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The Preaching of John the Baptist
Luke 3:7-18
Good News Translation (GNT)
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7 Crowds of people came out to John to be
baptized by him. "You snakes!" he said to
them. "Who told you that you could escape
from the punishment God is about to send?
8 Do those things that will show that you have
turned from your sins. And don't start saying
among yourselves that Abraham is your
ancestor. I tell you that God can take these
rocks and make descendants for Abraham!
9 The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the
roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown in the fire."
;10 The people asked him, "What are we to do,
then?"
;11 He answered, "Whoever has two shirts must
give one to the man who has none,
and whoever has food must share it."
;12 Some tax collectors came to be baptized, and
they asked him, "Teacher, what are we to do?"
;13 "Don't collect more than is legal," he told
them.
;14 Some soldiers also asked him, "What about
us? What are we to do?"
He said to them, "Don't take money from
anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely.
Be content with your pay."
;15 People's hopes began to rise, and they began
to wonder whether John perhaps might be the
Messiah.
;16 So John said to all of them, "I baptize you with
water, but someone is coming who is much
greater than I am. I am not good enough
even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire.
;17 He has his winnowing shovel with him, to
thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat
into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire
that never goes out."
;18 In many different ways John preached the
Good News to the people and urged them to
change their ways.
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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
Luke 3:7-18
Over the previous two centuries, the Jewish community increasingly longed for a Messiah.
Those prophetic predictions of a son of David, initially interpreted as post-exilic restoration of the monarchy, were now seen to envisage a great deliverer, though in a wide variety of ways (as we know from the New Testament and elsewhere).
Was this new preacher the long expected Messiah?
No, John replies (v 16), emphatically not.
He is the herald (v 4) and the advance party (vs 7-9).
Oh, they (and we) might say - what a disappointment!
At this point we may want to skip on to the next bit.
But we would be very wrong to ignore John's message of 'good news' (v 18)
Good news, actually!
Several features of this message are striking.
First, it addressed everyone, financial wheeler-dealers and military hard men as much as an itinerant preacher's usual crowd.
Secondly, it highlights generosity and solidarity towards others (v 11).
Thirdly, it tackles integrity in those crucial areas of money and power (vs 13,14).
Finally it preaches contentment (v 14).
In our world of division, individualism, self-centredness and dissatisfaction, this is still very good news - and still a message for us to echo in word and deed.
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