Advent: 5 Days to Go
In this installment of our Christmas adventure, the time comes for the witness to the “Light”...
1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
--Matthew 3:1-2 KJV Bible
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
--Mark 1:1-8 KJV Bible
1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
--Luke 3:1-18 KJV Bible
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
--John 1:19-28 KJV Bible
At the time of John’s ministry the Roman Empire was ruled by Tiberius Caesar, the adopted son of Augustus Caesar. Tiberius ruled from AD 14 to 37. The three sons of Herod the Great ruled portions of the whole previously ruled by their father. And Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. Annas was high priest from AD 6 to 15. Caiaphas was the ruling high priest from AD 18 to 36.
John preached his message in the wilderness of Judea was a barren wasteland extending along the western shore of the Dead Sea. John was calling the people to repent. Repentance is a change of mind that bears fruit in a changed life. John preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. This is the rule of heaven over the earth. The Jewish people of Christ’s day were looking for the Messiah’s kingdom to be established on the earth, and this is what John proclaimed. The eventual rejection of Christ by the people delayed its establishment until the second coming of Christ.
John also preached that the people should be baptized. The Jews practiced self-immersion as a form of baptism, but John immersed others as a witness to their repentance. This was a form of identification. John’s baptism was a sign of an individual’s acknowledgement of his need of repentance for the remission of his sins.
Members of the Pharisees and the Sadducees came out to where John was preaching. The Pharisees were the most influential of the Jewish sects. Though they held orthodox doctrines, their zeal for the Mosaic law led them to a degenerate, though strict, outward observance of both law and their equally authoritative--in their own eyes--interpretations of it. They knew the Scriptures, tithed, fasted, prayed; but they were also hypocritical, self-righteous, and the foremost persecutors of Jesus. The members of the Sadducees came largely from the priesthood and upper classes. They were the anti-supernaturalists of Christ’s day. They denied the truth of bodily resurrection, of future punishment and reward, and of the existence of angels. Though they upheld the written law of Moses, they were opposed to the oral traditions observed by the Pharisees. They were the party of the high-priestly families of Jerusalem with direct interests in the apparatus of temple worship and generally collaborated with the Roman rulers. They opposed Christ as vigorously as the Pharisees and were condemned by Him as severely, though not as frequently.
John condemned the people for claiming to have Abraham as their father. The common teaching of the day said that the Jews participated in the merits of Abraham, which made their prayers acceptable, helped in war, atoned for sins, appeased the wrath of God, and assured a share in God’s eternal kingdom. Consequently the people were startled when John and Jesus preached the necessity of personal repentance.
John used the image of a winnowing fork God’s judgment of the people. A winnowing fork is a wooden shovel used for tossing grain against the wind after threshing so that the lighter chaff would be blown away, leaving the kernels to settle in a pile. The repentant were kernels that were gathered and the unrepentant were the chaff that was blown away.
Next time, the baptism of Jesus...
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1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
--Matthew 3:1-2 KJV Bible
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
--Mark 1:1-8 KJV Bible
1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
--Luke 3:1-18 KJV Bible
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
--John 1:19-28 KJV Bible
At the time of John’s ministry the Roman Empire was ruled by Tiberius Caesar, the adopted son of Augustus Caesar. Tiberius ruled from AD 14 to 37. The three sons of Herod the Great ruled portions of the whole previously ruled by their father. And Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. Annas was high priest from AD 6 to 15. Caiaphas was the ruling high priest from AD 18 to 36.
John preached his message in the wilderness of Judea was a barren wasteland extending along the western shore of the Dead Sea. John was calling the people to repent. Repentance is a change of mind that bears fruit in a changed life. John preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. This is the rule of heaven over the earth. The Jewish people of Christ’s day were looking for the Messiah’s kingdom to be established on the earth, and this is what John proclaimed. The eventual rejection of Christ by the people delayed its establishment until the second coming of Christ.
John also preached that the people should be baptized. The Jews practiced self-immersion as a form of baptism, but John immersed others as a witness to their repentance. This was a form of identification. John’s baptism was a sign of an individual’s acknowledgement of his need of repentance for the remission of his sins.
Members of the Pharisees and the Sadducees came out to where John was preaching. The Pharisees were the most influential of the Jewish sects. Though they held orthodox doctrines, their zeal for the Mosaic law led them to a degenerate, though strict, outward observance of both law and their equally authoritative--in their own eyes--interpretations of it. They knew the Scriptures, tithed, fasted, prayed; but they were also hypocritical, self-righteous, and the foremost persecutors of Jesus. The members of the Sadducees came largely from the priesthood and upper classes. They were the anti-supernaturalists of Christ’s day. They denied the truth of bodily resurrection, of future punishment and reward, and of the existence of angels. Though they upheld the written law of Moses, they were opposed to the oral traditions observed by the Pharisees. They were the party of the high-priestly families of Jerusalem with direct interests in the apparatus of temple worship and generally collaborated with the Roman rulers. They opposed Christ as vigorously as the Pharisees and were condemned by Him as severely, though not as frequently.
John condemned the people for claiming to have Abraham as their father. The common teaching of the day said that the Jews participated in the merits of Abraham, which made their prayers acceptable, helped in war, atoned for sins, appeased the wrath of God, and assured a share in God’s eternal kingdom. Consequently the people were startled when John and Jesus preached the necessity of personal repentance.
John used the image of a winnowing fork God’s judgment of the people. A winnowing fork is a wooden shovel used for tossing grain against the wind after threshing so that the lighter chaff would be blown away, leaving the kernels to settle in a pile. The repentant were kernels that were gathered and the unrepentant were the chaff that was blown away.
Next time, the baptism of Jesus...
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