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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who
warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with
repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our
father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for
Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does
not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Matthew 3:7-10
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him,
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce
fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We
have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can
raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and
every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into
the fire.”
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with
the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they
asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he
told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people
falsely—be content with your pay.”
Luke 3:7-14
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be
to God.
Over the past few devotions, our focus us been on John
the Baptist, the man who emerged from the desert wilderness to proclaim Jesus’
coming, the man many drew to and responded to his call to repent and be
baptized. As we look at today’s passage, we find certain groups of people came
to John to be baptized and learned they could no longer live their lives the
same afterwards for as John told them, a change was required. Look at these two
excerpts from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke:
But when he saw
many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said
to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce
fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can
raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and
every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into
the fire.” Matthew 3:7-10
John said to the
crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you
to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do
not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you
that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is
already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good
fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
“What should we do
then?” the crowd asked.
John answered,
“Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone
who has food should do the same.”
Even tax
collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any
more than you are required to,” he told them.
Then some soldiers
asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t
extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” Luke 3:7-14
I find it fascinating that both of these separate
accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection document the words of John
nearly identical. It is typically very rare to see this happen but in this
instance, there is no disputing what was said, even if the audience was more
laser-focused in Matthew’s Gospel.
That audience was a crowd that included many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees as well as tax collectors and soldiers. All of them
received less than an arm opening welcome from John who referred to the
collective group as a “brood of vipers” and questioned who had “warned them
from the coming wrath”. As we read on, we get a sense that those in the group
who were coming for baptism were not really interested in changing who they
were and how they lived. They were Jews and deep down they thought that was
enough to save them from their sins.
John counteracted that belief attitude by assuring them
that simply proclaiming Abraham as the father of their nation was not enough to
save them from a future judgment, a judgment that would eliminate anyone who
was not producing good fruit, much like a tree chopped down by an axe and then
thrust into the fire. This was a precursor to the announcement of Jesus who was
coming to do much more than baptize with water as we will see in tomorrow’s devotion.
But before we get there, back to today’s word and the
impact John’s words had on the crowd who quickly asked John:
“What should we do
then?”
In other words, the people wanted to know what change was
required from the current way they were living. They were hungry to understand
what it would take to produce the fruits of repentance that John had spoken
about.
Well, in addressing the crowd as a whole, John provided
this fundamental task:
“Anyone who has
two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food
should do the same.”
Note here three immediate things.
First, John was leading the crowd to an attitude of
sharing that would alter the direction away from themselves and toward the
needs of others.
Secondly, John was placing the less fortunate at the
center of attention. He was calling the people to care for those who were in
need, something we know Jesus would build on during His ministry.
Finally, John was opening up the matter of caring and
sharing for all people. Note here he didn’t specifically say that a Jew was to
only share clothing or food with another Jew. That means that if a Jew saw a
Gentile in need, they were to give to them as they would one of their own in
order to produce the proper fruits of repentance. This would require a major
shift in their discriminatory cultural attitudes.
Did I mention that repentance and baptism require change?
Well, as we continue to look at Luke’s account, we find
the tax collectors coming forward to ask John what they should do. And if you
knew anything about the way tax collectors were viewed within the Jewish
community, you might understand why they would ask. Let’s say they weren’t the
most respected or beloved members of Jewish society.
This is because the tax collectors were often appointed
by the Romans to collect the monies Caesar levied on the Jews, monies that were
required to be paid or else. There was a feeling among the Jewish people that
the tax collectors were traitors of sort and working against their own kind.
And then there was the matter of how unscrupulous some of
the tax collectors were, charging more than the amount Caesar really was
demanding and pocketing the difference, essentially profiting off their Jewish
brothers and sisters. As we advance in our study of the Gospels, you will see
that the ire of the Jewish people for tax collectors would be reflected in how
they referred to them, as a common stated grouping would be “sinners and tax
collectors”.
More on that later but for now, the tax collectors wanted
to know:
“Teacher, what
should we do?”
John’s reply was predictable based on the tax collectors’
reputation:
“Don’t collect any
more than you are required to.”
Finally, a group of soldiers questioned John as to what
they should do and John told them:
“Don’t extort
money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
It was almost as if John was peering right into the souls
of those who came to him and pinpointing sinful places requiring exposure and
correction, requiring repentance and a willingness to change.
Indeed, as John plunged person after person into the
Jordan River after their repentance, they were to emerge from the water more
than just wet. They were to come out ready to be a different person, ready to
produce fruit through the way they lived, bringing the fullest extent of honor
and glory to God.
Today, the call to change through repentance and baptism
is still the same. The difference is that we are not focusing on John but Jesus
instead, committing ourselves to rise from the water new in Him, prepared to
model His life in the way we live our own. In other words, when we come to
Christ, a change is required. The apostle Paul put it this way:
Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is
here! 2 Corinthians 5:17
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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