I find it interesting that at the beginning of this third chapter in Luke we find a long list of rulers; religious and political. We have an emperor, a few governors, a ruler, and two high priests. They lived in palaces, fancy houses, and a marvelous temple. They dressed in fine linen and ate the choicest foods and people served them.
And out of all these leaders the Word of God could have come to, it came instead to John. Unlike the religious and political elite John dressed in camel’s hair; not fine linens, he ate locusts; not the choicest of foods, he lived in the desert; not a nice house, palace or a temple, and he lived as a servant to God. Jesus said there was not another man born into the world that was greater than John, but Jesus also said the least in the kingdom of God would be greater than him (Mat. 11:11).
What was John doing out there as he traveled up and down the Jordan River? He was preaching. He was preaching “Turn away from your sins and be Baptized, and God will forgive you.”
Turning from sins, forgiveness, and Baptism was nothing new to the people that listened to John. Turning from sins and God forgiving people are prominent themes in the Old Testament. Baptism was nothing new, because the Jews baptized Gentiles who wanted to become a part of the people of Israel. It was meant as a cleansing ritual. John, however, baptizing Jews into a life dedicated to turning to God from sins for forgiveness was new.
In short we say John’s baptism in this way was meant to prepare people to receive the “One” who was to come; the “One” in whom John said would “baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Christian Baptism practiced by the early church and today is different from John’s baptism. It outwardly represents the inward baptism of the “Holy Spirit and fire” of Christ Jesus, the “One” who came as John foretold. Christian Baptism not only outwardly represents a new life changed and directed in Christ, but outwardly witnesses to the fact that the individual is a member of God’s kingdom, is a part of God’s people. Remember Jesus said, “There was not another man born in the world that was greater than John, but the least (of us) in the kingdom would be greater than him.”
We read that crowds arrived before John and he would call some of them snakes, or a brood of vipers. He would ask who told them to escape God’s impending wrath. He would tell Jewish people that just because they were Jewish didn’t mean they were automatically in good standing with God. They had to repent of their sins and direct their life in God’s ways to be forgiven.
This is why when people asked “what should we do” John responded with instructions for them to live their life showing proof that they are actively turning from their sins by following the ways of God. John explained that for some this meant sharing with those who are in need. To the tax collectors he said don’t take more that what is legally acceptable, and to some soldiers he said don’t take from people by force or lie about people, but be content with what you get paid.
I wonder sometimes how John would have preached and instructed a woman to prepare for the “One” who was to come who had been secretly living in a home where her husband was abusive and utterly controlling. The kind of man who smiled and hugged his wife in public and in secret abused, scowled and tongue lashed her.
I wonder what instruction John would have given to the sexually abused child who lived in fear or the devasted woman or man whose spouse cheated on them and left them. I wonder if he would have began his message to them with the words you brood of vipers who told you to escape God’s impending wrath. I don’t think he would have and I will tell you why. I get this notion from Luke 3 in verse 18 where it says, “In many different ways John preached the good news to the people and urged them to change their ways, to prepare their lives to receive the Lord.”
In our scripture passage today we could find two types of people that came before John; the oppressors and the oppressed, those who were taking advantage of others, and those who were being taken advantage of; people who were hurting others and people who were being hurt. We don’t see this at first glance, but John refers to both these groups in our scripture.
It is true that both groups need repentance, baptism and forgiveness, in order to be prepared to receive Jesus who was to come, but I believe that John met people with the good news in many different ways so that they could hear and receive the gifts of God’s love, mercy, and grace found there.
First imagine being a man without even a shirt to wear and you hear John say as he does in verse 11, “He who has two shirts should give one of them to a person who has none.” Imagine being a person who had been taken advantage and was robbed by a tax collector and you hear the words of John instructing tax collectors to not take more than what is legal from people. Imagine being someone who had their money taken by force from a soldier just because they had the power to take it, or who was punished because a soldier lied to get them in trouble, and you hear the words of John saying, “You soldiers shouldn’t take money from people by force, or accuse people wrongly. Be content with your pay.”
I don’t know about you, but I think a man like John who had the guts to stand up to these people that may have done some of these very same things, and not even flinch, would have soon gained my admiration. I am drawn to trust a person who has a message like this.
John even had the guts to stand up to the governor of his providence, a man named Herod, and tell him that he was living an ungodly life and that he needed to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of his sins. Of course Herod then put him in prison, but even that fear didn’t keep him from speaking the Good News. It was news that held people accountable before God, it was news that called people to follow God’s ways, and it was news that offered forgiveness, help, and hope.
I believe the good news must be preached in many different ways, because the good news needs to speak to people where they are. The hurting need to hear of the healer; the hungry, naked, and poor need to hear of God the provider; the sinful people who are hurting others need to hear of the sinfulness of their way; the tired need to hear the one who says, “Come to me you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest”; the greedy need to hear about the sin of idolatry; the lost need to hear about the “One” who finds and offers purpose and meaning; the spiritually dead need to hear about the “One” who makes spiritually alive; the lonely need to hear about the “One” who will never leave them nor forsake them; the oppressed need to hear of a rescuer, a redeemer and savior; and the defeated need to hear the good news of a conqueror who offers them His Victory, and sometimes they need to hear these things first before they can hear turn to God and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.
What we find is that in all of these situations is the place where God can speak to people with Good News. It is the place of their greatest hurt, their greatest need, and ultimately connects them in relationship with the God who cares.
Jesus preached the good news in many ways. Jesus like John once said, ““You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? In another passage we hear this, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” And in another place we hear that when Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
As the church we are still called to take out the good news to others. We are to go out unto all the world, making disciples, teaching them to obey everything that Jesus commanded, baptizing them in the name of the father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost so that they may have life in abundance now, and life eternal; so that they may know God and the riches of His love; so they might have a solid foundation, and know the way, the truth, and the life; so they might be born again and enter into a new life, becoming a new creation; so they might do the good works God in heaven has prepared them to do on this earth, unto His glory, power, and name; so that they might love the Lord with all their heart, mind, and strength; so that they might love their neighbor as themselves; so they might love each other as Jesus loved them; so that they might humble themselves as little children before God and offer themselves as living sacrifices the way Jesus offered His own life for them; so they might deny themselves, take up their own cross, and follow Him.
We are to do this together until the very end of our life, until the very end of this age, and we are to remain faithful to this in the strength that God has given us until His glorious appearing when all things will be made new.
(2 Timothy 2-3) We must endure everything for the sake of those who haven’t heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him in baptism, we will also be raised up to live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; and if we are faithless, it won’t affect His faithfulness one bit.”
We should keep reminding ourselves of these things. We should live our life as diligent Christians who don’t have any feelings of shame when we think about our calling as the Church to take out the Good News. To be Christians who don’t feel any shame in our relationship with God.
I find it amazing that Jesus, God’s only son, who wasn’t born in a palace, or into a rich family, but was born in a dirty filthy stable full of animals, is the same Jesus that called uneducated fisherman, prostitutes, drunks, adulterers, and tax collectors to follow him and not only receive the Good News of God’s love and all that it means, but carry it out into the world for others to receive.
It is this same Jesus who called this group of sinners here today from all stations of life to receive the Good News of God’s love made known in Jesus Christ crucified on a cross and resurrected on the third day, and has called us to share this Good News with others.
“How can they hear it, if no one preaches it?”
