16. John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus

LINKS: Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:1-8, Luke 3:1-18 

BACKGROUND

It is the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, A.D. 29. Tiberius ruled over the Roman Empire from A.D. 14 to A.D. 37 and Pilate was the governor of Judea from A.D. 26 to A.D. 36. The reigning Jew over Galilee and Tiberius is Herod Antipas who we have already mentioned in a previous post. His brother, Philip, ruled east of the Jordan from 4 B.C. to A.D. 34. Annas was the high priest from A.D. 6 to A.D. 15. Caiaphas was his son-in-law and the Romans would replace him as high priest from A.D. 18 to A.D. 36 even though the Jews continued to recognize Annas. 

John had been growing, becoming strong in spirit, and living in the desert until his public appearance in Israel (Luke 1:80). This is that public appearance. As a descendant from the priestly line of Aaron, John could have been a priest, but God had for him to be His messenger (Malachi 3:1) preaching a very special message in the Judean desert and the country around the Jordan River. His message was direct and to the point:

"Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 

We know from our reading of the Old Testament that the concept of a coming kingdom with a reigning king is huge. The idea of repentance before entrance into that kingdom was a new concept for the Jews. They thought that entrance was automatic for them. John said that they needed to "repent." This Greek word metanoéō comes from the base word noéō which means to "perceive, think, know." Repent means to change your opinion, feelings, or purpose from what you thought you always knew! If what you thought you always knew was wrong the word takes on the sense "to regret" (The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, p. 636). They thought they knew the way into heaven, but John had come to tell them about the real way, and it came via a man who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John exhorts his audience to bear fruit in keeping with righteousness. Just being baptized and being Abraham's descendants would not give them an "in" with God!  The Luke account goes into more detail about what would give evidence of genuine repentance: generosity, honesty, and contentment. All three are tied to money and material possessions.  It is interesting to note that the Luke account is the only one that proclaims that "all mankind" (not just the Jews) will see God's salvation (Luke 3:6). This is probably because Luke's audience was non-Jewish.

REFLECTION/APPLICATION

I am in a study group this year, and this month we will be looking at the concept of the Kingdom in the book of Matthew. I hope you can join us virtually! I have already gone through the whole book of Matthew several times and underlined every reference to the Kingdom by putting a purple crown over the word. 

"Kingdom/Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven” is a keyword/phrase in the Matthew, Mark, and Luke accounts of the Gospel. By the way, "Kingdom of Heaven” is used exclusively in Matthew, but means the same thing as "Kingdom of God."

Ask yourself these questions as you encounter this in your reading. 

• What is the Kingdom of God? 
• Who is in the Kingdom of God?
• When did/will the Kingdom of God come? Is it now, in the future, or both? 
• Where is the Kingdom of God?
• How does one enter the Kingdom of God?
• What does the Kingdom of God mean to us personally?

Here is my husband's definition:

"The Kingdom of God is the sphere or realm of God's influence.

Theoretically, it is everywhere, but God chooses to limit Himself

because He wants us to choose to be 'in' it."

Let's really concentrate on what life in the Kingdom really means in our everyday life! Let's allow Him to bear fruit through us!

PRAYER

Lord, we praise You as our King. Teach us what it means to be loyal subjects in Your Kingdom. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.