As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” Luke 3:4-6 ESV1
Read Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:1-8, Luke 3:1-18, and John 1:6-28
All four Gospels begin their accounts of Jesus’ ministry with the ministry of John the Baptist. Luke goes as far as to identify the exact timing of John’s appearance on the ministry scene through the reign of a king, a governor, three tetrarchs, and two high priests (see Luke 3:1-2). Scholars far more knowledgeable than I have used that information to pinpoint John’s ministry as having taken place between the winter and spring of AD 26. Why was it so important to start explaining Jesus’ purpose for coming with the relatively short ministry of another?
Jesus’ ministry actually began through John’s. John had the special job of preparing the way for Jesus: a job that had been predicted hundreds of years before by the prophet Isaiah. (The following combines part of Isaiah’s prophecy with the paraphrases of the Gospel writers).
“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way, the voice crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight” (Mark 1:2-3). Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” (Isaiah 40:3-4). “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6).
The landscape in the Middle East is quite rugged with deep valleys and rocky, crack filled mountains. Modern paved roads have made travel easier in the Middle East, but in Biblical times, these paths into valleys and up through mountains could have been quite treacherous. When kings wanted to travel to see their subject lands, villagers prepared for their king’s visit. Paths were cleared and roads were built to provide easy access for the king. The work was not easy, but it was essential. If the king found the path unprepared, he would bypass the village. If the king could not visit, he would be forced to withhold his blessing.
John the Baptist was to prepare the way for The King—not in a physical sense, but the spiritual. John’s responsibility was to encourage people to remove any obstacle of the heart that would prevent the visit and blessing of the King of Kings.
John did this by calling the people to repent of their sins. Repent means to feel sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one’s life for the better.2 Lip service is not enough; real-life change must be the outcome. Repentance involves agreeing with God that one has done wrong and a turning from those wrong behaviors.
When John made his call, some wholeheartedly agreed with God and desired to repent. John instructed them about what to do to show their repentance. “The crowds asked him, ‘What then shall we do?’ And he answered them, ‘Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise. Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him. ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than you are authorized to do.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Do not exhort money from anyone by threats or false accusation and be content with your wages’” (Luke 3:10-14).
Others, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, pretended to be righteous. John saw through their hypocrisy. “He said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’… ‘Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father,” for I tell you God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham’” (Matthew 3:7b & 9).
The word Pharisee comes from the word separated.3 The Pharisees considered themselves holy and set apart from the average person. The Pharisee’s pursuit of religious purity morphed into a focus on external appearances rather than true inward holiness. Their assurance of their rightness with God was based on their following of rules and their status as children of Abraham.
The Sadducees believed only in the Torah, the five Biblical books written by Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). They would have been unimpressed by John quoting Isaiah as his resume. Most of the Chief Priests were Sadducees, and they were dominant in the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious leadership. They frequently opposed Jesus, because they felt He kept breaking the Law.
Jesus came initially to the Jewish people, but they largely did not accept Him (see John 1:11). The Pharisees and Sadducees had some pretty significant obstacles preventing The King from reaching their hearts. The biggest obstacle was that they felt they were already right with God and had no need for repentance.
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus came to remove all obstructions between us and God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John1:9). Confess means acknowledgment or admission.4 When one confesses one’s sins, one acquires the same state of mind as God has about those things. Confession and repentance go hand in hand.
Repentance allows Christ into one’s heart. “And it shall be said, ‘Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from My people’s way.’ For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57:1).
When one is in Christ, the Holy Spirit does the hard work of removing obstacles. But we have to let Him do that through our cooperation and belief—not through following a set of rules. In fact, He is turned off by our self-righteous pride connected to the good we do. If one’s perceived righteousness is not the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in him/her that one’s “righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:4). “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast’ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Yet, good deeds are important. “Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10b). John gave those who were repentant good deeds to do (see Luke 3:10-14). But it is essential to realize that salvation does not come from what we do, but through the reliance on Christ. This reliance on Christ results in good deeds because Christ is righteous and it is Christ’s righteousness working through the one who has committed his/her life to Christ. “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Good works are one of the indicators that a person truly a part of God’s Family. “Faith by itself, if it doesn’t have works, is dead” (James 2:17).
What is the state of your heart? Do you have obstacles preventing King Jesus from entering? Have you fallen into the same deception as the Pharisees and Sadducees thinking you are right with God because you are a good person? Make way for the King in your own heart by repentance. Confess your sins to God, let Jesus clean up your heart. Then rely on Him to prove the fruit of repentance in you.
1Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.
2http://www.dictionary.com/browse/repent?s=t
3Rhodes, Ron. 90 Days Through the New Testament in Chronological Order (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2015), 29.