|
Luke 3.1-9 (ESV)
1 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. 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.’ ” 7 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.”
Have you ever heard of the GPS app called “What Three Words”? It’s a geolocation app that has assigned every 3x3 square meter of the planet with a unique three-word code. For example, shared.land.play would put you at a specific place on the South Lawn of the White House, and wishes.dots.claim would bring you to the front door of White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church’s office building.
Now, you might be thinking, “That’s great, but so what?”
The advantage of the app is that it provides a much more specific geolocation, making it easier for emergency services to locate someone or for postal deliveries in countries that lack postcodes.
In our passage, when Luke lists who is reigning and ruling, Luke gives us a very specific date in time when John the Baptist is engaged in ministry, but it’s more than just a date in time. Anyone reading the list of names would know the bleak situation of the Jewish people at this time as they are being oppressed by these rulers. Rome is the hated occupiers, Tiberius is being worshipped as a god, and the two sons of Herod the Great are self-appointed rulers backed by Rome and are loosely keeping people in line through fear. Additionally, the Jewish religious leadership heaps a heavy burden upon the people with all the rules and regulations that everyone is expected to follow.
Everyone feels the weight of it all when John the Baptist suddenly appears with a message of baptism and repentance for the forgiveness of sins. However, John isn’t calling for a simple outward sign of immersion in water, John is calling for a radical reorientation on the hearts of the people. The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoia, which means to change one’s mind or to alter one’s understanding. It is a rational decision and purposeful act to turn away from one direction and turn towards another.
Here, John is calling the people to turn away from sin and return to God to reorient their lives to the Lord, but a bit more is involved as John links this baptism of repentance to the expectation of the arrival of the Messiah. John is the one preparing the way of the Lord. The time has come. God is bringing rescue, deliverance, and salvation for all, and John’s exhortation to all who will receive the baptism of repentance is that their lives bear fruit. In other words, their lives and their attitudes and actions reflect the change that has taken place in their hearts.
Nothing has changed for Christians today. Our lives are to bear fruit as we walk in step in Christ. Our attitudes and actions should be centered on and filtered through Christ Jesus, and His presence within us should be reflected from us to all.
It doesn’t mean that we’ll be perfect people, no, we’re in process as we continue to grow and mature in Christ. However, it does mean that more and more people see Jesus in us, not only in our gracious moments but also in our failures.
Perhaps the greatest three words people could use to describe the locus of our heart’s orientation would be Christ.in.you.
God bless you, and know that you are prayed for constantly!
Scott
|
