Baptism of Repentance
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
The following is from a recent report by The Christian Post:
A Pennsylvania man was arrested after he began preaching from the Bible on public property during a protest against a nearby pride event.
The incident happened June 3 at a pride month rally in the city of Reading, located more than 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia, where a crowd that included drag performers and small children gathered in front of the City Hall building.
Video from the event showed a couple of protesters standing on the opposite side of the street as marchers held LGBT-themed flags while Reading police officers looked on.
By early afternoon, Damon Atkins, 41, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct after he was involved in a conversation with Reading Police Officer Bradley McClure, according to court documents.
The now-viral video shows Atkins holding a sign which reads “Jesus said go and sin no more” while telling McClure “This is public property."
Atkins responds, “It is public property…let them have their day,” in an apparent reference to the marchers.
“This is public property,” Atkins repeats.
“Okay, well, then, respect it,” responds McClure.
“Let them have their day.”
“Know who’s cheering for us? The people who are in Hell,” Atkins replies.
“So you do you, and I’m going to do me.”
He then begins preaching from 1 Corinthians 14:33 — which reads in part “God is not the author of confusion” — and immediately McClure is seen in the video saying “That’s it, you’re done” and starts to handcuff Atkins.
In the video, the crowd involved in the pride march is heard clapping as McClure takes Atkins into custody.
Off camera, a man is heard saying, “I can’t believe this is in Reading” as police put Atkins against a wall to secure his handcuffs.
“What an incredible providence that the Lord is allowing me to film this,” Reading resident Matthew Wear, who took the video, is heard saying.
Bail was set at $5,000, but it’s unclear whether Atkins posted the bail amount. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 16, according to court documents.
Wear later said he was sharing the Gospel prior to Atkins’ arrest when McClure — the same officer who arrested Atkins — approached Wear and said, “If you don't stop shouting insults across the street, I will arrest you. Do you understand?”
According to Wear, when he responded, “I’m concerned about their souls,” McClure replied, “Well, get over it.”
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The arrest was reminiscent of a Seattle street preacher who was also arrested for reading the Bible near a pride event last summer.
Matthew Meinecke was arrested twice in June 2022 while he read his Bible near a pro-abortion rally. Meinecke, who identifies himself as The Seattle Preacher on Twitter, said some protesters vandalized his Bible before fleeing.
Another U.S. street preacher and activist, Rich Penkoski, claims he was locked out of his Cash App account because the mobile payment service does not approve of his protests against LGBT events.
Penkoski, who founded the online organization Warriors for Christ and travels the country to protest drag queen and LGBT pride events, told The Christian Post that he lost access to his Cash App account last week.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 3 and focus on verses 1 through 6.
Our message this morning is called, “Baptism of Repentance”
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As you are finding your place in God’s Word...
I would like to share that this message will focus on the very start of John the Baptist’s ministry...
And what we will see is that the message John preaches...
Is a message of repentance.
A message that as we go further in our study on Luke...
We will see that Jesus preached this message too.
And the same can be said of the Apostles.
This is not shocking for the Prophets of the Old Testament preached this message too.
But in our world today it fawned upon...
It is mocked...
And they put you behind prison bars if you offend the wrong person.
That happened to John too...
But that will be a different message for another time.
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Our passage today is on repentance and it has three main points...
First we will look at the background...
Then look at the preaching repentance...
And...
Our third point will be about preparing the way.
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Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are mighty and awesome...
We come to you for hope...
We come to you for thankfulness...
We come to you for help.
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So, help us and guide us...
In this insane world...
Give us the strength and boldness to proclaim your truth...
Even when we are insulted...
Even when we are mocked and misunderstood...
You know our pain.
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Show us your glory Lord...
Show us your love...
Show us your desire and will...
For we want to follow it...
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Thank you for every precious gift that you shower on us.
We don’t thank you enough...
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Simply put...
Thank you for who You are Father.
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
4 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.
5 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,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) Background
1) Background
Verses 1-2(a): In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
The MacArthur Study Bible has a great note for us to better understand the timeline Luke is presenting:
“Because of the way Tiberius came to power, this date is hard to fix precisely.
When the Roman Senate declared Augustus emperor, they did so on condition that his power would end with his death, rather than passing to his heirs.
The idea was that the senate, rather than the emperor himself, was to choose the heir to the throne.
However, Augustus circumvented that difficulty by appointing a co-regent, on whom he planned gradually to confer the imperial powers.
When he outlived his first choice for successor, Augustus next selected his son-in-law, Tiberius, whom he adopted and made his heir in 4 AD (Augustus disliked Tiberius but hoped to pass power to his grandsons through him).
Tiberius was made co-regent in 11 AD, then automatically became sole ruler at the death of Augustus on August 19, 14 AD.
If Luke’s chronology is dated from Tiberius’ appointment to the co-regency, the 15th year would be 25 or 26 AD.
If Luke was reckoning from the death of Augustus, this date would fall between August 19, 28 AD and August 18, 29 AD.
One other fact complicates the setting of a precise date:
The Jews reckoned a ruler’s term from the Jewish New Year following accession, so if Luke was using the Jewish system, the actual dates could be slightly later.
The earlier date of 25–26 AD seems to fit the chronology of Christ’s life best.”
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So, following the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC, Rome, finding no successor among Herod’s sons capable of sole rule, subdivided Palestine into three “tetrarchies,” assigning one each to his sons, Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip.
But Archelaus ruled so badly that the Romans removed him in 6 AD and appointed their own governor.
Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor of Judea, serving there from 26 to 36 AD.
From Jewish sources we learn that he was “inflexible, a blend of self-will and relentlessness,”...
His administration was marked by briberies, insults, robberies, outrages, frequent executions without trial, and endless savage ferocity.
Pilate held in low esteem Jewish religious sensibilities too.
For example, he introduced tokens of emperor worship into Jerusalem and took money from the temple treasury.
However or greater importance, Pilate would have been known to Luke’s audience, as the Roman provincial ruler under whom Jesus was executed.
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Next, Luke mentions Herod the tetrarch of Galilee...
The Gospels mention him twice in connection with important events:
The beheading of John the Baptist as recorded in Matthew 14:1–12...
And the questioning of Jesus before the crucifixion as found in Luke 23:6–12.
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A tetrarch is a kind of petty prince.
“Herod” here is Herod Antipas...
And his brother is Philip whose region is northeast of the Sea of Galilee.
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The next person Luke mentions is Lysanias...
Now, many who do not believe the Word of God as being Infallible and Inerrant believed Luke made an error here...
But God in His timing always proves the wisdom of men to fail when they go against God’s perfect Word.
Consider this from the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke:
“Luke’s mention of Lysanius of Abilene has often been regarded as historical error. Wellhausen believes that Luke blundered by citing the Lysanius mentioned by Josephus in Antiquities.
This ruler is too early to be mentioned here since he died in 36 BC.
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But the accusation of error ignores evidence of other inscriptions that attest to a later Lysanius who lived in the time of Tiberius.
In fact, the inscriptions may suggest that several dynasts of this period bore this name.
Fitzmyer notes that one cannot categorically identify the figure in the inscriptions with the figure mentioned by Luke, but what the evidence does show is that there is clearly more than one Lysanius in this region in this period.
Thus, even external evidence suggests that Luke’s mention is accurate.”
Again, God’s Word stands up to the critics of men.
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So, based on current archaeological finds...
It is likely that Lysanias ruled a territory near Damascus, and that this region was given to Herod Agrippa I around 37 AD.
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After this list of secular rulers...
Luke brings our attention to the religious rulers of the day...
Annas and Caiaphas.
According to 1st-century Roman and Jewish historian Josephus, Annas served as High-Priest from 6–15 AD...
It was at the end of that time that he was deposed by Roman officials.
The Jews of that time were obviously not happy that Rome got involved in their religious life.
Annas nonetheless retained de-facto power, as seen in the fact that his successors included 5 of his sons...
And Caiaphas, a son-in-law.
Theologian Joel B. Green has this to say about the mention of the high priesthood being in singular form but the mention of Annas and Caiaphas being in plural.
“Annas was high priest from 6–15 AD; following him in this office were his five sons, his son-in-law Joseph Caiaphas (18–36 or 37 AD), and, perhaps, a grandson.
Hence, even though Caiaphas would have been the high priest during the period in question, the continuing presence of Annas throughout this period must have been ominous.
His near-dynastic control of the office would have signified his overpowering influence, and this would explain Luke’s usage here.
This would also suggest that the real point of interest at this juncture is not on the office per-se, but on the power resident in these individuals who controlled the temple and its machinations.
As the head of the temple and its cult, Caiaphas and Annas would have exercised virtually unrivaled power and privilege among the Jewish people.”
So, Caiaphas was the actual High-Priest during the time Luke describes, but Annas still controlled the office.
This is seen clearly in the fact that Christ was taken to Annas first after His arrest, then to Caiaphas.
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Luke’s precision in naming five Roman officials and two Jewish leaders with their specific titles shows concern for detailed historical accuracy, and his accuracy is confirmed by historical records outside of the Bible.
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Additionally, there is a great note from the Pillar New Testament Commentary on Luke that I would like to share with you:
“A personal judgment about Jesus and the gospel will be required of nearly all the officials mentioned in 3:1–2.
John will appear before Herod Antipas, as will Jesus, who also will appear before Caiaphas, Annas, and Pilate.
In Acts, Paul will appear before far-flung rulers and officials, including Caesar in Rome.
Paul will testify to one such ruler that divine revelation ‘was not done in a corner.’
In John’s appearance at the Jordan and Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and Jerusalem, the word of God enters the public domain; hence the witness to God’s word is public witness, ‘to the ends of the earth’, to proclaim the name of Christ ‘to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.’”
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So, now that we have the background squared away...
Let me remind you of were we last left off regarding John the Baptist...
Who Luke is about to bring our attention to.
In Luke 1:80 our author said this:
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
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And now we are finally ready to see that day of his public ministry...
And that takes us to our second point.
2) Preaching Repentance
2) Preaching Repentance
Verses 2(b)-3: The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Again, the Pillar New Testament Commentary on Luke has an incredible note:
“The word of God appears among the powerful and prestigious, but not to them.
With acid irony, Luke reports that ‘the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.’
The names before John are accompanied by titles and offices: emperor, prefect, tetrarch, high priest.
John has no title or office.
The names before John are associated with places of importance: Rome, Sepphoris, Jerusalem.
John lives in a place with no name, ‘in the wilderness.’
People must leave their comforts and securities and go out to the wilderness.
In Israel’s history the wilderness represents a place of testing, repentance, and grace.
God brought deliverance to fledgling Israel in the wilderness of Sinai following the exodus, and thereafter the wilderness, both literally and figuratively became a place of prophetic hope.
The reference to John preaching in ‘all the country around the Jordan’ is particularly revealing.
This Greek phrase repeats verbatim the description of the territory chosen by Lot in Genesis 13:10 & Genesis 19:25.
Within this territory lay Sodom and Gomorrah, places synonymous with detestable practices and destruction.
The gospel is thus not directed primarily to or reserved exclusively for the Gentile and Jewish potentates of verses 1–2.
Its primary destination, rather, is the once-forsaken region of Sodom, to which John is first directed.
The mission of Jesus ‘to seek and save the lost’ is already anticipated in the ministry of John.”
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The phrase “the word of God came to John” designates him as a prophet like the Old Testament prophets
For example look at what it says in 1 Samuel 15:10:
10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel:
This was an amazing event since “the word of God” had not come to any prophet for public proclamation since Malachi in about 460 BC.
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So, after a silence of approximately 460 years...
460 years, Church!
After so long God was once again speaking to His people.
This was incredible.
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So, what was John called to do...
As Luke says he was called to proclaim a baptism of repentance.
This was shocking...
We need to understand that the Jews did baptize Gentiles who wanted to become part of the people of God.
However the sting in John’s practice was his call for Jews to undergo a rite they saw as fit only for Gentiles.
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This was insulting and degrading to the proud and the religious elite.
Yet, John looked for a change of heart in Jews...
Not an external glory.
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We also need to understand the word repentance which is “metanoia” in Koine Greek.
It is a compound word meaning “to change one’s mind” or “to alter one’s understanding.”
It combines both rational decision and willful act as opposed to emotive feeling alone.
So, it means a change of self...
Both of one’s heart and mind...
And this change abandons the former dispositions one had...
And results in a new self, new behavior, and regret over former behavior and dispositions.
The basic idea comes from the Hebrew “šûḇ” which means to“turn”
So, in this context it is to turn from sin to God.
It is a u-turn...
A complete 180 turn.
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The “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” demonstrated repentance and a commitment to a changed life in preparation for the coming Messiah.
In this way John’s baptism was related to forgiveness of sins.
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Consider for example 2 Corinthians 7:9–11 which says:
9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.
As Pastor John MacArthur says about this passage we just read...
“The apostle Paul captures the essence of repentance:
I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you:
What vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong!
In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
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He began by distinguishing remorse over sin’s consequences from the sorrow that produces repentance, noting that the Corinthians ‘were made sorrowful to the point of repentance.’
Their sorrow was ‘according to the will of God’; that is, they viewed their sin the same way God does.
That in turn ‘produce[d] a repentance without regret, leading to salvation,’ as opposed to the ‘sorrow of the world [that] produces death.’
Remorse over sin’s consequences, which is little more than wounded pride stemming from being caught in a sin, cannot produce the genuine repentance that results in forgiveness.
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Paul closed his description of true repentance by defining it in a series of words or phrases.
The first mark of repentance is ‘earnestness,’ an eager pursuit of righteousness that ends a person’s indifference to sin and complacency about his or her lost condition.
‘Vindication’ describes the desire to clear one’s name of the stigma attached to sin.
‘Indignation’ is righteous anger at the dishonor sin brings to God’s holy name.
It goes hand in hand with ‘fear’ of God’s just judgment on sin and a ‘longing’ to have one’s relationship with Him restored. Repentance also produces ‘zeal,’ a passionate desire for righteousness that causes sinners to long to see justice done and the wrong of their sins avenged and atoned for.
The Corinthians’ desire ‘to be innocent in the matter’ shows that the one who is truly repentant aggressively pursues holiness.”
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The baptism John was proclaiming was ment to prepare the people...
For someone was coming who was greater than him....
Someone was coming who had a greater baptism....
As Matthew 3:11 records what John says:
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Luke will later in Acts make this point clear as it says in Acts 19:1–4:
1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”
As Christ Himself said in John 3:5:
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
And we can’t forget about passages like Acts 2:38 that say:
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
There is no way to get to Christ without repentance...
But a truly repent person who turns from their old life and turn instead to Jesus will never be rejected...
And it is when our eyes are opened that we are baptised with the Holy Spirit.
For this is the greater baptism as it is necessary to enter the Kingdom of God...
But it all starts with repentance.
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So, John was commissioned by God to prepare the people for this...
John was to make way for the coming Messiah...
And this takes us to our third and final point.
3) Preparing the Way
3) Preparing the Way
Verses 4-6: 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.’ ”
Beloved...
It was seven centuries...
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It was seven centuries before John’s birth that the Word of God in Isaiah 40:3–5 said this:
3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 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.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
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It is amazing how all the prophecies in Scripture have their way of coming to pass.
When our God says it will happen...
It will happen.
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So, to better understand this passage from Isaiah that Luke quotes...
We need to understand the image being painted.
The imagery being portrayed here is of an king or emperor on a journey who then sending a messenger ahead of him to make sure the all the roads were cleared of debris or other hazards that he would be traveling.
In the process ravines would be filled in, mountains and hills brought low, crooked paths would be made straight, and rough roads made smooth.
This is the image we need to keep in mind as our readers would be aware of these actions taking place in a ruler was coming to visit an area in the kingdom.
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The phrase “Every valley shall be filled” is a poetic way of saying that the way for the Messiah will be expedited.
The phrase “Every mountain and hill shall be made low” is a poetic way of saying that obstacles will be removed.
The phrase “The crooked shall become straight” is a poetic way of saying “crooked” or literally “corrupt generation” will be changed.
However, these images are also metaphors that have ethical overtones...
What needs removal is the sin of the people.
The proud and arrogant will be humbled...
The humble and lowly will be exalted...
And the corrupt will be transformed.
So, in a spiritual sense, John was calling the people of Israel to prepare their hearts for the coming of their Messiah.
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Now, it should be noted that all four Gospels apply Isaiah 40:3 to John the Baptist and agree that John saw himself as only a herald...
However, only Luke adds Isaiah 40:4-5, emphasizing God’s salvation to “all flesh”...
That term “all flesh” means to Jew and Gentile alike.
So, this predicts that salvation will also be for the Gentiles too...
Not just the Jews.
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As New Testament scholar Darrell L. Bock puts it:
“God is preparing to clear a highway for his people, as he comes in power to redeem them.
Total victory is in view.
Those who will share in the victory are the humble and the blind, those who recognize the need for and who depend upon God.
But such leveling of obstacles also will crush the proud and destroy those committed to idolatry.
Physical and ethical images merge.
The images call the hearer of John’s message to realize that God is coming in judgment and that only the humble who rely on him will be spared.”
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Remember what Jesus says in Luke 5:32:
32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
This is the message of the Scriptures...
This is the Gospel message that the Apostles preached as it says in Acts 3:19:
19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
And this is the same message from the Old Testament as seen in Jonah 3:10:
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Here the people of Nineveh...
Wicked as they were...
Repented...
And God saw this...
But woe to the foolish who refuse to repent...
For as Matthew 12:41 says:
41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Christ has come, Church!
The time for people to repent is now...
As the world celebrates sin...
Don’t just sit around...
Don’t just ignore it...
Cry out...
Warn others...
The time to repent is now!
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I don’t care what sin any person is enslaved by...
It doesn’t matter how great ones pet sin is...
You will often here people say I can’t help my sin...
I was born this way...
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Well guess what...
Christ said you must be born again!
And repentance and being born again can’t be separated...
And it is us church...
It is us...
Who are called to sacrifice our reputation...
We are called to sacrifice our careers....
We are called to sacrifice our relationships...
In an act of love...
We are called to sacrifice being the scorn of the world...
So, we can deliver the saving message of the Gospel...
A message that starts at repentance!
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this:
If there is no repentance, there can be no pardon.
Some years ago a murderer was sentenced to death.
The murderer’s brother, to whom the State was deeply indebted for former services, besought the governor of the State for his brother’s pardon.
The pardon was granted, and the man visited his brother with the pardon in his pocket.
“What would you do,” he said to him, “if you received a pardon?”
“The first thing I would do,” he answered, “is to track down the judge who sentenced me, and murder him;
And the next thing I would do is to track down the chief witness, and murder him.”
The brother rose, and left the prison with the pardon in his pocket.
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Because of what this man had done, the death penalty was waiting on him.
The opportunity was granted to him, but it called for repentance.
Since there could be no repentance, there also could be no pardon.
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Will we be bold enough to share with this dying world the life giving message of Christ...
Let us not be ashamed of the message of the Gospel...
Let us not water it down, beloved.
We must proclaim the full counsel of God.
As Romans 1:16 says:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.