John the Baptist is undoubtedly one of the most unique and powerful individuals who has ever lived. In this sermon we saw John’s Method, Manner and Message.
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The Ministry of John the Baptist
Luke 3:1-14
In the first two chapters, Luke has chronicled the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist, and the announcement of the birth of Jesus Christ. Then Luke has described the birth of John, and then the birth of Jesus. Luke has gone on to describe Jesus’ circumcision, His presenting in the temple, and one incident from his boyhood. For the most part, we know very little about the first 30 years of Jesus’ life. The gospel writers were not interested in telling us about that portion of Jesus’ life. Why? Because it is not important. What is important is what took place when Jesus was about 30 years old. And what is really important is what happened at the end of Jesus’ life. The last 7 days in His life, occupies about 33% of the gospels!
You see, in chapters 1 and 2, Luke is just setting the stage for what he really wants to write about. As we come to Luke chapter 3, the real substance of the story Luke is writing for Theophilus begins. In a sense, all of that which we have studied so far has been preparatory. Luke is far more interested in chronicling Jesus’ 3.5 years of ministry, than he is in chronicling Jesus’ entire life.
And the one whom God chose to prepare the way for His Son, was a man by the name of John. We know him as John the Baptist. He is one of the most unique and powerful men who has ever lived. We are going to take 2 weeks to study John’s life and his ministry.
Luke begins chapter 3 by telling us that “the word of God came to John” (3:2). That’s the main driving verb. Everything surrounding it is simply amplifying that statement. You see, there had been no prophet of God in 400 years. God’s people had not heard Him speak in 4 centuries. And then, swiftly, and boldly, John appeared on the scene. The word of God came to John. Literally, “the word of God came upon John.” The word came with such power and conviction upon John that it was like a pressure upon him. John was called by God to take this word and deliver it to the people of Israel.
When did the word of God come to John? Well, verse 1 and 2 tells us when. Luke gives us no less than 7 historical figures in pinpointing the time. It was in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, which would pinpoint it to about 27-28 A.D. Luke mentions an Emperor, a governor, 3 Tetrarchs, and 2 High Priests. Now, why does he give us so much historical detail in pinpointing the time in which John began to minister? I believe it was to forcefully prove that this is no fanciful fairy tale, or work of fiction. The things Luke is writing about, actually took place in real history. Luke is writing a real biography, rooted in history.
Where did the word of God come to John? According to verse 2, it was in the wilderness. You will recall from 1:80 that “the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.” John was a bit eccentric. He dressed in camel’s hair and a leather belt. He ate grasshoppers and wild honey. And rather than living in town among his family and friends, he lived in seclusion out in the wilderness, in the deserts. You might even call him a hermit. However, it was important for John to live in seclusion, because as God’s mighty instrument, he needed much time to commune with God and hear from Him.
Now, with that as our background, we are going to examine the Method, the Manner, and the Message of John the Baptist.
1. John’s Method
John was a prophet of God. He was called to deliver God’s word to the nation of Israel. He was to be the catalyst to spearhead revival amongst the Jews. So, how would he accomplish this? What method would he use? According to verse 3, he did it by preaching. “And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching.” In verse 4, John is called “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘make ready the way of the Lord.” God had purposed to do something huge, something amazing through John. God was going to use John to get a whole generation ready for its Messiah. So, how can this be accomplished? Through a slick marketing campaign? Will God give His Word to the powerful and influential people of the day – the movers and shakers – the Emperor, the Governor, the Tetrarchs, the high priests? No! Instead, God bypasses all of these worldly and powerful people, and selects a man who has lived in communion with God out in the deserts all his days. And how does John effect dramatic change in Israel? What does he do in order to be used of God to bring about a sovereign revival in Judea? He preaches!
This is how it has always been. It was through the preaching of Jonah that the entire city of Ninevah repented in sackcloth and ashes. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the other lesser known prophets were preachers. Jesus was a preacher. The mighty moving of the Holy Spirit in the early church was effected through the preaching of apostles and others. And, in the history of the church, God has wrought His saving works through preaching. Luther, Calvin and Knox were all great preachers. Similarly, the Puritans of the 17th century, and Whitefield, Wesley and Daniel Rowland of the 18th century were powerful preachers that were used to bring Revival to God’s church. In fact the apostle Paul says in 1 Cor. 1:21, “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”
Folks, I’m convinced that we can’t improve on God’s method. Woe to us as a church if we give up preaching the Word for music, or for skits. God’s proven method for thousands of years has been the uncompromising preaching of His Word. We need to strive to preach God’s truth in a way that people today can relate to and understand, but by all means, we must preach! Whether it is out on the streets, or here in the church, we must give priority to preaching God’s Word if we want to see the Spirit of God move in powerful ways.
2. John’s Manner
If John’s method was preaching, what then was his manner? How did he preach and minister to people? Look at verse 7, “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Not exactly an example of Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”! John’s manner was bold, direct, honest, and forthright. John didn’t pull any punches. He was a straight shooter. Actually, he was just plain blunt. John spoke to the crowds about sin and hell in no uncertain terms.
Brood of Vipers
So, what is a brood of vipers. Well, a viper is a poisonous snake. A brood is a bunch of poisonous snakes that have just been hatched from eggs. So, in reality, John was saying to these people that they were a whole bunch of poisonous snakes. Who was Jesus talking to? Well in Luke 3 it just says that he said it to the crowds. However, in Mt. 3:7 we are told that John said this to the Pharisees and Sadducees that came for baptism. Now, to Jews schooled in the Old Testament Law, what would they have understood by “brood of vipers”? They would have immediately thought of Genesis 3, where Satan is pictured as a serpent or a viper. God said to Satan, “I will put enmity between your seed and her seed.” These Pharisees and Sadducees would have known that Jesus was saying to them that they were the seed of the serpent, or the sons of the devil. This is exactly what Jesus said later in John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.” John doesn’t mince words. When these rotten, deadly, religious leaders came to him, he told them that they were enslaved to Satan and possessed his nature.
The Wrath To Come
Further, John boldly and uncompromisingly tells these hearers that there is wrath coming. John doesn’t seem embarrassed or fearful of speaking about God’s coming wrath. Instead, John is certain that God’s wrath is coming upon Satan and all his children. Later, in verse 9 John says, “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” He says also in verse 17, “His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” John is clear. There is wheat and there is chaff. There are sons of Satan and sons of God. The wheat will be gathered into the Lord’s barn. The chaff will be burned up with unquenchable fire. It’s really that simple. Maybe those that heard John didn’t agree with him, but there was no doubt in any of their minds as to what he believed or what he was preaching. Those false religious leaders coming out to be baptized were snakes, sons of the devil, and apart from true repentance would face God’s eternal fiery wrath.
Folks, I think the church could use a few more John the Baptists today! There are far too many velvet-tongued preachers who won’t tell sinners that they are on their way to hell. They are too concerned about being hip and cool to tell people the truth. And they will have their blood on their hands one day. If these preachers ever speak of the afterlife for sinners, it is a “Christless eternity.” Folks, what sinner cares about entering a Christless eternity?! All the sinners I know want a Christless eternity. They don’t want to spend an eternity with Christ! And a Christless eternity is nothing that they fear. They rather look forward to it. No, hell will not be a Christless eternity. Revelation 14:10 says that the man in hell, “will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” According to Revelation 14:10 Christ is present in hell. No, His grace is not present, but His wrath is.
Oh, that God would raise up men of God who would preach the truth to people, and not fear man! We have way too many man-pleasers in pulpits today. If God has revealed truth in His Word, and called us to proclaim that truth, and warn men of eternal danger if they reject that truth, what right do we have to cover it over in the name of “being relevant”? John Wesley once said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.” Men must be taught that if they are unconverted, they are sons of the devil, evil and corrupt in God’s sight. They must be taught that hell is real, and they will spend eternity there unless they repent. Thank God that we can point to some well known preachers who will preach the truth: John MacArthur, Paul Washer, John Piper just to name a few. But would to God that every man who steps into a pulpit to preach God’s Word would fearlessly preach the truth!
3. John’s Message
Now we come, thirdly, to John’s message, and we are going to spend the bulk of our time on this. John’s message was two-fold: the necessity of repentance in order to be forgiven; and the necessity of bearing fruit in order to confirm that your repentance is real.
We Must Repent to be Forgiven
Verse 3 says that John was preaching “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John was basically telling the Jews of his day that if they wanted to be forgiven before God, they must repent, and they must be willing to profess their repentance by being baptized in water. So, what did John mean by “repentance”? I think we find the answer in Luke 1:16 in Gabriel’s announcement to John’s father, Zacharias. Gabriel told him, “He will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.” He could have said, “He will bring many of the sons of Israel to repentance.” You see, repentance is basically equivalent to “turning.” It is a turning of the direction of our life and the affections of our heart to God, that we love Him and the things He loves. Now, John promises that all repentant people will find forgiveness, but to profess their repentance they must be water baptized. This would have been absolutely shocking to the Jews in John’s day. The only people that were baptized at that time were Gentiles that wanted to become Jews. So, what is John really telling the people? He’s letting them know that they can’t rely on their Jewishness in order to be saved. They, like Gentiles, must repent, and experience a change of heart toward God in order to find forgiveness. Further, those that were baptized in John’s day, did so “confessing their sins.” It was serious business to be baptized by John. You didn’t just say you wanted to be baptized. You confessed what your sins were, before you were baptized.
You see, repentance is the highway that Jesus the king will ride on into the sinner’s heart. That’s the point of Luke quoting Isaiah 40:3-5 in verses 4-6. “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every ravine will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low; the crooked will become straight, and the rough roads smooth; and all flesh will see the salvation of God.” When a King planned to visit a town or village, his servants would go to the town months ahead of time and inform them that the king was coming, and tell them to get busy repairing their roads, filling in the potholes, making the crooked road straight, and the rough roads smooth, so that the king would have a pleasant ride into the village. Well, John is saying that Jesus, the King is coming, and the people must prepare their hearts to receive them. The way they could prepare their hearts, was to repent, to turn from other idols and loves and affections, and turn to the Lord their God.
We Must Bear Fruit To Confirm that We Have Repented
Jewishness or Non-Jewishness Is Not The Issue: John says in verse 8, “and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. John was preaching mainly to Jews, many of whom relied on their Jewishness for their salvation. Since they were physical descendants of Abraham, they figured that God’s promises were true for them, and they had nothing to worry about. Not so! Jewishness is no guarantee of salvation, and likewise non-Jewishness is no hindrance to salvation. Just as Jewishness can’t save, non-Jewishness can’t condemn. Remember, Luke is the only Gentile author in the New Testament. He’s writing to Theophilus, a Roman official, and therefore also a Gentile. So, Luke is especially interested in the salvation of Jesus toward Gentiles. I believe that’s why he alone of all the 4 gospel writers quotes Isaiah 40:4-5 in verses 5 and 6. All the other 3 gospel writers quote Isaiah 40:3, but only Luke tells us “and all flesh will see the salvation of God” (3:6). All flesh – all peoples, Jews as well as Gentiles, will see the salvation of God in Jesus Christ. Interestingly, Luke begins and ends his 2-volume Luke-Acts work with references to this universal salvation of Jesus. In Luke 2:30 Simeon says, “For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Then in Acts 28:28 the apostle Paul proclaims, “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.”
So, Luke’s message is that the salvation that Jesus brings has nothing to do with national descent, but everything to do with a repentant heart which brings forth fruit. God can raise up from stones children to Abraham. In fact, the New Testament is very clear that a Gentile who trusts in Jesus is a true child of Abraham. Rom. 2:28-29 says, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” Gal. 3:7 says, “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.” Verse 29 goes on to say, “and if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” If you belong to Christ, you are a descendant of Abraham! God has taken you, a person who was spiritually dead, just like a stone, and has made it into a son of Abraham. Every true son of Abraham, is one who repents, and then brings forth fruit in keeping with that repentance.
People With No Fruit Will Face Eternal Judgment: Look at John’s words in verse 9, “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Folks, all of us are like trees, and either we are bearing fruit or we are not. The axe of divine judgment is laying on the ground right by our trunk. God is coming. He will wield that axe. You see, he’s going throughout His orchard looking for any trees with no fruit. When He finds one, He chops it down, and throws it into the fire. Of course, John is talking about the fires of divine wrath and eternal punishment. Friends, this is serious business. If someone really repents, they will bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Their life will change. They will be transformed. They will be indwelt by the Spirit, and begin to produce the character of Jesus through the power of the Spirit. Do you see that a transformed life is vital? Do you understand that making a profession of faith in Christ means nothing without a changed life, without repentance, without holiness?
What Does This Fruit Look Like? That’s the question the crows asked John. They said in verse 10, “Then what shall we do?” John responds by giving instructions to 3 different groups: crowds, tax-collectors, soldiers.
- Crowds: Be generous with your possessions and give to the poor and needy.
- Tax-Collectors: show honesty and integrity in your business dealings. Tax-collectors were able to keep any money they collected, even if the person they collected from didn’t owe that much. Thus, they were notorious for being crooked in their business dealings. Be scrupulously honest. For us it might mean not cheating on our income taxes, or taking money under the table so that we don’t have to report it to the government.
- Soldiers: Notice that Luke mentions tax-collectors and soldiers were present. Tax-collectors and soldiers were despised and hated by the Jews. Tax-collectors for collecting taxes for the hated Romans, and the soldiers because they were the hated Romans. Soldiers were in the habit of intimidating and manipulating people to get what they wanted. They could commandeer people’s property, and then take it for themselves. If a soldier saw something he wanted, he could say that it was reported as stolen, and then confiscate it for the government, while actually taking it for himself. Soldiers were doing this because they were not content with their wages. They were greedy, and so took what didn’t belong to them.
Now, did you notice what all of these specific applications of John have in common? They are ALL about money and possessions! When John tells them what kind of fruit is in keeping with repentance he points to how they view and use their money and possessions in every case! Interestingly, no one asked John about money. John could have talked about synagogue observance, prayer, fasting, or observing the Law. Throughout Luke’s gospel, Luke points to the use of money and possessions as a barometer of a repentant heart. If a man repents, his attitude towards money changes.
Remember Zacheus? At one point Zacheus said to Jesus, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:8-10). The way Zacheus used his money was a true indication of his repentant heart.
Then, think of the Rich Young Ruler. Here was a man who would not give away his possessions, and he went away sorrowfully. He was not converted, proved by his attitude toward money and possessions.
Folks, when you came to Christ, did your attitude toward your money and possessions change? One of the greatest indicators that a person has been saved is a dramatic change in their attitude towards money. Because of what God has given to you, have you become a giver? Do you give to the poor? Do you give to the work of the church? Do you give towards evangelism and world missions and church planting? If you are not a giver, that is a very bad sign of the state of your heart. You may be a tree without fruit that is going to be chopped down and thrown into the fire. Paul says in 1 Cor. 6:9-11 that covetous people will not inherit the kingdom of God. He says that the Corinthians were covetous in the past, but they were washed, sanctified and justified. It is just as contradictory to say you are a fornicator or a homosexual or an idolater who is saved, as it is to say you are covetous and are saved. Saved people use their money and possessions for the glory of God. They don’t hoard it – they use it for the advancement of His kingdom.
You say, “Brian, how much should I give?” I can’t answer that dogmatically, because the Bible doesn’t. We are not under the tithe as God’s Law. However, I think that 10% can be a helpful starting place. Think of 10% as sort of your giving training wheels. Tithing may be a good floor, but never a good ceiling. As God prospers you, seek to raise that percentage higher. When you get a raise, why not give it to the advancement of the kingdom? Randy Alcorn says in his little book, The Treasure Principle, “God prospers us, not to raise our standard of living, but our standard of giving!”
Friends, the truth of the word of God is you must repent or you will perish in your sins. Real repentance means a real change in your life. Specifically, it will mean a change in how you use your money and possessions. It will also mean a change in how you use your time. Have you repented? Are you sure you have repented? Can you point to fruit growing on the tree of your repentance? This is no little matter. Heaven and Hell hang in the balance! Either we will experience the wrath of God or the salvation of God. Either we will be cut down and thrown into the fire, or we will find forgiveness of every sin. Oh, don’t guess when it comes to whether you have repented. Make absolutely sure about this. Your eternal destiny is at stake!
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