“The King is coming!” That was the cry in centuries past which royal heralds would give several days, or sometimes only several hours ahead of the arrival of the king to towns and cities along his royal progress across his country. When the townsfolk heard that cry, they knew to get their city into order. Fix the potholes in the street. Sweep the street clean of any debris. Any noble person in the city knew to get his residence into top-notch shape in case the king would be staying overnight, so make sure the best linens were set out, and everything was clean and polished. The mayor made sure that the best food was being prepared. Everyone wanted to be sure to be ready when the king would arrive. In our reading today from the Gospel of Luke, we read of a similar herald, one also announcing the arrival of a King. He, too, wants us to be ready. Let’s take a look at the message of this Biblical herald.
Luke opens this passage with some names of rulers to set the date of when our passage took place (vs. 1). Tiberius Caesar ruled the Roman Empire from 14 - 37 AD, so the fifteenth year of his reign would be in the year 29 AD. Luke also names Pontius Pilate as Roman governor of Judea, and Herod Antipas, his half brother Philip, and Lysanias as rulers of neighboring territories, subject to Rome.
It was at this time that John the Baptist came upon the scene, preaching a message of repentance, and to prepare for the coming of the Messiah (vs. 3 - 6). John was the son of Zachariah, a priest in the Temple, and would have been raised in a moderately comfortable household. As a young man, John forsook all of that, and retreated into the desert, dressing in clothes of animal skins and restricting his diet to locusts and honey (Matthew 3:4). God did not choose to speak to the people through the politically great and powerful figures of the day. Instead, He used a reclusive, seemingly eccentric man from the desert. Greatness is not measured by what we have, but by our faith in God.
John the Baptist’s message was one of repentance. True repentance requires turning away from sin and turning back towards God. To be truly repentant we must do both. We can’t say that we believe in Jesus, and then go and live anyway we want. We cannot continue to live immoral and sinful lives if we have Jesus in our heart. There must be a turning away from our sins, and turning to follow Jesus. Neither can we live a morally correct life without a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. That cannot bring us forgiveness. We are called to have true repentance.
Another part of John the Baptist’s message was for people to prepare their hearts and lives for the coming Messiah. The Old Testament prophets foretold of John’s ministry, that there would be a herald to announce Jesus’s coming. John quoted from the prophet Isaiah in his message to the people (Isaiah 40:3-5). He was urging them to get every hindrance to God out of their lives. Straighten out their paths and smooth out their rough spots.
Just as people in former times were advised to heed the call of the herald, we need to heed the Scripture’s words to prepare our lives for Jesus. He will be returning, and we do not know when. We need to focus on Jesus, and listen to His Words, responding obediently to all He says.
John the Baptist was not worried or concerned with being popular. He knew that his calling and ministry had been foreordained by God (Luke 1:16-17). He knew his ministry was to point people to Jesus. Though John the Baptist was someone extraordinarily special, we too should be pointing people to Jesus and calling for true repentance. As Advent is quickly coming to an end, let’s make sure our hearts are prepared for Jesus. Fill up those potholes, sweep out the cobwebs and dust bunnies in our life, and be ready for our coming Savior.
No comments:
Post a Comment