Luke 3: 1–20
1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
The Need for True Repentance
Hearing and listening about God now a days is not that difficult. Other than the Christian Institutions like churches, hospitals, orphanage or food banks, we have social media platforms where many declare the name of Jesus Christ—our Saviour, healer, Sanctifier, Lord and Coming King.
Although you will hear them everywhere today, not everyone speaks about what John the Baptist boldly speaks about. It is the change of heart, or what we call repentance. People do seek a God who is loving, but little do they know he is also a Holy God. Jesus did cleanse those who believe in him of their sins on the cross, but before coming to him on the cross we need to admit our sinful nature, and desire to be changed.
In Luke 3:1–20, John the Baptist proclaims the truth of repentance in the midst of the crowd who follows him, and even to those who want to put him in jail for doing so. His ministry of baptism symbolizes repentance. It served as a process for those outside the Jewish community who wanted to embrace Judaism. They needed to turn away from their previous beliefs and practices and start participating in the Jewish customs. This practice is similar to the meaning of Repentance: turning away from yourself (old sinful ways of life), and by faith accepting and practicing the new life in Jesus.
John the Baptist is passionate in sharing the truth about the Messiah through the ministry of baptism of repentance. He understands that his role is to prepare the people for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The use of “brood of vipers” in verse seven gets the crowd’s attention. It’s the same phrase used by Jesus in Matthew 12:34, addressing to the Pharisees. What was the intention of using these words? It is warning for the crowd, and rebuke towards the Pharisees. Were there Pharisees where John the Baptist is baptizing? I strongly believe yes, since John the Baptist gets the attention of crowds and high officials.
Both warning and rebuking, John the Baptist intention is calling out for true repentance. He boldly tells the people to start seeking for fruits in keeping their repentance. Some who receive baptism develop pride and arrogance because they are now called privileged sons of God. True repentance from God comes with a noticeable change of life in obeying his commands. John gives clarity to what a changed life looks like—stop what you are doing that oppresses people, and start being a blessing to them instead.
For fourteen years I have presented The Message of Salvation in churches, homes, schools, and marketplaces in so many ways. I have attempted many creative methods of presenting the Gospel in various age groups. Some worked; many didn’t. It can be frustrating because you have no control of the random things that may come up while you are talking in public. What I have learned so far is to prepare in such a way that they can agree with you about their need for a saviour in this chaotic and cruel world.
It feels so good and satisfying when your conversation or presentation of the Gospel has been well received. However, the more you desire to make it smooth and accepting, the bigger the temptation to remove or put aside the things that make people reject The Gospel. When you start talking about repentance, many people lose interest.
We must be faithful to present the Gospel as it is. I am not saying we shouldn’t be creative in contextualizing our approach. We must do so. But we dare not forget that the complete message of the Gospel of Christ Jesus includes a call to repentance, just as John the Baptist emphasized.
When we seek him, we will find him, just as he promised (Jeremiah 29:13, Deuteronomy 4:29, Proverbs 8:17, Acts 17:27, Luke 11:9, Hebrews 11:6). I was born in a Christian Family and went to church, but I still felt far from God. I started seeking God and found myself at his feet, and for this very reason I became a pastor. I wanted to help those who are seeking God. We direct people towards God’s love, and, like John the Baptist, we boldly tell them about true repentance. So that, when they find God, they will know who he is, and the truth will set them free and give them peace.
God is waiting for you to open your eyes and start believing in his Son Jesus, because only through Jesus will you find God.
Prayer:
God the Father, word cannot express how grateful we are in sending your Son Jesus to us. Without him being God in flesh we will not find him, because it is impossible for us humans to be in your presence with this sin embedded in our flesh. You dwelt among us so we can dwell among you through Jesus. Jesus, thank you for finishing the work on the Cross and our sins are finally forgiven, as you have said before you gave your last breath “it is finished.”
As you commissioned us to go and keep looking for those who are looking for you, you have promised us that you will be with us until you return, and this is why you gave us your Spirit, a seal of the done deal on the cross. May we find our works be pleasing for you as we partner with The Holy Spirit. So, we ask to continually empower us until our last breath, so that we can carry on what you have entrusted us, because even at the end we cannot finish it without you.
We love you with all our heart, soul and strength.
Amen.
Author Bio
Pastor Jireh Jair Maing is the English Ministry Pastor
Hamilton Chinese Alliance Church.
Church Website: www.hamiltoncac.org
Facebook Group: Hamilton Chinese Alliance Church
Instagram: Young Adult Fellowship called “Kineo Fellowship” https://www.instagram.com/kineo_fellowship
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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