I WOULD BE TRUE (LUKE 3:1-22)
In the first part of the 12th century, a French peasant maid by the name of Joan of Arc was called to save her country from the British. Then she fell into their hands. While the fires were being lighted around the stake at which this 19 year old young lady was to be burned alive, she was given a chance to regain her liberty by denying what she believed. In choosing fire rather than her freedom, this is what she said, the world can use these words:
¡§Every man gives his life for what he believes. Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little or nothing; nevertheless they give up their lives for that little or nothing. One life is all we have and we live it...and then it's gone. But to surrender what you are, and live without belief...that's more terrible than dying...even more terrible than dying young.¡¨ (Howard Hendricks, ¡§Run to win¡¨ MBI '85)
One of my heroes of the Bible is not whom you expect. Few would classify him as a hero because he was not who fought back, dodged bullets and conquered enemies. My wife would roll her eyes in disbelief every time I mentioned John¡¦s name and heroics. John the Baptist was not conventional, courteous or compromising, but candid, courageous and consistent. Jesus gave him the highest praise: John was ¡§ more than a prophet¡¨ (Matt 11:9) and ¡§among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist (Matt 11:11). God did not choose a governor, a tetrarch (v 1) or high priests (v 2) to carry out His commission. The phrase ¡§the word of God came¡¨ is an Old Testament prophetic expression and calling (1 Kings 12:22, 1 Chron 17:3) given for a specific function.
What sacrifice and serve have your rendered to God? What things matter and of value to you? How have you honored in peace and peril? Why are our lives more than just enjoyment and experience?
Be Focused on the Foremost
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar¡Xwhen Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene¡X 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: ¡§A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ¡¥Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all people will see God¡¦s salvation.¡¦¡¨
The motorists, pedestrians and neighborhoods in the United States are far safer than their counterpart in Hong Kong. In 1953, New Jersey was the first state to fit the roads with rumble strips, which are bits of corrugated concrete, to alert an inattentive driver with a rattle and a hum if his vehicle starts to drift off the lane. Besides the use of speed bumps and driver feedback speed detectors (¡§your speed¡¨) on streets and highways effectively reduce accidents and deaths.
In surveys of American motorists, more than two-thirds admit to using mobile phones while driving. An analysis of 7,000 teenage drivers by the American Automobile Association found that distraction from interaction with passengers was the top factor in 58% of crashes. Phone use was the second-greatest contributor to accidents.
(¡§Driven from distraction¡¨ The Economist, April 25th 2015)
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21648999-how-save-phone-using-motorists-themselves-driven-distraction?fsrc=rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
There was no distraction, deviation and delinquent in John¡¦s life - only decision, direction and determination. The focus of John¡¦s life, ministry and growth was in the context of the wilderness, including preaching in the wilderness of Judaea (Matt 3:1), crying in the wilderness (Matt 3:3) and baptizing in the wilderness (Mark 1:4). The wilderness was his library, lodge and living room. It was a learning and listening experience and not a lonely or limited experience to him, a friend and not a foe, a training ground and not a torturous grind to him. A desert is so called because it implies desertion, deprivation and desolation. The wilderness usually implies a place without comfort, company or culture, but for John it was without corruption, commotion or camouflage. If the hills were alive with the sound of music, what is the desert alive with? The desert is alive with the scent of wildflowers, the scene of reptiles, the sound of insects and the spring of plant life and the survival of animals. The wilderness is a cross between will, wild, weeds and wildlife. For John it was a place of strength, sanctuary and stimulus. The wilderness was not a problem to him because it is a place of devotion, development and discipline, not a place of distraction and dread.
The Bible seldom called the desert the desert but a wilderness, a place where you get lost. The desert reminded John of the wasteland of people¡¦s lives, their wretchedness without God and the wreckage of destruction, to see how barren, bankrupt¡Ableak and broken peoples¡¦ lives are without God. The wilderness is a wild place for hunting wolves, wandering and howling wind. In the wilderness he had a hunger for souls, a thirst for righteousness and a longing and a desire to be fed. It is not meant for the weak, the weary and the well- well-bred and well-fed. The wilderness is synonymous for a dead end (Ex 14:3) aimlessness, death (Ex 14:11-12), discontent (Ex 16:2), drifting (Num 14:3), humility (Deut 8:2) and feeding (Deut 8:16), escape (Judg 20:45)
In the wilderness John woke to the urgency of sins, repentance and forgiveness. The introduction to John is marked by two imperatives: ¡§prepare¡¨ and ¡§make¡¨ (v 4).Words like valley, mountain, hill (v 5) and roads and tree (v 9) appear in the text. John saw the roadblocks and barricades and barriers in people. Valleys shall be filled, mountains flattened, crooked roads straightened and rough ways smoothened. The contrast is for up and down, uneven and smooth. Verse 6 says, ¡§And all people will see God¡¦s SALVATION.¡¨ The context in Isaiah adds: ¡§And the GLORY of the Lord will be REVELATION, and all people will see it together.¡¨ (Isa 40:5)
John did it for the revelation of glory of the Lord and the salvation of man. He would not consider his job displeasing, demanding or difficult, but delightful, dutiful and doable.
Be Finders of the Fallen
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? 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. 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.¡¨ 10 ¡§What should we do then?¡¨ the crowd asked. 11 John answered, ¡§Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.¡¨ 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. ¡§Teacher,¡¨ they asked, ¡§what should we do?¡¨ 13 ¡§Don¡¦t collect any more than you are required to,¡¨ he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, ¡§And what should we do?¡¨ He replied, ¡§Don¡¦t extort money and don¡¦t accuse people falsely¡Xbe content with your pay.¡¨
A few weeks before our office moved to the new locations in May 2015 at Wing Ming Building, I noticed my wife did something uncharacteristic of her; she began to resemble other ladies at work except that the activity is not her office. She began to bring plants to my office because she wants a healthier office, better air quality and indoor ventilation for me since I started working full-time at church in September 2013, two years ago. My work compounded when she asked me weekly to water her church plants, much to my annoyance because I am not a flower person and usually when I am about to leave work. Her false question is, ¡§When you get to the office remember to help me water the plants§Aªð¨ìoffice°O±oÀ°§Ú²Oªá¡¨¡¨
Once, in protest and out of curiosity, I asked sharply: ¡§Why do you suddenly develop a love for flowers?¡¨ You have to know she has a poor track record with flowers. Even cactuses die at her hands. She said without hesitation, ¡§I do not love flowers, but I also do not want it to die!¡¨
For all his rough ways and words John was very caring and concerned. One of the things you expect from a friend is to be forthright, frank, and forceful if you are in trouble. With his wilderness training, John could not stomach people who lived their lives in vain. The verb ¡§produce¡¨ (v 8) ¡V do or make (poieo) in Greek -is an imperative, not an invitation. It must be done clean, clear and convincing. Fruits is in the plural.
The other verb ¡§do not begin¡¨ is also another form of imperative (negated subjunctive), with force, fire and feel. Do not think you are entitled, you are excused and you are excluded. The Jews think they are saved because of Jewish parentage, promise, privilege, preordained and predestined. The multitudes¡¦ excuse is based on race, relationship with Abraham, rights of a Jew.
Three groups of people came to John: the crowd (v 7), the tax collectors (v 12) and the soldiers (v 14). There was no discrimination or dislike in him. The three verbs is a progression from lying, cut down to thrown (v 9). The verb ¡§at¡¨ is translated elsewhere as laid (Matt 3:10), set (Matt 5:14), appoint (1 Thess 3:3). He required the same from the people, the outsiders and the insiders. There were no extensions, exceptions or exemptions.
The verb ¡§cut down¡¨ comes with the preposition ¡§ek¡¨ (out of), so it is translated elsewhere as hewn down (Matt 3:10), cut off (Matt 5:30) and cut out (Rom 11:24). The first is to lie out-strectched, the second is with the preposition ¡§out¡¦ and the last is to throw out.
Be Faithful to the Finish
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, ¡§I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.¡¨ 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them. 19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother¡¦s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
One of England¡¦s most embarrassing managers is named Steve McLaren, who earned the moniker ¡§The Wally with the Brolly¡¨ one day before he was fired. Wally means silly in English slang. When the English men were suffering and stuttering in football defeat to Croatia in the torrential rain in 2007, costing them second place qualification for Euro 2008, McLaren sheltered himself from the rain with an umbrella at Wembley in England's miserable 3-2 defeat to Croatia that and his job. The very next day FA's chief executive fired him, made a personal apology to England fans for the team's failure to qualify, while the chairman said it was embarrassing.
McClaren's time in office was the shortest tenure of any England coach in the post - at just 18 games. The firing cost the football association less than £5million. Since then he received hundreds of umbrellas as Christmas presents from friends and strangers. Enough to start a shop, he would say. Why? Sheltering from the rain while others brave the rain is a sign of weakness, discomfort with
John was the forerunner who was called to prepare the way for the Lord's coming. He lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance. He was always on the fringe, preaching in the countryside (v 3). He was not mainstream, but he sure was popular.
John was famous for two places: his beginning from the wilderness and his end in prison. John was always a forerunner and not the future, the best man but never the bridegroom (John 3:29), the messenger (Matt 11:10) but never the Messiah or Master (v 15), the voice, the vision and the verve. The foremost question everyone was dying for John to answer, the question on everyone¡¦s lips, was if he might possibly be the Messiah (v 15). He was MR No-No of the Bible. To the Jewish leaders, priests and Levites who asked him who he was, John confessed freely, ¡§I am not the Messiah.¡¨
The list of nots (ouk) and don¡¦t (medeis) is quite fascinating in John;s account:
And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ (John 1:20)
21 They asked him, ¡§Then who are you? Are you Elijah?¡¨ He said, ¡§I am not.¡¨
¡§Are you the Prophet?¡¨ He answered, ¡§No.¡¨ (John 1:21).
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: (Matt 3:11, Mark 1:7, John 1:27).
Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. (John 3:28)
John could have been more popular by conjuring miracles, starting movements and erecting monuments, not the leading man or supporting actor because he died in the first act, before Jesus began his ministry. He was just the stage. Not only is he not the leading man, he has the most awkward parts, the bad cop part. To the end, he did not temper his message, but tough it out and take it like a man. He toiled in obscurity, he toned down his message, turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to injustices, He did not want any credit, company or commendation. He did not compromise, comply or compare
The wilderness was the place where John developed his inner life. He did not have it in him to make speeches, greet people, attend parties, take photos, and curry favors. There is not enough space for God to influence the inner world. What they have to say can be so superficial and politically-correct that God's word is neglected.
Finally, John was a man of character, conscience, compassion, conviction and commitment. No one expected him to denounce Herod for marrying his brother's wife (and also his niece), and no one expected him to end up in prison.
Conclusion: Are you ready, reliable and resourceful for God¡¦s use? Are you faithful, fruitful and for fortified for God¡¦s use? Are you a vessel and voice for God¡¦s use? Do you endure suffering, shame and setbacks?
