15 April
(A)
Having recorded and explained the birth of the Baptist in the earlier chapters, Dr. Luke now turns to the public ministry of John the Baptist.
John’s ministry was placed in the correct historical setting as well as in its Old Testament context (Isaiah 40).
The historical background: Luke provides detail – Tiberius Caesar governed the Roman Empire; Pontius Pilate was governor of Israel; Herod and Philip were two of the sons of the Jewish King Herod the Great – Philip ruled the North East and Herod the Tetrarch ruled Judah; Annas was High Priest (A.d. 6-15), and his five sons succeeded him – Caiaphas was his son-in-law but Annas was still a very substantial ‘presence’. The accuracy and detail of the historical content should give us confidence in the Gospel account and differentiate this account from myth, legend or odyssey. God (Jesus) entered human history at a specific period of time.
John’s ministry’s focus: God is about to visit His people and bring His long-promised salvation for the world – hence John was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah and the King.
Interestingly, John’s call to the people was “repentance” for the forgiveness of sins; in effect, he was communicating the “gospel” – the announcement of the coming of the Lord Jesus, who brings new life for His people and eternal punishment for those who refuse to repent. John’s water baptism itself was a public personal act indicating repentance; however, John declared that he was not the Christ – the One coming after him, i.e. Jesus, is greater than him – He will bring the life-giving Spirit and will accomplish everything that baptism symbolises. Jesus will flood a person’s life with the presence of God the Holy Spirit (He will baptise the people with the Holy Spirit and fire); He will bring new life (regeneration), a new heart, with fresh desires and a new power to live for God. The ‘fire’ anticipates Jesus’ role as judge.
Luke wants the readers to grasp that God’s Saviour has broken into real human history in a particular place and at a particular time. The Saviour is not unexpected – He has been promised (Gen. 12:2; Ezek.36:26-27; Isaiah 40:3-5; Mal. 3:2;4:1).
The salvation Jesus brings is available to all people everywhere; however, this salvation from God demands a particular response, a response of deep-rooted personal repentance towards God – there is no ‘cheap grace’. Furthermore, God is prepared to act in radical judgement on HIs historic people who have, in their complacency, shown no evidence of genuine concern for God and His character. The demand for a genuine response to God is repentance and faith is a fundamental part of the gospel and is found both in Luke and Acts.
God willing, we will look more closely at what repentance means in John’s call and message and its relevance in the communication of the gospel today.
(B)
In the last sharing, we noted that John the Baptist was to prepare the way for the arrival of the Messiah and king; he preached repentance for forgiveness of sins, and he conducted water baptism as a public display of this ‘repentance’. But John made it clear that he was not the “Christ”.
It is helpful to examine what John elaborated with regards to repentance:
Repentance translates a word which means ‘a change of mind’. John was summoning people to change their minds and turn back to God. The act of repentance is met by the offer of forgiveness; the initiative however lies with God, for He is the one who commands repentance.
The summons to repent, and the offer of forgiveness in Jesus’ name are the vital elements of true gospel proclamation.
John the Baptist did not pull his punches when he warned of God’ unavoidable coming judgement and he demanded changed attitudes that would be worked out in action (Luke 3:8). Notice how he even said to those who came: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”
John warned the listeners not to presume on their inherited spiritual status – there was no room for complacency – God is not interested in second-hand spiritual experience, and His blessings do not come automatically. God is perfectly able to make good His promise, to make a people for Himself, without the Jews, or us. Part of the Baptist’s gospel is to warn of God’s judgement on all who fail to bear the fruit of genuine repentance, regardless of spiritual pedigree.
Notice how differently we tend to preach the gospel today – there is virtually no call to repentance – in fact, at times, we even politely invite people to respond as if they are doing God a favour, if they respond positively to Him. There is no clarity about God’s judgement or wrath on those who fail to respond positively; and even for those who responded, repentance and the essential fruit of genuineness of repentance are not highlighted. It is God, in His grace, mercy, and love who takes the initiative to offer salvation and forgiveness of sin to all those who would repent and obey, and not the other way around.
Repentance must be personal and radical (vv 10-14) – the preaching of repentance is presented as an essential part of the gospel message (Luke 5:32;15:7,10; 19:1-10). Even as forgiveness is offered, repentance is demanded.
If the ‘change of mind’ is to carry any weight with God, there must be a corresponding change in action. For the crowd who came to John, repentance would mean an end to greed and the start of a new generosity – turning back to God, the giver of all good things, is to result in the growth of a family likeness or ‘fruit’ (v 9) in His people, as they become generous, kind, and holy, in increasing measures.
For the tax collectors, repentance for them would mean a wholesale change in business practice. Dealing in integrity, fair play were to become the hallmarks of those who turned back to the faithful and just God.
For the soldiers, they were not to use their power for personal gain; for the government officials, repentance was to result in a new way of working.
The repentance sought by God is not simply an intellectual assent to theoretical prepositions – it goes much deeper, and extends to practical submission to His Lordship over all of life! Repentance is to be far-reaching, impacting home life, business life, and roles and responsibilities in society. John’s message and baptism merely pointed the way towards this – Jesus brings its reality. The refusal to repent and the rejection of Christ will result in judgment by Christ.
Today, if certain ones agree to the presentation of the message, and utter the “sinner’s prayer’, he would be assured that he is saved, even though there is no repentance and no submission to God’s Lordship over their lives subsequently. Such false assurances may end up in what is recorded in Matthew 7: “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord.’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven” (v 21).
We, as Christians today, also must ‘prepare the way for the Lord’. This is a repeated emphasis in both Luke and Acts. Without repentance, there can be no forgiveness of sin, no membership of God’s people, and no experience of God’s blessings. No matter what a person’s spiritual pedigree, previous experience, qualifications or privileges might be, repentance is a prerequisite to salvation. This repentance must be personal, genuine, and far-reaching. We must not invent or preach a gospel which sidesteps this truth. Nor should we allow the challenges of Jesus, designed to change our behaviour, to be watered down by appeals to the revised ethical standards of the world. Repentance, if genuine, will reach deep into relationships and habitual practices at home, at work, in the public spheres, and especially in the church.
Ponder over the warnings of the Lord Jesus to the church in Revelation:
To the church in Sardis -…
“you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard, hold it fast and repent” (Rev, 3:1-3).
To the church in Laodicea –
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth……Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent” (Rev. 3:15, 19).
The characteristics of the above two churches singled out by the Lord Jesus seem suspiciously similar to many of the existing churches today. If they apply to us and our church, we must humbly repent before the living Lord Jesus.
(C)
We have been looking at the ministry of John the Baptist from Luke 3. There is more written about him in Matthew (cf) that throws more light on his character and ministry.
But from Luke 3 itself, we note that John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things Herod had done. And Herod locked John in prison because of the latter’s boldness and stance; and subsequently, Herod, from the scheming of Herodias, beheaded John in prison. Here we see one outstanding aspect of John’s character and ministry: he was not afraid to rebuke sin (even if it involves those in power), and he defended ‘truth’ and was courageous to uphold it at a great cost to himself.
In today’s context, many who claim to be servants of God tend to compromise in this area – they allow fear of those in authority to ‘cow’ them; they allow sinners who are looked up to in society and the church to cause them to compromise, or even worse to deny, the truth revealed to them in Scripture. It is easier to remain ‘neutral’ or ‘to sit on the fence’ when it comes to such issues – that is the way of the world in order to ‘survive’ and to keep your positions and status intact. But surely this is not the way for the genuine servant of God who serves Him rather than man.
“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…” (Matt. 11:11) – these are the words of the Lord Jesus. Even the birth of John was heralded by the news of angel Gabriel; the angel told Zechariah: “he will be great in the sight of the Lord.. and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born” (Luke 1:15).
There was never any doubt that John was a great godly prophet who came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Isaiah 40:3-4; Malachi 4:5); but great as he was, he belonged to the era of the Old Covenant and the Old Testament (Matt. 11: 11b) – but he was heralding the coming of the Messiah, and the new covenant, prophesied in Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31). In one sense, he was the last of the great prophets of the Old Covenant – nonetheless, he was still a great servant of God whose task was to herald the arrival of the Messiah and KIng, and whose character and ministry should be emulated by servants of God today.
It is interesting to note that although John was great in the eyes of God, his lifestyle and demeanour did not feature one who is great in the eyes of the world: “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt round his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey” (Matt. 3:4). This reminds us that Jesus himself was born in a manger, and he shared that he had nowhere to lay his head, and he worked as a carpenter in a small town; yet he is God’s Son and the King of the universe. A simple lifestyle seems to characterise the Lord Jesus and his servants – Jesus said this of John: “What did you go out into the wilderness 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’ palace. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet” (Matt. 11: 7-10). What the world looks for in greatness, wealth, and power does not seem to characterise the great servants of God, and rightly so, for the servants of God are citizens of heaven and not permanent residents on earth, and what the world values are in contrast to what God values. That does not mean that those who serve God cannot be wealthy, but is their wealth their God and is luxury and comfort their priority in life? Do these displace the right priority and values in the worship and service of the living God? Is our security in what we possess, or is it in the promise and faithfulness of God? Someone in our DG did share that it seems sad that John the Baptist should end up dead in prison even though he was faithful in his life and ministry. Another even lamented, what is the meaning of being faithful and yet end up dead?
Our Lord Jesus was crucified; all the apostles, with the exception of John, died for their faith and testimony. Even in the book of Revelation, we are told of the saints of God, “They triumphed over him (Satan, the great dragon who leads the world astray) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11). Take note that the victory of the saints (purchased by the blood of the Lamb) was because of their testimony in word and deed, to the point of the willingness to die for God, if that is what is required to be faithful to Him.
In Revelation 6, we read, “..I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out with a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow-servants and brothers and sisters were killed just as they had been” (6:9-11).
There is no doubt that God expects many of His servants to die, in faithfulness to Him, by their testimony and courage, in gratitude to Him for their lives no longer belong to them but to Him who died for them and rose again. Not every faithful servant of God will surely die, but every faithful servant must not shrink from death if it is required in being faithful and true to God. This is part of the cost of true discipleship – denying the self, and carrying the cross, and following Jesus.
When John’s disciples complained that many were going, from John to Jesus, John replied, “He must increase, and I must decrease”. John himself declared that one was coming after him who was greater than he was, and he would baptise with the Holy Spirit.
John demonstrated the spirit of humility and the willingness to put Jesus above and ahead of himself, for he knew fully well his actual status before the almighty Son of God. John even hesitated to baptise Jesus but only did so because the Lord Jesus instructed him to, for he knew that he actually had to be baptised by Jesus instead. When he saw Jesus, he exclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God”.
How do the servants of God today respond when they observe the increase in the ministry of another and the decline of their own ministry? Are they more concerned about their ministry and their reputation rather than the approval of God? Is God’s glory and honour foremost in their lives and ministry rather than their own reputation and self-glory? There is much to learn in this regard from John the baptist.
John the baptist was one of the outstanding and faithful servants of God. Let us not forget that his greatness is in the eyes of God, and not measured by the values of the world or even the values of believers (especially today). As we serve God today, how does God ‘weigh us’ in HIs scale of values??