The Bad News Bearers
Scripture: Luke 3:7, 9, 18
When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath?...9 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire...18 John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people."
Observations:
John the Baptist had a unique calling from God- to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus Christ and point them to God's salvation. But the biggest challenge he faced was that people in general weren't even on the same chapter, let alone the same page as God when it came to the issue of sin. Many people in John's day were oblivious to their sins and acted like God didn't really care or noticen all that much. Much to their surprise, John explicitly pointed out in a direct and powerful way that God was in fact very aware of their sins and was ready to judge them severely if they didn't repent and turn to Him immediately (vs. 8-9). Luke said that this type of confrontational "evangelism" wasn't a one time deal but giving these kind of "warnings" was a regular part of John's ministry (vs. 18). Amazingly enough, the fact that John was the bearer of such bad news (pointing out sins, declaring God's judgment, etc.) that it caused many people to responded positivley rather than negatively and begin asking themselves the question, "what should we do?" (vs. 10-14). My thought is, would those same people have turned to God without John's warnings? Secondly, would Jesus' ministry to the world have been as effective had John not "prepared the way"?
Application:
Today we live in a world that is not all that different from John's world where people have been there and done that and heard the "good news" that Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again. But somewhere along the line, society has become numb to our message to the point that many hear it and say, "so what?" While it's true that the world has been turned off by "turn or burn" preachers who like to condemn both sin and sinner in the process, there's something to be said for the way John the Baptist, Jesus, the apostles, and Paul all shared the message of Christ with people who were destined to spend an eternity in hell. One of the reason the "good news" was so effective for them was because they were also bearers of the "bad news". Many times we hesitate to tell people the bad news (that sin really is bad, that God does hate it, and that he will judge it severely) because we don't want to make them uncomfortable. But in our culture, just like John's, the Good News about Jesus doesn't seem all that appealing to people because they're too comfortable and until God makes them uncomfortable enough to turn to him, chances are they never will. That's where we come in. We must always be ready to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) without neglecting either truth or love. Truth without love destroys and love without truth deceives. John the Baptist warned his generation about their sins because he loved them. As followers of Christ, we must be willing to do the same (1 Peter 3:15) and deliver the bad news along with the good.
Prayer:
Father, make us painfully aware of the reality of sin in our own lives and in the world all around us. Forgive us and make us an agent of Your message of redemption to those who need it most. Give us the courage to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as we reach out to others with Your love for them. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath?...9 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire...18 John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people."
Observations:
John the Baptist had a unique calling from God- to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus Christ and point them to God's salvation. But the biggest challenge he faced was that people in general weren't even on the same chapter, let alone the same page as God when it came to the issue of sin. Many people in John's day were oblivious to their sins and acted like God didn't really care or noticen all that much. Much to their surprise, John explicitly pointed out in a direct and powerful way that God was in fact very aware of their sins and was ready to judge them severely if they didn't repent and turn to Him immediately (vs. 8-9). Luke said that this type of confrontational "evangelism" wasn't a one time deal but giving these kind of "warnings" was a regular part of John's ministry (vs. 18). Amazingly enough, the fact that John was the bearer of such bad news (pointing out sins, declaring God's judgment, etc.) that it caused many people to responded positivley rather than negatively and begin asking themselves the question, "what should we do?" (vs. 10-14). My thought is, would those same people have turned to God without John's warnings? Secondly, would Jesus' ministry to the world have been as effective had John not "prepared the way"?
Application:
Today we live in a world that is not all that different from John's world where people have been there and done that and heard the "good news" that Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again. But somewhere along the line, society has become numb to our message to the point that many hear it and say, "so what?" While it's true that the world has been turned off by "turn or burn" preachers who like to condemn both sin and sinner in the process, there's something to be said for the way John the Baptist, Jesus, the apostles, and Paul all shared the message of Christ with people who were destined to spend an eternity in hell. One of the reason the "good news" was so effective for them was because they were also bearers of the "bad news". Many times we hesitate to tell people the bad news (that sin really is bad, that God does hate it, and that he will judge it severely) because we don't want to make them uncomfortable. But in our culture, just like John's, the Good News about Jesus doesn't seem all that appealing to people because they're too comfortable and until God makes them uncomfortable enough to turn to him, chances are they never will. That's where we come in. We must always be ready to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15) without neglecting either truth or love. Truth without love destroys and love without truth deceives. John the Baptist warned his generation about their sins because he loved them. As followers of Christ, we must be willing to do the same (1 Peter 3:15) and deliver the bad news along with the good.
Prayer:
Father, make us painfully aware of the reality of sin in our own lives and in the world all around us. Forgive us and make us an agent of Your message of redemption to those who need it most. Give us the courage to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as we reach out to others with Your love for them. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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