The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the region 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: “The voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight! 5 Every ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be lowered; The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth; 6 And all flesh will see the salvation of God!’” 7 So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and do not start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham. 9 But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what are we to do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two tunics is to share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.” 12 Now even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 And soldiers also were questioning him, saying, “What are we to do, we as well?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone, nor harass anyone, and be content with your wages.” (NASB)
It’s the second Sunday in Advent and you started the service this morning with the hymn “Hark! A Thrilling Voice is Sounding!,” followed by “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry.” Then there’s the hymn we aren’t singing this morning, Hark the Glad Sound the Savior Comes.”
These are hymns that not only proclaim the coming of the Christ, they celebrate the preaching of the coming of the Christ as well. So here’s the question for you. What are you really singing about? I mean just listen to what was actually said when John stood on Jordan’s banks. [Repent] “You brood of vipers! Produce fruits worthy of repentance! who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? … produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and do not start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And you thought we were in the season of glad tidings, Merry Christmas, and of greetings of peace and good will among men. Repent, wrath, and fire hardly make for a thrilling voice.
Now out there in the world and to a certain degree inside the church, it looks like Christmas. The air, landscape, and TV are filled with the sights and sounds of Christmas, but it’s not the Christmas yet. It’s what Wednesday night’s sermon said it is. We are in the “Season before the Season,” the Season of Advent and John the Baptist isn’t the Christ, he’s the forerunner to the Christ who was promised in the Old Testament lesson.
For a very long time, kings were preceded by a herald as they traveled throughout their kingdom so that the people could come out and prepare the road for the kings arrival. They would make the road smooth, line it, and celebrate the coming of the king. So also for the King of kings. He too was to be preceded by His own herald– John the Baptist.
I know– when people, you included think of preaching you don’t think of it as a glad sound and a thrilling voice. When I stand in this pulpit and open my mouth, you don’t think to yourself, Hark A Thrilling Voice is Sound!
People generally don’t much care for somebody standing up and telling them that they’re bad and wrong and need to think or do this or that. An awful lot of people say they don’t go to church because it’s “boring.” The truth of the matter is, they really don’t like being preached at. They don’t like to be told the truth about themselves. To the sinful human heart, especially to the self-righteously proud, there’s nothing worse than listening to the preaching of the Law and Gospel.
We’re right back at the same problem. People and the old sinful nature don’t think the voice of a faithful pastor as a glad sound and a thrilling voice. They hear it as a harsh and judgmental voice. Always remember, the sinful world calls a bad thing good and a good thing bad. They call ugly beautiful, the beautiful ugly. Sinners judge things by sight and by what they feel in the moment. But faith sees and judges things by the Word of God.
“The word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the region 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: ‘The voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight! 5 Every ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be lowered; The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth; 6 And all flesh will see the salvation of God!’”
That doesn’t sound too bad, does it? John is calling on the people to prepare for the salvation of God. No one in particular is being targeted. It’s a general call to repent, to shape up, and it probably applies more to other people more than it does to me or so the reasoning could go.
But then the voice cries out (v. 7) “You brood of vipers! who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Now that’s not very “christmassy” or polite. Doesn’t sound glad to me. Sounds angry and harsh.
Give this a try today and see what happens. When someone says, “Merry Christmas,” or “Welcome!” or “How are you?” or “Thank you,” say back to them “You offspring of a snake who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Repent and behave better.” Let’s see how that goes over.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Matthew emphasizes that John was making this accusation against the Pharisees and Sadducees. But in Luke’s Gospel John was also rebuking the entire crowd. Not only this, since John’s glad and thrilling voice has been included in holy Scripture, it includes us as well. “We are (you and me) a brood of vipers!”
The use of the image of snakes is no coincidence. John knows Genesis three. John the Baptist doesn’t show up in the river Jordan preaching, “Good Christians, you the people of faith, virtue, and self made righteousness be baptized as a symbol of your righteousness and goodness before God.” No he says, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? When Adam and Eve fell, as Satan fell in rebellion they and their descendants became children of that ancient serpent. John is calling them what they are and where they are headed. To wrath.
The glad sound and thrilling voice moves from “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” to the fruit of repentance. “Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance.”
When God given and God created faith hears preaching from God’s Word faith hears what is preached as a glad sound– a thrilling voice, a God pleasing cry. When faith hears that there’s a new King coming and a new Kingdom to live in . . . when faith hears that this King is merciful, that He does not condemn us for our sins and our weakness, but that He is also the Lamb of God who bears our sins on the cross . . . when faith hears that this King comes not only to forgive us but also to raise us up to newness of life . . . faith hears all this as a glad sound . . . as the most thrilling voice ever heard.
The good news of a new life in Christ may sound preachy, it may irritate the sinful heart, and outright offend the self-righteous, but to the one in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and true faith abides hears it all as a glad and thrilling sound.
As strange as it sounds, John’s message is “good news,” not bad news. That’s how the Bible describes John’s sermon. Verse 18, “And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.”
John wasn’t preaching a religion of works righteousness by good works. That would have been bad news. He came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” In verse 16 John says, “I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
To remind you again, repentance is the essence of faith. Repentance is one act (faith) with two movements. The first part of repentance is contrition over sin. Part two is the faith that takes hold of Christ and with Him the forgiveness of sin for Christ’s sake alone.
The good news is that whoever does repent of his sins and is baptized (that is whoever is sorry for their sins and trusts in Christ alone) receives forgiveness, life, and salvation as God’s free gift to them. Like all faithful sermons, John’s sermon contains both Law and Gospel. His preaching of the Law teaches and reminds people that they are sinners, under God’s judgment and in need of a Savior. John’s preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ teaches and reminds the people of what Jesus has done and is doing to save us from our sin.
John says repentant people to 8 “produce fruits that are consistent with repentance . That means they are to think and act like the Christians because the alternative is death 9 “The axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
John’s hearers had been made painfully aware of their own sin and of the forgiveness of sins given in the promised Messiah. Now they want to know what’s next. “What then shall we do?” (v 10).
Notice first that they are happy to hear what John has said. John’s preaching was not a threat, but rather a glad and thrilling message. Having received the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, they want to know what they should do now that they’re forgiven?
True Christian faith bears good fruit just as a good tree bears good fruit. The fruit of faith is repentance, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)
Now listen to John’s list of good fruit. “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise” (v 11). Luke tells us that “even” tax collectors and soldiers were asking John, “What shall we do?” (vv 12, 14). Tax collectors and soldiers were two occupations particularly known for dishonesty and harassment. Even they were transformed by the message of the coming Messiah and a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John’s list of good fruit was just ordinary and honest stuff. No pilgrimages here. John simply tells them to do the duties of one’s vocation and the care for a neighbor in need. Be kind. Don’t extort money. Don’t harass anyone. Be content with your wages.
Notice also John doesn’t say a thing about self-esteem, putting one’s self first, that believing will bring about a happier, healthier, and wealthier life. There’s nothing here about positive thinking. There’s nothing here about good music and a beat they can move to. There is no talk about youth groups and trips. There’s none of the recommended church growth mega-church nonsense here.
In fact John’s whole message is in direct opposition to all that. There is the Law, the call of the Gospel, and repentance. He preaches a;
*a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!
*Every ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be lowered; The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth;
* You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
*“the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
In this second week of Advent we listen anew to the glad, thrilling voice of John the Baptist: “The Savior is near! The kingdom of God is near! Repent, and live out your new life in Christ! Produce fruits worthy of repentance!” To some, it sounds preachy and harsh. But to you I say, Hark, my thrilling voice resounding. “You’re sins are forgiven.”
AMEN
May the Peace that passes all understanding keep your heart and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.