You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? When last did you hear a preacher say this? It’s a wake up call. Like someone waking you up in the middle of the night! And the house in already on fire. The person does not waste words. He wants to save you! RUN, ESCAPE! That is the nature of the passage before us.
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.
This historical piece sounds like an introduction to one of the prophetic books. In the prophetsa similar kind of introduction is given, “in the day of so and so, the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, or Jeremiah.”Luke is saying – here is another prophet that brings the Word of Yahweh in line with the Old Testament prophets. This is world history moving to its climactic point. This is not some fairy tale. These are real people. Ruling real places.. The world movers and shakers are only the backdrop to Gods word in the wilderness.
The word of God came to John! Only the word of the LORD that can prepare the way of the LORD.
The prophet of God prepares the way of the LORD!
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The mission and the message
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The man John, and the Messiah
The Mission & Message
3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The Jordan was the way through which all isreal had passed to enter the promised land, now they would have to pass through it once more to enter all that the promised land pointed to! The kingdom of God!
This baptism was not just for the unbelieving gentiles as one would expect during that time, but for Gods covenant people – they too needed to repent and be washed for the forgiveness of sins! They needed to confess that they were in fact no different then gentiles. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God! Therefore, all need repentance and forgiveness.
Repentance. We talked about it a bit last week. It means a change of mind, a change of ways.. It is a word that has lately fallen out of use. Change! in the light of Gods coming arrival.
Repentance and forgiveness go hand in hand. Those things you ask for forgiveness for you also don’t want to do again. Washing of sins, and the newness of life! This message is one that confronts, convicts, and converts those who are broken, sinful, sick. But for the hypocrite and self-righteous it is one that condemns. This was his message! What he says must be read in this light!
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, In the wilderness, he was a voice crying. His entire mission is the mission of every pastor, simply to be a voice – pointing this way! A voice whose only purpose is to disappear in the light of the One who is to Come (Rev 1:18). This is his mission.
‘Prepare the way of the Lord! There is a second exodus coming! “The way” causes us to think of the way God led them through the wilderness. Exodus 23:20, “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. The final Joshua – saviors is about to lead his people to victory.
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, ’”
Things being leveled is never a nice feeling. Rough, crooked, and hilly all leveled. This was about bringing real repentance to the lives of Gods people. This is about a way of life that’s set straight so that God may appear on the scene of human history!
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. When Jesus was taken to the temple, old Simeon already had seen the salvation of God, Luke 2:30-32 “For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.This salvation is none other than Jesus. This is the mission of John!
7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, The day of the Lord is upon us, the judgement of God is coming. No wonder everyone was flocking to the Jordan to be baptized..
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? These are the first words of John the Baptist. The sanitized Christmas of cute shepherds, babies, and joy that lasts till we go back to work after the December holidays have no room for this prophet. This prophet, the prophet of advent does not fit in the advent season of singing and Christmas carols. What are we to do with this man whose first words in the gospels are “you children of snakes!”
There is a prayer in some churches said at the beginning of the Lord’s supper that says, “O Lord to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, from whom no secrets are hid…” We know this as well. This is true. But it can be simply some vague religious idea that God knows about it, like 1+1=2. We can so quickly rattle the truth off, but when we stop to think of his knowing and his judgement, can we be honest and say… it’s pretty scary.
We don’t want our hearts exposed. We want our secrets to remain hidden. It makes us uncomfortable because we know there is something wrong with us.
John preached, don’t think its ok! Repent! Recognize in the light of his coming that you are a lost sinner. You need forgiveness. You need to change. You can’t keep going on like this. In preparing the hearts for Christ he forces people to come to grips with the sin within. People who don’t like to hear about judgement are sometimes those who fear it the most. Others that treat his judgement as some theological nicety for people “out there” have no clue what sin is “in here”. The wrath of God is real upon sin.
The people God came to save were not cute and beautiful and good. But ugly, rebellious, and wicked. And notice who he was talking to! Covenant people! This was the seed of the woman, and yet he calls them children of vipers.
And yet there is hope! Remember his message iis one of repentance and forgiveness! We need to know that this is news able to transfigure the ugliest shepherds, the most demon possessed the most harden addicts, the most self-righteously blind. Me and you. Will you escape the wrath to come?
8. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Bear fruits in keeping with repentant. Show by your walk of life that you are preparing for the coming of the king! Repent! This is the application of the first message before Jesus came, and the first message that was preached after Jesus ascended.
It is what Jesus came to do. To change us. Believing in this onely way to be changed. He came To give us the ability to repent. So that we would bear fruit. To sanctify us! It is so easy to think as we come to church every Sunday, “Its ok. We are reformed. VGK even.” We stop with forgiveness, but that is only the start of the gospel. listen to the rest of the message.
…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. There are those people in conservative churches who can sit back and think they are part of the covenant. Or there are those outside the church that think that God will just accept them no matter what. Neither is right. God will not accept you because of your credentials, or because he is just nice. He will accept you only by true faith in the one who is to come. A living faith, that embraces him and feeds Him and produces the fruit.
The gospel story is often presented as come as you are. This is true, up to a point. Yet it is not the complete story. There is more to it than that. Something must be done to us. We must be purified and refined so that we may present ourselves in the words of Paul, “As a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
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.” This is apocalyptic language, and it signifies the arrival of God.
But the greatest danger is that we are likely thinking not of ourselves but of someone else. As we go out of church, we are already thinking of someone who needs to be cleaned up, not me. Some other group of people that need to be refined, not our group. Faith and repentance in Christ are needed for one and all.
The ax is as the root of the tree. And the call of the gospel goes out with urgency.
But since John something has happened... The ax came down not first and foremost on Gods people – although that would happen in AD 70 but on Gods anointed one! John’s preaching sets it into motion. With John the world begins to turn on its hinges. The final reckoning is going to take place, the judge of all the universe steps into the scene.
Imagine the picture! The judge confronts us. But it is not as we feared.
O beloved! How surprising! How amazing! Do you see it?! The face of the Judge is marked with infinite compassion, and infinite suffering. His hands and feet are torn by spikes driven in by violent blows. His brow is pierced by the crown of thorns, and his expression bears the tokens of utmost humiliation. The judgement has already happened. In light of his coming there remain only one answer.
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” Again in a masterful way Luke connects the gospel, with Acts. The first sermon in Luke is a call to repentance. The first sermon in Acts is a call to repentance. The first question in response to John is “What shall we do?!” and the first response in Acts is “What shall we do!?”
And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
Repentance is practical, and the inward life affects outward change. For the crowds this is generosity, for the tax collectors it was honesty, and for the soldiers it was civility, and not using power and strength for their own gain. Repentance is not some pie in the sky notion but a way of life that is visible is the down-to-earth everyday life. It is also important what he didn’t tell them. He didn’t tell them to quit and all become evangelists, he did not tell the tax collectors to quit working for the corrupt government. Dear church repentance is not seen in you doing some extraordinary heroic tasks, but in your living ordinary life in transformed way. Go home this. Pay fare wages, don’t use your influence ot manipulate and get your way. BShare your toys kids. Be kind and serve if you are in power. Be honest with your time. Let your yes be yes. Seve the lease, even when you wont get your money back. Work hard. You don’t have to go on a retreat, or mission trip, or take a seminary class.
Johns message was uncompromising condemnation of the people for their sin – their greed, dishonesty, neglect of the poor, and assumption that God is on their side. But at the same time a call of hope for these people that change was possible, that forgiveness was real!
The man and Messiah
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John is held in utmost respect by all four gospels.! Israel who loved the porphets at this time, actually thought he was the messiah! He is the last and greatest of the Hebrew prophets. When we think of the prophets we think of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jonah! But the first that ought to come to mind is john the Baptist The one that was the final one. Who announced the coming of the one whose sandal he was unworthy to untie.
16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. A rabbi would not even let his servant untie his Sandle. It was too degrading. But this is even too high an honor for John the greatest of OT prophets! John is so careful not to usurp and Jesus’ place! The greatest OT prophet is nothing in comparison with Jesus. This is the proper attitude of every Christian.
One thinks of Luther’s graphic way of saying it when people started to call themselves Lutheran rather then “Evangelical,. “Who is Luther? My teaching is not my own, and I have not been crucified for anyone. Why should it happen to me, miserable stinking bag of maggots that I am, that the children of Christ should be called by my insignificant name.” We are not Calvinist, we are not Lutheran, we are not firstly VGK we are Christian.
Calvin does not save, luther does not save, being VGK does not save. We must remind ourselves we are not the savior. WE cannot save. All we can do it point to him!
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. John the Baptist stands at the edge of the ages. Advent looks to the long-expected day of the Lord when the old age of sin and death will pass away. When the flesh is crucified, so that people might walk in step with the Spirit! The old age is ruled by the spirit of rebellion against God, in the coming kingdom we have the Spirit of freedom.
This fire is the fire of refining, of purifying for himself a people. As 1 Peter 1: 7 Says, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ Who is the wheat and who is the chaff. This is the question. Opinions change according to world. Sometimes its liberals sometimes its conservatives who are the chaff. Sometimes it’s the rich, sometimes politicians, other times other religions. Are we good and others bad. Where is the line? Who will burn and who will not. For john the preaching was the fork that sifted. But Who blows away and who comes to rest on the threshing floor? The world’s greatest novel writers, know and I think we all know, the line between the two is blurred in all of is. One author writes, “if the desire to kill or cheat, and the opportunity to do it always come together, who would not escape prison?”
Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature that needs improvement, he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. We must be disarmed by God. That is what John is about, disarming us. He is winnowing us. Our whole life. Separating the wheat from the chaff.
Faith is the difference. A living faith wholly dependent on grace. That is the difference between the chaff and the wheat. His grace. That humbles us totally so that we come not as a separate group – but as one with a broken humanity asking, “what shall we do?!” That is the difference. Thos who hold onto the eternal one, rather than their temporary life’s. Those who are willing to give all for him, rather then keeping the smallest thing back.
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. I love the combination of these words. Exhortations. And Good news. The Good news comes with exhortations. This is the good news of judgement upon our sin. But that means we must recognize our sin as sin. He preached until…
19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
According to Rome the Herod Antipas was a good ruler. But Rome is not the only Judge. God is judge. The prophet called out sin everywhere. The church must be the prophetic voice of God in the world. Calling with an urgency repentance, and forgiveness in Jesus’ name – no matter what the cost! The prophets each suffered for announcing the one who is to come. John was not to be exempt. His work was done.
The way had been prepared. The one who is to come will now step onto the scene of world history. Are you ready?