Advent 2 2022
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1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” 4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 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. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
It doesn’t seem as though people just drop in at the homes of other people very often. We may have come to the point when we really don’t expect anyone to come over unannounced and we may adjust our lifestyle accordingly. Remember these thoughts are hypothetical and in no way reflect any homes I have ever lived in or people’s homes I have visited.
Think about what you living area looks like on a regular basis?
Dirty dishes in the sink or on the end tables where you watch TV and perhaps even eat.
Beds not made. Dirty clothes piled on the floor.
A layer of dust on the furniture.
Windows haven’t been washed since who knows when.
Sidewalk not shoveled or salted.
Temperature in the house which others might find to be too hot or too cold.
No refreshments to offer to guests.
Projects in the process of being worked on in full view.
Think about what you wear at home to be comfortable . . . especially after supper. Lounge clothes. Your favorite “ratty sweater”.
You may even be watching something on TV that is questionable.
It is your home and you are permitted to live in it in a way that is very comfortable for you without someone else judging.
But you may not want visitors to witness this. So if you know someone is coming over (maybe you are hosting a holiday event); what do you do? You may prepare your home and yourself in a way that is more presentable. This will often be adjusted to what you think of the person who is coming.
When we think of preparations, we often think about outward things. But when God sent someone to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus in his public ministry, God was more concerned about inward preparations. Those same preparations which we should still concern ourselves with today.
“Oh, Lord, how shall I meet thee.”
O Lord, how shall I meet you,
How welcome you aright?
Your people long to greet you,
My Hope, my heart's Delight.
O Jesus, let your word be
A lamp to light my way,
To show me how to please you,
To guide me ev'ry day.
Luther on preparation for Holy Communion.
Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words “for you” require all hearts to believe.
John the Baptist is the one sent by God to prepare the hearts of people for Jesus. (quick background).
Matthew simply writes “In those days” to introduce when this happened. Luke tells us: Luke 3:1–6 (NIV84)
1 In 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 desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘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 mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ”
Luke also tells us about John’s background. The he was born to aged parents (Zechariah and Elizabeth) 30 years earlier. His father, Zechariah, had been a priest in the temple in Jerusalem and Zechariah and Elizabeth lived in the hill country of Judea. An angel had prophesied that John would be no ordinary child or person. Luke 1:11–17 (NIV84)
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
But the angel was not the first to predict the work that John would do. As Matthew tells us here, this had been prophesied about 700 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah.
This had been prophesied in the Old Testament — Isaiah
3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ”
Key elements were his message and the rite of baptism — explain.
John’s appearance drew attention to himself. But what really set him apart was his message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
He told people to repent. In Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.The key theme of John the Baptist's preaching was the need to repent. The word often translated as "repent" literally means to change one's mind. It can be as innocent as deciding what to eat for breakfast. "I think I will have scrambled eggs. No, wait. I repent (change my mind). I will have a waffle instead." To change one's mind isn't necessarily associated with making a better decision or deciding to avoid doing evil and now choosing to do what is good. But in the context of what John the Baptist preached, to repent has a lot more weight than just making a different choice. In his case as in many other examples from the Bible including Jesus' own calling people to repentance, it has the theological significance of deciding to turn away from a sinful activity and choosing to do what is good instead.
Example: One of the choices we make every day is what, when, and how much we are going to eat. In some cases the choices are innocent enough if the choice is made between different healthy selections. In other cases our choices can lead to immediate or future health issue.
Immediate: You are in the woods and you see some mushrooms. You decide you are going to pick them and put them on your pizza. We all know this is a bad idea. Those mushrooms could be poisonous and lead to your sudden demise.
Future: You choose to eat an abundance of red meat for your meals. This will lead to . . . ? (Research). Or you choose to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. The immediate result is that you smell like smoke. The long term effects are well documented.
But John the Baptist is preaching about what to eat (although his rather strange diet is mentioned) nor is he speaking against smoking tobacco which wasn't an issue in his day because tobacco did not grow in his part of the world. He is calling people to change their minds and subsequently their actions in regard to sinful activities which they were engaged in.
Probing Questions: What sinful activities are we engaged in? Refusal to work together. Criticism. Gossip.
Over indulging. Love of money. Greed.
Selfishness. Narcissism.
How did people respond? There were those who believed his message and took action to prepare for Jesus.
5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
But there were others whom John knew were not yet willing to repent. From later accounts of these groups of people we learn that they were often self-righteous, judgmental, and considered themselves so personally righteous that they either did not do anything wrong or didn’t need to confess sins. John did not let them “slide”.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
How are we to respond to the message of John the Baptist?
Let’s go back to what our homes may look like if aren’t expecting any guests anytime soon. A quick observation may show dirty dishes, dusty furniture, pile of unwashed clothes, unmade beds, suspicious browsing activity on our computers, maybe even illegal substances. Criminals may have items in their homes they have stolen, unregistered firearms, even evidence of bomb making materials. If you know someone is coming over, you will most likely do at least some straightening up. And in the rare case that you are planning to rob a bank, blow up a building, or have stolen possessions in your house; you would make very sure that these are all taken care of before the authorities are at your door with as search warrant.
Well, Jesus was coming to his people to search their hearts and he did not need a warrant. He is coming again and everything we do will be revealed.
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
26 “So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
So instead of hiding our sins, we are to turn from them. John’s audience did this in a demonstrative way. Matthew 3:6 (NIV84)
6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
John warns that we are to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance”.
Luther on daily contrition and repentance.
It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
Where is this written?
Where is this written?
St. Paul writes in Romans chapter six: “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Rom. 6:4)
How will this impact that way we live?
Ephesians 6:5–8 (NIV84)
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
