After the birth of John the Baptist, in Luke 1:76-80,
Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, had prophesied about his son’s
future with these words: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the
Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To
give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has
visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace." So the child grew and became
strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to
Israel.”
Now here in Luke 3:1-6, some thirty years later we are
reading of the fulfilment of Zacharias’s prophecy as John came preaching a
message of repentance. To me this is interesting, and we should ask the
question, “Why a message of repentance”? We should also point out that
Matthew’s Gospel also gives us this same description of John: “In those days
John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3:1-2).
Matthew also informs us that the very first words that
Jesus preached after His baptism and forty days of temptation in the wilderness
were: “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).
Why is repentance so important? Why is repentance the
prelude to the coming ministry of Jesus the Messiah? Well, think about it. Later
John would say, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, has come to do
what? To take away the sins of the world. The ministry of Jesus the Messiah is
to atone for sin, to provide the way for the forgiveness of sin, and to provide
a just and righteous basis whereby our loving heavenly Father can forgive us of
sin.
What could possibly keep us from receiving this glorious
message of forgiveness? The answer is obvious! Not adequately appreciating that
we need to be forgiven of sin. You can't be forgiven of sin if you don't
believe that you have sinned and need forgiveness. Repentance is the
recognition of our need for forgiveness of sin, and therefore it is necessary for
the forgiveness of sin. Not because repentance brings about or causes
forgiveness. We could repent until the cows come home, and apart from the
saving work of Jesus Christ it would not forgive our sins.
But John makes it clear that it is necessary for
forgiveness because we need to recognize our need for forgiveness before we are
in a position of receiving forgiveness and trusting in the One who has
purchased us forgiveness before His heavenly Father. And so, repentance is
absolutely vital, and Luke summarizes John the Baptist's ministry in terms of
his preaching of repentance.
Some people feel regret when they are suffering the
consequences of their sin. But that is only mental. They admit that they are
sorry, but usually that only means they are sorry they got caught or that their
sin has hurt someone else. Then there are others who feel remorse for their
sin. They shed tears as they emotionally response to their sin and ask for
forgiveness. But then they never change and continue to do the same things.
Thank the Lord for true and genuine repentance! It happens
when the Holy Spirit so convicts us of our sin against a Holy God that we not
only feel regret and remorse but that we turn from our sin and see the full
consequence of it falling on the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross! We then
experience the regeneration of the Holy Spirt as we are forgiven of all our
sins and by His grace we never want to sin again!
Have you ever genuinely repented of your sin! If not, why
not right now ask the Lord to give you that heart of repentance and accept the
Lord as your only hope of forgiveness and salvation!
God bless!
