John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness. He wore prophet’s clothing (II Kgs. 1:8) and ate wilderness food. John the Baptist’s role was to prepare the way for the Lord, fulfilling the promise of Isaiah 40:3. To do so, he preached two key messages.
His first key message was to repent. That meant to turn, to change their minds. God’s kingdom, His new rule by the promised King, was close. The people who came to him confessed their sin and were immersed in committing to changing lives.
There were religious leaders who came. But, John doubted their sincerity. If they were going to claim repentance, they needed to act like a change had happened. He is saying that their works need to weigh up to their claims.
John was concerned that they would rely on who their ancestors were. But, God did not care about their DNA.
Rather, God was ready to bring judgment. They needed to bear fruit to avoid it.
His second key message was the greatness of the One who was coming after Him. John said he wasn’t even worthy to take off the Coming One’s sandals. John could baptize in water, but the One who was coming would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Baptism in the Holy Spirit connects to God’s promises that He would pour out the Spirit (Joel 2:28-31). Baptism by fire points to God’s judgment. The Coming One would separate the wheat from the chaff.
- Only God would be able to pour out the Holy Spirit like that. This was a promise for the apostles (Acts 1:1-5; 2:1-4).
- God was the One who would bring the judgment by fire (v. 10).
Lessons to Learn:
John was preparing the way for the Lord as He prepared the way for Jesus. Matthew points us to the identity of Jesus. He was more than a teacher or a prophet. John was preparing the way for “God with us.” John, who was a great prophet, saw the gap between himself and Jesus as gulf-wide.
To be ready for Jesus, they needed to repent. If they were not ready to turn from their sin, they were not ready for Jesus. If we are not ready to break off our commitment to sin, self, and Satan and give our loyalty to the King, we are not ready for Jesus either. Our family connections don’t matter. Our commitment to obey God does.
God is merciful, but He will bring judgment. God is patient and kind. He is love. But, those qualities don’t cancel out or negate His justice and wrath.
We’re thankful for the opportunity to share in considerations of God’s word. Have a Bible close at hand and evaluate what we say. We always want to go “back to the Bible” for what we teach.
To reach us with your questions and comments or to request a personal Bible study email us at #1155cc;">info@backtothebiblepodcast.com
