"In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 3:1-2)
Before Jesus began his earthly ministry, he was preceded by a prophetic forerunner--John the Baptist. Luke tells us of the circumstances of John's birth and that he was filled with the Spirit from birth. Then each of the gospel accounts preface the ministry of Jesus with the ministry of John. He was the one who came to preach and prepare the way for the Messiah. Though he denied being the returned embodiment of Elijah, Jesus acknowledged that John was the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy that the LORD would send Elijah before his great and awesome day arrived.
John came as a strange figure. His father was a priest, but this preacher wouldn't follow in his father's ministry methods. Rather than being a participant in the sacrificial system, John went out into the wilderness and proclaimed a message. Why would he go to the wilderness? This is not where you would expect someone to go find a crowd. If you want a hearing, go where the people are, right? Go to the cities--the population centers of bustling activity. No, John would not have that. He went to the wilderness, to the forsaken places, and there he proclaimed a message of repentance.
In spite of his unlikely place to perform his ministry, John gathered a following. People saw this strange man who dressed in camel's hair and a leather belt, who ate locusts and wild honey, and they left their cities and went to the barren places to hear his preaching. Lesson 1: You don't have to make things easy on people to get them to come, if what you are preaching is worth hearing, they will come.
John's message was no easier than his lifestyle. He preached repentance and he baptized his followers. It's uncertain where John got this from. There were ritual washings for purification within Judaism at the time, and proselytes were sometimes baptized, but John's baptism was different. If there was a link to proselyte baptism, it communicates something radical. John was telling Jews that if they wanted to be be right with God they had to repent and convert.
Lots and lots of people came out to see John. Maybe some wanted to see the spectacle, but many came to be baptized and they were confessing their sins. Among those who came out to see John were the religious leaders. The Pharisees and Sadducees were not two groups you would expect to be together. The Pharisees were conservatives. They were radically devoted to the study of God's word. They accepted all of it. They believed the Torah (the first five books of Moses) and all the prophets. They heard the message of the prophets and the warning they gave because of the sins of the people, and they responded with a legalistic devotion to living out the law--and not just the law but all the traditions associated with it as well. The Sadducees were liberals. They didn't believe in an afterlife. They only believed in the Torah and they were mainly among elites and the rich. The two groups would not usually be together on anything, but here we see they were both curious to see what this prophet was doing out in the wilderness, so they too came out to see.
John didn't do what you might expect when he saw these religious leaders. You might expect that he would say, "I'm so glad you are here. Come and join us." But no. That isn't John's response. Rather, he calls them names. He doesn't just call them any names, he calls them a brood of vipers. Now, not everyone accepts the validity of this, but considering the conflict that is set up in Genesis 3 between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, I think it's likely John was telling them they were the seed of the serpent. They were the enemies of God's people. They were children of the devil. Not exactly a warm welcome. Then, as if to anticipate their objection, John says, "don't presume on saying we are Abraham's seed." John tells them that the fact that they had the right religious pedigree didn't help them a bit. What matters is fruit. The fruit in the lives of these religious leaders revealed who's children they really were. John told them that if they wanted to escape the coming wrath they only way they would do so would be to truly repent and turn from their former way of life. They had to have fruit that corresponded with repentance. If their repentance is real, they will humble themselves and they would become as children.
John warned them that the time was coming when someone greater than himself was coming. He wouldn't just preach repentance and baptize with water. He would baptize with Holy Spirit fire. The image is that figuratively, fire comes down on the one who is being immersed in the Holy Spirit and burns away the chaff. He will do this among groups. The sheep will be with Christ in paradise, and the goats will be thrown into eternal fire. And he would do it with individuals. When a person is born again, they are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the old man dies and is burned away, and the new man, the product of the new birth, the fruit of repentance is all that remains.
John's message is still a hard message. It tells us not to presume on the faith of our family heritage. If we will be accepted by God we will personally and individually bear the fruit of repentance. It tells us that being religious is dangerous. The religious leaders were who John called children of the devil! Just because someone is a preacher, a deacon, a Sunday School teacher, or because they walked an aisle doesn't mean they are right with God. Only the one who responds in repentance and faith in Christ will survive the oncoming fire of baptism.
"His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:12)
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