The Ministry of John the Baptist (Parts 1 & 2)
January 11, 2026
Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
Luke 3:1-20
INTRODUCTION — WHEN GOD SPEAKS AFTER SILENCE
There are moments in history when heaven seems quiet. We’ve talked a couple of times about how in Israel’s story, the silence stretched for four long centuries. Four hundred years without a prophet. Four hundred years without fresh revelation. Four hundred years of waiting for God to speak again.
Imagine living in a world where all you knew of God came from old stories and fading memories. Imagine wondering: Has God forgotten us? Has He changed His mind? Will He ever speak again? Perhaps the notion of God was a cultural idea instead of a spiritual truth.
Then imagine what it means when silence finally breaks. Imagine the buzz, the debates, and the questions.
Luke opens the third chapter with what feels like a political roster rather than a spiritual introduction—a deliberate roll call of corrupt and compromised leaders, as if to say, “This is what the world looks like when God finally moves.” He names Tiberius Caesar, the iron-fisted emperor of Rome; Pontius Pilate, the notoriously brutal governor of Judea; Herod Antipas, the immoral tetrarch who would later mock Jesus; Philip, his brother, ruling in cold political calculation; and Lysanias, a minor ruler known more for ambition than virtue.
Then Luke adds the religious elite—Annas and Caiaphas—men who wore priestly robes but possessed hardened hearts, puppets of Rome rather than servants of God. In a single sweeping sentence, Luke paints a world drowning in political oppression, moral corruption, and religious hypocrisy. And it is into that world—a world much like our own—that God chooses to speak again.
What kind of world does God step into? A world of oppression, immorality, violence, and compromise. A world not unlike our own. And then comes the miracle: “The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”
Isn’t it just like God to bypass the halls of power and choose a man who has no power at all? Isn’t it just like the Lord to choose a desert over a palace, a prophet over a politician, and a voice crying out in scarcity rather than comfort? There are some important lessons for us to pay attention to in all of this.
God breaks into history at the exact moment people believe He has forgotten them. And when He speaks, He sends a preacher.
This passage is not merely biography. It is a blueprint. It teaches us what God does when He’s preparing His people for an extraordinary movement—whether the first coming of Christ, the second coming, or personal revival.
What does God do first when He is about to shake history, awaken a nation, or usher in a new movement of redemption? He raises a John. Before the miracles, before the multitudes, before the Messiah steps publicly onto the stage, God always begins by raising a voice—a solitary, uncompromising messenger shaped in obscurity and forged in the wilderness. He does not start with kings or committees, but with a man whose heart burns hotter than the culture’s apathy and whose convictions stand firmer than the world’s corruption. God’s first act is not political reform or institutional restructuring but the awakening of a prophet—someone who will speak truth into darkness, call people to repentance, and prepare the way for the Lord. Whenever God is on the brink of a great work, He begins by raising up a voice that refuses to be silent.
I. GOD PREPARES THE WORLD FOR REVIVAL BY RAISING A PROPHET (vv. 1–2)
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. (Luke 3:1–2)
Luke’s introduction feels like a news report. It reads like the political section of a newspaper. But it serves a deeper purpose: to anchor John’s ministry in real history and to show the contrast between earthly power and heavenly authority.
A. The Political Background — A Dark World in Desperate Need of Light
Luke lists seven leaders—five political, two religious—each representing corruption, compromise, or cruelty.
Why does Scripture show us this? Because God wants us to see that His greatest moves rarely come during peaceful times. He often shakes history during seasons of spiritual apathy and moral collapse. If God stepped into such a world then, why would we doubt that He could step into ours now?
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2)
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1)
God does His best work in dark times. When the moral landscape is collapsing, when leaders are corrupt, when religious systems grow cold, and when people feel forgotten or powerless, that is precisely when God begins to move in ways no one expects. He is not hindered by darkness—He works through it, He speaks into it, and He often uses it to prepare hearts for His greatest revelations.
Throughout Scripture, the moments of deepest spiritual night become the backdrop for the brightest displays of divine light. So when the world looks most chaotic, when evil seems to advance unchecked, we should not despair; we should look up with expectation. Because history shows us over and over again: when times grow darkest, God is often closest to breaking through.
B. The Spiritual Setting — Corrupt Religion in Need of True Revival
Even the high priesthood was compromised. Annas and Caiaphas were essentially religious politicians. Rome controlled the priesthood; spiritual leadership had become a puppet throne.
So what does God do? He speaks outside the established religious system. Does God still do that today? Does He still raise up bold, wilderness voices when the institutional voices grow weak? Absolutely.
C. The Wilderness Calling — God Speaks Where We Least Expect Him
The wilderness is the place of:
• Refining
• Stripping away distractions
• Preparing a prophet
• Resetting the heart
• Clarifying calling
John is not merely in the wilderness—he is formed by it. God does not use soft men to deliver hard messages. He shapes His messengers in places free from applause, affirmation, or comfort. Could God be using your wilderness season to prepare you for a greater purpose?
Before God uses you publicly, He forms you privately. Before He sends you into ministry, He breaks you of self-reliance. Before He gives you a platform, He gives you a desert.
II. JOHN PREACHES A BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE (vv. 3–6)
John emerges suddenly, but not surprisingly. His arrival fulfills ancient prophecy.
3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “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 shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:4-6)
A. What Is the Meaning of John’s Baptism?
John’s baptism was unique—a shocking call to repentance for Jews. Jews were accustomed to ritual cleansing, but baptism was usually for Gentile converts.
John’s message essentially declared: “You are no better than pagans—your hearts must be made new!” Imagine the offense and the shock.
This was not a ceremonial sprinkling or a routine religious gesture. John’s baptism demanded something far deeper and far more humbling. It was a public admission—a deliberate, visible confession before the watching world that a person was sinful, unworthy, and desperately in need of transformation.
To step into those waters was to declare, “I am not who I should be, and I cannot change myself.” It stripped away pride, exposed the heart, and confronted every false confidence in heritage, tradition, or moral performance. John’s baptism was a line in the sand, requiring people to acknowledge their spiritual bankruptcy and their readiness for a new beginning. It was repentance made visible.
B. Repentance — More Than Feeling Sorry
What is repentance? It is far more than a fleeting feeling of guilt or a momentary spike of emotion. Repentance is a change of mind—a decisive internal shift in how we see God, how we see sin, and how we see ourselves. But it never stops there. True repentance produces a change of direction, turning us away from the path of disobedience and toward the will of God. And as that new direction takes root, it inevitably results in a change of behavior, a visible transformation that proves the inward change is real.
Scripture affirms this at every turn: “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19), and “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Repentance is not an emotional moment but a lifelong posture—a continual alignment of our hearts with the truth of God, a daily dying to sin, and a steady walking in the newness of life Christ provides.
How can we claim to follow Christ if our lives look no different than before?
Repentance is the soil in which spiritual revival grows.
C. The Fulfillment of Isaiah’s Prophecy
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3)
In ancient times, when a king prepared to visit a city, road crews were sent out ahead of him to ensure that nothing hindered his arrival. They cleared debris from the pathways, straightened the winding sections, filled in the deep ruts carved by years of neglect, and leveled the uneven terrain so the royal procession could move unhindered. The king’s coming demanded preparation—visible, tangible, intentional. John was that man. He was the advance team for the Messiah, the prophetic road crew sent to prepare the human heart for the arrival of the King of Kings. His ministry was not about construction but conviction, not about repairing highways but reshaping souls. Through the call to repentance, John cleared the debris of sin, straightened the crookedness of hypocrisy, and leveled the mountains of pride so that nothing would obstruct the coming of Christ.
• The mountains of pride must fall.
• The valleys of shame must rise.
• The crooked paths of sin must be straightened.
• So Christ can enter a life unhindered.
D. Illustration: The Road Crew of the Heart
Imagine driving on a road that hasn’t been repaired in years—cracks, potholes, uneven pavement. The journey becomes slow, frustrating, and hazardous. Repentance is God’s road crew. It removes the debris of sin. It fills the potholes of unbelief. It levels the pride that slows spiritual growth. Repentance makes room for revival.
III. JOHN’S MESSAGE CUTS THROUGH RELIGIOUS HYPOCRISY (vv. 7–9)
He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 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.” (Luke 3:7–9)
John’s preaching attracted crowds—but he was not impressed by crowds. When people came to him, he didn’t say, “Welcome! So glad you’re here.” He said: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
This is not how you build a seeker-sensitive ministry! John’s words were anything but polished, marketable, or comfortable. He wasn’t tailoring his message to attract crowds or soften conviction; he was delivering truth without varnish because eternity was at stake. But while his approach would never fit the mold of modern consumer-driven religion, it is exactly how you build a faithful one. Faithful ministry is not measured by how many people applaud but by how clearly the truth is proclaimed.
John understood that sugar-coated sermons produce shallow disciples, but Spirit-borne conviction produces transformed lives. His bluntness was not cruelty—it was mercy. His confrontation was not arrogance—it was obedience. John preached what people needed, not what they preferred, because faithfulness to God always outweighs favor with men.
A. John’s Righteous Anger at Empty Religion
Why such harsh words? Because the people wanted forgiveness without repentance, religion without transformation, baptism without obedience, tradition without heart change. They wanted salvation without surrender. John refused to let anyone believe they were safe simply because they were Jewish.
B. False Security — “We Have Abraham as Our Father!”
The crowd’s logic: “We are Israelites. We’re good! We don’t need repentance.” John’s response: “God can raise children for Abraham from stones!” In other words: “Spiritual heritage cannot save you.”
This challenges our modern assumptions too:
• “I grew up in church.”
• “My family is Christian.
• “I was baptized as a child.”
• “I serve in ministry.”
So what? Spiritual birth is not inherited—it is received. Are we trusting in religious activity rather than personal conversion?
C. The Axe Is Already at the Root
John warns with piercing clarity: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” God is not impressed with leaves—outward appearances, religious talk, church involvement, or spiritual activity that lacks substance. He demands fruit. Fruit is the evidence of spiritual life. Fruit is the outward proof of inward transformation. It is the unmistakable sign that repentance is genuine and the Holy Spirit is truly at work. And here is the prophetic warning woven into John’s words: a day is coming when God will no longer tolerate fruitless faith, empty confession, or hollow religion.
The axe is already laid at the root. Judgment will not be based on what we claimed to believe, but on whether the grace of God produced real transformation in our lives. The tree that refuses to bear fruit will not stand in the coming day. Now is the time to examine our hearts, to uproot hypocrisy, and to let the Spirit produce the fruit that proves we belong to Christ.
CHURCHES WHO ARE APOSTATE
Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:20)
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:17)
IV. TRUE REPENTANCE PRODUCES PRACTICAL OBEDIENCE (vv. 10–14)
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” (Luke 3:10–14)
After hearing John’s message, the people ask the most important spiritual question anyone can ask: “What then shall we do?” Conviction always leads to action.
Look at John’s answers:
A. To the Crowds — Radical Generosity
John says: “Whoever has two tunics must share with him who has none.” This goes far beyond charity—it is sacrificial. Repentance loosens your grip on possessions. It shifts your priorities from self-preservation to self-giving. If Christ has changed your heart, has He also changed your budget?
B. To the Tax Collectors — Radical Honesty
Tax collectors were despised extortionists. Nobody trusted them. John doesn’t tell them to quit their profession—he tells them to work with integrity. “Collect no more than you are authorized.” Repentance reforms your ethics, reshapes your work habits, and realigns your motives.
C. To the Soldiers — Radical Self-Control
Soldiers had power, weapons, and authority. John tells them: “Do not extort money. Do not accuse falsely. Be content with your wages.” Repentance touches:
• How you use authority
• How you speak about others
• How you handle dissatisfaction
• How you treat those under your influence
Illustration: The Check Engine Light
When the warning light comes on in your vehicle, it tells you something deeper is wrong under the hood. Repentance is the spiritual check engine light. It doesn’t merely say, “Feel bad.” It says, “Fix what’s broken.” Repentance that never changes behavior is not repentance—it’s regret.
V. JOHN REFUSES TO STEAL GLORY FROM CHRIST (vv. 15–17)
As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap 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 the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:15–17)
John’s ministry was so powerful that people wondered whether he might be the Messiah.
To many, he looked like:
• A prophet
• A reformer
• A miracle of God’s mercy
• A man with supernatural influence
But John knew his place.
A. John Points Away From Himself
He declares: “One mightier than I is coming.”
John baptizes with water; Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John prepares the heart; Jesus transforms it.
John warns the sinner; Jesus saves them.
John is the friend; Jesus is the bridegroo
Do people leave your presence thinking more about you—or more about Jesus?
B. The Winnowing Fork — The Coming Judgment
Christ comes with fire—the fire of purification for believers and the fire of judgment for unbelievers. For those who belong to Him, His fire refines, sanctifies, and burns away everything that keeps us from holiness. But for those who reject Him, that same fire becomes a consuming judgment, exposing every hidden work of darkness. The presence of Jesus always brings fire; the only question is whether it will purify or destroy.
Grain was tossed into the air so the wind could separate the wheat from the chaff. The wheat, having weight and substance, fell safely to the threshing floor, while the useless chaff was carried away and burned. Jesus uses this imagery to show that His coming will reveal what is genuine and what is superficial. The true and the false will not remain mingled forever—the wind of His judgment will separate them.
For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29)
His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. (Revelation 19:12)
Repentance prepares you for Christ’s purifying fire now so you can avoid His judgment fire later. The fire of Christ will touch every life—Scripture leaves no room for neutrality. For the believer, repentance invites the refining flames of God’s holiness to burn away pride, sin, and self-reliance, shaping us into the likeness of Christ. It is the mercy of God that purifies us now so we will stand unashamed before Him then. But for the unrepentant, that same fire becomes judgment—inescapable, righteous, and final. No one outruns the flames; we only choose which fire we will face. Repentance is God’s gracious warning, His open door, His cleansing work in the present that saves us from His wrath in the future. To reject repentance is to choose the fire of judgment; to embrace repentance is to experience the fire that saves.
VI. JOHN CONFRONTS SIN WITH COURAGE (vv. 18–20)
So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison. (Luke 3:18–20)
The final verses describe John’s courageous confrontation with Herod Antipas, a ruler whose life was a tapestry of moral corruption and political manipulation. Scripture and history together reveal a man enslaved to lust, pride, and power. Herod was immoral—a tetrarch who paraded his sin publicly and wielded authority selfishly. Herod stole his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, in a scandalous and adulterous affair that shocked even pagan Roman society.
The relationship was not only immoral but unlawful according to Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21. And Herod did not indulge this sin privately—he lived in open, unrepentant rebellion, flaunting his wickedness before God and the nation while silencing anyone who dared confront him. Josephus records him as a man driven by political ambition, paranoid insecurity, and lustful indulgence. This is the man John stood before—an unholy ruler intoxicated with power, surrounded by flatterers, and allergic to truth. Yet John, armed with nothing but the Word of God, dared to say, “It is not lawful for you to have her” (Luke 3:19).
John could have stayed neutral. He could have looked at Herod’s sin, shrugged, and said, “That’s politics—none of my business.” He could have stayed silent, choosing comfort over confrontation and popularity over prophetic truth. He could have reasoned, “If I speak up, I might lose my influence, my audience, or even my freedom.” Many religious leaders of his day did exactly that—they preserved their positions by muzzling their convictions. But John didn’t.
He spoke because God had spoken. He confronted sin because holiness demanded it. He refused neutrality because neutrality in the face of evil is itself evil. And this is the clarion call to the Church today: we cannot remain silent while darkness advances. We cannot retreat into neutrality when truth is being trampled. We cannot protect our influence at the cost of our integrity. If John would not stay silent before Herod, how can we stay silent before the moral chaos of our age? The world does not need a Church that whispers; it needs a Church that speaks with the clarity, courage, and conviction of a prophet.
A. A Prophet Cannot Be Silent While Sin Reigns
John said, “It is not lawful!” What an understatement. What courage. He lost his freedom because of his faithfulness. He eventually lost his life because he refused to compromise.
B. John’s Message Was Not Hate—It Was Hope
Luke says: “He preached the good news to the people.” John’s message was severe because God is merciful. Only those who see their sin can rejoice in salvation.
Illustration: The Lighthouse Keeper
A lighthouse keeper once allowed a ship captain to convince him to dim the light so the captain could reroute closer to shore and save time. The next morning the ship was wrecked on rocks, lives lost, and the lighthouse keeper devastated. He dimmed the truth to accommodate someone’s preferences—and people perished. John the Baptist would not dim the light.
CONCLUSION — THE CALL OF JOHN IS THE CALL OF THE CHURCH
The ministry of John the Baptist is not merely historical; it is prophetic for the last days. It teaches us:
• Repentance prepares the heart.
• Righteousness prepares the Church
• Boldness prepares the culture.
• And watchfulness prepares the world for the return of the King.
We are not the Messiah. We are not the Savior, the Redeemer, or the One who can cleanse a single human heart. But like John, we are the voices preparing the way. We are the ones called to speak truth into a culture drowning in confusion, to shine light in a world wrapped in darkness, to call people out of sin and into hope. We are the wilderness preachers in a world of spiritual deserts—men and women who refuse to let silence replace proclamation or fear replace faithfulness. In an age when so many hearts are barren and so many souls are wandering, God has positioned His Church to be the voice that awakens the sleeping, convicts the wandering, and directs the lost toward the coming King.
And we are the watchmen crying out as the night deepens. As deception rises, as evil grows bold, as the world races toward the final chapters of prophecy, the Church must not retreat—we must rise. We stand on the walls of a collapsing world and proclaim, “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming!” We are the bride calling the nations to meet the Bridegroom, urging every soul to prepare for the return of the One who loved them unto death. This is our moment. This is our calling. This is our prophetic assignment: to lift our voices like trumpets, to ready the hearts of people for the day when the skies split and the King appears in glory. May we be faithful in our generation as John was in his—steadfast, fearless, and unwavering—until the Bridegroom comes.
So ask yourself today:
• Am I living in true repentance?
• Am I bearing spiritual fruit?
• Am I preparing others to meet Christ?
• Am I pointing people to Jesus or to myself?
• Am I willing to stand for truth no matter the cost?
John’s cry still echoes across the centuries: “Prepare the way of the Lord!” His voice may have been silenced by Herod’s sword, but his message has never been silenced. It reverberates through Scripture, through the Church, and through every generation that stands on the brink of Christ’s return. The King is coming. The trumpet will sound. The Messiah will reign. These are not poetic ideals or distant dreams—they are certainties anchored in the promises of God. Every prophecy fulfilled at His first coming guarantees the certainty of His second. And just as John prepared Israel for the arrival of the Lamb, we must prepare the world for the return of the Lion.
So let us preach with clarity, warn with compassion, love with courage, confront with conviction, repent with sincerity, and prepare with urgency—because Jesus Christ is on the way. History is not spiraling aimlessly; it is marching toward a divine appointment. The Church cannot sleep through this hour, cannot soften its voice, cannot dilute its message, and cannot retreat from its mission. Now is the time to lift our heads, strengthen our hearts, and raise our voices. The Judge stands at the door. The Bridegroom is preparing to step into the clouds. The King of Glory is nearer than we think. May our lives, our churches, and our witness echo John’s timeless proclamation: Prepare the way of the Lord!
