Jesus repeated John’s revolutionary message then—and for us
By Dean Collins
John and Jesus were on the same page. Literally. Matthew 3 begins about 3 decades after chapter 2. The birth narrative and the genealogy are in the rearview mirror as the anti-fashion prophet enters the picture. It was a scruffy look the prophet kept, with a diet that has yet to become a rage. I don’t think either meat eaters or vegetarians list locusts as something to eat before they die.
After his attention-getting opening line, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” John continued with his primary message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” I’ve heard a few street preachers use this same line, but it never seems to have much appeal. Maybe you need a camel hair vest to pull it off.
Same page
And then Jesus walks onto the page. He didn’t come to the Jordan River to confess sins as the others had done. He had nothing to confess, and nothing in his life demanded repentance. His baptism demonstrated humility and willingness to surrender to God’s plan for his life and later death and resurrection. He modeled in baptism what he would say in his teachings and show by his life. A life that honors God surrenders to the will of God.
When we turn the page to chapter 4 we learn about Jesus’ 40 days of spiritual preparation as he fasted in the wilderness. When Jesus emerged from this experience fresh from his last victory over the enemy, he learned that John the Baptist had been arrested. Many scholars believe this is probably a different arrest than the one where Herod ended his life. This may have been an arrest by the Pharisees and Sadducees who probably didn’t like being called a brood of vipers.
Jesus decided to relocate due to this incident, but he is still on the same page as John the Baptist. The talking points are the same. In Matthew 4:17 Jesus said to the crowd, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It’s come near, God in the flesh standing before them. He is the one whose reign will last forever.
Same message
As we follow Jesus through the Gospels we hear over and over about the Kingdom of God and the extent of his reign. Everyone is invited to join in and spread the good news of this Kingdom. It’s a different kind of place. We learn from Jesus that the characteristics of the Kingdom are generosity, mercy, love, grace, compassion, and joy. It’s a place where people start to behave now as they will eventually live in eternity.
While the Jewish people had anticipated a revolution to end the Roman rule, they would soon learn from Jesus that he didn’t bring a sword to fight. He came to teach us how everything can be different, even restored to the way things were intended in the beginning. But something was required. John the Baptist said it and Jesus said it: Repent.
Turn around. Walk in a different direction from the world. Choose to live the opposite of all strategies and goals of power and selfishness. Beginning with the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus would describe the many ways his Kingdom was different. And to choose the way of Jesus required then and requires now that we turn from the patterns of the world and follow him.
Luke records Jesus reading a scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth. Everyone was listening as he read these words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
As everyone sat speechless looking at Jesus, he told them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” It was a simple, clear, and powerful moment. The Kingdom reign of God had begun.
Same invitation
While we are invited to live as Kingdom people now, daily praying that God’s Kingdom would be on earth as it is in Heaven, we realize things haven’t completely resolved here on earth. Yes, we have entered eternal life by giving our lives to our King Jesus, yet we await his return when Heaven and earth become one. As we practice Kingdom behavior here, we know our neighbors near and far, in this country and throughout the world, don’t live by the same Kingdom culture. And as we try to live now as we will in Heaven, we sometimes, even often, start behaving like the kingdom of this world.
The good news is that the good news allows, even demands that we repent. Repentance always brings a reset. Today is a fresh start to living in this Kingdom that has come near and will remain forever!
Your time with God’s Word
Matthew 3:1-2, 8-10; 4:17; Luke 4:21 ESV
Photo by Justice Amoh on Unsplash
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