Matthew 3
In all likelihood, if his ministry took
place today, people would say John needs to learn some manners. They would
encourage him to soften his tone to appeal to a broader demographic. They would
think he was a kook, weirdo, or nut; too passionate about his delivery and too
judgmental in his message.
But this is the man that God the Father
chose to baptize Jesus, God the Son, and mark Him for His earthly ministry.
John was the first to point to Jesus as an adult and testify that He was the
one God had sent to save his people. We do well to listen carefully to John the
Baptist and to consider his malediction upon those who came to hear him preach.
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to
flee from the coming wrath?” Notice that these words were directed toward the
Pharisees and Sadducees. These were the religious leaders of the day. They each
had their faith related problems. The Pharisees were legalists, trying to earn
their way into heaven. The Sadducees were religious politicians, believing
there was no such thing as angels or heaven or hell. Our sinful nature often
leads us toward one of these areas of false belief.
“Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”
To repent means to turn away from our sin in sorrow and to cling to God’s mercy
for forgiveness. As Christians, we believe that God has redeemed us in Christ
and that we did nothing to earn that. But now that we are forgiven we struggle
and strive to do what is good and right. This, too, flows from repentance -
that we turn from our sins and seek to live as God commands. Yet we never place
our hope in our actions but only in Jesus’ sacrifice.
“Do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father,’ ….” This odd statement reminds us that faith is
given to us individually. We cannot count on our parents’ or grandparents’
relationship to God to gain God’s blessings for us. It is another earthly hope
that is really no hope when it comes to heavenly things. It doesn’t matter if
you grew up Lutheran, Baptist, Catholic, etc. What matters is faith in Jesus,
God’s Son Whom He loves, who has come to save us from our sins. He is our hope;
the hope we share with others.
Lord, keep me steadfast in Your Word and
lead me by faith into proper repentance and truthful witness of Your salvation.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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