Luke’s Gospel now shifts to introduce the ministry of John the Baptist. John the Baptist describes himself as the forerunner of Jesus Christ, and a fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
Because John the Baptist was seen as the forerunner, every gospel writer includes some detail about John the Baptist very early in their writings (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 1 & 3, John 1).
Scripture shows that John the Baptist had a very successful ministry, focused on “a baptism of repentance.” All of Jerusalem, Judea and the region around the Jordan were coming to be baptized and confess their sins.
As people are coming, John issues a warning in verse 8 that they should, “bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.” Matthew 3:7 provides some additional context, that this comment was specifically made to the Pharisees and Sadducees who had come to see him.
John doubted their sincerity.
Scripture is also clear that repentance is not a suggestion – it’s an imperative. In Luke 3:9 and Luke 3:17 (plus Luke 13:3-9), Jesus explains that a life without repentance is like a tree that bears no fruit – it will ultimately be cut down and burned.
Now, it’s important to remember that John’s message is not simply, “go out and be a good person.” It’s not John is a forerunner – the purpose of his ministry is to prepare the people for something and someone greater.
John’s call to repentance was a call for people to acknowledge their own sin and turn from it. John declared in Luke 3:16 that there was another baptism coming, a baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire. And it was John the Baptist who, identifying Jesus, said, “Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
The call to bear fruit is not simply to say, “try harder.” Rather, it’s an appeal for evidence: “Has the grace of God truly taken root in your life?” If repentance is real, it will show up in your life.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans (Ch 6:1-14), he explains that our baptism aligns us with Christ, and symbolizes our death to our own sin and the new life we walk in Christ Jesus. Like John the Baptist, Paul explains that the disciple of Jesus should bear the fruit of a changed life…a life no longer submitted to sin, but submitted to God.
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent…” Acts:17:30
