Luke 3:1-6 "The Voice Crying in the Wilderness"

Let’s Pray!

Good Morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

This Wednesday… we are having a special midweek service.

Kenna Selk with Youth For Christ will be here to share an update about Youth For Christ in Warsaw… and their upcoming We Believe in You(th) week.

A big part of what Kenna does for our community is she has a presence at Warsaw High School…

And, she focuses on building relationships with lost youth… who are not going to church… and hear their story, share her story… and share the good news of Jesus Christ.

It’s an important ministry…

So please join us and hear about the ministry and We Believe In You(th) week… the week of 11/17…

… where many notes of encouragement are written to youth… yard signs are hung… and funds are raised for the ministry.

So, please join us to support Kenna & YFC this Wednesday 6pm for food followed by worship and Kenna speaking at 6:45pm.

Well, let’s open our Bibles to Luke 3. Luke 3:1-6 today.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve looked at key moments of the early years of Jesus and John the Baptist.

The foretelling of and miraculous births of both John and Jesus, and many prophecies of old fulfilled… especially seen in Matthew’s Gospel.

Key days in Jesus’ life… Circumcised on the 8th day, Presented/ dedicated on the 40th day.

Fleeing Bethlehem from Herod’s persecution to Egypt around age 2.

Growing up in Nazareth… and then the final record of Jesus’ childhood… Age 12 in Jerusalem for the Passover.

Jesus’ parents lose track of Jesus as they departed Jerusalem.

I was cautious last week to say they “lost the embodied salvation” versus saying “they lost their salvation”…

I didn’t want to confuse anyone… to think they suddenly became Arminian.

They did not… they remained very Jewish.

Anyhow… they found Jesus in the Temple listening to and asking questions of the teachers, and they were astonished at His understanding and answers. Amazing scene.

They return to Nazareth… and the next 18 years of Jesus’ life is captured in one verse… Luke 2:52 “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

What a simple, but beautiful summary of one’s life from 12 to roughly 30 years of age.

And, that’s where we pick up today… we fast forward to when Jesus is about to begin His ministry and as Luke 3:23 states He was “… about thirty years of age.”

But, before we look at the launch of Jesus’ ministry… with any coming king… one ran before the king to announce his coming… to let people know to get their roads prepared… and to get themselves prepared… clean up (put on a tie… take a shower)… something like that.

And, even more with the Coming of the One True King… to prepare one’s heart to receive Him.

And this is what we see today as we zoom in on and introduction to Jesus’ Forerunner… John the Baptist… in a message titled “The Voice Crying in the Wilderness.”

And, in reverence for God’s word, if you are able, please stand as I read our passage.

Luke 3:1–6 “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

If you recall, in Chapter 1, Luke opened this Gospel writing to the “most excellent Theophilus”… whom Luke also addresses in Acts 1:1.

One theory is Theophilus was a patron of Luke… and Luke writes to him as he state in Luke 1:4 so he “may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”

“Most excellent” was typically a title for a high ranking government official or military official…

… though I question the accuracy of that because my wife calls me “most excellent husband” on a daily basis.

I tell her, “Please… stop… you don’t need to call me that.”

But, she insists. It’s quite humbling really.

Anyhow… as Luke sets in order a narrative of the eyewitnesses of Christ… what he does here for Theophilus in vv 1-2 of Luke 3…

… is Luke plants a flag in the a timeline… when John the Baptist comes on the scene.

And, the people listed here are real people recorded even in Secular History… which testifies that the Bible we read is NOT a Fiction. This is true history and Theophilus would understand WHEN John’s Ministry began.

Also, Theophilus would know the reputation of these various Roman and Jewish rulers.

This was a dark time… these leaders were known for overall cruelty… and brutality against the Jews… and corruption…

Any reader of that day would understand that Luke was not just setting a date, but setting a stage for much needed deliverance.

Many times in the OT… and when Jesus began his ministry… the assessment of the nation was they were like “sheep that have no shepherd.”

So, Luke writes… “… in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar...”

Now… I’m going to give you some general history about those mentioned… but, a whole other sermon could be preached about the backdrops of brutality, cruelty, and corruption of these leaders.

Emperor Tiberius reigned over Rome from 14-37 A.D., so the 15th year was 29 A.D.

Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governor of Judea… and he oversaw that region of Israel from 26-36 A.D.

Herod was “tetrach of Galilee”… Tetrach was the title given to the sons of Herod the Great.

And, let’s pull up our Family Tree for Herod…

Herod the Great was the one the wise men came to… and the one who ordered the massacre of the boys 2 years and younger in Bethlehem…

Once that Herod died in 4 B.C. … his territory was divided… and his sons Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip each ruled over a territory.

And, Herod Antipas ruled over the Galilee Region from 4 B.C. - 39 A.D. …

He approved the beheading of John the Baptist… as John boldly called him out for his illegal marriage with Herodias… his brother Philips wife… and their niece.

If you thought your family was messed up, you may find solace in a deep dive study of the Herodian dynasty.

Herod Antipas is also who Jesus stood before during one of His trials which we’ll see in Luke 23.

Herod Philip is next mentioned in V1… Tetrach of the lands east of the Jordan from 4 B.C.- 34 A.D.

Lysanias… who is not mentioned again in the Bible… was Tetrarch of Abilene (18 miles NW of Damascus)… and little is known about him.

Annas and Caiaphas were high priests… which should give you pause to ask… “How are there two High Priests? I thought there could only be one.”

That is such an astute observation… gold star for you!

Annas was the legitimate High Priest… which was originally intended as a lifelong appointment, but during the Second Temple period (c. 516 BC–70 A.D.)… various political influences and pressures turned the office into a political tool… and High Priests were often removed from office.

Annas was deposed by Roman Authorities… and his son-in-law, Caiphas was assigned as High Priest.

So, to the Jews… Annas was rightful High Priest, but to Rome… Caiphas was High Priest. Thus, two High Priests are named.

Now… there is presently NO High Priest… that office has been vacant since the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.

But, Israel is ready… the Temple Institute in Jerusalem has prepared priestly garments and vessels… and are waiting for the green light for the Third Temple to be built…

Which very likely will be a deal brokered by Anti-Christ in the end times… and the reality of the Temple Institute… is just one of many signs we are in the last days.

Think of the Last Days as the 4th quarter in a football game… and the End Times (The Tribulation) as the two-minute warning.

But, back in Luke… during the times of these political and religious leaders… during this time of great darkness… a light bursts forth… a voice of hope that broke centuries of silence…

It was during this time… likely 29 A.D.… when V2 “the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.”

The word of God coming to John is majorly significant… and breaks what’s called the “400 Silent Years” or the Intertestamental Period…

During this time there were no prophets proclaiming, “Thus says the LORD…” a phrase repeated 420x in the OT… but no more after Malachi.

Thus, there was no new scripture to write.

But behind the scenes, God was preparing for that silence to be broken…

Greece under Alexander the Great would conquer and bring a common language that unified the Regions.

Rome would build roads and through force demand peace (the Pax Romana)…

And, Jews spread throughout the land would build synagogues and teach of a coming Messiah.

So these years were silent, but not empty. God was still working…

That time has been called a “divine intermission”… the curtain closed on OT prophecy, but history set the stage for the arrival of Christ.

And, when Jesus came… the Gospel could spread on roads easy to travel… with a language that was widely understood… and to hearts primed of the Coming One.

In some ways, we can probably relate to these silent years… the Canon of Scripture closed almost 2,000 years ago…

And, history is unfolding… most significantly Israel was reborn in 1948… and we await the silence to be broken.

At this and many other churches… we hold to and await a moment when the church will be taken up to heaven… called the Rapture…

And, even if other churches or believers disagree… most would agree that we hold to and await the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

And, so there are encouragements as we wait... to wait well…

1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

And these are military terms…

Watch… be continually on guard… as a watchman on the walls… declare what you see… warn others of the enemy.

I love the passage in Ezk 3 about the watchman.

Stand fast… keep your ranks… keep close together to remain unbroken… do not be disorderly…

Be Brave… which lit. means “to behave like men.”

Which in warfare spurs one to not flinch when attacked, but maintain your ground.

Resist… press forward… strike home.

And, Be Strong… Summon your courage… fear not… sustain and reinforce one another when overwhelmed.

We are in a waiting season, but that doesn’t mean we are to sit on our hands.

We are to be active with our witness. Jesus said, “Preach the Gospel… Make Disciples...”

We have commands to fulfill from our Great High Priest…

And, our nation is not safe… one recent event that I’m sure you’re all aware of is New York just elected Mamdani as their Mayor.

He’s a Muslim and a democratic socialist.

This should raise a huge red flag for all believers…

Amir Tsarfati recently posted how he feels safer in Dubai then New York City because the Muslim brotherhood is banned from Dubai, but not from New York.

That was in a post that read “America is at a Crossroads: The Quiet Islamic Takeover Begins.”

There is a spiritual and national war being raged for the future direction of this nation.

I’m in process of rallying Pastors and leaders in this community to host a Biblical Citizenship event and course through Patriot Academy.

I am motivated to be about my Father’s business… which is to take the Biblical message into many realms where the war is being raged…

Schools… our community… our homes… our churches… and yes in politics.

I hope you come out this Wednesday to hear how Kenna with Youth For Christ is taking the fight into our schools…

Talk about a battleground…

There are so many students influenced by worldly and ungodly agendas… and Kenna is on the front line.

She’s in the trenches dealing with hurt, brokenness, abuse, drugs… all kinds of sin issues…

With many students who don’t know Jesus and are not walking into churches.

I hope you are here Wednesday to encourage her… to build her up… and to know how to pray and do something simple like write a note to encourage young people in your life.

During the tribulation… the Jews are instructed to “Watch” and to “be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matt 24:44)

And they are warned He will come suddenly… and if they are not watching… He will find them sleeping.

Or… spiritually negligent and not watching for His return.

During this season of waiting… we are to be led by the Lord… walking through doors that He opens…

Not forcing the Gospel upon every person we meet…

But also not being silent, when He opens the door for us to witness.

Our lives should be as light… for those in darkness to see.

And, while light is seen and not heard.

God so often also opens the doors for silence to be broken… for words to be spoken… for the Gospel to be shared.

But, will we be faithful?

There is typically only a remnant of those who are true to God.

Jesus once taught a parable on persistent prayer and closed asking in Luke 18:8, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Which is a question that should stir ALL of our souls… and should motivate us to watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.

Well… back in Luke… as the “the word of God came to John”… the son of Zacharias… the priest whom Gabriel visited in Luke Chapter 1…

… the same Zacharias who, for his doubt in Gabriel’s message… experienced his own personal “silent years” so to say…

Nine months he was mute for his lack of faith… silence which was broken when he obeyed to name his son “John.”

Interesting that in his birth, John’s coming would break Zacharias, his earthly father’s silence…

And then as John becomes the last of the OT prophets declaring a word from the Lord… he breaks his Heavenly Father silence.

John was “in the wilderness”… which is desert in Israel… not wilderness forests as we think of in the United States.

Israel is a desert climate… and John lived a nomadic life in the desert.

Luke 1:80 said this of John… “So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”

And, Scripture compares John… to Elijah the Prophet… in role as forerunner… in some physical characteristics… ‘in spirit and power’…

And this comparison of Elijah and John… and the ministry and message of John.… leaves many Christians today rather confused.

Now… I’m going to attempt to provide you with some clarity, but understanding is a journey…

So… know there are some free resources I am happy to share with you later for your continued studies.

Some transparency here about how we teach the bible… as we go straight through the Bible… chapter and verse from Genesis to Revelation…

Sometimes we come to application rich passages… which I love… and honestly prefer.

And, sometimes we come to difficult passages. Today is a difficult passage day.

If you’re visiting… we’re serving the meat of the word today… and you have to chew on it to get it down.

I started studying for this passage about a month ago on top of my other studies…

And, my heart is to not just skim over hard passages, but for us to try to understand them.

And that means we need to go to school. So… buckle up class… grab another cup of coffee… and put on your learning caps… we’re about to go deep… try to hang with me.

Starting with trying to understand the roles of John and Elijah as forerunners to Messiah.

In Matthew 3:4 John in physically described… “Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”

In appearance, he was an Elijah like character. 2 Kings 1:8 describes Elijah as, “A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.”

Zech 13:4 tells of how in a future day… false prophets would not longer wear a “robe of coarse hair to deceive”… implying true prophets sometimes did… like Elijah… like John.

Camel’s hair… or coarse haired robes was not a fashion statement… quite the opposite… it was a simple garment worn by the prophets… that gave a visual message protesting “religious pride and social luxury”…

And John came in the spirit and power of Elijah…

If you recall… the angel Gabriel prophesied this very thing about John to Zacharias… Luke 1:17 “He [John] will also go before Him [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

This is a clear picture of what a forerunner does…

He “goes before”… forerunner means “running before”… a messenger who goes in advance of a coming king… or military party…

They go in advance as a messenger to announce who is coming… so people are prepared.

And, John was not preparing towns and roads to be clean, but preparing hearts.

And when Gabriel prophesied John would come in the spirit and power… He quoted the closing words of the last writer of the OT…

Malachi 4:5–6, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

OT saints… and saints today… wonder how this will unfold.

We know “it is appointed for men to die once” (Heb 9:27)… and Elijah never died… a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire… and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven, according to 2 Ki 2:11.

So, he still has an appointment with death… and then Malachi prophesies Elijah will be sent back.

And, then John comes onto the scene and he’s baptizing many in the Jordan… and Jews were wondering if he was the one.

John 1:19-21 states priests and Levites were sent from Jerusalem and they asked John, “Who are you?”

John said “I am not the Christ.” To which they replied, What then? Are you Elijah?” And John said, “I am not.”

And, so people then and people today… start to scratch their heads trying to reconcile the ministry of the man… with what scripture declares.

Later Jesus would declare in Matthew 17:12–13 “But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.”

Verses like that make you feel like you are taking two step forward and one step back… because we just established that John denied being Elijah, but not Jesus is saying Elijah has come already… and suffered (and John was arrested and had his head removed)…

… and the disciple put the pieces together and understood Jesus spoke about John the Baptist.

Glad they got there… hope you do as well!

I think the key to understanding the connection… is in going back to Gabriel said… that John came in the “spirit and power of Elijah” coupled with what Jesus said in…

Matthew 11:13–14 “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.”

John was likened to Elijah because he came in the “spirit and power of Elijah”… not that he was literally Elijah, but he would fulfill the prophetic role as Messiah’s forerunner for whomever would accept his message… “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Jesus said, “If you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah.”

But the leaders of the nation of Israel… and much of the nation of Israel were not willing to accept John’s role… nor did they believe Jesus was the Messiah.

Of course there was a believing remnant… a minority of Jews who accepted the message… for them John was Elijah, but for most of the nation they were not willing to receive him as Elijah to come.

One scholar put it this way, “John the Baptist’s identification as Elijah was not predicated upon his being the actual Elijah, but upon people’s response to his role.”

But since they rejected the message… Jesus has two comings… and two forerunners…

In His Jesus’ first coming… John served as forerunner in the New Testament…

And it’s pretty widely accepted that Elijah himself will return as one of the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11… during the Tribulation… as forerunner to Jesus in His Second Coming.

Let’s continue to V3 in Luke 3… progressing this line of thought…

Luke 3:3 “And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,...”

So, this was the key message that John preached… the message the nation rejected.

Even more pointed… John’s specific words are recorded in Matthew 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

This is the same message Jesus preached when He began His public ministry… Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

It’s the same message Jesus told the Twelve to preach when He sent them… and instructed to NOT go to the Gentiles or Samaritans, but “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Jesus said in Matthew 10:7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

It’s very important that when we read our Bibles, that we identify the context… for example… who is being addressed (Jews or Gentiles… believers or unbelievers)… because we can get lost in our Bibles if we don’t pay attention…

And if we’re not careful we can take verses and apply them to salvation and the Gospel when they have a different intention altogether.

For ex, many Christians today… read the word “saved” and don’t ask “Saved from what?”

Saved doesn’t always mean “eternal salvation”… sometimes it means “physical deliverance.”

Like when the disciples were in a storm in the boat… crying out to Jesus “save us!”

Jesus didn’t preach the Gospel… He calmed the storm.

So we have to be careful not to pluck verses out of context… and we have to be careful to observe passages… for proper interpretation.

So, in the passages already referenced… John… Jesus… and the Twelve… they preached a message about the coming kingdom… AND WHO were they talking to?

As we already read in Matt 10… “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Which is whom Jesus was sent to… He said as much to the Greek Syro-Phoenician woman in Matthew 15:24 “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

And who was John preaching this message to? Mark 1:5 “Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.”

Who lived in Judea and Jerusalem? Jews!

John 1:19 “Now this is the testimony of John, when Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?””

Matthew 3:7 testifies that “Pharisees and Sadducees” came to his baptism…

It’s a very Jewish scene.

And the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” was a very Jewish message.

Jews could think of many OT passages of their coming Messiah… their coming King, the Son of David… who would establish His eternal kingdom.

They longed for that day. First century Israel was oppressed by Roman and Herodian political leaders…

And they longed for the Messiah to return and set up His kingdom.

They could think on passages in scripture like when Daniel interpreted king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue with the head of gold… chest and arms of silver… belly and thighs of bronze… legs of iron… and feet of iron and clay.

Daniel accurately prophesied of the nations that would come after Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon… and history corroborates…

And, in the days of the final kingdom of man… the feet of iron and clay… what scholars call the Revived Roman Empire… in those still yet future days…

Daniel 2:44 testifies, “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

Scripture cannot be broken… and prophetic promises like these stand today… testifying that God will establish an eternal kingdom… that will destroy evil kingdoms here on earth.

So, the kingdom of heaven on earth was promised to Israel… they had all the rights of ownership, but had yet to take possession of the promises.

Kind of like when David was anointed king over Israel, but Saul still sat on the throne. David had the right to the throne, but had not yet taken possession.

So, when John came with the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

The message to the Jews was… “Your King is here! Put Him on the throne and the kingdom will be realized.”

Had Israel enthroned Jesus… had Israel’s leaders and nation received John and Jesus’ message… John would have fulfilled the prophecy of being Elijah to come… and the millennial kingdom would have begun.

But, since they rejected Jesus as King… Jesus delayed the kingdom…

So, the message… “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”… was a first century offering of the kingdom to Israel, but the religious leaders and Nation at large rejected the message.

In Matthew’s Gospel… which was written to the Jews… Chapters 1-12… include several messages about the kingdom of heaven offered to Israel…

But then in Matthew 12:24 the Pharisees attributed Jesus’ work to Satan… saying, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

They rejected the message… as they rejected Jesus. They did not believe He was their King.

So, starting in Matthew 13, there is a shift, where Jesus’ focus changes away from National Israel… and He begins to focus on His disciples… and preparing them.

He even begins teaching in parables… because the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven was for believers…

Parables concealed truth to unbelievers… and revealed truth to believers…

Now… if you’ve been a Christian for some time, you have probably heard the message that “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” is a message about how one becomes saved.

So many people today hear and are even taught… “Repent” and think that is Step One to being saved I must “repent.”

And then they define repent as “turning from sin.”

To be saved, I must turn from sin, and turn to Christ.

I must clean up my act, and then I can be saved.

Which isn’t even possible. Our flesh wars against our spirit… it lusts after the passing pleasures of sin.

So… turning from sin before being saved is a hill too steep to climb.

Turning from sin is a fruit of faith, not the other way around.

And, the danger here… is one… the biblical definition of Repent is wrong… and two… a condition has been added to being justified… the first part of Salvation.

There are some 200 clear verses that state we must only believe to be justified…

Justification is being declared righteous before God and positionally saved.

John 3:16 Jesus said (words in red, not in black like the 2011 NIVr suggests), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

One condition… believe in Him.

Acts 16:30–31 the Philippian jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved...”

Only 198 to go. We’re gonna to be here until dinner.

Not really, but here’s what happens… we have these 200 some verses that speak about faith alone… but, there are also outlier verses which seems to suggest other conditions…

Like Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

Or Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

And what happens is someone grabs an obscure verse… interprets out of context… and says, “See, you are saved only if you believe in Jesus plus get baptized.”

“You are only saved if you repent of sin and believe the gospel.”

And they ignore the 200 some clear verses that speak of only one condition (belief)… truly in an eternal salvation context… AND with proper definition of the word “saved” and “repent.”

One scholar wrote, “If baptism, or anything else, is necessary for salvation, all of these verses are wrong, and the Bible contains errors and is therefore no longer worthy of our trust.”

By adding conditions or additional requirements on top of belief… one makes the error of adding works to salvation…

They may be well intentioned… but they are in error.

You can’t say “Jesus plus nothing saves” out of one corner of the mouth…

… and out of the other say “Repent of sin… and confess… and feel sorrow… and get baptized… and believe to be saved.”

Advocates of baptismal regeneration… usually have a four-part formula for salvation.

You must believe, repent, confess, and be baptized in order to be saved.

And by adding three conditions on top of belief… inadvertently or intentionally they have added works…

And, boy does this appeal to people, because works allows one to look at themselves… which appeals to pride and recognition.

Even to pat oneself on the back… “Look at what I did. I earned this.”

Careful… Jesus pronounced woes upon the religious leaders for appearing righteous to men, but inside they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matt 23:28).

Works… and self-righteousness… these rob God of the praise and glory only He deserves for the free gift of salvation.

Our role is to believe… to look not at ourself, but ONLY to Jesus for salvation…

We read about Simeon not long ago, who saw baby Jesus and lifted Him up high and said, “For my eyes have seen Your salvation.”

Our eyes must be fixed on Jesus alone… and not on our works to be saved.

One of the clearest verses to support faith alone and not works is Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Boasting means “take pride” and works fans that flame.

It’s truly humbling to admit, “I can’t save myself. I can’t work for it, I can’t earn it, I can’t buy it. I can only receive it by believing in Jesus Christ who died for my sin and rose again.”

So again V3… John preached a “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt 3:2)

Now what is repentance? Mistakenly people want to define it as ‘turning from sin’ but that’s not what the word means.

By def. repent means “to change one’s mind”

And, just like when you read the word “saved”… you should ask yourself “Saved from what?”

When you read the word repent, ask yourself “Repent from what?”

What is it that they need to change their mind… or think differently about?

John’s message was to think differently. Jews thought they would enter the kingdom of God because of their outward obedience to the law…

… and because of their ancestry… look at V8… John will answer that objection before they give it… “… do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’

But, neither heritage… nor good works earns one into the kingdom.

So, they needed to change their minds about how to be part of the kingdom… the King had arrived.

And they not only needed a King, but they needed a Savior who they trusted… instead of trusting themselves.

And so John was preaching this message… about the ‘kingdom of heaven… ’

God’s eternal kingdom currently resides in heaven. But passages like 2 Samuel 7, Dan 2, and Rev 19-20… prophesy that God’s kingdom will one day come to earth in a physical form.

The kingdom was “at hand” meaning “to make near”… here in Luke 3… because Jesus… the King had come.

But National Israel and her leaders weren’t ready for the kingdom… because they didn’t understand their need for the righteousness the King would provide.

And in their rejection… they would kill the Messiah… which was all prophesied as well. None of this was a surprise to God. It was foretold.

But some individuals did change their minds about how they could be righteous… and John baptized them…

Which was symbolic of their changed mind and new direction of belief.

Paul explained this clearly in Acts 19:4 “Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

Now… the result of this change of mind… was the “remission of sins.”

Remission means “dismissal” or “forgiveness.”

Matthew 3:6 states they “were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.”

It was a beautiful time of cleansing.

And… don’t confuse the order of these events. For an unbeliever today… if we want to talk about eternal salvation…

First, they repent… not of sin… but they change their mind from unbelief to belief in Jesus Christ.

At that faith moment… when they trust Jesus Christ… they are justified.

Then… for the rest of their life they are being sanctified…

The Holy Spirit in-dwells them… and guides them… and this is when they begin to change their mind or repent of sin.

There is a strong tendency for people today to reverse what happens in sanctification with what happened in justification.

Justification is a one time past event of trusting Jesus. Period.

Sanctification is a lifelong process of making Jesus Lord, forsaking sin, pursuing holiness, and so forth.

If you mix that up… you’ll end up adding works to what is needed to be justified… the first part of salvation.

How are we all doing? It’s a lot to take in. This is definitely a teaching today… a lot less preaching.

My hope is you will walk away from here being cautious not to muddy up the one condition of Justification.

We are justified by faith alone in Christ alone, apart from any works.

And I hope you walk away today NOT make the definition of repentance always about “turning from sin”… but about “changing one’s mind”…

And, with that being contextually careful.

I do hope many of you register for the January Inductive Bible Study course.

It’s all about taking passages and learning to study them through observation, to give you proper interpretation, and then drawing an application for life.

Well, closing out in vv 4-6… all that was happening with John’s ministry in the wilderness was foretold prophetically in Isaiah 40:3–5… and fulfilled by John.

Which Luke wrote as “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

And this was John… out in the desert… shouting out a message for the Jews to hear… they needed to repent.

Jews surveyed the landscape and thought… there is a problem… Roman oppression… and we need a King to deliver us from them.

But John was telling them, you need to think differently… there is a bigger issue… it’s crooked paths… and rough ways… and they are all on YOUR heart.

And John’s message as forerunner to Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight…

Was not about repairing literal roads, but to prepare their hearts to believe in the King…

And the result would be…

And every valley shall be filled… the humble like those in V10… would be made full… as their humble hearts would receive the King.

And every mountain and hill would be brought low… the high and lofty… the prideful and arrogant… like the Pharisees and Sadducees in V7… who were self-righteous… they would be humbled.

The crooked places shall be made straight… dishonest people… tax collectors like in V12… would be straightened out.

And the rough ways smooth… even rough around the edges soldiers like in V14… would be transformed.

(Worship team please come)

I read those results… and is that not what has happened to so many of us when we believed in Jesus our King… and then upon believing, the Holy Spirit transformed us as well.

Praise God for His good work in us.

And the end result… all flesh {Jews and Gentiles alike] shall see the salvation of God…

Who is a person… Jesus Christ whom John ran before.

And, though Israel rejected Him at first… when He returns… National Israel will confess Jesus as Lord… belief of Messiah will be widespread in the Nation… and she will be delivered into the Messianic Kingdom.

We serve a gracious and patient God.

Let’s Pray!

Well class… good job… everyone gets a gold star today for hanging in there.

Just see St. Bernard before you go… and he’ll give you your star.

The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’

God bless you as you enter the week ahead.