The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Luke, the third chapter:
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, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 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, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ” He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. 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. 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.” And the crowds asked him, “What then 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?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 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.”Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
It’s so easy to skip past these first few verses of Luke’s introduction to John, but, in actuality, they set the stage for the whole thing. It’s like skipping through the genealogies we find in the Scriptures, or the details of the giving of different laws in the Old Testament. To us, it just doesn’t seem relevant, yet, Luke was inspired to write these things for a very specific reason. The Holy Spirit never wastes a word.
So, we find ourselves asking then, what does this mean? Well, in one sense, these words are here that we might find ourselves smack dab in the middle of time. It’s actually one of the reasons that the phrase “and crucified under Pontius Pilate” is necessary: it locates the crucifixion to a specific moment; it makes it historical. You can’t just say that the crucifixion is a fable or a story if you locate to a point in history. And so, with John coming on the scene this morning, Luke fixes his coming to a specific time: fifteen years into Tiberius Caesar’s reign, Pontius Pilate governing, the three tetrarch ruling, Annas and Caiaphas are in the Temple, and John comes forward. It’s a moment in history that Luke captures for us, and a moment that he has given us through the Word of God for us to use in verification of the facts.
But, there’s an even greater reason that Luke includes these details here, and that’s to show the order of the world at the time. Luke doesn’t tell us that it’s the illegal reign of Caesar in Judea according to the laws of the Jews. He doesn’t tell us about the evil Caiaphas. He doesn’t mention the adultery, the incest, and the murder that Herod and his brothers committed. He’s not hiding it; I think Luke expects his readers to already know these things about these men. Instead, he lays out the facts: Caesar, Pilate, Herod and his brothers, Annas and Caiaphas are all in the places that God has put them, and this order is there for a reason.
If we understand this point, then it is good for us to apply it then to John. John, forerunner of the Christ, is called from his wilderness wanderings and into public view. He is the one prophesied of by Isaiah, he is the voice crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. Have you thought about this? John is called the voice. The idea is that it’s not really his person that important, but the message. It doesn’t really matter that he wears camel’s hair and eat locusts and lets his bead get all scraggly. What matters is that John has been sent to proclaim the Word of the Lord that he might prepare the way of the Lord.
So, what does he do? He doesn’t go to the kings and declare the Word to them like other prophets have done. He doesn’t force his way into their throne rooms and demand they repent or that they get on track else God would destroy them. The prophets of old did this. But John is the last of the prophets. The time has passed for such messages; the reckoning of God was already on its way. The repentance of the kings would be good, yes, but the plan of God was already in motion. John wasn’t called to the kings.
Instead, he was called to the Jordan River. He was called to wade in mud and filth. One good reason for this was the baptisms he would bring to the people. John’s baptism isn’t exactly what we think of in regards to our Baptisms (you see all through the New Testament that John’s baptism wasn’t enough; the people needed the Baptism of the Holy Spirit–our Baptism). Yet, what John’s baptism did was give the people a chance to repent and for John to declare to them the forgiveness of their sins. His baptism was more like our Confession and Absolution, just with a very physical medium. Another reason John was called to the Jordan is clear if you know about acoustics. Often, the river would be surrounded by high banks, and if John stepped down to the bottom of the high banks, he could preach loudly to the people who would gather to hear him on both sides.
Yes, John was called to the Jordan, to minister to those in need. He came not for the high and mighty, for the meek and the lowly of heart. He came for those who heard the Word of God and turned from their sin, seeking the forgiveness of God. This is preparing the way of the Lord. This is making His paths straight. This is filling the valleys and razing the hills and mountains. This is making the crooked straight, and the rough places flat. Repentance and the forgiveness of sins. That’s what John was called to do.
And when he sees all the people gathered around him, that’s what he does. Notice, he doesn’t call everyone in with kind and gentle words. He doesn’t tell them of the love of God for them. He doesn’t tell them to think about the mercies of God. He doesn’t play the flute for them. Instead, he sees this souls gathering around him to hear the Word, and he calls them all a brood of vipers. This means, by the way, not just that they’re vipers themselves, but sons of vipers, meaning that they were begotten in their state from those who came before. I’m not sure that I can actually say in polite company, especially from the pulpit, what kinds of words this would be similar to today. I’d probably get an earful from more than a couple folks. But, by calling them vipers, John makes it clear, they’re not okay with God and God’s not okay with them. It’s not a happy-go-lucky message.
So, think about this, John here is condemning people in their sin, not just for what they’ve done, but for who they are and from whom they’ve come. Caesar, the ruler of the world, Pilate, his governor, Herod’s family, the rulers of the Jews, and the priests Annas and Caiaphas, the rulers of the faith, are those from whom they’ve come. Gentile and Jew alike, taking their orders from those above them. It’s like the people gathered are the children of these rulers. The abuse, the fornication, the adultery, the worship of false gods, the murder, the intrigue, the covetousness, the theft, the falsehoods they spoke, all dripping from their lips like poison from the fangs, is theirs but comes from their fathers, the cruel rulers of the age, the rulers who have forgotten the God they serve.
So, when the people hear this they have two choices: get ticked at the messenger or verify that the message the messenger brings is true. And what do they do? They’re cut to the heart by John’s message, because he tells them the truth, he tells them that God is going to cut out their lineage from Israel if they don’t repent. Now, remember, this is what the prophets of old would tell the kings; John tells this to the people. Before, if the Word of God convicted the heart of the kings, the kings would make the people follow. But, like Pharaoh hardening his heart from God, the kings would no longer hear the Word of God. Now, John ministers to the people themselves, turning their hearts from their fathers to the one True Father in heaven.
In their conviction, they cry out for mercy, what shall we do. And John tells them: do good. If you have more than enough stuff, share with those who have none. If you have more than enough food, give it to the hungry. If you’re a tax collector, known for stealing from the people to pad their wallets, collect only what the government has authorized you to do. If you’re a soldier, soldier on, protect the people, live within your means, honorably. John doesn’t tell them to go and do amazing feats of strength or faith, just to live lives of faith. Later, he’ll baptize them. In other places, he tells them to repent. It’s for us to see that John tells them to take poison given them by their fathers and turn it the wine of mercy for others.
For us, it’s enough to know that when we are looking at what we’ve inherited from our fathers in this world, our cruelty, our injustice, our condemnation of others, our Lord calls us out of this darkness and into His marvelous light. It’s not that doing these good works, living honorably amongst one another, wins for us salvation, but these are the good works of those convicted by the Law of God and turned, by faith, to God’s mercy in Jesus Christ.
I mean, this is the real problem: a snake can’t change its spots. Or maybe you should say a snake can’t change its stripes. Still not right. A snake can’t change its venom. It can’t. A viper can’t say that it’s going to be a garter snake. A lion can’t say it’s going to be a zebra. A giraffe can’t say its an ant. It can’t be done. Neither can a person say that they’re going to be righteous, that they’re going to change themselves to follow after the will of God. Something else, something greater, needs to go on there. In fact, this is what the will of God is: that He sends His Son, Jesus the Christ, the One of whom John prophesied, to save His people from their sins, and, by His blood shed on the tree and the sacrifice made which appease the wrath of God, all those who believe in Him are adopted as sons of God. We are taken from our viperous fathers and given a place in the family of the true Father. He takes our poison and turns it to goodness. You can’t do it, but with God, nothing is impossible.
John would preach to you the same thing he preached 2000 years ago. He’d call you vipers. What, you just go out in to the wilderness to catch some good entertainment? That’s not enough for him. He’s got bigger things to worry about. He ‘s not worried if you’re happy. He’s not worried if you like the hymns you sang at temple that week. He’s not worried that things are going to plan. He’s worried about your salvation. Do you believe in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world or are you going to hell? Do you repent of your sins or are you going to hell? Will you be raised unto life everlasting or are you going to hell?
John doesn’t care what you think of him but does care what you think about God and others. John cares that you’re in eternity with Him, with Christ, forever. This is what it is to prepare the way of the Lord. This is making His paths straight. This is filling the valleys and razing the hills and mountains. This is making the crooked straight, and the rough places flat. This is repentance and forgiveness. This the voice crying in the wilderness that the Lord is coming, and we better get ready. Repent and be forgiven. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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