Second Presbyterian Church

"John The Baptist at the Office:
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
February 1, 2004

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for February 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#8 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Isaiah
• Luke 3: 1-22

I
PREPARATION

As we begin chapter 3 in Luke we are beginning a major new heading. This new section has to do with preparation of ministry of Jesus (note your outlines). In this section of Luke I see three basic types of preparation.

1. The first preparation is the work of John the Baptist who primarily worked to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. He was the one who was Isaiah's voice that cried in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.

2. The second preparation is the preparation of Jesus himself. There are two aspects to this. The first aspect is the preparation through his baptism. The second aspect is the preparation he experienced through his wilderness temptations with Satan. Later, I shall have much more to say about these preparations.

3. The third preparation is Luke's preparation of the reader. Actually all of this is for the reader's benefit (or it wouldn't have been written). In particular the reader is prepared by way of the Baptism of Jesus and the genealogy that Luke has in this chapter.

So, from chapter 3, verse 1 through chapter 4, verse 13 we have the section in which Jesus is ready to launch his ministry, and John the Baptist has completed his. Now let's take a closer look at John the Baptist at the Office.

II
THE WILDERNESS CRIER

The story moves quickly in Luke.

1. Luke placed John's ministry in a historical setting.

2. He summarized the message of John and its source (God).

3. He understood John the Baptist as the voice Isaiah described as crying in the wilderness.

4. He described the crowds response (what shall we do? And is he the Messiah).

5. He described the end of John's career.

1. Luke Placed John's Ministry in a Historical Setting
   Luke takes great pains to place John's ministry in history. He does it at a global level. He does it at the regional level. And he does it at the religious Level. At the global level he noted that John started his wilderness ministry during the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. He was the successor of Augustus Caesar. This dates John's ministry to around A.D. 28 or 29. Tiberius Caesar co-reigned with Augustus Caesar, before he became the sole emperor.
   
   Luke also noted the regional rulers in the Middle Eastern region. They were Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias, tetrarch of Abilene. All of these tetrarchs were either sons or son-in-laws of Herod the Great. It was an incredibly dysfunctional family. A brother of Herod, one who was not a tetrarch had married Herodias. Herod seduced her and married her; he took her away from his brother.
   
   A high priest was supposedly high priest for life, but during this period the Roman rulers would not allow that, so several High Priests succeeded one another fairly rapidly. Caiaphas was the son in law of Annas. Caiaphas was the official High Priest. But Annas, the previous High Priest was still the one who wielded power behind the scenes. That is why Luke mentions both here. And that is why, when Jesus was arrested, he was taken to Annas first.
   
   Luke's point is that it is important for us to understand that the Word of God comes into our history. It breaks through place and time. Yet this loving, redemptive power of God flied below the radar. None of these noted movers and shakers of their time had an inkling of the idea that the Lord was making ready for the coming of the Messiah and the Redemption of the People of God.
   
   What we need to remember is that this is still true. God works under the radar of human notability. God works redemption at the level where the common people exist, even as He works his will through the events of the world. An individual experiences Christ and becomes a believer. Another commits to a life more consistent with the Love of Christ. A congregation boldly and with much faith moves out of its comfort zone to trust God's will for its future.
   
   
2. Luke Summarized the Message of John and its Source
   Lest there be any doubt, the message of John came from God. Luke specifically spelled this out. He summarized it as a message of baptism for repentance and the forgiveness of sin. The message from the Lord was, "it's time to straighten out, change your crooked ways, and be forgiven of your sin." In Summary it sounds like Good News, and it IS Good News, although the style that John presents it would seem a little harsh in our standards.
   
   
3. Luke Understood John the Baptist as the Voice Crying in the Wilderness as written by Isaiah
   All four gospels describe John the Baptist as the Voice that cried in the Wilderness, in reference to Isaiah 40, verse 3 and following. It is a voice of preparation. "Make straight in the desert a highway for our God." This is rich imagery. In ancient times when the ruler wanted to tour his provinces, word would be sent to improve the roads in that province so the ruler could travel over them. They were graded and smoothed out. It was all political. It still happens. When your representative wants to be reelected, he or she often goes around and has new asphalt slapped on the roads in the area, especially where they have received the most complaints.
   
   Here Luke had no literal highway in mind. He had our hearts in mind. "Prepare your hearts, make straight your hearts, the Lord is coming!" The desert was the spiritual emptiness in our hearts when they are estranged from God. "Prepare! Let the Messiah in! Straighten it out!" And in so doing, the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed.
   
   
4. Luke Described the Crowd's Response
   The crowds responded in two ways, but first I want to mention John's oratory style. It is one in which I dare not use. I do not believe that I would be long in this pulpit if my tact were to call people vipers and other names. But as one commentator noted, whenever the truth is preached there is often conflict.
   
   Just one quick note about the "brood of vipers" imagery. John is one who lived in the wilderness. There were shrubs and bushes all around that were very, very dry. Sometimes something would happen, perhaps lightning, and the wilderness would be aflame - a wildfire. When that happened, the vipers, the snakes came out of their cracks and crevaces to flee the flames. John is likening the people who came out to hear him as these vipers that are fleeing the flames of judgement.
   
   The people had two basic responses. One was that they wondered if John were the Messiah. He flat out told them no, that the one who is Messiah he was not worthy to untie his sandal. He, John, baptized with water. The Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
   
   The second response of the people who went to hear John was, "What are we to do?" The were convicted by his message to repent and to change. They needed help as to how to work that out in their particular lives. And John was clear. If you have two coats, give one to someone who has none. If you have food, share it with someone who is hungry. If you are a tax collector (mainly Jews who were hated by their fellow Jews), then don't defraud people by taking more money than you are supposed to collect. (The evil was not being a tax collector for the heathen emperor, the evil was cheating and taking more money than you should, so that you become rich at the expense of others.) If you were a soldier, then don't threaten people with your weapons in order to take their money. In that day, evidently, a soldier could come up to you and point his spear at you and demand payment. Not nice. This is similar to the lunchroom bully who steals smaller children's lunch money by threatening them harm.
   
   Our message is for us to look at the practical ways we can repent, or change our ways. Are we honest? Are we unfair to certain people, because we do not like them very much? Do we gossip as spread news that we shouldn't? Do we seek earnestly to do the kind and loving thing to do? There are all kinds of ways we could continue to repent, when we stop and honestly examine ourselves.
   
   Should we? Yes, because we know and proclaim the Messiah, Jesus Christ as living in our hearts (the highway prepared for the Lord). And with Jesus Christ in our hearts, we have the command to love one another as brother and sister, even the command to love those who hate us and wish to do us harm!
   
   
5. Luke described the End of John the Baptist's Career
   Luke makes a quick summary of the end of John's career. Herod arrests him because John had spoken against him stealing his brother's wife. Like I said earlier, to speak the truth can get one into trouble. That is why a preacher's life feels so tenuous. I see things and know things. When I confront it is to confront in care and love, so that a wrong can be righted. But it feels dangerous. I have to pray long and hard before I do such a thing. But if it is the right thing to do, then I shall do it and I trust God to help me with the results. I hope that all of you do the same.

So, this ends the first section of Preparation of Jesus for ministry. It is the section that places John the Baptist in his office, the wilderness. It called for the the people to repent, change their ways. It called for the people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. The question for us is similar. How are we doing in our process of repenting, in our process of changing toward the ways of Jesus would has us to be? Are we ready for the Lord? Does he affect our attitudes? Does he affect our behavior? Are we getting ready for what the Lord has in store for Second Presbyterian Church? Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.