Just to recap, in the previous two chapters, Luke has told us about the events surrounding Jesus’ birth and early life, but also about how his cousin John the Baptist came to be born.
And as we move into chapter 3 we see John the Baptist starting to fulfil the mission that his Father Zechariah prophesied he would in chapter 1.
And the first thing Luke highlights about John the Baptist is that the word of God came to him. As with the prophets of the Old Testament God gave John a message to preach. It wasn’t John’s own message - it was God’s. God was speaking to the people of Israel through him.
As we’re told in verse 4, John’s role was to “prepare the way of the Lord and to make his paths straight.” He was to prepare the hearts of the Jewish people to receive Jesus, their Messiah.
And so the message God gave John was a call to repentance; it was a call to the people of Israel to repent and to turn back to the God of Abraham and Isaac and the Jacob – the God of their forefathers.
And as they confessed their sins and asked God to forgive them, John baptised them. He immersed them in the River Jordan to symbolise their being washed and made clean.
John’s style of preaching is very much Old Testament and very direct. He doesn’t pull his punches and he’s not terribly subtle. But he tells things as they are.
So, in verse 7 he calls those coming to him a brood of vipers. Why does he do this? Well, Satan is portrayed in the bible as a snake - for instance in Genesis when he tempts Adam and Eve. So, John is effectively telling the people that are coming to him that they are children of the devil.
It’s not the most endearing way to greet people, but theologically it’s true. Many people assume that we are all children of God, but actually this is not our default position.
Unfortunately – just like the devil – we all rebel against God and seek to please ourselves. We then inevitably hurt other people and grieve God.
We only become children of God as we come to recognise our predicament, and repent, which of course is what John was urging the crowds who came to him to do.
John the Baptist then warns the crowds not to assume that they’re right with God just because they’re descended from Abraham.
They may be descended from Abraham but they still have to make a personal decision to seek to honour God with their lives.
In other words, we shouldn’t sit here today and say well I’m OK because I’m an Anglican and I’ve been confirmed.
Confirmation is only of value if we genuinely mean the promises we undertake, if we sincerely turn away from what we know to be wrong and turn to Christ
Similarly, the water used in baptism isn’t magic. As my previous vicar used to say – if it was magic – he’d fix up a hose pipe and spray the local school children with it.
The water is symbolic, and again the efficacy of baptism depends on the promises that are made - being lived out.
Having called them snakes and warned them not be complacent just because they’re Jews, John then further warns his audience of the judgement that will one day come upon them if they don’t repent and turn back to God.
He says; “Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
It’s often uncomfortable for us as Christians to talk about judgement and as the Australian Rugby player Israel Folau can vouch – it can get us into hot water - but I believe that to avoid talking about judgement is actually unloving.
The bible makes it very clear that just as there is light and darkness and good and evil, there is heaven and hell.
Jesus tells us clearly in the gospels that one day he will return in order to judge all people – and that when that happens a separation will occur between those who have believed in him and put their faith in him and those who have chosen to reject him.
It’s more loving to try and warn people that God is going to judge us rather than to pretend everything will be OK.
We like the idea of Jesus as kind and gentle and loving and forgiving – which he is - but we don’t particularly like the idea of him as a judge.
As I’ve said before, because God is perfect, he is perfectly just. just, He can’t simply turn a blind eye to sin and say ‘there there never mind – it doesn’t matter.’
When people hurt and hate each other and damage each other’s lives and in so doing offend God, there is a price to pay.
Of course we have a choice as to who pays that price. It’s either Jesus or if we reject his offer of forgiveness - we will have to pay the price ourselves.
Because he loves us, Jesus has paid the price for our sins himself on the cross and has been punished in our place, but in order to avail ourselves of his forgiveness, as John the Baptist makes clear - we need to repent.
We need to make the decision to cease rebellion against God and to start to try and live in obedience to his commandments to love Him and to love others.
However our repentance must be genuine. If we’ve truly decided that we want to follow Christ we should bear fruits worthy of repentance as John puts it.
There’s a very good little 10 minute video on the Holy Trinity Brompton Church website. HTB as it’s called is where the Alpha course - which I’m sure most of you have heard of - originated.
This video is of Nicky Gumbel the vicar of HTB interviewing a man called Shane Taylor who’d been one of Britain’s most violent criminals.
Shane was so violent that at one stage he’d been locked away in solitary confinement as he’d stabbed two prison officers.
However he went on a prison Alpha course because he’d heard the biscuits were good, and surprisingly found it really touched his heart.
It helped him to realise that he hated who he’d become, and he really wanted to change, so he asked Jesus to forgive him and invited him into his life and he became a changed man.
He said that afterwards prison officers became his friends and having been released from prison he no longer goes into pubs looking for a fight but for someone to tell about Jesus.
He is now bearing good fruit – fruit that is worthy of repentance. And if we’ve truly repented and decided to follow Christ, really that’s what we should be doing.
If there truly has been an inner change in us, it should be evident in our words and actions.
However, the good fruit that John is talking about can only be borne by those who have genuinely repented and invited Jesus into their lives.
And this good fruit is brought forth as people seek to love God and their neighbour under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
It’s interesting that John compares us to trees. Trees have sap in them and the sap that must be in us in order to bear good fruit, is the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Jesus.
Jesus said that apart from him, we can do nothing. In other words although we can be kind and generous and do good deeds, unless the Spirit of Jesus is living in us – these things will only be of temporary, worldly value – not eternal value.
However as we seek to walk with God and to serve him, He can work through us to extend his kingdom – to draw people to himself, and to open their eyes to know him.
Christians are the body of Christ in the world. We are Jesus hands and feet and his mouth. As we co-operate with him, he can work through our bodies, to bless and encourage those around us, and to build his church, but he is the source of any fruit that we bear.
In verses 10 to 14 John gives practical examples of the types of things the people should be doing if they really have changed.
Notice that in all these examples the changed behaviour of an individual has a knock on effect to those around them.
So the person with 2 coats helps someone else who has none, and the tax collector improves the lives of those people on his round by not taking too much money from them. And the soldier no longer harasses and bullies others.
Life around the changed individual improves for those they come into contact with, and ideally it should be the same with us.
Of course the good fruit that we bear isn’t what saves us. What saves us is putting our faith in and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Think of the thief on the cross for instance. He hadn’t born any good fruit – but he put his faith in Jesus and asked him to save him. He simply said “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
So to tie up what I want to say this morning, really John’s message is as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago.
Christianity is about our eternal destinies. It’s about making our peace with God and finding a relationship with Him that will carry on into eternity.
And when we’ve found that relationship it’s about bearing good fruit, reaching out to others and helping them to find the same relationship.
There will one day be a day of judgement and it is essential therefore that initially we ourselves make the decision to repent and to follow Christ and then seek to work with God to lead those around us to make their peace with their Creator.
God loves every human being he has created and it is his desire that everyone should be saved.
And he has done everything necessary himself on the cross for everyone to be saved, but people can only be saved as they make the decision themselves to repent – to cease rebellion against their creator and invite Him into their lives.
If you haven’t yet made your peace with God I urge you to do so today – not just for yourself but for those you love and regularly come into contact with – so that God can reach out to them through you.
And if you’re already a Christian I’d urge you to renew your concern for those around you, to commit yourself to praying for them and to make every effort to work for the extension of God’s kingdom in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment