Repent and Recognize – Matthew 3:1-12

A text – Matthew 3:1-12

3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”

⁴ Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.  ¹⁰ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

A reflection:

John the Baptist was living and preaching in the wilderness. He was both a real man attacking the complacent hypocrisy and wrongdoing of the elite in his land and also a symbol of Elijah, the ancient prophet of God who never died but was taken from earth in a fiery chariot. It had been foretold that God would return Elijah to earth just before the Day of the Lord came. So as John lived and preached the words of Elijah in the wilderness, people knew what that meant. Something big was coming. Many also knew that John had been born miraculously to aged parents who had been visited by an angel.

Before the Day of the Lord came, all the everyday people knew they needed to straighten out their relationship with God. They needed to show that they wanted to follow God’s ways by being baptized and contrite. For the average person, getting a right relationship with God would involve forming better habits, acting more toward their neighbors’ well-being, and focusing on the Lord. These folks were sincere. John insisted that they repent so that when they encountered Jesus, they would recognize who Jesus was. It was a prophetic moment and also a teaching moment.

But when John saw the elite of religious society coming out to him, the Pharisees and Sadducees, who seemed to worship the law, who boasted of their lineage, their connection by blood to Abraham, John was especially harsh. He believed they were unteachable, incapable of being humble, and unlikely to repent or change at all. John was sure they would never believe who Jesus was or, if they did, would not let God’s Kingdom come if they could prevent it. John was not wrong. His words to the religious elite of his day also might be hurled at us. We think we are so good, so generous, embodying God’s kingdom on earth. We don’t want to change. But many times we come up short.

Advent is a wonderful time to look at our relationship with God. It is a time to remember God’s love for us even when we don’t in any way deserve it. It is a time to repent our stubbornness and failure and then fall, embarrassed, into God’s loving arms and receive God’s forgiveness, just as a child might. It is a time when God can set us right as God always does. What better way to meet the Savior’s birth?

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving all the people of the earth a chance to know you and have a relationship with you. Help us to get ready for Jesus’s birth by repenting to you. Amen.