<p>11:18&nbsp;<em>For John came neither eating nor drinking and they say he has a demon-</em>The Gospels give the impression that there was mass response to John&rsquo;s preaching, but according to the Lord&rsquo;s reasoning here, He felt that &ldquo;this generation&rdquo;, society as a whole, had rejected John&rsquo;s message and slandered him as in league with demons. Exactly the same was said about the ministry of Jesus (Jn. 8:48 uses the same term about Jesus- &ldquo;He has a demon&rdquo;). Surface level interest in the message, even applauding it and making a great effort to go out into the desert to hear it preached, was and is not the same as responding in real repentance.</p>