Week 11 (The Living World) – Day 4: John the Baptist

Day 54 – John the Baptist – Luke 3:1-20

We enter the third straight day of following these events through Luke. This brings certain continuity to the events of which we are reading.  The reference to the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius allows us to place the time within a few years, as we do not know if Luke was counting from the time when Tiberius was co-emperor with his father or emperor on his own.  So we have a small window of AD 26-28 for the start of John’s ministry.

Luke uses words from Isaiah 40:3-5 to describe John’s ministry.  This is typically how the Old Testament prophetic words show up in the Gospels.  The authors interpret events through the words of prophecies from hundreds of years before. Those who wrote the New Testament were deeply steeped in the scripture of the time.  It gives us an example of the usefulness for us to be well educated in scripture, which allows us to place a Godly framework on what we see in our own lives. 

Note that these words do not match Isaiah as found in our Bibles, which are directly from Hebrew.  Most Jews of this time used a Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the LXX (Seventy).  Thus we often see differences between the New Testament and Old Testament words.  Most of the time it is the LXX version which is the root of the difference.  Interestingly enough, as Christianity spreads, the Jewish rabbis declare that LXX is not a good translation and should not be used.  They blame inaccuracies of this version as one of the causes of the spread of Christianity.  The LXX certainly does give some favorable passages versus the original.  That would be another class…

Anyway, back to John.  John’s message consists of three aspects.  First, reliance on one’s bloodline is not a sufficient basis for a relationship with God: …every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”.  (v 9)  For us today this is a warning against cultural Christianity, is a member of a church, but looks at discipleship in the same manner as belonging to a social club.  Sitting in church a few times a year, or even every Sunday, without any transformation, is a tree not bearing good fruit.

Second, repentance takes on a specific form of concrete actions: And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”  (vv 10-11)  Action does not earn us anything, but indicates whether the Holy Spirit is alive in us.  Verses like this are the driving force for us to reach out, such as our new hosting of homeless families.  John, and Jesus to follow, have quite a bit to say about how those on the bottom of the social heap should be treated.  Take some time to read the only description we have of Jesus’ coming judgment of the universe, as found in Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-46.  Providing care to the very least is consistently the measure for a life undergoing transformation.

Finally, John spoke of the coming Messiah.  We too need to remember that Jesus is returning.  Could be tonight, could be a million years from now.  But Jesus is returning.  Something to remember for the community of faith as a whole and the urgency with which we need to move: not frenetic action, but not complete inaction either.  Something for us, as individuals, to remember, when we choose between opportunities to become stronger disciples versus signing up for a third sport to fill up the calendar.

While John was not a politician, he will be executed by Herod for his message, which is viewed as a threat against those in political power.  Just like Jesus.

Maybe something I wrote today has fired you up.  If so, that was the purpose, because now you know how the people felt who heard John’s message.

  

In Christ,

Randy