What does Luke 7:33 mean?

Having defended John's unique prophethood and message (Luke 7:24–28), Jesus condemns both those who reject John and those who reject Himself. He compares these religious leaders and their followers to children who dictate the rules of the game then complain when others don't want to join (Luke 7:32).

Jesus isn't equating John's ascetic lifestyle to children who sang a dirge that the people refused to weep to; He's saying that when the Pharisees and scribes "played the flute," John did not dance. John did not worship the way the Pharisees wanted him to: according to the Oral Law. Nor did he take pride in his ability to keep the Law. Instead, he lived in the wilderness, wore camel-hair clothing, and ate wild honey and locusts (Matthew 3:4). Even worse, John called the religious leaders "vipers," questioned their descendancy from Abraham, and told them they needed to repent (Matthew 3:7–10). The respectable Jews, including the Pharisees and lawyers, reject him for his ascetic lifestyle and his extreme message.

John is fulfilling the purpose God has for his life in his message and his lifestyle. Meanwhile, his detractors reject God's purpose (Luke 7:30), replacing it with human tradition in the form of the Oral Law. It's not that God intends the religious leaders to live like John. But He does expect them to live out John's message of repentance.

"You say" shows that John's critics are present. That Jesus calls them "the people of this generation" indicates He means more than just the Pharisees and lawyers (Luke 7:31). Although many individuals and groups of Jews did become John's disciples, the Jews as a nation rejected his call to repentance and, consequently, Jesus' offer of salvation.

Matthew's account uses shorthand, saying, "For John came neither eating nor drinking" (Matthew 11:18). Luke uses the same terms in Luke 7:34.