What shall We Do?
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ME
Can you believe it’s two weeks and one day until Christmas? Last year, most of us spend Christmas in our home, eating either a home cook meal or getting take out from a delivery app. Conversing on the laptop over zoom while your parents, or your in-laws are eating their meal. This year, we can look forward to spending time with our families again. Even with the new Omicron variant, and the increase cases, there’s still a general sense of renewal this December, like everything is not quite pre-Covid, but not 2020 either.
WE
Have we thought about besides being renewed as a family, a husband or wife, a brother or sister? how can we be renewed as a follower of Jesus? How can we be a faithful witness to Him this Christmas and into 2022?
GOD
We’ve been exploring the message of John the prophet, otherwise better known as John the Baptist. He was the voice who proclaimed the good news of salvation. Through the act of repentance, the Jews can receive the forgiveness of sins. His baptism is a precursor to the one who is coming, and we were held in suspense at the end of last weeks message with this question: How will people respond to such a challenging, and at times, judgment-filled message? John ends with a warning of the imminent judgment for those who will not repent, and how they are in danger of being cut off from the root for not bearing fruit. Will the Jews respond with defiance or will they respond with repentance?
In other words, our big idea today is:
A response to God is not merely words but concrete action which could lead to suffering.
A response to God is not merely words but concrete action which could lead to suffering.
So how do we respond to Jesus’ good news?
I. We respond to Jesus’s good news with concrete action (10-15).
I. We respond to Jesus’s good news with concrete action (10-15).
Our first point!
Praise the LORD! The Jews’ response tells us they are not only eager to be baptized but they are responding in repentance! They want to change. They no longer want to be bearing rotten fruit, but good fruit in keeping with repentance. And here Luke lists three reactions from three different groups who have come to hear the message and be baptized. Notice they didn’t ask John, “what shall we know”? Or, “what shall we say? But, “what shall we do?”
The first group is the crowd:
Verse 10:
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
This would be the general crowd, like you and me. They have heard of the hope which will be found in Christ, the promise of salvation, and the need for repentance. They want to bear good fruit. Notice John doesn’t tell them, oh you are good enough. Or, just have faith. These are the misguided encouragements we may tell others. I am sometimes guilty of this myself, as a pastor. We want to be comforting, so we minimize the need for change. And of course, when someone is already guilt-ridden and beaten down by remorse, that may not be the right time lay it heavy upon them. But there DOES need to be a time where a concrete step needs to be taken, and for some of us it’s blatantly obvious. We should not shy away from this kind of encouragement to take concrete action, as long as we have a helpful and humble attitude as we do this and are not looking down on others..
And so John suggests to the general crowd to be generous to the least of these. Two tunics are more than sufficient, even excessive for the average person. Contrast that with someone who has no tunic, which is an inside shirt to cover the body before the outer robe. Surely we can give from our excess. And also food. Most of us have food. I can still remember going on a cruise trip pre-covid and just looking at the excess food and food choices for breakfast, seven different ways you can make eggs, another dozen type of salads, pancakes, roast beef. I even remember not finishing a piece of roast beef because it was too dry. Here I am, being picky about food while there are many in the world who would gladly eat a dried up piece of meat, or more likely, break the generous portion and split it among all their family members. Perhaps this can challenge us to take a percentage of the money we originally planned for our cruise or vacation, but are now not taking due to COVID, and give it to the Canadian Food Bank.
The second group are tax collectors:
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.”
Tax collectors are notoriously looked down on because they work for the oppressing government. Tax booths were often strategically located at key roads to and from cities like Jerusalem and Jericho. Tax collectors had the ability to rig the system and charge way more in terms of commission and kickbacks on top of the standard fee for bringing goods and trades through these roads. Farmers and herdsmen already had a difficult time living under Roman occupation. Now, they look forward to their own kindred charging them excess tax at each station, essentially stealing from them or giving more to their oppressor. The extra tax would be demanded even if the harvest was not favourable that year or there was drought. This is why tax collectors are likened to robbers by Jewish writers and even Roman writers regard them as brothel-keepers. And notice what John’s reply to them is, how they can bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Collect no more than you are authorized to do.
Interesting John did not call them to leave their shady business, but just to be honest with their work. If you bought this tax collector role from Rome for X amount of dollars, than just charge what the government requires people to pay and nothing more. This seems hardly repentant. Wouldn’t it be better if John ask them to leave the profession altogether? But that’s not the point, even if it’s ideal. The point is not to cause anyone to lose their job, or to attack the system itself, but to do what is moral to do within an imperfect system.
This application is a challenging one, because there are many professions where you walk a fine line in an imperfect system. For an accountant, do you agree to fudge the numbers a bit or find tax loopholes if it means you get recommended to bigger and better clients? For those in real estate, do you inflate the number of interested buyers so people will bid well over the asking price for a heftier commission? The key is not to dump on financial or real estate as a career, but John’s examples all have one thing in common: money. And how the love of money leads to the need to lie. John says, there’s a better way to a life of integrity within the job you are currently in.
And lastly, there are the soldiers:
14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
Whose soldiers are these? Since most likely those who would recognize John from Isaiah 40 would be Jews, it can be either troops under Herod Antipas’ rule in Perea, or troops who guard alongside tax collectors in case there is non-compliance from merchants or disputes arising from unfair tax .The behaviour John suggests to these soldiers is to refrain from shaking violently (that’s what the Greek word to extort means) by using their power and violence to force people to pay. If intimidation didn’t work, a soldier could also lie about the person they want to extort and justify their confiscation of property or goods. The property or goods seized could then supplement their wages, a basic food ration and just enough to get by. Again, it’s not wrong to be a soldier, but as a soldier one should not abuse their authority and power.
Notice who was seemingly absent. The whole gang of people in the introduction from Luke 3:1-2. No Caesar. No Tetrarchs. No Governors. Not even the High Priests. Here John is having a mini-revival and yet those in the upper echelon of society did not see it as a threat, or something to worry about. No one was sent to disperse these baptizing mobs. Only those who knew they were a sinner and needed mercy. It reminds me of watching the movie The Hunger Games and how the upper society of Pan Am just go about their business and allow the struggles of the districts to be determined by a game of the survival of the fittest.
Yet as we said, John isn’t the main attraction. He’s the announcer, the way-setter. The focus and the Way is about to come. Our second point:
II. Jesus is the Christ and the Emobodiment of Good News (15-18, 21-22).
II. Jesus is the Christ and the Emobodiment of Good News (15-18, 21-22).
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,
With no prophetic words for over 400 years, John had a unique appearance of camel hair clothes, a unique diet of locusts and honey, a uniquely bold message of repentance, and unique confidence in challenging the people with authority. The Jews would have started to wonder if he’s is the Christ. Who knew the real Jesus the Christ would look and dress and come out of much more ordinary means: in tunic and robe, eating no special diet, and living in Nazareth of all places.
16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.
But Jesus’ unique identity is not skin deep, it’s not in appearance or location or what can be seen, but what can be heard. John makes it unmistakably clear elsewhere in John’s gospel he is NOT the Christ. Here, Luke summarizes John’s view of the Christ as one with greater power and authority, and who he doesn’t even have the right to be a servant to (for servants untie their master’s sandal to wash their feet). His baptism will not be just symbolic, but an active physical presence with God’s own indwelling Spirit. This phrase, Holy Spirit and fire means a purging and transforming presence in all who would receive his baptism. It will be likened to refining of character through the power of the Spirit. Then John uses another apocalyptic imagery, of harvest. Jesus is the farmer separating the heavier wheat from the lighter chaff. As he tosses both with his winnowing fork, the lighter chaff is blown away, leaving what is valuable of the harvest and destroying what is fruitless. This again reminds the Jews and us in Christ there is a decision to be made. Will we accept Jesus as the true King, Lord and Saviour who can save and redeem us? Or will we reject God and his anointed One? One day, as we said last week, a choice and a life in step with that choice needs to be made, and the Spirit is given to us to help those who accept Jesus to live that life.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
We are given a glimpse of the responses of the crowds, the tax collectors and soldiers who took John’s word seriously. Finally Jesus himself came to be baptized. And it is only Jesus’ baptism, out of all the baptisms that were taking place, that was accompanied by supernatural occurences that testified to his unique identity. The heavens opened, and the Spirit descends on him, this same Spirit who marked the difference between John’s baptism and that of Jesus. The Spirit anoints Jesus with power from on high, and the Heavenly father attest to his relationship with his beloved son whom he is pleased with. From here on in, Jesus, full of the Spirit’s power will take center stage. But what about John?
III. Following Jesus may mean suffering and persecution (19-20).
III. Following Jesus may mean suffering and persecution (19-20).
19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
John took his message very seriously, regardless of who he was speaking to. He refused to capitulate to the elites, unlike other false prophets from the history of Israel. That got him ultimately in trouble with Herod Antipas, Herod the Great’s son by one of his many wives. Herod Antipas had a sordid affair with Herodias, the wife of his brother-from-another mother. It smells every bit like King David and Bathsheba, except Philip is Antipas’ half-brother, not his servant and soldier. Not that that matters in the law. The prophet Nathan rebuked King David for not only taking Bathsheba, but also arranging the execution of her husband Uriah the Hittite. Here, Herodias, daughter of Herod Archaelus (another half brother) divorced Philip to be with her step-uncle. Yes it’s more confusing than a bad soap opera!
Herod Antipas divorced his first wife, the daughter of Aretas IV of Nabatea in Arabia, according to Jewish historian Josephus. John, like Nathan, calls Antipas out on this behaviour which is not lawful according to Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21. For that, John was imprisoned for speaking the truth. Luke doesn’t record as does Matthew and Mark how Herodias ultimately got Antipas to behead John. We only learn of this when Jesus’ movement got his attention:
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
This reminds us that as followers of Jesus, to speak truth, to counter the unlawful and evil things done even by people with greater power, more prestige, and influence can result in persecution, suffering and death. John is showing the path all disciples will follow, and though the degree varies, the treatment is still the same. Here in Canada, we may be stopped from sharing the unpopular opinion that Jesus is the only true God in the public square. Or we might face opposition for holding unpopular opinions on ethical issues such as abortion, euthanasia, or LGBTQ issues. We do not face the type of persecution those in repressed worlds face for standing up for their beliefs. To merely gather as a church is a crime in many of these countries. To be a pastor means constant threats. A home visitation can be the last time you see your family. Those who are defiant can be arrested without cause or on a trumped up charge. Owning a bible means confiscation, and sharing the faith can mean imprisonment even with supposed religious freedoms on paper and in the law. Villages of Christian girls get abducted in Africa from school, which we in the West believe is the safest place, sent to be war brides for terrorists. Families get slaughtered by militias and angry mobs of relgious fanatics scare others from believing. And yet, though many are martyred, those surviving become even more emboldened to share the faith with their neighbours, more eager to do good, more fervent to gather. They too suffer from the dangers of COVID-19. And most of them have not even been vaccinated.
This of course is not to guilt people into taking personal risks if you believe it would not be safe to return to service. However, we must see how often the attitudes of we in the West are so different from our persecuted brothers and sisters. To us, reading God’s word is just an optional activity. To them, it’s life and death. To us, it’s when I have the time. To gather and fellowship in church to pray. To them, it’s the lifeline to connect with God despite persecution. To us, it’s when we have time, and we don’t have anything else more important on our agenda. Brothers and sisters, how can we speak about our religious rights so flippantly when it’s a luxury for the majority of Christians around the world. They not only have no rights, but they face the sword, the gavel, and the ostracizing! Let us learn to suffer for the faith by not demanding so much that the majority of Christian world didn’t have, never have, and didn’t need. Let those things be secondary, or send them our haves like technology, computers, cameras, laptops so they can broadcast their message, or radios so they can hear the gospel. We can also pray for these affected families. Be in the shoe of a mother, waiting for their kidnapped daughter to be rescued and come home. Or the son, whose father gave the ultimate sacrifice in refusing to give up telling others about Jesus, what prayers would he need? Let’s pause a moment to pray in the shoe of those who suffer for the faith.
WE
Through the prophetic words of John, the responses of the crowds, tax collectors, and soldiers, we are encouraged to not just talk about repentance, but to bear fruit in keeping with repentance through concrete action. But concrete actions can only be sustained by the work of the Spirit, the Spirit promised in the baptism Jesus gives, that washes us from our sins, through his forgiving work at his death on the cross. May we live out a life in keeping with the salvation we have received, even if it comes with the cost of suffering, patiently awaiting for the hope Jesus will restore and redeem the world.
Amen.