“Do you know what you people are? You’re a bunch of hypocrites! You worship God on Sunday, but you live like the devil the rest of the week. You say that you love God, but then you secretly indulge in all kinds of sinful practices. You sing hymns at church, but you use filthy language at work. You faithfully build your retirement account, but you never do anything to help the poor. You are living a double life. You are a brood of slippery snakes! Do you really think that God is going to save you because you’ve been baptized or because you go to church? Listen, unless you turn away from your sins, you’re going straight to hell.”
This was the type of message that John the Baptist preached in the wilderness. His sermons may not have been very “seeker sensitive,” but they can hardly been faulted for a lack of courage. John wasn’t trying to win friends or improve anyone’s self-esteem: he was trying to get people to repent and to prepare them for the coming of the Lord. Therefore, he spoke with holy boldness, bluntly confronting their sin.
When I read Luke’s account of John the Baptist’s ministry, I am reminded of the nineteenth-century Methodist preacher Peter Cartwright, who once preached to President Andrew Jackson. Before the service he was warned not to say anything out of line. So when Cartwright got up to preach, he said, “I understand Andrew Jackson is here today. I have been requested to be guarded in my remarks. So here goes: Andrew Jackson will go straight to hell if he doesn’t repent!” The congregation was shocked, but afterwards the president shook Cartwright’s hand and said, “Sir, if I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the world.” (I should have shared this story last week when all of the politicians were here!)
Like Peter Cartwright—though perhaps unlike most preachers—John the Baptist was not afraid to offend. His outspoken ministry led the great Anglican preacher J.C. Ryle to comment that it would be well “for the Church of Christ, if it possessed more plain-speaking ministers, like John the Baptist, in these latter days…There is no charity in flattering unconverted people, by abstaining from any mention of their vices, or in applying smooth epithets to damnable sins.” If you want to feel better about your sin, just stay home on Sunday morning and watch Joel Osteen on television. But if you really want to know what God thinks, I invite you to listen to the courageous preaching of John the Baptist and allow him to prepare your way to the Lord!
The Voice Crying in the Wilderness (1-6)
Admittedly, John was a little odd. Matthew’s gospel tells us that he lived in the wilderness, wore wild clothes and consumed a diet of locusts and wild honey. (Matt. 3:4) Even in those days, he was considered strange, which is why people were talking about him all over Israel.
Luke begins his account of John’s ministry by establishing the historical context. Verses 1-2 are the historian’s way of telling us that John began his ministry when he was about 30 years old. John’s divine destiny of preparing the way of the Lord had been revealed to his parents Zechariah and Elizabeth before he was born, and now he had reached the age for his ministry to begin. The “Word of the Lord” came to him and he traveled throughout the Jordan River valley preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
In the ancient world it was customary for kings to receive a royal welcome. When an emperor or prominent person would enter a city, the citizens would rally together along the road and welcome him with great pomp and circumstance. To make sure that the people were ready to receive him, he would send a messenger on ahead to herald the news of his coming. The prophet Isaiah took this custom and turned it into a prophecy. Seven-hundred years before Christ, Isaiah proclaimed that a great king would come to God’s people, and when it did, his approach would be announced by a herald in the wilderness. He envisioned a massive public works project where mountains would be leveled, valleys would be raised up, and that the crooked road would be made straight so that everyone could see God’s salvation. John the Baptist was the fulfillment of this prophecy. He was called to be the forerunner, the herald, the one who would prepare the people for the arrival of his cousin, King Jesus!
This passage shows us that God always keeps his promises and accomplishes his plans. It took God 700 years to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy; it took 30 years after John’s birth before he finally began to fulfill his divine destiny. Like John, God has a perfect plan for each one of us. He has called all of us to something! Some of you have already discovered it and some of you are still searching for it. God’s timetable is not always our timetable. He will reveal your calling and accomplish his ultimate plan for your life when he is ready. Until then, be patient and be ready!
The Role of Repentance (7-14)
John’s calling was to get the people ready, to help them be prepared for the coming of Christ. But how were they supposed to get ready? What does it mean to “prepare the way of the Lord” or “make his paths straight?” These questions can be answered in one word—Repent! Repentance simply means to turn away from sin.
John’s strange clothing, peculiar habits, and powerful words made him into an ancient spectacle. (In the modern world, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga have proved that strange looks and behavior still draws a crowd.) Everybody and their brother were going out to be baptized by John because it was the popular thing to do. But John had some strong words for these groupies that were really phonies. He called them a brood of vipers because they were like snakes slithering away from a fire. They wanted to get out of danger, but they still wanted to be snakes. They wanted to get baptized, but they had no interest in living a godly life. They were trusting in their religious heritage rather than an authentic relationship with God. They were going through the outward religious motions, but their hearts were far from God. So, John tells them that if they really want to get serious about God to stop sinning!
John not only proclaimed the necessity of repentance, but he also preached about the urgency of repentance. He said, “Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (vs.9) This means that judgment would soon be upon them and anyone who did not repent would face the horrors of hell.
Our lives are rocky and crooked, like the mountains of Israel. Mountains of pride need to be knocked down and valleys of self-pity need to be raised so that God can come in. Christ the King finds easy entrance to any heart that is truly sorry for sin. Or to put it another way, repentance is the on-ramp to salvation. If we want God to save our souls from hell, we have to turn away from our sin.
A few weeks ago I was stumbled across an article where a young woman made the comment, “You don’t have to repent to be saved! All you have to do is accept Jesus into your heart!”
John the Baptist would turn over in his grave if he heard that remark. This woman has obviously never read the Bible and has been skewed by a popular heresy. Repentance is absolutely necessary for salvation! Baptism will not save you! Growing up in a Christian family will not save you. Going through the motions at church will not save you! Praying before you go to bed at night won’t save you! Doing random acts of kindness won’t save you! You have to repent from your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ!
Therefore, if you want to experience the joy of Christ’s forgiveness and the hope of everlasting life, repent! If have been lying to someone—come clean! If you have been cheating someone in your business—treat them fairly! If you have been sleeping with someone you are not married to—stop it! If you have been taking substances or drinking too much—give it up! If you want to get serious about God, do what you know is right! And do it before it is too late!
A Model of Humility and Courage (15-20)
Despite the boldness of John’s preaching, he still became so popular that many people began to wonder if he might possibly be the Messiah. As soon as these rumors began to swirl, John quickly laid them to rest. If anybody could be justified in having a messiah-complex, it would be him, but he made it abundantly clear that he was not the Christ and that he wasn’t even worthy to untie the thongs of the Christ’s sandals. John only baptized with water, but the Messiah, who was much more powerful than him, would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire and would judge the hearts of humanity. As a farmer used his winnowing fork to separate the wheat from the chaff, so the Messiah would separate those who had repented and those who did not. John was secure in his role of the forerunner who pointed people to the Christ. He was a man of great humility.
John the Baptist was indeed humble, but don’t mistake humility for weakness. John was anything but weak. He possessed an uncompromising courage in his character and an unprecedented boldness in his preaching. He was a man who told the truth and he didn’t care who didn’t like it. Verse 18 tells us that he used many words to exhort the people and preach the good news to them.
John’s courage landed him in prison because he publically rebuked the phony king Herod the tetrarch for his wicked deeds, one of which was taking his brother’s wife Herodias as a lover. Everyone in Palestine know the truth about Herod’s carnal corruption, but nobody would dare speak a word about it for fear of being imprisoned or even put to death. But nothing was going to stop John from speaking the truth of God’s Word. He was a man of great courage, even if he had to pay the price in prison.
John the Baptist is a model of humility and courage for modern Christians. In a time and culture that is obsessed with self-worship, where everything is about me, myself, and I, John reminds us of our rightful place behind and below Jesus Christ. Like John, we should not seek praise or glory for ourselves; we were placed on this earth to worship and glorify Jesus. Everything that we have—our intellect, talents, skills, abilities, money, and possessions are all gifts from him! Therefore, let us join in John’s humility and point people to Jesus and give him all of the glory and praise!
Likewise, we live in a culture where courage is increasingly uncommon. We live in a politically correct era where you have to watch every word you say; especially if it is about sin, truth, or Jesus. Talking about those topics can get you in trouble. When the time comes, will you have the courage to call sin a sin, or will you cave to the pressure of placation. When the time comes, will you have the courage to stand alone for the truth of God’s Word, or will you quietly acquiesce with the crowds? When the time comes, will you have the courage to speak the name of Jesus, or will you cower before the consequences? If it came down to it, would you be willing to join John the Baptist and the Apostle Paul and the English Puritan John Bunyan and the Nazi Resistor Dietrich Bonheoffer and the modern Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani in prison for speaking the name of Jesus?
As we genuinely repent from our sins and become recipients of God’s grace and mercy and eternal life, may we prepare the way of the Lord by humbly and courageously proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ wherever we go!
(The first half of this message borrows heavily from Philip Ryken’s brilliant sermon that bears the same text and title.)