A DIFFERENT KIND OF PREACHER
Matthew 3:4-10 NKJV
4 Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
When we read the story of John the Baptist, it's easy to gloss over just how unusual John was. John had a supernatural birth and a divine purpose. John was ordained to prepare the way for Jesus. But, as is often the case with the Lord, he did not appear to fit the mold of God's messenger.
For one, John chose to conduct his ministry in the wilderness of Judea. His location meant that if you wanted to hear what he had to say, you had to travel. And yet, when God's anointing and grace is on a person, it tends to draw crowds. But nothing about John made him a preacher of the people.
He dressed weirdly. John wore camel hair with a leather belt. This was not the fashion of the day, much less of men who proclaimed God's message. But that was the other thing. No one else was proclaiming God's message. The scribes and Pharisees had developed a system built around the Word of God, but their rules, regulations, and examples rendered God's Word void.
Contrary to the religious men of that day in their long, easily identifiable robes, John looked like a man preparing for the apocalypse. And he ate bugs and honey. Well, actually, locusts and honey, but a rose by any other name still smells the same; they were bugs.
And yet the people came to him. And a message of repentance swept through the nation. People were being baptized and confessing their sins. There was so much excitement that the religious leaders were caught up in the baptism movement and came to John.
And John was so gracious and welcoming. Actually, John was anything but gracious and welcoming. He called them a brood of vipers. That sounds better in King James English than calling them sons of poisonous snakes. But that's what brood of vipers translates to. And John was not done. He asked who warned them about escaping from the wrath of God. And he told them something very poignant. "Bear fruit worthy of repentance." In other words, John was chastising these scribes and Pharisees for looking the part but not living the part. Don't just come to get in on the baptism movement. Have a life that reflects a heart that has truly turned toward God.
And to answer their objections before they could even express them, John had another word for the scribes and Pharisees. Don't fall back on your physical heritage as an excuse or a way to justify yourself. Don't hide behind Abraham being your father, as that which connects you to God. Live the life, don't just talk the talk. John declared that every tree that did not bear good fruit was going to be cut down and cast into the fire. Please keep in mind that Jesus had not come and paid the price for sins. The righteousness of the people of that day was determined by the attitude of their hearts and the way they lived. So John was calling this group out.
It's easy to see that John was a different kind of preacher.
APPLICATION
John's mission was to prepare the way for Jesus. Now that Jesus has come, the message is different. Now we don't call people sons of snakes because we realize that all of us were sinners, but for the grace of Christ. Now, our message is come receive the grace that God has made available to you. However, once we have received Christ and have become new creations in Him, the message of bearing fruit worthy of repentance is still in effect. Because there has been a change in our spiritual makeup, we are to be living examples of what God has done in us. Bearing fruit is still in play.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You that I live in the day of grace. I am dependent on You for my righteousness before God. And now that Your grace is in my life help me live in such a way that others can see what You have done in me.