M10 show week #19

 

Boss, you realize you ain't posted nothin' but the Bible study an' this all week?

Yeah, it's just been a rough week, for a variety of reasons... but if it helps, I'm thinking about doing that A to Z mash-up this weekend... it is that time of year again...

That always is good for a laugh... Any idears?

Maybe... but our bigger problem is this is a week in which the top ten on the M10 had no debuts!  That's a first this year, and the first since December 8th of last year, with Duran Duran and Tove Lo's Give It All Up in the top spot.  So I considered a "Top ten the same, just shuffled" feature to go with it.

Oh, no THAT sounds rivetin'...

Better ideas?

I'm the music man, not the idear man...

Then, allow me to proceed!  So first I thought, how often is it happening on the charts these days?  To my surprise, it had occurred not once, but twice, this year on Billboard, the most recent being back on the March 12th chart.  And how about in the past?  Now lately, we've been doing things with the Martin Era 2.1 (1960-79), mainly because Cashbox archives HAD been behind a password that the website wouldn't let you create for several weeks... that seems to be fixed now, although I did not know that.  And while I had managed to bring up the 60's and 70's on a cached site (and thanks again to Tropicalglen.com), I had been, until last weekend, too lazy to add the 50's to the list so I could go back to Martin Era 2.0- from the debut week of Rock Around The Clock on the May 7th, 1955 chart, till the debut of How Deep Is Your Love on the September 24th, 1977 chart.  But now that I can, I said, let's diversify- when were the first and last weeks of each of them to have no debuts?  Interesting answers await- after the King gives us some of this week's M10, okay?

 

Gotcha!  And now for a break from Mr Long-Winded Explanations...

10- Down 5 in week #7 for Tears For Fears an' Break The Man...

9- also down 5 in its 10th week, Envy Of None an' Liar...

8- Up 2 fer Beach House an' Hurts To Love...

7- an' up one fer... uh, that song about my ghost...

He means, Ghost Of Elvis Presley by Daisy Glaze....

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So the ME2.0 starts right out with a week that had no debuts!  May 7th, 1955 was the first week of ME2.0 and had no debuts- at the top was The Ballad of Davy Crockett by Bill Hayes- and others- which was in the second to last of 8 weeks at the top.

The ME2.1, however, managed 3 months before having its first no-debut week in the top ten.  It was the March 5th, 1960 chart- and howsabout some statistical irony?  The top song that week was Percy Faith's Theme From A Summer Place- also in an 8 week run at the top.  But instead of its second to last week of the run, it was its SECOND week of the run!

Oh, whoop-de-doo, color me impressed- no, check that, bored.

You're a bit of an ass tonight, aren't you?

C'mon, man!  No videos, no pretty girls...

What would you like? Another "Elvis's movies beauty contest?"

Naw, that's been done...

 

Well, how about your girlfriends?  You got your high school sweetie, Dixie Locke Evans...

Hey, that's my junior prom!  Where did ya...

Or your next sweetie, June Juanico...

 Oh, c'mon!  I look like a dork in that pitcher....

Or how about...

Okay, okay!  Lemme just give some more of the M10....

6- up one fer Maddie and Tae an' Grown Man Cry- which I'mma bout to...

5- up one fer Melody's Echo Chamber and Looking Backwards...

4- and up 5 biggies for Sunflower Bean an' Who Put You Up To This?

Speakin' of which...

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 How about Judy Spreckles?

I look like a dork there, too!  Jus' do yer specials... I promise I'll be good....

Aren't you gonna introduce me?

NO.

Well, fine.  Anyway, the LAST "same tens" on the M2.0 and M2.1 are kind of the long and short of things.  The ME 2.1's final 'same ten' was just 3 weeks from the end, on December 8th, 1979, a week topped by Styx and Babe.  However, 2.0's last 'same ten' took 72 weeks from the end- May 1, 1976, with the Bellamy Brothers and Let Your Love Flow at the top. 

 

 

"Weird, wild stuff!"

And now, King, you may take us out...

Oh, yeah, who am I takin' out this time? Natalie Wood? Anne Helm?

I meant, finish the M10...

Oh, uh, yeah...

 

3- an' holdin' fer Sweet an' Hoffs an' Run To Me...

2- an' holdin' fer Duran Duran an' Laughing Boy... which I'm feeling very familiar with right about now... 

 

An' another week at the top fer....

 

 

...the Cactus Blossoms an' Is It Over?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Man, I sure hope so....

Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, Part 11

 

This section addresses four interrelated questions, and the passage takes up the bulk of Matthew's 12th chapter.  But to get to the point of it, I will me just glancing over some of it, hitting some parts 'out of order', and adding in a tale of my own.  But the whole tale will hang around these words of Jesus:

Mat 12:33  "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

QUESTION ONE:

Mat 12:24  But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons."
Mat 12:25  Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
Mat 12:26  And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 

Jesus is the good fruit, the Pharisees the bad.  And on the surface, this seems to be a logical question- why would Satan give Jesus the power to cast out demons doing HIS work?  And indeed, why would Satan give Jesus the power to HEAL, when all any demon ever causes is destruction?  But I think there is also a deeper point here- Satan's kingdom WILL NOT stand.  I think I can make that clearer by going to the next part...

QUESTION TWO

Mat 12:27  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
Mat 12:28  But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

One thing I learned about this verse:  According to both Josephus and Acts 19, there were what the commentators called "Itinerant Jewish exorcists" who traveled the land making their living "healing" people of demons.  They would use a 'formula' that they allegedly had used since the days of Solomon- almost a magic incantation (the first way we see Satan might 'drive out demons' to suit his purposes), to which they would soon append the Lord's name...

Act 19:13  Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims."
Act 19:14  Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.
Act 19:15  But the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?"

...which, as you might guess, had mixed results.  These are the sons Jesus spoke of- the recruits which, after converting them, the Pharisees would make "Twice as much a son of the Devil as yourselves" (Matt. 23:15).  So am I saying that Satan WOULD divide against his own house?  Consider:  Two weeks ago, we were watching on TV 'Air Disasters', and this episode had a plane from a Muslim nation that was crashing; several people interviewed mentioned "praying to God (Allah)", and the plane was miraculously saved.  Did "Allah" save them? "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit." Answer:  I don't know.  Perhaps the TRUE God, in His mercy, knew of one life on that plane was yet to be saved. Perhaps Satan was allowed to preserve it, to increase faith in a false God.  But I know "Allah" did nothing.  This is a deep subject that Jesus spoke on here...

Luk 13:1  There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luk 13:2  And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
Luk 13:3  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

A reminder that, while God MAY protect us to His glory in the here and now, it is not the end goal of what He seeks for us.

And as for that judging, Read on to the end of the chapter on your own.

THIRD QUESTION

Mat 12:29  Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 

There is a difference, though, between what the "sons of the Pharisees" do and what Jesus does.  When Jesus saves, the Holy Spirit enters the believer, and the sins of flesh can then be bound.  You may yet sin, but are not forced to by your nature, as you once were.  On the other hand, when the sons of the Pharisees 'remove' a demon...

Mat 12:43  "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.
Mat 12:44  Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.
Mat 12:45  Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."

FOURTH QUESTION

Mat 12:34  You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

This, then is the question that answers all the others.  So evil in their heart are they that they overturn logic, common sense, and any vestige of faith in the True God, in order to demean Jesus, whose very works show Him to be the Messiah!  In a few moments, they would ask for a 'sign'- a sign they would never have believed anyway.  But Jesus would answer, in part...

Mat 12:39  But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah...

 

And why I mention this is, it finishes the whole thing off perfectly.  You see that word, 'adulterous', in Jesus's description, and your mind goes to the realm of sexual sin. HOWever, with a little digging into the word, we find at base it means 'apostate'..."a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle."  They are a generation who have renounced God, and their fate is coming fast upon them.

M10 Show week #18

 

Tonight, we're gonna do at least one thing different...

Elvis:  Yeah?  Whut's that?

 

Well, tonight, we have 3 debuts- two of them have like 7 or 8 #1s here between them, but the third, now they are new to the list, and they bring on the most appropriate-to-this-show song we've ever had!

Appropriate?  How so?

 

You'll see, but first, howsabout you queue up the first debut at #10...

Sure thing!  Well, we lost a Beach House song this week, so we gotta make that up, because this week makes 21 straight weeks since the debut of the title cut of Once Twice Melody hit our charts, an' we'd hate to see the streak broke!  Here they come, at #10... 

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I have to say, I really didn't have anything special lined up this week...

Slackin', slackin'!

Yeah, I know, but I haven't got any clickbait freebies in a while, and...

Hey, whut about the cat that died this week?

You mean Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters?  You know, I followed them a little bit, back when Fort Wayne had a good Alternative station (which we haven't in ages), and they had some songs I really liked, though I would wager much of their list I haven't heard.  He himself was also a touring drummer for Sass Jordan, as well as Alanis Morissette.  The Fighters themselves have been on the M10 once with a tune called Sunday Rain, and have 10 alt #1s.  With Mick Jagger heading for dotage, it's a shame to see a guy like this, only 50, leave us for the Band Up There.

 

In the mean time, though, our second debut at #9 belongs to Sunflower Bean...

 

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T'be continued?  What in the ding-dong...

 

I guess we'll find out when the next video hits, buddy!  In the meantime, why don't you left everyone know the rest of the M10... WITHOUT the high debut at #8....

 

Yer about as mysterious as the Bean girl was!  Okay, then...

7- up three for Maddie and Tae an' Grown Man Cry...

6- up one spot fer Melody's Echo Chamber an' Looking Backwards...

5- an' down 3 for Tears for Fears an' Break The Man...

4- an' down one for Envy Of None an' Liar in week # 9....

3- an' up 3 fer Sweet an' Hoffs an' Run To Me....

2- an' up two fer Duran Duran an' Laughing Boy....

 

An' still at the top fer...

 

 

 ...the Cactus Blossoms an' Is It Over?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

All right, now what's so dad-burn special about this debut at #8?

 

Well, it's a new-to-us duo calling themselves Daisy Glaze... and the song they debut with is called- so appropriate to this show... The Ghost Of Elvis Presley!

 

WHAT???

 

 

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Man, that's burnt!  Cool tune!

Hope everyone else liked it, too!  See you next time! 

Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, part 10

 

This week, we hit 3 questions that might look like they come from 2 stories that don't go together, but they do.  And the reason they do is twofold.  One, they are addressed to to the Pharisees who accuse Him, and unlike the Disciples whom He asks questions to mold them, and the people whom He asks questions to teach them, He asks these questions of the Pharisees to accuse them. Two, He is showing them over and over the thing they will later call blasphemy, that He IS God.

Let's look at the first question:

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath."
Mat 12:3  He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him:
Mat 12:4  how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 

Now first, you have to know the story being referred to.  David was the example they declared to follow.  This wasn't a bad thing; God Himself only faulted David 'in the matter of Uriah the Hittite'. But, he was a man who made many mistakes, and this incident packed a bunch of them.  It was at the beginning of his flight from Saul, and he stopped off at the Tabernacle to beg supplies.  He let the priest think he was on a mission for Saul, and then added to the misimpression by lying about the non-existent men under his command who were 'waiting outside'.  And then he asked the priest for bread, and all that there was to be had was the Showbread, which had sat before the Lord for 7 days and was about to be replaced- since this occurred on the Sabbath.  And he finished it off with an excuse- technically, only the priests could eat the Showbread even after the seven days, but David reasoned that it was "in effect, common", and talked the priest into giving it to him.

If David was truly their example, then they had to see the Showbread as common as well.  But what does Showbread have to do with wheat on the head?  Here you have to consider- Jesus is God, and the field before Him was just the same as the Showbread in the Temple.  It was the Sabbath, and the Disciples hunger, just like David's need, rendered the Sabbath Showbread common.  Thus, Jesus' question told them 2 things- He was God, and they don't follow the example of David.

The second question plays on that:

Mat 12:5  Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?
Mat 12:6  I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.
Mat 12:7  And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath." 

The first question busted them on their twisting of their own tradition; the second catches them on service and common sense.  If the priests did no work (by the Pharisees' definition) on the Sabbath, they could not do the most important part of their service before the Lord.  The Disciples do the Lord's work, and Jesus as God is greater than the Temple built by hands.

Now, they have been shown their accusations are against the example of "David their father", and against the laws of service to the Lord.  But they move on, and Jesus busts them with the deepest cut of all:

Mat 12:9  He went on from there and entered their synagogue.
Mat 12:10  And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--so that they might accuse him.
Mat 12:11  He said to them, "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?
Mat 12:12  Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Mat 12:13  Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.

This time, they were busted on their OWN example- how they lived THEIR lives.  So three times He used their own tactics to turn their accusations upon themselves, and three times He proved He was God doing it.  The were legalists in the extreme, and would be quite at home in many of our churches, fighting over "proper position in worship" and the like.  But their way is not what God intended in giving them the Law of Moses.  In Mark, Jesus adds this quote...

Mar 2:27  And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

 

 Their legalism had stripped them of perspective, mercy, and the ability to recognize God right before themselves.  He was truly 'answering a fool according to their folly' (Proverbs 26), because even being defeated at their own game didn't change their minds...

Mat 12:14  But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. 

But again, Jesus was never trying to teach them.  He was just showing them the accusation they would face at the judgment.  And our best lesson here is, you can choose faith, or you can choose rules.  Faith will get you to heaven. Rules- whether you follow them in a misapplied manner, or outright reject them- That's a different story.

The Better Part, week #58

 

The latest FB posts:

The Better Part, Day #271:

 

I'm not sure if it was a quote or a personal reflection, but David Jeremiah said something that ought to serve as a guide to anyone trying to attach a flag to their faith, or looking for Putin in Revelation, or just trying to blame a daily misfortune on Satan. "If it can't be understood by the most primitive listener, it's not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.:"

The Better Part, Day #272:

 

 

Until I can put You first... until the people are the ones You give to care for, until the concerns are the things You take care of, until the music and the walks and the games are the gifts to show You care, and the words are the tools You use to remake me... until You are the first and the battle is Yours...

 

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #273:

 

 

Jack Hibbs described a gnome they use at his church to hold up signs, flags, etc. He's out there whether it's rain or snow, cold or hot, never complaining, just doing his job 'for the Lord'. They call him "Yessir McGee". At the end, he said that McGee had a handle on his back, so he could be easily moved where ever he's needed. "May I have a handle, Lord; may everyone in this church have a handle." Teach me how to ask for one, too....

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #274:

 

Isn't it marvelous that we can always go to Jesus for that peace that transcends understanding- especially on days where the prayer starts, "Lord, I know I work as unto you. But I think Satan is the plant manager today..."

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #275:

 

And, I have learned, that peace that transcends understanding works on temptation, too!

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #276:

 

 

There's a difference between God wanting you to do more, and Satan saying, "You don't do enough! Look at the other guy!" When you hear the second, remind Satan: "Yes, I am the sparrow He watches. I am the hair He counted."

M10 show week #17

 

 

 

Well, didja find it?

Did you have any doubts?

Lessee... three weeks ago, drunk at the time... yeah, I suppose I did...

I told you it was in the little notebook, and here it... oh, hi folks!  We were just discussing that feature I would have run last week had the other one not come up...

An' ya knew where ya put it...

 

I knew where I put it, and it's right where I found it!  Anyway, what 'it' is came up when Laurie and I were playing music a few weeks back and discussing those darn click bait lists, and I brought up that there's a difference between the songs you really really love, and those you respect as well-put together!  Kinda like I think Titanic was the best put-together movie ever, but it isn't really my favorite.  And so I made a list of songs I consider the best put-together in the Martin Era, and I'd like to see what you all think- agree, disagree, have your own choices.  But before we get there, I have one debut on this week's M10 chart, and it comes in at #10- brand new Maddie and Tae...

 

 

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First, I'd like to say that is the basement bar I want! Second, yes, Tae was pregnant at the time- and the pregnancy had two-month's bed rest worth of complications- but  Leighton Grace Kerr, all 2 pounds 5 oz of her, was born on January 17th- 3 months early.  So far as I can find out, all seems well.  God bless her!

Lemme see ifn' I can rent that bar out fer a M10 party sometime...

Let me know how that goes!  So anyway, as I thought on the subject of... well, I'm tired of typing it out, so here on, it's WPTS.  Anyhow, I had 5 come to mind right off the bat as my best ones...several more followed as the beer, er, night wore on.  So let me give you the bottom half first and see what you think, and then after the M10, we'll reveal my top 5.

10- Hotel California, the Eagles.  The first time I heard this song, all I got was the closing guitars.  Me and a friend looked at each other and knew it was going to the top.

9- Blinded By The Light, Manfred Mann's Earth Band.  You must listen to the full version, not the radio cut, to get this one.

8- Soul And Inspiration, The Righteous Brothers.  Possibly the only time I really liked a spoken-word section in a song.

7- Scarborough Fair/Canticle, Simon and Garfunkel. Listen again to the third stanza and tell me I'm wrong.

6- Wouldn't It Be Nice, the Beach Boys.  I had a real battle with this and Good Vibrations.  But this was the one we (almost) all LIVED.

I'm not seeing me on this list...

You can't be everywhere, buddy!  In fact, where you're supposed to be is giving the rest of the M10!

Oh, yeah...

9- Scorpions hold with Peacemaker...

8- Best Coast down another 4 with Leading...

7- Melody's Echo Chamber up 3 with Looking Backward...

6- Sweet n' Hoffs stuck here with Run To Me...

5- Beach House stuck here with Only You Know...

4- Duran Duran up 3 with Laughing Boy...

3- out o' the top spot fer Envy Of None an' Liar...

2- stuck here is Tears For Fears an' Break The Man...

 

An' the new top doggie...

"Hey, I'm the only top doggie here..."

 Oh, now, settle down, Misty, the song at #1 this week is...

 

 ...the Cactus Blossoms an' Is It Over?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay Boss, the floor is yours...

All right, here are my top five WPTSs.....

5- Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen.  I know a lot of you would put this higher- maybe at the top- but it is MY list...

4- A Day In The Life, Beatles.  Now you know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall...

3- Take Me Home Tonight, Eddie Money.  How better to make this list than to really reset a classic that could have gone there on its own....

2- Nights In White Satin, the Moody Blues.  Again, you must splurge and listen to the complete version- including Late Lament.

And here's where you can all get you pitchforks ready, because my #1 WPTS of all time...

Richard Harris and McArthur Park!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What about you?  Any comments? And which song do I think (if I ever got screaming hate comments) I would get the most screaming hate comments for leaving off?

Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, Part 9

 

Once again, I had to wait on the Lord to show me the key to this question.  And I found the key in the very last word of our passage:

Mat 11:16  But to what shall I compare to this generation? It is like little children sitting in the markets and calling to their playmates,
Mat 11:17  saying, We played the flute to you, and you did not dance! We mourned to you, but you did not wail!
Mat 11:18  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon.
Mat 11:19  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man who is a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners. But wisdom was justified by her children. 

You see, many translations put that last word as "deeds", which would be a more correct (by our standards) translation.  But "children" is how the KJV worded it, and that is the way it was finally brought to me, and I'll explain why before I get to the question.

Wisdom, personified, is found throughout the book of Proverbs, which I read a chapter of every morning.  To me, this is the Holy Spirit, and the key to my understanding of our passage came from my study there...

Pro 8:1  Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?
Pro 8:2  On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;
Pro 8:3  beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
Pro 8:4  "To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. 
Pro 8:5  O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.

When I looked at our passage every time before this, it always seemed a bit like it was written wrong; were the children calling to adults, other children, what was going on?  My first step in understanding was recognizing WHERE it was placed.  Before it was last week's passage- Jesus showing that He was Messiah through John being the prophesied forerunner. This passage was all about, "You SHOULD believe."  On the other side is another famous sermonette:

Mat 11:20  Then He began to upbraid the cities in which most of His mighty works were done, because they did not repent.
Mat 11:21  Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the powerful acts which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes!
Mat 11:22  But I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
Mat 11:23  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to the heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Mat 11:24  But I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.

Which is essentially, "You DON'T believe!"  In between it is WHY you don't believe.  And it makes sense in the light of Proverbs when you realize there are TWO sets of children.  The children of Wisdom- "Wisdom is justified by HER children"- are the ones saying,

We played the flute to you, and you did not dance! We mourned to you, but you did not wail! 

 

And then Jesus explains.  The children would play 'adulting' games, like ours do playing 'marriage' and 'doctor', for example.  And they would do their versions of the celebrations of a wedding, and they would simulate the wailing of a funeral.  John was represented by the "mourning" game.  But when the Children of Wisdom watched and emulated John, the Children of 'this generation' did not wail- they did not emulate him.  They saw the outside- the camel hair shirt, the locust eating- and called him a demon.

Likewise, Jesus comes on the scene- the Bridegroom, the very symbol of rejoicing, the salvation of man- and where the Children of Wisdom 'danced', the children of 'this generation' called Him a "glutton and winebibber"- if not a sinner, then a friend of them.

So Jesus has taught a simple lesson. First, there is ample examples of why to believe in Him and how to live it out.  He has given YOU everything you need.  Second, there are two kinds of people in this world- Children of Wisdom, and Children of this generation. Those of Wisdom watch and emulate; those of this generation pay everything given to them no mind.  And finally, those who lift themselves up, who refuse the mourning of repentance and the Morning of Jesus, they are looking down the barrel of disaster.  Jesus's lesson is the equivalent of Paul's warning:

Rom 1:19  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
Rom 1:20  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.