"A Voice Crying For Repentance”

In Jesus Holy Name December 8, 2024

Luke 3:3-4

“A Voice Crying for Repentance”

Have you ever thought about how roads are cut and planned, all the permits required, they heavy equipped needed, the engineering. Someone once said: “If you can’t go over it, and you can’t go around it, then go through it.” If valleys cannot filled in, and mountains cannot be brought low and leveled then what do you do? You build a tunnel.

Big Walker Mountain Tunnel near Wytheville, Virginia, is only 5,400 feet in length. The Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel is 1.1 mile long and provides direct access for travel between Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and Zion National Parks.

The Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunner built in 1973 is a1.7-mile-long tunnel located in the Rocky Mountains, about 60 miles west of Denver, Colorado. It's the highest vehicular tunnel in the world, with an average elevation of 11,112 feet. But none of these compare to the tunnel in Portugal.

The Marao Tunnel was cut through the 4,642-foot high Serra de Marao Mountain range allowing a 4 lane highway between Porto, Portugal and Spain. It was built between 2009 and 2016. Prior to the tunnel, traveling the twisted, two lane road, however scenic, was dangerous. Like many mountain roads, fog and winter snow sometimes contributed to the road being closed. The amazing tunnel is the third-longest tunnel in the Iberian Peninsula. It goes on and on and on, for nearly 3.5 miles.

John the Baptist is at work at preparing the way for the Lord. He is not building a tunnel but he is cutting a straight path in the midst of an evil world. John knew Herod was living an evil, immoral life…he called Herod to straighten out his behavior..He is in the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke sets the words, and life of John in history, noting: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea.” John quotes the prophet Isaiah: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” What do these words ( repeat ) of Isaiah and John mean?

Isaiah and John through words of symbolism and imagery are both making the point that the way to prepare people for the coming of their God is to level the mountains of pride among them and raise up those who live in the valley of despair. God hates pride How many times have we heard Jesus say: “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.” (Mark 9:35) , the high and mighty will be humbled and the humble lifted up.

Jesus challenged the pride of the Pharisees. He warned about Pharisees who made a show of their religion but cheated and defrauded widows of their homes. (Mark 12 Parable of the Tenants) ( Mark 12:38-40) John, by using the phrase “Make your paths straight means that you must live a morally and righteous lifestyle. If you are not. That calls for repentance

Then, with all the boldness of someone who did not fear for his life, he called crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’

If you’re going to preach like that, you should take the offering before the sermon!

Why such harsh words? Because the theology of Judaism at the time was, “Salvation is based on my family heritage, my blood ties to Abraham. You and I are not saved because my grandmother had faith. We are not saved if our name is on the membership on the rolls of our local church. We are saved by grace through faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. John continued: “For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” It was a warning to Jerusalem and those who held the religious power.

Just a few Sundays ago our gospels lesson told us that Jesus himself came to the temple and kicked out those selling and defrauding the people who came to worship and said: “You have made my house of prayer a den of robbers and thieves. Jesus came to Jerusalem looking for the fruit of justice, and righteousness and did not find it. (Isaiah 5 & Mark 12) Jesus said: Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? No. So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.