Calls For Repentance
Prepare the Way for The Lord.
Matthew 3:1-3 NIV
3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”
Enter John the Baptist whose name means “God is gracious”, cousin to Jesus, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth –parents who were righteous in the sight of God but childless and long past child bearing age but with the help of God, conceived a child. A child that would be “… a joy and delight to you as parents and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Mark 1:4-8 reads “And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
In Matthew 11, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
What can we learn from John the Baptizer? He was the forerunner of Jesus who never took his eyes off of God, preaching with boldness and humility. John denied being the Christ, Elijah or even a prophet when asked. He walked in the Spirit, was filled with joy and focused on his God-given purpose.
Our purpose is detailed in Matthew 22:36-40: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus continues, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Loving the unlovable is hard, discipling the rebellious is hard; but isolating to protect yourself from everything unpleasant is not a life worth living; it’s meaningless and… meaningless is hard.
Choose your hard.
God equips those He calls. He will fill you with a love for others that you cannot understand and strengthen you to do the hard things.
John preached the repentance of sins through baptism but the most important thing we learn from John is not only “what” but rather “how”. John was not half-hearted nor double-minded. He gave his whole life to God – he wasn’t distracted by the circumstances of his life in his pursuit of God. Life is messy and hard and tiring; gosh, how tiring. But sisters, keep your eyes on Jesus. When we repent, we turn away from sin and in doing that, we turn towards God. Turn your whole being…your heart, your mind, your soul and your strength towards God.
John the Baptizer pointed us to the Messiah; Christ living in and through us produces a rich and satisfying life. All that needs to be said is this: Repent and Live!
