GOOD NEWS?

 

“Jesus is the answer!” they said.

“What’s the question?” I snidely replied. Forty-four years have passed since that encounter, yet I remember it vividly. I was enjoying a run on the Redondo Beach strand when I was accosted by a group of ‘Jesus Freaks’ who blocked my path and began our ‘conversation’ by shouting, “Do you know Jesus?” and “The End is Near!” It went downhill quickly from there. I saw no need for the Answer to a question that I never planned to ask. Life was good – until it wasn’t. My life began to unravel quickly over the following year due to a myriad of circumstances.

Maybe sounds like your life right now today. We live a world of uncertainty. Over 250,000 people in America have died from COVID-19. Hospitals across the country are reaching maximum capacity as the pandemic surge continues. Financial insecurity looms as many businesses, large and small, valiantly attempt to weather the storm. Hatred, rage, and all types of “tribal” warfare all-too-often continue to be the main message across social media – and sometimes spills over into face-to-face encounters. So where’s the supposed good news from God – the answer?

Believe it or not, similar circumstances have previously occurred. History repeats itself, and it has something to teach us. Such doubt and despair existed on the eve of John the Baptist’s ministry as he prepared people for the coming of Jesus.

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 – during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.”[i]

Now to most people, that paragraph means nothing. If that’s you, here’s a brief summary of the chaos happening at that time in John’s world:

·       The economy and public morality were tanking in tandem. Rome had reached her highest pinnacle of development under Augustus but was now on the road to decline.

·       The twenty-first century does not have the corner on depression. In those days, two philosophies, Epicureanism and Stoicism, contended for supremacy; the former led to merely focusing on the pursuit of physical pleasures, the latter to pride, and both to despair. These ideas, present at the time when John entered the scene, offered no relief but only led to a deeper depravity – a continued movement toward self-centeredness.

·       Likewise, ‘spirituality’ is nothing new. All religions of all people groups subject to Rome were allowed to continue, but none satisfied the deeply felt needs of the times. The religious conditions in Palestine were low. There was much spirituality but little sincere ‘religion’ that brought hope for a brighter future.

·       Relationships were fracturing at an alarming rate. Loving one’s neighbors was at an all-time low. Charity disappeared.

·       Governing leaders were corrupt. Hmm, where have we heard that before? “Judea was subject to a procurator (Rome’s representative), Pontius Pilate. Violence, robbery, insults, bribery, murders without trial, and cruelty, were charged against the administration of Pontius Pilate.”[ii] 

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[i] Luke 3:1-2

[ii] Background information based on Pentecost, J. Dwight; The Words and Works of Jesus Christ: A Study of the Life of Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981, pg. 78.

(Image by Dann Schrader)

Into this pit of darkness and depravity, the son of a priest proclaimed good news to all who were willing to listen and learn. Following the prophet’s advice meant reaping eternal benefits. That message hasn’t changed. “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”[i] “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”[ii]

He [John] went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.  The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’”[iii] 

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[i] Proverbs 28:13

[ii] Acts 3:19

[iii] Luke 3:3-6

John’s very clothes were a sign to the people of Israel. His “clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.”[i] Camel’s hair was the equivalent of sackcloth that the prophets of old wore when they mournfully brought a message of judgment to the nation of Israel, calling upon them to repent, to turn away from their selfish ways and return to God’s selfless patterns of living. But John’s warning and message of hope went far beyond the confines of the ‘faithful.’ The offer of salvation went out to all mankind. For “the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” That is good news!

When royalty announced a visit to a Near Eastern locale, the people literally prepared the roadway for him to travel upon. A rutted, pockmarked pathway was not appropriate for royalty. Neither is a heart full of deceit and wickedness. So John proceeded to preach a baptism of repentance in order to prepare the people for One much greater than himself – Jesus. Yet the mere ritual of baptism (‘spiritual cleansing by water’) was not enough. Actions were (and still are) a vital part of the repentance/cleansing process.

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? 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. 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.”[ii]

Now that hardly sounds like good news, so I’ll explain it. John’s stern warning was directed to the crowd as a whole – everyone needed a cardiac exam to diagnose the presence of any heart disease. Some coming to be baptized were obviously insincere. They thought they were part of the ‘in’ crowd. Imagine the shock waves that resonated through many of John’s listeners. Sometimes the good news is hard to hear – especially when someone has heart disease. But it isn’t loving to gloss over a person’s condition.

Now, what did John mean when he said, “Brood of vipers?” To be born of something or someone meant that the offspring shared its character. According to God’s Word, snakes were unclean, and they defiled everything and everyone that came in contact with them. “But…” the crowd began to protest, as John resoundingly repudiated them. “Being Abraham’s descendants is not enough!”

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[i] Matthew 3:4

[ii] Luke 3:7-9

… [A]ccording to the common notion of the time, the vials of wrath were to be poured out only on the Gentiles, while they [Jews], as Abraham’s children, were sure of escape…Abraham was represented as sitting at the gate of Gehanna [hell], to deliver any Israelite who otherwise might have been consigned to its terrors. In fact, by their descent from Abraham, all the children of Israel were nobles, infinitely higher than any proselytes [converts to Judaism].”[i]

It is good news to learn how to practice preventative medicine! John challenged these high and mighty assumptions of spiritual superiority. “Change your life or you will feel the wrath of God, whose ax has begun its downward stroke towards your very roots. If your actions do not show a true change of heart, fruit in keeping with repentance, your ritual repentance means nothing. Your lifestyle must show a passionate pursuit of God Almighty – not a one-time act of baptism to show your supposed holiness.”

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.[ii] The people sat upon the banks of the Jordan, eyes riveted upon John standing knee-deep in the water, hearts desiring to know and heed the prophet’s prescription. John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”[iii]

The crowd must have been thinking, “Share with those who have less? That’s the way to show we have repentant hearts? No religious rituals? Just help those who are needy? Why does that sound so familiar?” John’s words must have struck a chord with many in the crowd. Years of burdensome, manmade regulations heaped upon them by the religious leaders had caused the soothing strains of God’s Word to grow ever fainter in their hearts. But John revived the music that once sang in their souls. “Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away your own flesh and blood?”[iv]

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[i] Edersheim, Alfred; The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. USA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995, pgs. 187-188.

[ii] Luke 3:10

[iii] Luke 3:11

[iv] Isaiah 58:7

(Image by Dann Schrader)

Suddenly one group after another cried out to John in hopes that they, too, could be forgiven.

Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.[i]

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.”[ii]

Three groups ask, “What should we do?” And each group learns that true repentance is not simply about adhering to mere religious rituals or mentally acknowledging that sins have been committed. “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”[iii] Loving your neighbor as yourself by providing for their basic needs is the fruit John is referring to. And that should be an outflowing of the good news for anyone who interacts with Christians. But that will only happen once a true change of heart occurs in which pursuing Jesus is preeminent – which is what John desired for the crowds to whom he called out. Do you want to know that good news? The Cardiologist is waiting. No appointment needed.

Video: Compassion is Contagious 

 
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[i] Luke 3:12-13

[ii] Luke 3:14

[iii] James 2:17