WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.480 The good animals of Narnia start whispering the news to one another in secret. 00:00:05.179 --> 00:00:09.179 They are rejoicing that at last Aslan has come. 00:00:10.779 --> 00:00:14.380 The white witch hears about Aslan's return and her reaction is rather different. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:16.460 She's horrified. 00:00:17.140 --> 00:00:20.740 She's terrified at the news and she determines to stop it. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:25.240 She knows what the return of the true king means for her. 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:31.199 Well, over the last few weeks here at Trinity, we've been preaching an Advent series. 00:00:31.699 --> 00:00:33.939 The word Advent just means arrival or coming. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:38.460 And it's really the time when we start whispering about the return of the true king. 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:44.379 It's a time of year when we think back to God's marvelous coming to us in the form of a baby. 00:00:45.179 --> 00:00:52.519 It's also the time when we anticipate the second coming, the next coming, when Jesus will return and reign forever. 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:57.840 Now, several of the Chronicles of Narnia books have been turned into movies. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:08.140 When the movie version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe came out, I read one review that criticized the movie and the book for choosing a lion to symbolize Jesus. 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:12.020 According to the Bible, Jesus was a lamb, the reviewer said. 00:01:13.100 --> 00:01:14.180 Lewis got it wrong. 00:01:15.939 --> 00:01:18.719 Well, the reviewer didn't know the Bible all that well. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:20.800 Yes, Jesus is the Lamb of God. 00:01:20.800 --> 00:01:22.379 John the Baptist calls him that. 00:01:23.219 --> 00:01:27.140 But he's also the great lion of the tribe of Judah, we read in the book of Revelation. 00:01:27.859 --> 00:01:31.060 So the king of beasts is not such a bad symbol for the king of kings. 00:01:32.479 --> 00:01:37.340 But I think this movie reviewer just preferred to think about Jesus as a lamb. 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:41.340 Now, this is the Sunday before Christmas. 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:43.620 I imagine that we have some visitors here. 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:47.560 Perhaps you're not a Christian, or maybe you're just learning about Christianity. 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:49.699 Well, please know you're very welcome here. 00:01:49.700 --> 00:01:53.340 We're really pleased you've chosen to spend the morning with us. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:02:02.120 Whether you're a new Christian, or whether you've been a Christian for decades, there's no better time of year to think about Jesus. 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:07.400 And I wonder, how do you like to think about Jesus? 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:15.360 Is he forever the cooing baby who, according to the Christmas carol we just sang, no crying he makes? 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:17.920 I don't think that's historically accurate, by the way. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:24.060 Or does he eventually grow up into something maybe a little more lionish? 00:02:25.579 --> 00:02:26.679 It makes a difference. 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:31.479 If the Bible is correct that we are going to meet him one day, it matters for us. 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:34.959 What is this Jesus really like? 00:02:35.739 --> 00:02:38.280 What would you do if you know you were soon to meet him? 00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:44.799 Well, this morning we're going to look at a biblical text from the New Testament that tells us what to do. 00:02:44.899 --> 00:02:47.319 How to prepare for this meeting of Jesus. 00:02:47.500 --> 00:02:50.419 Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 3. 00:02:50.819 --> 00:02:54.419 If you're using the pew Bibles that are provided for you, that's on page 808. 00:02:55.099 --> 00:02:57.019 You'll see on the page some big numbers. 00:02:57.319 --> 00:02:58.319 Those are chapter numbers. 00:02:58.419 --> 00:02:59.299 And some small numbers. 00:02:59.379 --> 00:03:00.239 Those are the verse numbers. 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:05.640 We're going to be looking today at Matthew chapter 3, verses 1 through 12. 00:03:06.140 --> 00:03:08.360 Matthew chapter 3, verses 1 through 12. 00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:11.840 Please listen to me as I read Matthew 3, 1 through 12. 00:03:13.740 --> 00:03:18.840 In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:22.540 Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:27.000 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.400 the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:32.500 prepare the way of the Lord. 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:34.319 Make his path straight. 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:39.939 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.319 And his food was locusts and wild honey. 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:49.060 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him. 00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:52.560 And they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:58.340 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:03.620 you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:06.599 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:10.800 And do not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:16.180 For I tell you, God is able to raise, or from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 00:04:17.459 --> 00:04:20.300 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:25.899 Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:29.500 I baptize you with water for repentance. 00:04:30.099 --> 00:04:32.579 But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, 00:04:33.019 --> 00:04:34.819 whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:38.599 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:41.299 His winnowing fork is in his hands, 00:04:41.779 --> 00:04:44.659 and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.819 but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. 00:04:50.679 --> 00:04:55.000 Now this story is not normally talked about as part of the Christmas story. 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:58.220 Perhaps it's because of that unquenchable fire bit. 00:04:58.459 --> 00:05:00.899 It doesn't really seem to fit in with the Christmas spirit. 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:06.660 But also more simply, it's because a long time has elapsed since Jesus' birth. 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:12.399 Last week we talked about how Mary and Joseph had to take baby Jesus into temporary exile in Egypt. 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.160 By the time John the Baptist begins preaching in the wilderness, 00:05:16.439 --> 00:05:17.480 Jesus is a grown man. 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:20.040 Thirty years have gone by, maybe more. 00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:22.639 He's just about to go public with his own ministry. 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:26.620 So we're a long ways off from that night in Bethlehem. 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:32.719 But in the most important sense, this is absolutely a part of the Christmas story. 00:05:33.860 --> 00:05:38.139 As we'll see, John the Baptist was in some ways a strange or eccentric figure. 00:05:39.159 --> 00:05:44.099 But you cannot understand the meaning of Christmas if you don't understand his message. 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:50.780 The Christmas story is the story of the coming of the true king into a dark and rebellious land. 00:05:51.420 --> 00:05:56.820 And our text for this morning, Matthew 3, is really the personal application portion of that story. 00:05:57.800 --> 00:05:59.800 So we're going to ask three questions together. 00:06:00.060 --> 00:06:02.500 First, who is this John the Baptist? 00:06:03.320 --> 00:06:05.480 Second, what is his message? 00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:10.140 And third, and perhaps most importantly, what should we do about it? 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:11.759 So who is John the Baptist? 00:06:12.220 --> 00:06:13.280 What is his message? 00:06:13.640 --> 00:06:15.060 And what are we to do about it? 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:18.740 Well, John the Baptist, he comes and goes pretty quickly in the Bible. 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:23.920 If you want, you can read later in Luke 1 about his miraculous birth to elderly parents. 00:06:24.420 --> 00:06:28.020 You can read in Matthew 14 about he's beheaded by Herod the Tetrarch. 00:06:28.300 --> 00:06:31.240 That's the son of the king Herod who tried to kill Jesus. 00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:36.879 He had publicly criticized this Herod and he paid with it for his life. 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:43.460 We don't hear a lot about him in between, except for this account of him preaching and baptizing in the desert. 00:06:44.340 --> 00:06:46.240 But what we do hear is pretty startling. 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:48.860 John was a sensation. 00:06:49.100 --> 00:06:49.860 He was a celebrity. 00:06:50.780 --> 00:06:53.240 Everyone in Israel was talking about him. 00:06:53.879 --> 00:06:56.879 The political and the religious leaders were worried about him. 00:06:57.460 --> 00:07:00.040 The ordinary people flocked to him and seemed to love him. 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:03.819 No matter who you were, John commanded attention. 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:07.460 So what does Matthew 3 tell us about John? 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:09.180 Well, we read first off that he was a Baptist. 00:07:10.460 --> 00:07:14.260 Now, I realize that some of you who are visiting may be coming from other Christian denominations. 00:07:14.760 --> 00:07:15.580 You're all very welcome. 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:19.259 You may be troubled that this is not John the Presbyterian or John the Methodist. 00:07:21.860 --> 00:07:25.120 No, this is not a description of a denominational identity. 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:28.060 The word Baptist here just means one who baptizes. 00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:30.980 We could just translate it baptizer if that worked better. 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:33.160 And that's exactly what we see him doing. 00:07:33.620 --> 00:07:37.680 He takes people and he dunks them under the water of the River Jordan and he pulls them out again. 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:39.240 That's what a Baptist does. 00:07:39.300 --> 00:07:42.740 It's not so terribly different than what we do sometimes at this church. 00:07:43.840 --> 00:07:50.300 What is difficult, I think, for us to get, at least at a first reading, is how revolutionary John's actions really were. 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:52.780 John didn't invent baptism. 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:57.879 In fact, it was standard practice in the day to baptize converts to Judaism. 00:07:58.379 --> 00:08:00.540 It was a symbol of repentance and new beginnings. 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:05.100 But John was baptizing Jews, not converts. 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:11.420 And he was doing it in the River Jordan, the very river that God's people had had to cross to come into the Promised Land 00:08:11.420 --> 00:08:14.420 after their exile in Egypt and wandering in the desert. 00:08:14.420 --> 00:08:17.660 It's like John is saying, this nation has gone astray. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.660 It's time for God to start over with a new people. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:26.280 It's time for a new Israel to enter a new Promised Land. 00:08:27.020 --> 00:08:30.240 It's time for God's people to finally obey. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:33.639 And people noticed what John was doing. 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:36.060 That's why everyone was talking about him. 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:40.800 You notice that the religious leaders, the Sadducees and the Pharisees, come to check up on him, to see what he's doing. 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:42.560 More about them in a minute. 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:45.139 But we see that John was a Baptist. 00:08:46.959 --> 00:08:49.019 But John was also a preacher of repentance. 00:08:49.159 --> 00:08:50.239 Look at verse 2 of our text. 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:54.239 Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:08:55.219 --> 00:08:56.179 That's his message. 00:08:57.079 --> 00:08:58.399 The kingdom of heaven is coming. 00:08:59.319 --> 00:09:02.599 That's just another way of saying that the king is coming. 00:09:03.179 --> 00:09:04.419 God will be king again. 00:09:05.479 --> 00:09:06.619 And so we should repent. 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:12.339 We should turn away from our selfish, foolish, destructive living and obey God. 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:18.039 We will think more deeply about John's message in just a few minutes. 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:21.199 But let me just point out to you that this was Jesus' message too. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:26.219 In another gospel, in the gospel of Mark, in the first chapter, we read this. 00:09:26.899 --> 00:09:32.000 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:35.580 The time is fulfilled, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:38.080 Repent and believe in the gospel. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:42.299 Jesus picks up right where John left off. 00:09:43.179 --> 00:09:46.759 John, like Jesus after him, was a preacher of repentance. 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:50.639 John was also the fulfillment of prophecy. 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:53.740 Just a few minutes ago, we heard Isaiah 40 read aloud. 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:56.299 And it's quoted here in verse 3 of our text. 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:02.879 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. 00:10:04.100 --> 00:10:07.899 Matthew was telling us that John is the fulfillment of this Old Testament prophecy. 00:10:08.059 --> 00:10:10.600 He's the one who came crying out in the wilderness. 00:10:11.220 --> 00:10:13.399 He was getting ready for the coming of the king. 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:19.179 He was like a herald, blowing a trumpet so everyone knew the king was about to arrive. 00:10:20.980 --> 00:10:23.840 Well, if John was the fulfillment of prophecy, he was a prophet himself. 00:10:24.779 --> 00:10:27.840 Certainly the strangest part of our text is actually right there in verse 4. 00:10:28.259 --> 00:10:31.939 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, 00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:34.519 and his food was locusts and wild honey. 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:36.519 What on earth? 00:10:38.299 --> 00:10:41.179 These details tell us more than meets the eye. 00:10:41.179 --> 00:10:46.439 Now, the food John was eating was actually pretty standard food for people who lived out in the desert. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:49.339 Apparently locusts or grasshoppers are very high in protein. 00:10:49.939 --> 00:10:52.539 So those of you who are on a protein diet might want to give it some thought. 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:55.239 The clothes are more important. 00:10:56.359 --> 00:11:00.239 Now keep your finger in Matthew chapter 3 and turn with me to the very end of the Old Testament, 00:11:00.739 --> 00:11:01.939 to the book of Malachi. 00:11:02.339 --> 00:11:03.799 And we're not going to look at just Malachi. 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:06.620 We're going to look at the very end of Malachi, the last two verses. 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:10.600 It's Malachi chapter 4, verses 5 and 6. 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:17.720 Malachi is talking about the coming day of the Lord. 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:20.000 And look what he says in these last two verses. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:42.399 Well, we need to put Malachi together with 2 Kings 1-8, which actually describes Elijah. 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:49.240 It tells us that the prophet Elijah, this ancient prophet, wore a garment of hair with a belt of leather around his waist. 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:51.860 Suddenly it all makes sense. 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:56.100 John is making a political statement with his clothing. 00:11:56.620 --> 00:11:57.740 He's dressing the part. 00:11:58.559 --> 00:11:59.959 He's not Elijah in the flesh. 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:01.459 That's not what Malachi meant. 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:08.379 But he is the prophet like Elijah, who will prepare the hearts of the people for the coming day of the Lord. 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:20.259 Now, Isaiah 40 is full of beautiful imagery of mountainous terrain being smoothed out to make a straight, level road for the coming of the king. 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:23.740 The valleys are lifted up, and the mountains are brought down. 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:28.899 Several years ago, I took a trip to Nepal and spent some time hiking in the Himalayas. 00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:32.279 It's a land of towering mountains and deep gorges. 00:12:32.620 --> 00:12:36.519 I didn't climb any of the mountains, but I spent a lot of time hiking in the gorges. 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:41.319 At one point, the group I was with decided to take a bus down out of the mountains. 00:12:41.439 --> 00:12:46.779 Now, it was the rainy season, the monsoon season, so the roads were in really terrible shape. 00:12:47.340 --> 00:12:53.299 We would get on a bus, and we would drive for 30 minutes or an hour, and then we'd have to stop because a landslide would have blocked the road. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:54.899 We would get out of the bus. 00:12:55.019 --> 00:13:01.220 We'd climb over the landslide with boulders dropping around us, and then we'd catch another bus on the other side and keep going. 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:03.460 The roads were really bad. 00:13:03.460 --> 00:13:06.840 But even without the rain, the roads were pretty perilous. 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:17.379 The road would run along this incredibly steep ravine, and each bus had a teenage boy, we called him the tap-tap boy, who would lean out the side of the bus and look over the edge. 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:21.740 And if the bus got too close to the edge, he would tap on the side of the bus so the driver knew to correct. 00:13:22.560 --> 00:13:30.620 Now, we could see burned-out hulks of buses that had fallen into the ravine before us, and so we knew that some tap-tap boys weren't quite fast enough. 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:34.259 It was the most difficult place I've ever traveled. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:37.500 Just getting anywhere was laborious and dangerous. 00:13:39.179 --> 00:13:40.620 Well, Isaiah 40 is a metaphor. 00:13:41.580 --> 00:13:43.060 The roads in Israel were fine. 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:46.860 At least, they weren't the main obstacles to the coming of the king. 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:52.899 No, the terrain that John came to smooth down was the rugged terrain of the human heart. 00:13:52.899 --> 00:13:57.720 The hearts of God's people were stony and barren. 00:13:58.899 --> 00:14:05.439 They were as proud as the tallest mountains, as broken as a land crisscrossed by fissures and ravines. 00:14:06.199 --> 00:14:08.559 The hearts of God's people were not ready. 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:12.620 Really, they'd never been ready to receive the king. 00:14:12.620 --> 00:14:16.259 Now, John was a great man. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:17.759 A righteous man. 00:14:18.299 --> 00:14:19.019 He was a prophet. 00:14:19.779 --> 00:14:23.659 Someone that the authorities had to deal with and account for. 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:25.860 But he knew his place. 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:27.759 Look again at verse 11. 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:28.060 He says, 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:45.819 Now, John knew that the one coming after him, Jesus, was infinitely greater. 00:14:46.859 --> 00:14:47.919 They had the same message. 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:51.259 They both had a kind of baptizing ministry. 00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:54.419 But Jesus was the point of the message. 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:57.360 And his baptism was a baptism of the heart. 00:14:57.939 --> 00:14:59.960 Not just of the external body. 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:05.779 John, this charismatic figure, this wilderness prophet, was really just a transitional figure. 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:08.200 Just a herald to the king. 00:15:10.220 --> 00:15:12.039 This brings us to our second question. 00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:15.259 What was John the Baptist's message? 00:15:16.100 --> 00:15:17.620 We've already started to answer it. 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:19.600 His message can be summarized like this. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.000 The king is coming back any minute. 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:23.580 So make yourself ready. 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:24.860 Repent. 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:28.300 That word means just change your mind. 00:15:29.220 --> 00:15:31.600 It means turn away from this way you've been living. 00:15:32.100 --> 00:15:34.779 From a life devoted to sin and selfishness. 00:15:35.379 --> 00:15:37.500 And begin at last to obey God. 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:39.120 Now's the time. 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:42.720 Do it before the king comes in his power to reign forever. 00:15:43.040 --> 00:15:45.019 When he comes, he's bringing justice with him. 00:15:46.160 --> 00:15:49.340 That means liberation and joy for those who turn to him in humble faith. 00:15:49.340 --> 00:15:49.700 Yes. 00:15:50.500 --> 00:15:55.120 But it also means judgment on those who have defied him and rejected his rule. 00:15:57.259 --> 00:15:58.860 If you read through the gospels. 00:15:59.180 --> 00:16:02.420 Not just Matthew, but Mark and Luke and John. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:05.480 You'll find an awful lot about the coming of God's kingdom. 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:08.820 And what's going to happen to the world when it comes. 00:16:09.780 --> 00:16:11.660 We see this in the story of Jesus' birth. 00:16:11.659 --> 00:16:16.459 If you've ever read the song that the pregnant Mary sings, the Magnificat. 00:16:16.839 --> 00:16:20.419 About how God is going to level the arrogant oppressors. 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:23.579 And raise up and fill the hungry faithful. 00:16:23.580 --> 00:16:27.379 He's going to turn the world upside down. 00:16:27.860 --> 00:16:32.860 We see the kingdom coming in Jesus' ministry as he heals and confronts and opposes evil. 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:35.860 The kingdom is really wherever Jesus is. 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:42.040 And the whole Bible looks forward to the day when God's kingdom will finally come in its fullness. 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:47.820 When the true king, Jesus Christ, will rule with justice and mercy. 00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:51.460 And that's what John is talking about in verses 11 and 12. 00:16:52.160 --> 00:16:54.300 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 00:16:54.960 --> 00:17:00.080 His winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. 00:17:00.520 --> 00:17:03.080 But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:07.059 John is saying that there will be a day of judgment. 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:08.580 A new baptism. 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:12.200 And some will be filled with joy by God's Holy Spirit. 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:15.180 But others will be set apart for judgment. 00:17:15.180 --> 00:17:25.620 You know, there's of course a special urgency to this call to repentance on the eve of Jesus' own baptism and his coming into his public ministry. 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:29.060 But I think John's words apply to us as well. 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:34.720 I mean, John didn't say it like this, but we can say that we are part of the Christmas story too. 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:37.019 In fact, we're in the very middle of it. 00:17:37.560 --> 00:17:44.019 It begins with Christ's birth, but it won't finally end until Jesus returns to complete his work. 00:17:44.019 --> 00:17:49.700 The peace on earth we long for and we sing about won't really be ours until then. 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:56.119 When we pray the Lord's Prayer, which Jesus teaches just a few chapters after this in Matthew chapter 6, 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:56.619 we pray, 00:17:57.420 --> 00:18:00.980 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:06.859 We're praying that all people, including us, would recognize God's rule. 00:18:06.859 --> 00:18:12.059 That we would honor him completely, as fully and completely as the angels in heaven do. 00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:15.919 This prayer is answered in the hearts of Christians now. 00:18:16.959 --> 00:18:21.619 But it won't be fully answered until Jesus comes again to set everything right. 00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:23.659 And we are still waiting for that day. 00:18:25.199 --> 00:18:26.479 Well, what will that day look like? 00:18:27.639 --> 00:18:30.859 What will happen when God's rule is finally and fully established? 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:31.539 We will be established. 00:18:32.339 --> 00:18:35.139 I don't know that human experience can really tell us what that's like. 00:18:35.339 --> 00:18:36.459 We get maybe hints. 00:18:37.899 --> 00:18:39.039 Maybe this is a hint. 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:46.059 On April 11, 1945, four U.S. soldiers arrived at the Buchenwald concentration camp. 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.139 The guards had already fled. 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:52.299 Later, one of the soldiers described his experience. 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:53.419 This is what he wrote. 00:18:53.419 --> 00:18:54.319 He said, 00:18:54.319 --> 00:19:23.119 My, but it was a great day. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:30.879 For the guards, the approach of the U.S. Army meant judgment for all they had done. 00:19:31.619 --> 00:19:32.619 And they knew to flee. 00:19:33.879 --> 00:19:39.379 For the captives, for the oppressed, it meant life and joy. 00:19:41.819 --> 00:19:46.359 I'm certainly not trying to suggest that in any sense, the U.S. Army is the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:50.259 Or for that, for that matter, any other human institution. 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:51.960 It's not. 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:57.519 But this is maybe just a picture of what it looks like when even a human measure of justice is restored. 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:02.480 Do you long for God's justice to come? 00:20:04.100 --> 00:20:05.180 I mean that seriously. 00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:05.920 Think about it. 00:20:09.180 --> 00:20:11.720 God's justice means joy and freedom and peace. 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:17.100 I mean the Christmas story, the Jesus story is the happiest of all stories. 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:21.319 It's the stories of God's breaking into this cold, broken world. 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:22.539 God with us. 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:24.120 God for us. 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:29.660 Of course the angels call it the good news of great joy when he tells the shepherds. 00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:30.279 God with us. 00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:34.800 But it also means that all of us will have to answer for what we've done. 00:20:36.019 --> 00:20:38.040 What do you think your life looks like to God? 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.320 If you're like me, you're not entirely comfortable with a thought. 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:46.800 What else is there for us to do but repent? 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:53.379 Now if we do repent, we know that God will receive us with forgiveness and love. 00:20:53.960 --> 00:21:00.839 By turning away from our life of sin and trusting the king that was willing to die for us, we can have new eternal life in the kingdom. 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:03.919 But now is the time to prepare. 00:21:06.639 --> 00:21:10.000 Now John is not the only one who emphasizes the need for preparation. 00:21:10.599 --> 00:21:11.519 Jesus does this too. 00:21:11.619 --> 00:21:12.799 He preaches the same message. 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:17.740 In Matthew 24, in Matthew 25, he gives a series of parables. 00:21:17.879 --> 00:21:20.279 These are short stories meant to illustrate a point. 00:21:20.599 --> 00:21:25.180 And the point of all the ones we're going to look at in just a moment are to prepare for the coming of the king. 00:21:25.819 --> 00:21:26.839 Now we're not going to read them all. 00:21:26.899 --> 00:21:27.859 That might take too long. 00:21:27.919 --> 00:21:30.159 But it might be a useful thing to do after church. 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:31.980 But I want to quickly run through them. 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:33.680 So turn to Matthew 24 with me. 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:37.119 Matthew chapter 24 and look at verse 45. 00:21:37.740 --> 00:21:38.960 Matthew 24, 45. 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:40.240 Jesus says, 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:50.399 Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over his household to give them their food at the proper time? 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:57.819 Jesus imagines a scenario in which a master leaves and puts one of his servants in charge of everyone else in the house. 00:21:59.099 --> 00:22:01.139 Now in one case, the servant is faithful. 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:07.559 In the other though, the servant is greedy and selfish and even abuses the other servants. 00:22:08.419 --> 00:22:11.579 What will be their reward when the master returns? 00:22:11.579 --> 00:22:16.480 Look on to Matthew 25, verses 1 through 13. 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:18.339 This is called the parable of the ten virgins. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:23.419 Ten young women are waiting up late for the bridegroom to come home so they can have a party. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:29.099 Some planned ahead and brought extra oil for their lamps so their lamps wouldn't run out. 00:22:29.740 --> 00:22:33.240 But others forgot to plan ahead and had to run out and buy some more oil. 00:22:33.399 --> 00:22:35.839 And they end up missing the wedding feast entirely. 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:40.599 Or look at the parable of the talents in verses 14 through 29. 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:43.000 A talent was a very significant amount of money. 00:22:44.199 --> 00:22:47.639 So there's a man who hands over his fortune to his servants while he's away. 00:22:47.959 --> 00:22:50.439 And some of the servants invest their shares well. 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:51.259 They work hard. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:51.919 They're faithful. 00:22:52.159 --> 00:22:53.859 And they're rewarded when he returns. 00:22:54.859 --> 00:22:57.039 But one servant is slothful. 00:22:57.740 --> 00:23:02.079 And he does nothing at all with the treasure that his master has given him. 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:05.439 And when the master comes back, the faithful servants are rewarded. 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:10.220 But the spiteful, unfaithful servant is cast out into the darkness. 00:23:11.939 --> 00:23:15.899 Now Jesus tells these parables all to make basically the same point. 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:23.419 The significance of our choices in life will only be fully and finally revealed when the master returns to settle accounts. 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:26.140 Now is the time to prepare. 00:23:27.080 --> 00:23:27.880 Get ready. 00:23:28.820 --> 00:23:29.259 Repent. 00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:31.900 Turn away from your old way of living. 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:37.500 So our third question then is what should we do about this? 00:23:37.980 --> 00:23:39.460 Well, repent and prepare, we've said. 00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:44.180 But what does that actually look like in your life, in my life? 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:48.600 That's the most important question we can ask of this text. 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:56.660 This story about a wild prophet in the wilderness thousands of years ago is meant to have practical application for you right now. 00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:02.700 Well, first, repentance looks like a changed heart. 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:09.799 I think it's important that we read John's words in Matthew 3 in light of Jesus' words in Mark 1. 00:24:10.360 --> 00:24:13.400 The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. 00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:15.380 Repent and believe in the gospel. 00:24:16.740 --> 00:24:20.900 Repentance in the biblical sense doesn't just mean feeling sorry for the things you've done. 00:24:21.019 --> 00:24:21.299 Wrong. 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:25.500 It means turning from them and embracing the promises of God. 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:29.440 Jesus says, believe in the gospel, the good news. 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:36.160 Jesus' birth and life and death and resurrection makes salvation possible for us. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:43.900 It's through faith in him that we can be forgiven of our sins and we can become brothers and sisters with Christ and children of God. 00:24:44.620 --> 00:24:50.519 And as that happens, we're given a new heart that enables us to love in the way that we're meant to love. 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:54.820 We know this change of heart happens when God's Holy Spirit works in us. 00:24:54.820 --> 00:24:58.759 That's what John means when he talks about Jesus baptizing in the Holy Spirit. 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:01.120 But that's not a call for us to wait. 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:09.680 It's a call to hear God's invitation to be freed from your slavery to sin and to live eternally as God's beloved child. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:12.080 A change of heart. 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:16.200 Well, second, listening to John's words means bearing fruit. 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:21.840 The Bible often uses the image of a fruit tree to talk about the results of people's lives. 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:24.980 How do you tell a good fruit tree from a bad fruit tree? 00:25:25.100 --> 00:25:26.799 Well, it's really pretty simple. 00:25:27.120 --> 00:25:28.059 You just taste the fruit. 00:25:28.059 --> 00:25:37.839 I grew up in Southern California and in the back of our house we had an incredible lemon tree that every year would produce hundreds of the most beautiful lemons. 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:39.919 I would make lemonade all summer. 00:25:41.019 --> 00:25:43.159 We also had some lime trees that did nothing. 00:25:43.639 --> 00:25:44.720 Didn't produce a thing. 00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:47.559 They ought to have been torn down. 00:25:48.659 --> 00:25:49.940 Well, people are like fruit trees. 00:25:50.419 --> 00:25:52.899 They bring forth good fruit and bad fruit. 00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:55.960 Think about your relationships. 00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:01.600 Do you bring peace and love with you to your relationships? 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.720 Or do you bring anger and strife? 00:26:06.500 --> 00:26:08.040 Think about how you spend your money. 00:26:09.100 --> 00:26:10.560 Do you use it to bless others? 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:19.240 Think about your speech. 00:26:19.240 --> 00:26:19.259 Think about your speech. 00:26:19.259 --> 00:26:24.619 When your mouth opens, do words of truth and love issue out? 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:27.700 Or words of falsehood and hate? 00:26:27.700 --> 00:26:36.259 In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul gives us two lists of different kinds of fruit that can come from our life. 00:26:36.340 --> 00:26:40.680 I'd like to read them both aloud and just let you think for a moment about your own life. 00:26:41.240 --> 00:26:44.220 Ask yourself, which fruit is my life bringing forth? 00:26:45.100 --> 00:26:46.180 This is what Paul writes. 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:49.340 Now the works of the flesh are evident. 00:26:50.740 --> 00:27:05.740 Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. 00:27:06.460 --> 00:27:10.960 I warn you as I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:27.740 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:33.700 Now I imagine that all of us have some of these in our lives at least some of the time. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:37.279 And none of us exhibit all of these fruits of the Spirit all of the time. 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:41.200 But are you bringing them forth more and more in increasing measure? 00:27:42.740 --> 00:27:47.500 Prepare yourself by examining your heart and repenting of the bad fruit. 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:51.000 And seek by God's grace to grow in these fruits of the Spirit. 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:53.599 So you'll be ready when the King comes. 00:27:57.480 --> 00:28:01.639 Third, I want us to notice John's strong words especially to the religious. 00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:06.240 The Pharisees and the Sadducees both come to see John. 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:07.660 We see that in verse 7. 00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:12.620 When he, John, saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, 00:28:13.099 --> 00:28:17.500 You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:21.599 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, 00:28:21.740 --> 00:28:26.599 We have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 00:28:27.299 --> 00:28:29.779 And even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. 00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:33.920 Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:35.900 Now that is strong language. 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:41.380 It's interestingly almost the exact same thing that Jesus says to the Pharisees in Matthew 12. 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:42.240 Almost word for word. 00:28:44.080 --> 00:28:48.980 The Pharisees were a group of very devout Jews who were especially careful to keep God's law. 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:51.259 And they were very popular amongst the ordinary people. 00:28:51.800 --> 00:28:53.180 The Sadducees were a different group. 00:28:53.320 --> 00:28:54.759 They were the religious elite. 00:28:54.900 --> 00:28:56.980 They controlled the temple in Jerusalem. 00:28:56.980 --> 00:29:01.720 They had a reputation for corruption and were not popular with the people. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:07.880 We don't really know about what their motivations were for coming to see John, but it doesn't appear to have been good. 00:29:08.360 --> 00:29:10.099 It doesn't seem that they came to repent. 00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:12.740 John calls them a brood of vipers. 00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:18.700 He says you're like a den of deadly poisonous snakes destroying people. 00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:23.600 They're not bringing forth the good fruit that God wants to see. 00:29:23.660 --> 00:29:24.680 Even though they're very religious. 00:29:25.580 --> 00:29:27.920 They're the most visibly religious people around. 00:29:29.580 --> 00:29:31.620 But they were not trusting in God's promises. 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:34.140 Look at what John says in verse 9. 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:35.880 I think that gives us a key to what they're thinking. 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:39.500 He says don't presume to say to yourselves we have Abraham as our father. 00:29:40.340 --> 00:29:43.299 In other words, God's not very interested in your family tree. 00:29:43.299 --> 00:29:48.399 He isn't just looking for the right kind of people from the right kind of families. 00:29:49.259 --> 00:29:54.460 The faith of your parents and grandparents and great-great-grandparents doesn't seem to do much for you. 00:29:55.139 --> 00:29:56.859 God actually cares about how you live. 00:29:57.759 --> 00:29:59.700 He wants to see the fruit that comes from your heart. 00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:04.099 Now maybe some of you are biological descendants of Abraham. 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:07.940 I suspect that most of us here come from religious families. 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:11.139 Maybe you're a diligent rule keeper. 00:30:11.140 --> 00:30:13.880 Don't be content with that. 00:30:15.140 --> 00:30:17.720 Don't let your heart be proud and self-sufficient. 00:30:18.620 --> 00:30:21.440 I think I probably excel most of you in religious pedigree. 00:30:22.060 --> 00:30:23.020 My father's a pastor. 00:30:23.460 --> 00:30:26.560 And I actually lived for four years in a house in our church parking lot. 00:30:27.100 --> 00:30:28.660 I lived at church. 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:31.980 That didn't change my heart. 00:30:33.520 --> 00:30:36.400 Only hearing and obeying this call to repentance. 00:30:37.340 --> 00:30:39.900 This call to repent and believe in the good news. 00:30:39.900 --> 00:30:42.740 Could ever prepare me for the coming of the kingdom. 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:47.680 Now as we step back and look at the whole story of Christmas. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:53.380 We see that it's about the arrival of a long-awaited king who is going to set everything right. 00:30:54.320 --> 00:30:56.420 He brings the promise of life and peace. 00:30:57.259 --> 00:31:00.540 But he calls us to turn away from selfish and rebellious living. 00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:04.339 So is this Jesus a lion or a lamb? 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:11.859 Maybe the most unexpected thing about the Christmas story about Jesus is that he's both at the same time. 00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:16.460 He is the lion who became a lamb out of love for you. 00:31:16.460 --> 00:31:18.740 The God of heaven. 00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:21.299 The commander of angelic armies. 00:31:22.420 --> 00:31:25.440 Who becomes a baby in a poor family. 00:31:25.819 --> 00:31:27.059 In a backwater town. 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:32.220 And one day will allow wicked men to strip him naked and execute him on a cross. 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:35.920 The lion and the lamb. 00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:39.080 And then he rises from the dead in glory. 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:41.340 Christmas takes us to Easter. 00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:45.779 And now we can say with great confidence and joy that he is lion for us. 00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:47.940 And lamb for us. 00:31:50.340 --> 00:31:55.700 The Christmas story of which we are a part is drawing speedily to its conclusion. 00:31:57.100 --> 00:31:58.880 The son of God has been here once. 00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:01.980 And he's promised to come back and finish the job. 00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:05.000 In the words of the hymn. 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:07.599 Let every heart prepare him room. 00:32:08.940 --> 00:32:09.599 Let's pray. 00:32:21.819 --> 00:32:23.940 Father we confess our sins to you. 00:32:24.420 --> 00:32:25.900 And we ask that you would help us. 00:32:26.660 --> 00:32:28.000 Strengthen us by your spirits. 00:32:28.140 --> 00:32:29.660 That we might turn away from them. 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:31.200 And trust in Christ. 00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:34.880 We thank you that Christ's kingdom is coming. 00:32:35.079 --> 00:32:37.000 And in fact is already here in part. 00:32:38.180 --> 00:32:41.740 We ask that you would continue to establish your justice and peace. 00:32:42.819 --> 00:32:45.299 We pray that your will would be done in our hearts. 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:47.299 And in our relationships. 00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:48.660 And in our community. 00:32:50.120 --> 00:32:53.380 Prepare us each now for the day when we will meet Christ our king. 00:32:54.440 --> 00:32:55.960 And it is in his name we pray. 00:32:56.740 --> 00:32:57.099 Amen. 00:32:57.099 --> 00:32:57.200 Amen. 00:32:57.200 --> 00:32:57.240 Amen. 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:31.039 Would you stand as we sing our hymn of response. 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:32.500 about the coming of our great King.