose (instead of the more Jewish expression “God’s kingdom”) because it would better resonate with and be understood by his Greek audience.

God desires our best (Jeremiah 29:11). His purpose is for us, not against us. God desires that all will enter His kingdom (2 Peter 3:9). But He does not compel or coerce anyone into the kingdom. God respects human freedom. 

The Pharisees and scribes did not acknowledge God’s justice (align with God’s standards of righteousness) therefore, they rejected His good purpose for themselves, and consequently they will forfeit their place in His kingdom and possibly refuse to join His eternal family.

The way we find God’s purpose for our lives and enter His kingdom is first to enter His family. We enter God’s family by believing in Jesus as God and receiving the Gift of Eternal Life. Jesus describes those who have received the Gift of Eternal Life as being “born again”:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
(John 3:3)

The Gift of Eternal Life is an act of grace that is received by faith in Jesus.

The next thing we do in order to enter the kingdom of God is to trust that God’s ways are best. We repent of our ways and actively follow Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

“From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
(Matthew 3:17)

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
(Matthew 7:21)

The Bible describes the process of obeying God by faith as “sanctification”: 

“For this is the will [purpose] of God, your sanctification”
(1 Thessalonians 4:3a)

There are many other terms that describe entering the kingdom. To learn more about them and how to enter the kingdom and experience God’s eternal purpose for your life, see The Bible Says article, “Eternal Life: Receiving the Gift vs. Inheriting the Prize.”