Preparing the Way
Ben Franklin once said: “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.” While we all know it is important, sometimes we fail to do it. In his book The Survivors Club Ben Sherwood investigates why some people survive tragic accidents and others do not. He references a rule called the 10-80-10 rule which states: in any crisis situation 80 percent of people freeze up and become like statues. 10 percent of people have a plan and take appropriate actions to increase their chances for survival and 10 percent of people panic and are counter productive acting in such a way to harm themselves and others. Sherwood talks about the people who survive near death experiences by preparing to survive. What he noticed through interviewing survivors of cancer, assault, fires, plane crashes and various other tragedies is that very few things have no possibility of survival and often times the difference between those who live and those who die are that those who lived were people who expected to live. Take for example a plane crash: a lot of people do not listen to the stewardess while she is explaining emergencies procedures because they feel “if we crash we are all dead so why bother” and they have a fatalistic attitude which prevents them from preparing. While those who prepared themselves for what to do in the event of an emergency had a much better chance of survival. He basically points out that often times the difference between dying and surviving is not the situation but the preparation.
In Luke 9 Jesus has a number of people come to Him and ask to follow Him and Jesus turns them away. The men wanted to be His disciples but they were not prepared for it. Jesus says in verse 62: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Preparation is an important part of our adventure with God. If we are going follow Him and serve Him we have to be prepared. One of the things that made Jesus so effective is that He was always prepared to love. You see no matter how nice or how friendly you are as a person, love is not our default mode. If you want to treat people with the love of Jesus you have to prepare yourself to love. Turn to Luke chapter 3. If you need to prepare to be a follower of Christ, what does that look like? How do we prepare to become disciples of Jesus?
Lk 3:1 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— Lk 3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. Lk 3:3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Our text begins in around 29 A.D. We know this because Luke tells us. Can you see why historians love Luke? He doesn’t just begin with the story he starts off by nailing down the when the story begins by connecting the date with the people who were in power. Luke starts developing a chronological timeline by listing seven specific rulers both political and religious both national and local. Luke doesn’t just tells us the story, he gives us details so we can investigate it for ourselves. Knowing the starting point for Jesus ministry enables us to verify the historical accuracy of what Luke is reporting.
Lk 3:4 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. Lk 3:5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. Lk 3:6 And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ”
John the baptist provides us with a wonderfully simple message: the kingdom of God is coming, here’s how you can prepare. Now this is important information. If you weren’t paying attention before you should now. If a tornado was coming towards your house and someone told you: this is what you must do in order to live, then you might stop to pay attention. Luke tells us how to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of God so that we can be a part of it.
Jesus coming is so important that God sends someone in advance to help prepare the way. In the ancient world before a King traveled constructions crews would go out and prepare the road. They would clear away rocks, fill potholes, and straighten out places where the veered. This is what John did for Jesus. He prepared the road through preaching about repentance and the coming messiah. John the Baptist’s job was to get people ready for Jesus ministry. He got to be the herald of the coming of the kingdom of God.
He says: get ready, for the savior who will take away the sins of the world is coming and you need to be prepared. You see sin is the problem. We are sinful, God is holy and that is a problem because our sin prevents us from sharing in community with God. We all have sin in our hearts, we have in our minds, we have sin in our lives. That doesn’t just mean we do evil. The sin of omission where you fail to do good is just as evil as the sin of commission which is the evil that you do. In order to prepare for the coming of God we need to deal with our sin problem. So what should we do?
John says repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. John is not dealing with a religious ritual, he is not offering ceremonial cleansing. John says, its time to stop looking clean and to start being clean. You don’t need to wash away guilt by going through religious motions you need to change your heart. The baptism we need is a baptism of the heart. This baptism builds a bridge between the sinful person we are and the saint that God desires for us to become. This life is all about moving from point A which is where you are to point B which is looking more like Jesus. Baptism is the highway that helps get you from point A to point B. John says: you need to turn from sin, to God, through Jesus which is ultimately displayed in baptism.
Our problem is that we have a sinful condition. The love of God is seen in that He does not leave us in that condition. God sends His Son into the world so that we might be saved through Him.
Lk 3:7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Lk 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Lk 3:9 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.”
The crowds come out to be baptized by John. Many among them would have been Pharisees and other religious leaders. John calls them vipers. If you remember from Genesis it is the serpent who leads man to sin. A snake, a viper represents rebellion and sin. To call someone a snake is not a compliment. Snakes are deceitful, wicked, and they fight dirty. There are snakes in the tropics that if they bite you then you are going to die before you take two steps. See John calls them vipers. A viper is distinction given to a venomous snake. These people are not just misguided in their own lives they are spreading their venom to others. These people are poisoning those around them with rituals and practices that do not lead to life. They are injecting venom into innocent people’s search for a genuine relationship with God. Their poison is lethal and they have no problem spreading it around. You see when you give someone a religion you keep them from a relationship. There is no religion on earth that can truly deliver on its promise of eternal life. Life does not come through religion it comes through Jesus. Life comes from going on the adventure of discipleship.
These people felt assured of their relationship with God because of their heritage as Jews. They may have been physical decedents of Abraham, but even in the Jewish understanding a son represented the character of his father. These religious leaders may have been born Jews but they did not reflect the character of God. We are justified not by the religion or faith we profess but by our relationship with the Son of God.
They came out to hear John preach and he is harsh with them. This is not to condone fire and brimstone preaching but to show God’s Word is not always gentle. These religious people were right to come out and be baptized by John but their motives were wrong. What they needed was repentance that produced the right fruit in their lives.
Lk 3:10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. Lk 3:11 John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” Lk 3:12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” Lk 3:13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Lk 3:14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
Repentance is a change of heart and mind that effects how you live your life. To repent is to stop doing things your way and to start doing things God’s way. It is to live for Him rather than to live for yourself. In the Jewish understanding to change your mind was to change your life. For thoughts and behavior were governed by the mind. If Jesus doesn’t change how you live your life and how you treat people around you then you are not really following Him. If Jesus does not affect your behavior then you have not truly repented of your sinful ways. Just as faith without works has no value, so repentance without a change in lifestyle is meaningless.
Now this is not a demand for sinlessness. God does not require or expect us to live a perfect life. The question is not how holy are you, it is are you moving toward God or away from Him? Are you walking or are you running? Following Jesus is about changing your life. It takes time, it takes practice and you will make plenty of mistakes along the way. The important thing is that you keep moving in the right direction. You will never be perfect, but you can always look more like Jesus.
What does it mean to prepare to follow Christ? It means you repent. You stop living for yourself. John gets practical too. If you steal, stop stealing. If you are greedy, stop coveting. Stop hurting other people for your own personal comforts. If you hurt someone or wronged them in some way, stop and go back to them and apologize. Don’t try to justify yourself, don’t make excuses just tell them that you are sorry and how you have changed.
If you see someone who does not have their basics needs met: food, shelter, clothing and you can help them, do so. Even if it is inconvenient, even if it is not easy if we have the ability to help someone in need and don’t how can the love of God be in us? John’s instruction is simple: repentance is not a ceremony. It is not something you say, it is a lifestyle of continually drawing closer to God. Repentance is an action word that requires you to change your life.
How do you prepare to follow Christ, start thinking of others before yourself. Put your wife, your kids, your co-workers, your friends, your family, even your enemies before yourself. Remove the phrase: “what about me” from your vocabulary. A true follower of Christ is someone who thinks so much of others that they rarely if ever have time to think about themselves.
John prepares the road for Jesus. You know what Jesus does with it? Jesus first act which serves as the inception of His ministry, is to obey God. Jesus gets baptized not because He needs it but because we do. Repentance is the conviction to change your life, to turn from sin to God. Repentance is when you stop producing bad fruit and start producing good fruit. What you do is not to gain salvation but the natural response to being offer salvation. Repentance means change. If you want the life Jesus offers, you need to change yours.
