Meet John the Baptist
We will be going back to three devotionals a week (Mon., Wed., Fri.) until the end of February. I have not made final decisions about Lent which begins on March 2, 2022.
Luke 3:1-9
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler[b] of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 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 the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out 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 be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
7 John said 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 worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Vs. 1, 2, and the first part of 3 tell us who the important people in that part of the world were – at least as the media would have thought the important people were. But the second part of vs. 3 tells us who really was important – John the son of Zechariah. The Word of the Lord came to him – giving him a message to preach. The one through whom God speaks is greater than all the politicians and military generals in the world with all their pomp and power.
John was sent to get the people ready for the one who was coming – for the Lord (God) who was coming. John was the warm-up band for the real act. Major construction would be needed to get ready for the coming of the King. When we lived in Iran we knew when the Shah was about to visit because the route he would travel was repaved, the street lines painted, and new flowers planted. John’s message is not about superficial change – he called for permanent change in the lives of his hearers.
John’s message was demanding, harsh. It was not good enough to go through the religious ritual of being baptized – which was a confession of having done wrong. In other words, it was not enough for people to feel badly about what they had done, they had to show in their lives the signs that they were living changed lives. Confession of sin, regret for what we have done, must lead to changed behaviour. Having the right heritage, knowing the right words, doing the right rituals were worth nothing – were no protection against destruction. Living a pattern of life that God desired, that was the proof that change was real.
PRAYER:
Lord God, we so easily say we are sorry for what we have done wrong, but we find it much harder to live changed lives. Send us your Holy Spirit to remake our lives, refine us to be the people you have called us to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.