John the Baptist Prepares The Way

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’"
7 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? 8 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. 9 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.”

10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

14 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.”

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

Reflection:
Today we meet John the Baptist again. We met him around the birth of Jesus, and it was prophesied that he would play a role in announcing Jesus' ministry and bringing Israel back to God. And now we see that role being fulfilled. As we read this story it is good to note several things:

1. John was in the wilderness when he heard the Word of God. John the Baptist had checked out of society for the purpose of preparing himself to hear from God. It is often hard to hear from God in the busyness of the city.

2. After John heard the Word, he went in obedience and shared/preached the Word he had been given. As the bible teaches, it is not only hearing the Word but responding to it.

3. The content of his message was baptism and repentance. The baptism was a water baptism similar to the one Gentile converts to Judaism received. It was one of cleansing and preparation, and a foreshadowing of the baptism of the Holy Spirit Jesus would bring. Repentance was the idea of turning from what one knew was wrong. I.e. Collecting more than was due at tax time, not sharing one's abundance with those in need. The fruit of repentance was not only mental assertions or verbal statements, but a change of life brought through hearing God's Word.

4. Notice it says in verse 18, "with many other words he proclaimed the Good News to them". What seemed like bad news was really good news, because it freed people up to have the kingdom come in and through them.

5. Finally, those in power did not react very kindly when they were called out on the immoral behavior. Herod the tetrach, brother of King Herod, had John locked up when he rebuked his perverse behavior.

All this was to prepare and clear the way for Jesus' coming. I wonder if John came to our world today what he would say? How would the way, for the kingdom Jesus came to bring, be cleared for his power to come in and through the church? What would we need to produce fruit in keeping with repentance? Every great movement of the church has started with prayer, fasting and repentance. If we want to see God come in power through His body it would behoove us to consider John's message in our personal and corporate lives.

I know I can get out of alignment with God in my life as I neglect prayer and fail to consider what the Holy Spirit is calling me to change or do. I can get so busy doing things for God I don't go to the wilderness to hear com God. . Why don't we spend some time in whatever space you can create today to hear from God?