Matthew
3:1-12
1 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the
wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has
come near." 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he
said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight.' " 4 Now John wore clothing of
camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and
wild honey. 5 Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him,
and all the region along the Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by him in the
river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many Pharisees and
Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who
warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9
Do not presume 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. 10
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. 11 "I
baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is
coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will
clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the
chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of
Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come
near."
·
John the Baptist is the voice we hear every Advent season. Can we
imagine the impact of this man’s preaching? Matthew tells us the
people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region
along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing
their sins. It might have been the religiously fashionable “the
thing to do” at that time, so much so that the religious leaders also when into
the wilderness to see and hear John. Or did they go to be seen and heard with
John? Either way, he let them have it – both barrels: You brood of vipers! Who
warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
·
For whatever reason, all these people went out to see John. They
didn’t invite John to their homes; that might have been dangerous and ugly –
imagine an unwashed man dressed in camel’s hair and eating grasshoppers and
honey in your kitchen.
·
Well there was another reason why the people went out to see John.
He lived in the wilderness and he was in no ways tame. His message was not tame
either: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. For any
number of reasons, he was a wild man, dressed as a prophet like Elijah, living
in an inhospitable place. His message is of the wilderness as Isaiah wrote: The
voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord…'
·
Some scholars say Isaiah tells of a prophetic voice ringing out in
the wilderness. Others say it is in the wilderness that the way of the Lord is
to be prepared.
·
To the Jewish people, the wilderness was a scary place, full of
wild animals and maybe monsters, empty of comforts and nice things. It was also
the place where Israel’s relationship with God was the most pure. As they
wandered in the desert, despite their failings, they knew that God was led
them, fed them, and was with them.
·
So if the message came out of the wilderness to prepare the way or
the message was to prepare a way in the wilderness… Either way or both ways the idea is the same: the highway to God’s
salvation begins in the place of death and chaos because that is where that message is
needed the most.
·
John’s rough-and-tumble message of repentance and change heralds
what is coming. He calls each person to repent and he calls the entire society
to repent and change. His message was for more than personal conversion.
·
He heralds the coming of one who will change everything. I
baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is
coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire. The image he uses of the winnowing fork,
the threshing floor, and the separation of wheat and chaff are straight off the
farm. The kernel was cracked on the threshing floor, then tossed into the air
for “winnowing.” The grain is heavier and falls back down while the chaff,
which is lighter, blows away in the breeze… or is gathered for burning.
·
How could this be good news and grace to us? It all sounds very
edgy and confrontational. Where is the comfort? Where is the liberation?
·
Well, it’s like Buckley’s Syrup. What’s their slogan? “It
tastes awful, but it works.” And it does, doesn’t it? First a bit of ugly
flavour and then you may feel better.
·
Such is John’s message. Being called a ‘brood of vipers’
is not a nice thing, but it can wake you up. The message of judgement can be
frightening, but if that judgement includes both conviction of sin AND the
forgiveness of sin by the grace and mercy of God… well, to me at least, that is
“Good News” and Good News is Gospel.
·
John’s message (and Jesus’ as well after his baptism) is not
simply “Repent because you’re worthless!” but “Repent because something
greater, better, more wonderful than you can imagine is coming! Prepare
yourselves as best you can, because big changes are on the road!” John wants
them to repent because he wants them to share what he sees as good.
·
Instead of imagining John delivering his message in anger, imagine
him preaching in amazement and even joy. The emphasis changes from your sinfulness
to the coming Kingdom of heaven. In fact, “The kingdom of heaven has come
near!”
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of
Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come
near."
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