Repent and Follow

Who Came?

On the 8th day after his birth John was presented at the Temple for circumcision. His father, a Temple priest, said these words according to Luke:

Luke 1:76 CEB

76 You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.

John’s father was Zechariah who served as a priest at the Jerusalem Temple. The Book of Luke tells us Zechariah’s story:

John son of Zechariah, called the Baptist, was uniquely linked to Jesus through their joined ministries. Jesus felt it was a sign for Him to begin His ministry when John began his call of repentance and baptism.

Luke 1:11–20 CEV

11 All at once an angel from the Lord appeared to Zechariah at the right side of the altar. 12 Zechariah was confused and afraid when he saw the angel. 13 But the angel told him: Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayers. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you must name him John. 14 His birth will make you very happy, and many people will be glad. 15 Your son will be a great servant of the Lord. He must never drink wine or beer, and the power of the Holy Spirit will be with him from the time he is born. 16 John will lead many people in Israel to turn back to the Lord their God. 17 He will go ahead of the Lord with the same power and spirit that Elijah had. And because of John, parents will be more thoughtful of their children. And people who now disobey God will begin to think as they ought to. That is how John will get people ready for the Lord. 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this is going to happen? My wife and I are both very old.” 19 The angel answered, “I am Gabriel, God’s servant, and I was sent to tell you this good news. 20 You have not believed what I have said. So you will not be able to say a thing until all this happens. But everything will take place when it is supposed to.”

John begins his ministry by coming out of the wilderness to the Jordan River near Jerusalem. John made these proclamations to those who came to hear him:

Luke 3:7–9 CEB

7 Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptized by him, “You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? 8 Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire.”

Does not sound like a message that a person would walk several miles to hear. People would have looked at each other and asked, ‘Why did we walk all this way to be called “snakes”?’

But, John was drawing large crowds so who was it that was coming to hear his preaching?

Cousins

Luke is the only Gospel that shares with us that Jesus and John were related. In Luke we learn that they were cousins. Zechariah and Elizabeth may have lived near Jerusalem. Zechariah was of the Tribe of Levi. Men of that Tribe served in the Temple priesthood. Zechariah would have served at the Temple for 30 days a year. Priests received their livelihood from Temple revenue.

Scripture hints to us that Joseph and Mary, on a regular basis, made trips to Jerusalem to celebrate festival days. We know of one journey at Passover time when Jesus was 14 years old. If Elizabeth lived near Jerusalem and Mary and Elizabeth had a close relationship, we should assume that Jesus and His cousin John knew each other. During those growing up years Jesus and John came to realize that their futures were linked together.

Jesus was waiting for John to come out of the wilderness to preach and baptize at the Jordan River as the signal that He should go to be baptized by John, thus beginning the mission that Jesus was born for.

John’s Identity

Based on the message John preached he saw himself as a prophet called to prepare the way for the ministry of his cousin, Jesus. Zechariah, his father, had said as much at his circumcision when he named his son John. The role of a prophet in Israel was to call Kings and people of power into account for the injustice taking place in the land.

Who came out to see the Baptist? What were they expecting from him? Were the crowds large? What does that mean?

The common laborer who made up 90% of the men had to work everyday. A dawn working men gathered at the market place and were hired out by the day. What they were paid for a days work might cover the cost of food for their family for one day. If a family had several sons of working age then there was more money for food. The women took care of small children, household chores, and watched over what livestock the family had. Some goats for milk maybe some chickens. The family mule or oxen.

Outside of working everyday just for food, there was not much time for going on a long walk to the Jordan River to listen to a so called prophet to address you as children of snakes. No, it was not the common man that made the journey to the Jordan to hear John. Then who was coming.

The crowds were made up of landowners who could afford to hire laborers to do their work. The scribes from the Temple would come to hear John maybe out of curiosity. They were always on the look out for preachers that might be blaspheming their teachings. The men serving in court to the King were always on the look out for rebels and Zealots. Roman authorities were on the watch for Zealots and anyone that might be trying to encourage rebellion against Rome. And John was attracting some who believed that they were living at a time when the end of the age was near. That there was an impending judgement of God coming soon. In this group John found some who wanted to repent and be purified, cleansed, baptized.

But the critical words in John’s message was directed at the elite. Those who had the power to end injustice practices that exploited the poor the common laborer who struggled each day just to exist. Those who served the King, the scribes that served the corrupt Temple practices that robbed fro the poor. The officials of the Roman Empire who maintained the oppression of a whole people just to support the lavish lifestyle of the Roman elite. These were the “children of snakes” as John called them.

The Message

Luke says that John’s message pointed to the fulfillment of words written in the scroll of Isaiah:

Luke 3:4–6 CEB

4 This is just as it was written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet, A voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight. 5 Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked will be made straight and the rough places made smooth. 6 All humanity will see God’s salvation.”

If people seeking to have a right relationship with God were coming to hear John’s message, this is what they heard.

Luke 3:9 CEB

9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire.”

John told them the judgement they feared was already taking place. To escape judgement:

Luke 3:8 CEB

8 Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones.

In preparing the way of the Lord, to participate in His Kingdom, to walk on smooth paths, to have the mountain peaks and valleys made smooth John answered the people’s question:

Luke

Luke 3:10 CEB

10 The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”

Luke 3:11 CEB

11 He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same.”

Luke 3:

Repent was John’s message. Recognize that you have not been doing what God has always commanded. Repent and make a conscious choice to go in a new direction. Be cleansed in faithful obedience to fulfill God’s love in the actions you carry out toward others. Repent and then follow the Lord on the paths where the hills have been made low and the valley have been filled up and we all can walk on the smooth path that God has paved before us.

This is the Word of the Lord. Walk where there are no downhills to walk upon. Walk where there are no uphills to wear us out and take our breath. Walk where there is no wind in our faces to slow us down and no wind at our backs to speed us along. But a path that is level and where we all walk together singing the praises of the Lord.

Amen. Amen. and Amen.