John’s challenging message
Luke 3:10-20
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. 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 granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison.
Three things are going on in this passage.
First, John unpacks what the acts of repentance look like: Sharing what one has with people who have less – being generous with one’s abundance; Don’t cheat to get what you are not entitled to – don’t shade the books, don’t inflate the expenses; Don’t use threats or force to get your way. In other words, share what you have and make an honest living. All of us have the opportunity to use our power for our own benefit, John warns against that, instead we should use our power for the benefit of others.
Second, John wanted everyone to know that the one coming after him would be so much greater than John, that John was nothing in comparison. John had only water with which to baptize, the one who was coming had the Holy Spirit and fire with which to baptize people. Luke wants readers of his gospel to pay attention to the number of times the Holy Spirit appears in his telling of the story of Jesus. In fact, Luke believed that the Holy Spirit was essential to Jesus’ life and ministry. As we read through Luke, we will be paying attention to the places the Holy Spirit appears.
Third, John was unafraid of who he challenged. John called Herod Antipas (the son of Herod the Great who tried to kill the baby Jesus – Matthew 2) to account for “all the evil things that Herod had done.” Among those things was that Herod was living with Herodias, who was the wife of (still legally married to, there had been no divorce) Philip (Herod’s brother), who was still very much alive. Herod did not like people criticizing him, so he had John arrested. It takes courage to challenge those who have power. We need to trust the Holy Spirit to give us the courage to confront those with power.
PRAYER:
O Lord, so often we know the right thing to do, but we don’t do it. Sometimes we simply do not want to do the right thing, sometimes we lack the courage to do the right thing. Send us the Holy Spirit that we might have both the will and the courage to follow your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen\