“WHO WARNED YOU?”
MATTHEW 3: 1-12
MAY 20, 2001
INTRODUCTION: Several years ago the Peanuts comic strip had Lucy and Charlie Brown practicing football. Lucy would hold the ball for Charlie’s placekicking and then Charlie would kick the ball. But every time Lucy had ever held the ball for Charlie, he would approach the ball and kick with all his might. At the precise moment of the point of no return, Lucy would pick up the ball and Charlie would kick and his momentum unchecked by the ball, which was not there to kick, would cause him to fall flat on his back. This strip opened with Lucy holding the ball, but Charlie Brown would not kick the ball. Lucy begged him to kick the ball. But Charlie Brown said, "Every time I try to kick the ball you remove it and I fall on my back." They went back and forth for the longest time and finally Lucy broke down in tears and admitted, "Charlie Brown I have been so terrible to you over the years, picking up the football like I have. I have played so many cruel tricks on you, but I’ve seen the error of my ways! I’ve seen the hurt look in your eyes when I’ve deceived you. I’ve been wrong, so wrong. Won’t you give a poor penitent girl another chance?" Charlie Brown was moved by her display of grief and responded to her, "Of course, I’ll give you another chance." He stepped back as she held the ball, and he ran. At the last moment, Lucy picked up the ball and Charlie Brown fell flat on his back. Lucy’s last words were, "Recognizing your faults and actually changing your ways are two different things, Charlie Brown!" Are you going to change your ways as of today?
TRANSITION THOUGHT: Today, our text speaks of the call to repentance as the formation of all Christian teaching. John the Baptist came preaching and his preaching focused on one idea or understanding: Repentance. This morning, we are going to dig into this proclamation to determine what repentance is all about that we too might truly comprehend the gospel.
THESIS SENTENCE: Repentance is the confession of sin followed by a lifestyle change that honors God!
JOHN THE BAPTIZER TAKES US THROUGH THREE MOVEMENTS CONCERING THIS UNDERSTANDING OF REPENTANCE. THE FIRST MOVEMENT IS…
I. THE PREACHING OF REPENTANCE (VV. 1-4)
A. JOHN LIKES IT LIKE IT WAS IN THE OLD DAYS!
1. John came like a prophet of old, “Elijah” if you will. He even quotes the prophet Isaiah “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
2. He came “Preaching”/ threatening like the prophets of old, proclaiming Divine judgment and summoned all to “Repent” and amend their ways! 3. Do you remember Jonah preaching to Nineveh: “On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: ‘Forty days and Nineveh will be overturned (Jonah 3:4).’”
4. John had the message of old, “REPENT!” He came to turn people back to the true and living God!
B. JOHN LIKES IT LIKE IT WILL BE IN A NEW DAY!
1. Unlike the prophets of old, John offered a sacrament of repentance, “Baptism.” There is no reference in the OT of a once for all baptism. But John seems to be proclaiming: “To repent and be baptized is to be sealed into God new Reign!”
2. He also states a “New Reign” has arrived. It is the Reign of the Kingdom of Heaven!
3. It may even appear that John would stand in opposition to the message Jesus would come proclaiming. It might appear surprising that all four Gospel proceed Jesus ministry with that of John and that this is affirmed in the book of Acts, chapter 10 verses 36-37, “You know the word which he sent to Israel… beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.”
4. John’s preaching did not stand in opposition to the soon ministry of Jesus. It heralds it in! He was the forerunner as Isaiah prophesied! He was preparing the way!!
THE SECOND MOVEMENT OF THIS UNDERSTANDING OF REPENTANCE IS…
II. THE ACCEPTANCE OF REPENTANCE (VV. 4-6)
A. THE MULTITUDES COME
1. John did not follow the church growth mentality. It wasn’t concerned with his location of preaching. He could have been a “First” Baptist in uptown Jerusalem, but he chose to be the “Last” Baptist in the Desert of Judea.
2. Location didn’t seem to matter to the crowd, either. Verse 5 tells us that “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.” 3. You don’t cover this much territory without gaining a “Multitude.” 4. What makes the Multitude come? Do you remember Jesus asking the crowd about John, “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a Prophet…. I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist;… (Matthew 11: 7-11).”
5. CAN YOU IMAGINE GOING OUT OF YOUR WAY TO GET RIGHT WITH GOD????????????????????????????
B. THE MULTITUDES GET IT RIGHT
1. Not only did the crowd come, they heard and received the message!
2. Verse 6 tells us they “confessed their sins,” and then he baptized them in the Jordan River.
3. One of the most interesting aspects of all four Gospels is the reality of those outside the religious establishment getting the truth and those within the religious establishment rejecting the truth. It seems that to be close to the truth is more harmful that to be far away from the truth. This is the problem with all cults, they get you close enough to the truth to detour you from really getting THE TRUTH!
4. Do you remember the parable Jesus taught to those that were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else? Jesus said, “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God (Luke 18:9-14a).”
ILLUSTRATION: A very short boy wanted so badly to play basketball. He even told his dad that he wanted to become a pro when he was older. Knowing that his son would never be able to play the game, the dad asked the local coach if there was anything he could recommend to make the boy taller. “You might take him down to the museum and put him on the old torture stretch rack,” the coach said. Several weeks later the coach asked the father if putting the boy on the stretch rack had helped. “Well, it didn’t make him any taller, but he confessed to several things that I never knew.”
THE THIRD MOVMENT OF THIS UNDERSTANDING IS…
III. THE REJECTION OF REPENTANCE (VV. 7-10)
A. Rejection comes from Wrong Motive
1. John says, “Image is nothing, obey your thirst [FOR THE THRUTH!] 2. John tells the Pharisees and Sadducees, you may look religious and right, but let me tell you what I see!
3. “You brood of Vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath (Verse 7)?”
4. This imagery is that of the “offspring” of poisonous snakes that could look like branches. These religious leaders looked harmless, but in reality they were poison to the system!
5. One other aspect of John’s imagery, was that of a burning field from which vipers would flee!
6. This goes back to John’s understanding of his “Prophet Role.” God is calling down judgment on those that will not receive “the kingdom of heaven” that is coming near!
7. And to receive this “kingdom of heaven,” we must “PRODUCE FRUIT IN KEEPING WITH REPENTANCE.”
8. What John was saying to his religious counterparts, is that, “if you want some of this, you better change to get it.” No longer is the status quo sufficient!!
9. The proof of the pudding is not the act of repentance, but the fruit that follows! ARE YOU PRODUCING FRUIT??????????????????????
B. Rejection comes from a Wrong Rationalization
1. We all like to rationalize our behaviors away and the religious leaders were no different. For every rebuke they had an answer. Are we any different? 2. Knowing what John was saying, the religious leaders went back to the past, while John was looking at the future. They saw Abraham, John saw Jesus!
3. What do you claim as you escape from obeying God to day, the past or the future?
4. The Religious Leaders said, “We have Abraham as our Father.” And to that excuse, John responds, “I tell you the truth that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”
ILLUSTRATION: Douglas Hare writes, “The Christian equivalent of ‘We have Abraham as our father’ is ‘We have Christ as our Savior.’ While trust in Christ’s salvation is a first requirement, it is not the last. Even Paul, mistakenly perceived by some as substituting grace for human responsibility, soberly reminded his converts as Corinth, ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he or she has done in the body” (II Corinthians 5:10).
Another writes, “Salvation is not verified by a past experience, but by a present faithfulness.”
5. John further reply to rationalizing is, “The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.”
6. Without being irreverent, I read a church sign a few weeks ago that said, “Read the Bible, It will scar the Hell out of you!”
7. This word from John has that effect on me. I want to do like a friend told me about her Catholic mother. She went to confession and could not think anything she had done, any sin committed, but she confessed anyway, she made up a lie just to have something to tell the priest. No matter where I am today spiritually, John’s words call me to self-examination. I want to “repent” of anything that would keep me from God and the “kingdom of Heaven!”
ILLUSTRATION: In the article "The American Witness" in the Nov/Dec 1997 issue of The Barna Report, George Barna examined 131 different measures of attitudes, behaviors, values, and beliefs. In that study he concluded, that in the aspects of lifestyle where Christians can have their greatest impact on the lives of non-Christians, there is no visible difference between the two segments. For example, Christians are just as likely as non-Christians to have been divorced, bought a lottery ticket, watch MTV or have subscribed to cable television. Christians are also just as likely to watch PG-13, R, and even X rated movies as non-Christians.
Another writes, “Moral erosion continues in America,” according to James Patterson and Peter Kim. They report that 74 percent of Americans will steal from those who won’t miss it, and 64 percent will lie for convenience as long as no one is hurt. Most Americans (93 percent) say they alone decide moral issues, basing their decisions on their own experience or whims. Eighty-four percent say they would break the rules of their own religion. And 81 percent have violated a law they felt to be inappropriate. Only 30 percent say they would be willing to die for their religious beliefs or for God. -- Reported in the Day America Told the Truth (Prentice Hall, 1991).
CONCLUSION: George Hunter contends that the first characteristic of a secular person in the modern world is that he or she is ignorant of basic Christianity. It has been said of the Baby Busters, those born between 1963 and 1977 and the first generation to grow up in a postmodern context, that they lack even the memory of a hope-giving gospel. Today many people outside of the church struggle with the concept of Christ’s deity. They think he was a good man, perhaps even a prophet, but not God in human form. Further, 72 percent of Americans now deny the existence of absolute truth, and few have confidence in the historical accuracy or ethical authority of the Bible. Two-thirds of the population does not know what John 3:16 refers to, and less than four out of every ten Americans have any idea what the term gospel means. Ten percent believe that the name of Noah’s wife was Joan of Arc. James White, Rethinking the Church, p. 41
What the world needs is some folks who are hungry to get right with God! Folks that aren’t afraid to go out of their way to “REPENT” in the desert and then go home and act like it. The choice is ours! We can repent, or we can go home “UNJUSTIFIED” BEFORE GOD!
CLOSING HYMN: #326 SOFTLY AND TENDERLY (THE HYMNAL)
