Message of John the Baptist

Good morning!

Last week we covered the first nine verses of Luke chapter 3.

Today we are going to go through verses 10-20.

Last week we learned about the Ministry of John the Baptist and were gaining context for the question that is asked in verse ten.

Luke 3:10 CSB

10 “What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him.

In the first nine verses, Luke gives us historical context for what is happening in the world at the time that John begins his ministry.

Luke uses these historical moments and figures as reliable witnesses to confirm the narrative that he shares.

He also shows how John prepares the way for Jesus by calling for repentance.

That repentance served to purify the hearts of those that were listening.

We looked back at the cultural concept of baptism and the idea of being cleansed by water.

What John was showing was that the water did nothing to cleanse the person because the filth was spiritual, not just physical.

Repentance is a change in desires.

A desire for closeness to God that is greater than a desire to fulfill our own sinful wishes.

It is only through true repentance that anyone can experience salvation.

This repentance that John is preaching is one that produces recognizable fruit.

It will be obvious to us and to the people around us that God is working in our lives.

God is speaking through John that his people still don’t understand what it means to live in relationship with God.

They have become so focused on obedience to the law, which was meant to point them toward God, that they completely missed God.

This week Glen asked me to read through and edit some material that he is writing for college students.

The first step in this discipleship expedition is Synchronization.

You know what that means because you’ve seen it in the movies.

Right before a mission starts in nearly every action movie, the main characters take a moment to “synchronize” their watches.

The whole idea of this step is getting our hearts in sync with God.

Glen shared a quote from Augustine that really communicates what John is trying to communicate.

“Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.”

If we are really in love with God and our hearts are in sync with his, our every action will be the ones that God wants for us.

This is the beauty of living in an abiding relationship!

If our desire is to know God and we spend time with him every day, our actions are going to be an overflow of that relationship.

We don’t have to wonder if we are following God’s plan for our lives because living in an active relationship with Him is His plan.

In our text today, we are going to see John giving what seems to be merely practical advice.

But as we look closer, we are going to see that what John is addressing is the heart of the issue, not simply the symptoms.

This was an issue for God’s people prior to Jesus, during Jesus’ lifetime, immediately afterward, and still today.

People are out of sync with God because they don’t know Him.

They don’t know Him because they have made everything else in their lives more important than God.

Our goal for today is to hear God’s message that he delivered through John.

We to need to address our heart issues so that God can remove the sin in our lives and bring us back to Himself.

God’s desire is for us to know Him, for our hearts to be synchronized with His.

Let’s look at our passage today and then dive into what God has for us.

Luke 3:10–20 CSB

10 “What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him. 11 He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.” 14 Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do?” He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” 15 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.” 18 Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to everything else—he locked up John in prison.

What, then, should we do?

Man, what a great question to start with!

This question is incredibly revealing because it shows that what John is preaching is being understood.

Hint, hint. This kind of response is like gold to a preacher.

Not only are they hearing John’s message, but they are also internalizing it and wanting to know how to apply it to their lives.

We can see a similar response when Peter preaches at Pentecost in Acts 2:37-38.

Acts 2:37–38 CSB

37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

You can tell when someone has repented because it affects their hearts, which is revealed through their actions.

In Luke 3:10 and Acts 2:37 we can see that the message has been internalized.

We know this because their only question is what should we do in light of what we have just learned.

1. Repentance makes a dramatic change in your heart and in everyday life.

When the crowds asked John what should we do, he responded with examples, not commandments.

This is an important distinction to understand.

The key to repentance is not found in following these three recommendations.

The heart behind these actions is the revelation of repentance.

John gives three examples.

Provide for those in need.

Don’t over-tax.

Don’t use your position of power to take advantage of others.

These three actions are examples of the results of a repentant heart, not the keys to salvation.

Keep in mind that John is not preaching toward salvation.

What he is preaching will lead to salvation, but salvation, as you and I know it today, did not exist yet.

John is preaching for repentance.

He is addressing the ethical and moral behavior of those that were listening.

This was not a new message either.

I can guarantee you that none of the people that were listening thought to themselves, “I guess that is a good idea. I never thought of that.”

God had been sending prophets for generations calling out the ethical and moral behaviors of his people.

John’s goal is to remind people of the law that God had already given to direct their lives.

He is calling them out for ignoring God’s commands as they went about their daily lives.

In doing so, John is addressing a deep question, and one that I bet many of us have asked before.

How do I live in a way that shows others the character of God?

Or, to make it more personal…

In the last week, how did my words, attitude, and actions communicate the heart of God?

I’ll give you an example from my own life.

I went to pick up our car from the body shop Friday.

They called and said it was done, but when I got there I saw that the new door had a scratch in it, and there was overspray from them painting other cars on the outside and the inside of our car.

I wanted to get stupid.

But I know that how I handle that situation is going to reveal truth or lies about who God is.

I profess to be a follower of Jesus and words, actions, and attitude will reveal if that is true.

And more importantly, it is going to proclaim God’s true character or a lie about God’s character.

I’m sharing this with you, not because I got it right, but because there was a lot of internal dialogue between myself and God during that time at the body shop.

I had to make a real time decision on how I was going to respond.

The only reason that there was even a conversation is because I was in sync with God.

Had I not been, I would have acted very differently.

If our hearts are synced up with God, we are going to live and love just like God does.

This is the point that Augustine was making.

“Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.”

The way you relate with God is going to make an impact on how you relate to others.

2. John is pushing people to be sensitive to God, which can be seen by the fruit of caring for others.

We have heard Jesus teach on this, and it is familiar to us now.

Keep in mind, though, that this would have been a revolutionary thought for those that were listening to John.

Their religious practices at the time didn’t equate to their daily lives.

You may find that to be a shocking statement, but before you cast judgment, ask yourself if your faith tradition has always expected you to live this way.

I’m not talking about the southern, bless your heart, I’ll pray for you, kind of nonsense.

I’m talking about true, sacrificial caring that makes an actual impact on someone’s life.

In the American church, we hide behind our facades and pretend that everything in our lives is normal and okay.

Matthew West talks about this in his song “Truth Be Told.”

But truth be told

The truth is rarely told, now

I say, “I’m fine, yeah, I’m fine, oh

I’m fine, hey I’m fine”, but I’m not.

I’m broken

And when it’s out of control I say,

“It’s under control”, but it’s not.

If we would actually let the truth be told, let people in, and see the real us, it would pave the way for us to learn to love like Jesus.

If we would let people be honest and love them regardless of their brokenness, they could experience the kind of love that God has for them.

Several weeks ago I had a good friend who was going through some really difficult stuff.

I tried to reach out to him so I could figure out what was going on and how I could help.

He did not respond in a positive way.

He tried to push me away with mean words and accusations, but it was just an attempt to redirect his pain.

I kept responding with love.

In fact, I told him very plainly that I would always love him and there was literally nothing he could do about it.

It didn’t matter what he said or did, I was always going to choose to love him.

It took a few weeks of letting that marinate, but he and I are talking again and his life circumstances seem to be a bit better.

Loving people where they are and how they are is exactly what Jesus did.

This is the kind of care that only comes when our hearts are synced with God’s.

Jesus reminded the Sadducees of what it means to love God.

Keep in mind that they were questioning Him and trying to trap him in legal matters.

They are using this passage about loving God in a way that doesn’t communicate the love of God.

Do you see the irony in that?

Matthew 22:36-40.

Matthew 22:36 CSB

“Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”

Matthew 22:37–40 CSB

37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

John is paving the way for people to be able to understand that the primary focus of a follower of God is not on keeping the law.

The primary focus of a follower of God is loving God and loving others the way that God does.

How can we make sure that these commands are the primary focus of our daily lives?

If these are not your primary focus, what changes is God calling for in your life?

When this message and the hope that it carries started to settle in people’s hearts, they realized how different it was from what they had been taught.

Luke 3:15 CSB

15 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.

Because of how revelatory it was, the people began to wonder if John was the Messiah.

Think about this for a moment.

On the one hand, it is devastating that actually loving God and loving people was and is considered revolutionary.

What does it say about the world when caring for others is so foreign that it garners people's attention?

What does it say about the church when caring for others is so foreign that it garners people’s attention?

What would it do for the world if the church really began to be authentic and loved people right where they are?

The power and authority with which John preached caused the people to realize that he was different.

This caused them to wonder if maybe he was the promised Messiah.

I’m sure that word had been moving about after Jesus is prophesied over in the temple.

People were watching and looking for the Messiah.

John immediately addresses their question.

3. John is not the Messiah, and he proves it by pointing to why Jesus is greater.

Look at how John answered the question they didn’t ask out loud.

Luke 3:16 CSB

16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

This is the first time that John mentions Jesus in this passage.

The message that God was speaking through John was doing what the law had always been designed to do.

It was pointing to the fact that people need God.

As John did so, the people were looking forward to the Messiah, which led them to ask if John was him.

John says he is not and draws a comparison between his ministry and that of Jesus.

John can only preach for repentance, but Jesus will bring salvation.

He points forward to what is going to happen after the lamb is slain and the Holy Spirit comes.

We are going to talk about that more as we move forward in the book.

But John makes a point to show that Jesus' ministry is not going to be what many think it will be.

Jesus is going to bring about division not because he is divisive but because people are either going to humble themselves and be drawn to Jesus, or they are going to stand in pride against him.

This is what John is talking about in the next two verses.

Luke 3:17–18 CSB

17 His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.” 18 Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.

Explain what a winnowing shovel is and what the fire was used for.

As Jesus lives these two commandments, love God and love people, it is going to separate the true followers of God from those that are pretending.

I slipped up when typing this out and put in the wrong reference, but God was in that too to help me make this point.

I typed in John 3:17-18.

John 3:17–18 CSB

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

God wanted me to reiterate that those that are being separated are not being done that way because of Jesus’ condemnation.

The separation is happening because some are willingly choosing to follow Jesus while others are equally choosing to walk away from Him.

Jesus' ministry is polarizing because it stands in opposition to the world.

But it is this opposition that brings so much hope.

How did the hope that Jesus brings change your life?

How can you share that with the people that God has put on your heart?

The world wants to focus on behavior modification so that maybe God will accept them.

The gospel, the good news of Jesus, is that we are accepted and loved by God even while living in sin. Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 CSB

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus is bringing forgiveness to everyone, but not everyone wants all people to be forgiven.

This is where the division comes in. Not everyone is interested in this hope because it goes against what they want to believe.

Luke gives us a prime example of this division in the final two verses of this section. Luke 3:19-20

Luke 3:19–20 CSB

19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to everything else—he locked up John in prison.

As John was preaching this message of repentance, apparently, he called out Herod’s sin of taking his brother’s wife.

In response, Herod has him put in jail.

If you don’t know the rest of the story, we will cover it later.

If you do know the rest of the story, well, you know what eventually happens.

Suffice it to say that Herod’s sin eventually leads to John’s death and, ultimately, Jesus’ as well.

Herod’s desire to live in sin outweighed his desire for anything else.

This is the case for a lot of people today.

The message of John the Baptist is to repent, turn from sin, and experience the relationship that God created us to have.

To wrap all this up, I want us to remember that we are not Jesus.

Like John, our role is to prepare people for meeting Jesus.

If we, the church, will repent of our sins, live our lives sensitive to God’s activity, and walk in obedience, the world is going to see the character of Jesus through us.

This is what the world needs, even if they don’t yet see it.

How do you share the gospel with someone who doesn’t see a need for it?

This is what we need.

Our lives are meant to point others to Jesus.

It doesn’t matter if you are a pastor, teacher, small business owner, student, manager, artist, welder, or construction worker.

Our objective is the same, love God and love people.

Or to say it the way we have been saying it in this study, Know Jesus and Make Him known.

If we love people the way that God does, it will be noticed by the world.

It may take some time for that to happen, but a moment will occur when you respond in a way that reveals just how different you are from the rest of culture.

When that happens, you will have the opportunity to share why.

The message of John was to prepare people’s hearts to receive Jesus.

Your message has the same purpose.

Live your life in a way that proclaims the truth about Jesus and his love for all people.

Let’s pray.

Announcements:

Wanda will be coming on May 21st to share about her mission work in France.

Next Sunday is Mother’s Day.