March 7, 2010 – John Blacklock
“God’s Call to Us through John the Baptist”
Luke 3:2B-18
I. The Word of the Lord came to John while he was in the wilderness.
A. The Word of the Lord:
- this was no human word
- this was a Word from the Lord, the creator and the redeemer of the heavens and the earth.
B. Wilderness:
- John was away from the business as usual world. Many times we must find places apart to hear God’s Word because the ways of the world drown out the still small voice of God.
- What are the things that stand in our way of hearing the Lord?
a. Fear of what God’s Word might mean.
b. Pride stands in the way (our own human egos!)
c. The things we have and want.
d. The pleasures of this life.
e. The freedoms that have (We want things done our way).
f. Greed.
g. Human idols and addictions that drive us.
John finds that only in the wilderness is he able to hear the Lord.
We need to find places of sanctuary ourselves.
- Places to pray!
- Places to be along with the Lord.
- Places to listen.
2. John proclaimed a message of repentance
A. Repentance means to turn around or to go in a different direction.
B. John’s message was twofold: He called the people to repent because John believed the Lord was coming and all things would be made new.
- This required that a repentance that was not simply outward, but inward!
- A repentance as John says that bears “fruits worthy of repentance!”
- The people could no longer depend on their outward religion or their familial relationship to Abraham.
C. The crowds ask John, “What does this mean for us? What does it mean for us to repent and go in a different direction?”
- For the crowds this meant sharing the food and clothing that you have.
- For the tax collector this meant collecting no more than is actually owed.
- For the soldier this meant not extorting money from anyone because of your position of power and being satisfied with the your wages.
This meant a total new way of looking at life.
It was a way of bringing God’s Kingdom into their personal lives.
D. John now shares more of his message concerning the coming of the Lord (the coming of the Messiah!).
- the one coming after me is more powerful than I.
- John baptizes with water; the Messiah will baptize with the Spirit.
- I am not worthy to untie the throng of his sandal.
- In Mark’s gospel, John is quoted as saying: “He must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30).
E. The other important thing to add to John’s message is that John considered the message that God gave him to share with the people to be good news!
- this was more than a proclamation of judgment
- this was a Word from the Lord, God was taking them seriously and John was proclaiming this good news. He saw it as an opportunity to turn their lives around and to trust in God’s grace and love.
II. As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the Messiah that John was proclaiming! Jesus is indeed our redeemer. As the Son of God, Jesus is the one God has chosen to become the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
John the Baptist uses this title for Jesus in John’s gospel:
John 1:29 “Here is the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world.”
John 1:36 “Look! Here is the Lamb of God!”
This is the title of Jesus that foreshadows Jesus’ passion.
John’s description of Jesus as “The Lamb of God” therefore becomes a good Lenten description of what Jesus’ walk to Jerusalem and finally to the cross is all about.
In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is described in this way (Hebrews 4:14-16):
“Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
As human beings we each have choices to make. Our call is to present our lives to God and to God’s kingdom. We are to make the things of God a priority in our lives, putting first things first. This is the call of God that we hear so clearly through Jesus Christ:
“Come and follow me!”
In response to God, we can do nothing less!
Let us give our hearts to Christ and to the kingdom that Christ has founded for us!
This opportunity is good news indeed.
AMEN!