March 30, 2022 – Wednesday
Luke 3:3 & 7-8 NIV
3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
Comment.
Luke here is writing about John the Baptist, who as we read in verse three, went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. If you are wondering why this sounds familiar, it’s because we read almost the same thing in Mark 1:4, And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The key in both is repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Next we have verses 7 and 8 where Luke writes, John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Again, this should sound familiar to you as we covered something very similar in Matthew 3:7-9, But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The key difference between Matthew and Luke is that in Luke, John addresses everyone, John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, while in Matthew, John narrows his focus down to a small group, But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them.
It might be easy here to think the two versions contradict each other. However, we have a great agreement. It is not unlikely that John the Baptist made both statements at different times. One writer repeats what John said to everyone, the other focuses on what he said to a particular group who would not want to believe they needed to repent – the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The question we should be asking is why after verse three, He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins we have the need for verses 7-8? John begins his answer to our question in verse 7 with the question, John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? That is the lead to the next verse for those who believe you can escape from judgment from baptism and baptism alone. But he makes clear only real repentance, not baptism alone, allows believers to escape the wrath that is to come. For it is only real repentance that will bear fruit. John says it this way, Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. It is almost a command from John, Produce fruit in keeping with your repentance.
John follows this with a dire warning, And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father. Some believed they did not need to repent because Abraham was their father. That is no different than someone today saying, “I do not need to repent for I grew up in the church.” Or “I do not need to repent because I have been a solid church goer for years and years.” Or “I do not need to repent because I am not really a bad person compared to others.” Wrong on all counts. John’s message was clear, all need to repent.
Prayer: Almighty God, Thank You that Your word should have such clarity on the need to repent for each and every one of us. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek
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