Repent

John the Baptist’s message was very simple and direct. The single most important point he made could be summed up in one sentence, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). The Greek word translated repent, metanoeo (met-an-eh´-o) means “to think differently or afterwards that is reconsider” (3340). At the core of John’s message was the idea of looking at the world differently, to see things from God’s perspective. The kingdom of heaven had to do with the rule of God and was considered to be both a present reality and a future hope for the Jewish people that lived during Jesus’ ministry on earth (Note on Matthew 3:2). The unique time period in which John preached was a key factor in the way he talked to people about repentance. According to John, time was of the essence; there was no time to waste when it came to getting right with God.

Some of John’s harshest messages were directed at the religious leaders that appeared to be righteous, but were only pretending to be interested in God’s kingdom. What the religious leaders really wanted was to control the Jews behavior. They made up rules that they expected everyone to lived by, but the rules were actually too difficult for the people to follow. Matthew 3:7-12 states about John:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

John’s introduction of the spiritual concept of fruit was meant to make people aware of the fact that God wanted to see evidence of the change that had taken place in people’s hearts. Merely saying that someone had repented was not enough. As fruit is a tangible sign that a tree is reproducing or bringing forth a new source of life, so fruit in a Christian’s life showed that a real change of heart had taken place and a new way of living would follow.

True identity

Although Jesus was born with the divine authority of God, he did not as a child have all of the capabilities he needed to minister to God’s people. As a human, Jesus had to mature spiritually and gain experience in life. It says in Luke 2:40 that his parents did everything required of them according to the law of the Lord and then, “the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.” In other words, Jesus was raised like any other Jewish child. He did not immediately have an understanding of how the world worked, nor did he glow, or have a halo above his head as some people may imagine him. Jesus looked and acted like a normal child. Apparently though, Jesus did have supernatural intelligence. His IQ was probably the highest of any person that has ever lived. When Jesus was twelve years old, his parents found him in the temple of God, “sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46).

Today, we might refer to Jesus as a child prodigy, a genius of the most extreme sort. It says in Luke 2:47, “And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.” The Greek word translated understanding, sunesis (soon´ – es – is) refers to “a mental putting together, i.e. intelligence or (concretely) the intellect” (4907). Sunesis is derived from a primary preposition denoting union; with or together, in the sense of an association gained through the process of learning (4862). Even his own parents, couldn’t fully comprehend the things that Jesus said. In a moment of frustration, when she found Jesus arguing with the priests in the temple, Mary said to her son, “Son why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing” (Luke 2:48). What Mary was implying was that she and Joseph didn’t have the same kind of supernatural intelligence that Jesus had. They had been looking all over for him and had no idea that he had stayed behind in Jerusalem after they had left the city to return home to Nazareth (Luke 2:43).

Jesus’ response to his mother’s frustrated comment was meant to distinguish not only his true identity, but also his primary responsibility as child of God. He said, “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49). This brief statement revealed that at the age of twelve, Jesus no longer associated himself with his earthly parents. Jesus understood that God was his actual father, in every sense of the word. The Greek word translated “Father’s business” is pater. This word is usually used to designate the nearest ancestor or male relative in a family, but metaphorically it can refer to “the originator of a family or company of persons animated by the same spirit as himself.” Pater is also used “of God in relation to those who have been born anew” (3962). Although Jesus did not become a believer, he may have reached a point at the age of twelve where he completely transferred his trust or loyalty from Joseph to his Father in heaven. From that point forward, everything Jesus did was due to his obedience to God.

On the run

After the wise men left Bethlehem, Jesus’ father was directed to leave Judea, the Roman territory under King Herod’s jurisdiction. It says in Matthew 2:13-14, “And when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Then he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt.” Subsequent to their departure, Herod ordered all the children in Bethlehem who were two years old and younger to be killed (Matthew 2:16). Clearly, Herod believed the wise men’s report that the Jewish Messiah had been born and was concerned about the threat Jesus (as a young child) posed to his kingdom.

Herod the Great ruled over Judea from 37-4 B.C., so we know that Joseph’s family left the area sometime before 4 B.C. While Joseph was living in Egypt, he received another message from the Lord, “Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee” (Matthew 2:20-22). Archelaus reigned from 4 B.C. – 6 A.D. Therefore, Joseph and his family had to have returned to Judea sometime before 6 A.D. Although we don’t know the exact dates of Joseph’s departure and return to Judea, it can be assumed that his family was on the run from the Roman authorities no more than a decade because Luke reported that Jesus’ family was living in Nazareth when he was twelve years old (Luke 2:42, 52).

The instructions Joseph received from the angels that appeared to him in his dreams, “Arise, and take the young child and his mother…” (Matthew 2:13, 20) may have been spiritual commands that actually came from Jesus, but were delivered through angels because he was too young to speak for himself. All the other instances in the New Testament of the use of the Greek verb egeiro (eg – i – ro) are associated with Jesus’ ministry, e.g. “Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thine house” (Matthew 9:6). Jesus’ power and authority were not temporarily assigned to him during his three-and-a-half year ministry on earth, but were always available to him, even before he was the child that was born to Joseph and Mary. One of the most likely reasons Herod wanted to kill the baby Jesus was because Herod understood that even before Jesus could speak, his spiritual authority exceeded his own.

Prophecy

Following the birth of Jesus, his parents Joseph and Mary took him to the temple to have him dedicated to the Lord. While they were there, Joseph and Mary encountered a man named Simeon to whom it had been revealed that the birth of Israel’s Messiah would take place before his death. Simeon blessed the couple “and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35). This strange prophecy may have baffled Joseph and Mary because although they were very familiar with warfare, the idea that a person’s soul could be pierced by a sword had never been spoken of before. The only clue Mary had to understanding what Simeon told her was an ancient prophecy from Isaiah that stated, “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (Isaiah 49:1-3).

It wasn’t until the book of Ephesians was written many years later by the Apostle Paul that a clear understanding of Simeon’s message became evident. Talking about spiritual warfare, Paul told believers to “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11) and then specifically stated, “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Spiritual warfare was impossible before Jesus was born because there were no “weapons” for believers to use against Satan. The point Simeon was trying to make when he told Mary “a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also” (Luke 2:35) was that Jesus’ words would convict even his own mother of her sinful human nature. Luke eluded to the power associated with Jesus’ words when he stated, “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power” (Luke 4:32). The full extent of the power of Jesus’ words won’t be realized until his second coming. John’s vision of the resurrected and glorified Jesus Christ is recorded in Revelation 1:16, where it says, “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”

God’s ability to reveal the thoughts, and even intents, of human hearts was at the core of Jesus’ ministry. Many times, Jesus made it clear that he knew what people were thinking and could discern whether or not they had a sincere desire to change or merely wanted to be acknowledged as a good person (Luke 18:18-23). One of the essential reasons Jesus came into the world as a man was so that he could determine for himself the extent of Satan’s influence over the human heart. Simeon’s prophecy about Jesus, “this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel” (Luke 2:34) suggested that as a human, Jesus had distinct capabilities by which he could tell whether or not someone was receptive or resistant to the words he spoke to them. Although God is able to see the heart of man, his thoughts and feelings; as a man, Jesus was able to see the looks on people’s faces and could interpret their body language. It says in Proverbs 24:16, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” Essentially, what this verse is saying is that when a just or repentant person commits a sin, you can tell by the look on his face that he is sorry for what he’s done, but when a wicked person does something wrong, he won’t show any sign of remorse. Jesus could see from both the inside and outside what was really going on when he confronted people with their sin.

Good news

The birth of Jesus came suddenly and unexpectedly, at a time when there was little hope left that God would fulfill his promise to bring a Messiah to his chosen people, the Jews. Luke made a specific reference to a historical event, so that the date of Jesus’ birth would be accurately recorded. He said, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed (and this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria)” (Luke 2:1-2). The Roman government was at the height of its success in dominating the world and wanted to take advantage of its opportunity to collect taxes from every person that fell under its jurisdiction. God used the decree of a pagan emperor to fulfill an important prophecy recorded in Micah 5:2. It says, “But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

The location of the Messiah’s birth wouldn’t have been as critical if the Jews had remained in the Promised Land and their population kept in tact. Because the Jews had been scattered throughout the world during their captivity, and their geographical footprint altered by Roman occupation, the only way to know for certain that Jesus was actually a descendent of King David was to have his birth occur during the Roman census. Luke recorded, “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child” (Luke 2:4-5). Joseph’s residence in Nazareth indicated that his relationship to King David was of no benefit to him. Most likely, it was unknown to everyone around him, and perhaps even to Joseph himself, that he was of royal descent until the Roman census occurred.

The shepherds that were keeping watch over their flocks the night that Jesus was born may have been the only group of people that were collectively willing to believe the good news they were told about their Messiah’s birth. The fact that the shepherds were given a sign to assure them that what the angel said was true suggests that even they were skeptical about the message they received (Luke 2:12). After seeing and hearing “a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,” (Luke 2:13) it appears that the shepherds were still unconvinced. At the conclusion of this amazing worship event, Luke 2:15 tells us, “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” It wasn’t until the shepherds saw the sign promised them, the babe lying in a manger, that their belief became evident. Luke said, afterwards “the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” (Luke 2:20).

Four women

A legal examination of Jesus’ genealogical record would have shown that he was the rightful heir to the throne of King David. The Apostle Matthew recorded in his gospel not only the critical links between Jesus and King David, but also his heritage all the way back to the time of Abraham, the forefather of Christian faith (Genesis 15:6). What is important to note is that four women were included in the genealogy of Jesus. It was unnecessary for him to include these women in his record, but Matthew must have felt that these women’s involvement in the birth of Israel’s Messiah was critical to our understanding of Jesus’ human identity.

The first women listed in Matthew’s genealogical record was Thamar (Matthew 1:3), the mother of twin sons that were technically both the sons and grandsons of Judah, the fourth son that was born to Jacob by his unloved wife, Leah (Genesis 29:35). Thamar or Tamar, as she is known in the Old Testament, tricked Judah into having sex with her by pretending to be a prostitute (Genesis 38:16). After Tamar had conceived, Judah acknowledged, “She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son” (Genesis 38:26). Judah’s conviction of his sin revealed that the execution of God’s plan of salvation had been hindered by his own selfish desire to preserve his youngest son’s life.

The second woman Matthew recorded in Jesus’ genealogy was a woman known as Rahab the harlot (Matthew 1:5). When the Israelites entered the Promised Land and were preparing to attack Jericho, spies were sent ahead to discover the best way to enter the city (Joshua 2:1). Rahab testified of her faith in God when she told the two spies, “I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when you came out of Egypt…for the LORD your God he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Joshua 2:9-11).

The third woman listed in Jesus’ genealogy was Ruth (Matthew 1:5), the grandmother of King David. The book of Ruth tells us that Ruth was willing to leave her home and family behind in order to follow Naomi, her mother-in-law, back to Beth-lehem, the birthplace of Jesus. Because of her faith in God, Ruth stated to Naomi, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me” (Ruth 1:16-17).

The final woman Matthew mentioned was not actually named, but identified only as the wife of Uriah (Matthew 1:6). Bath-sheba was an adulteress and yet, her son was chosen to be the heir of David’s throne. David had numerous wives (2 Samuel 3:2-5), so Bath-sheba was not the only candidate, and maybe, not even been the best candidate for providing David with an heir, but her son Solomon became king of Israel and was the one God chose to build his temple instead of David. Perhaps the greatest testament to her faith, was Bath-sheba’s belief that God never breaks a promise. Holding her husband accountable, Bath-sheba said to David, “My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne” (1 Kings 1:18).

The Word

The Apostle John described Jesus as the “Word” and said of him, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). There is much that can be gleaned from these three brief statements, but the most important point I believe John wanted to make was that every word Jesus spoke came directly from God. The prophets in Old Testament times were thought of as the mouthpieces of God. In other words, they were given messages from God through divine revelation that they were to deliver to his people. The problem with this method of communication was that there were false prophets that claimed to speak for God, but were actually liars that tried to deceive the Israelites in order to keep them from believing what God said.

John’s first statement, “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1) established the existence of Jesus before he was born as a man. Like his father, Jesus existed before there was time and he was present at, as well as involved in, the creation of the world. John’s identification of Jesus as the Word indicated that the words that were spoken by God at the creation, such as, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), came from Jesus or were able to be vocalized by God because Jesus’ existed and was present with him. This may be difficult for us to comprehend because Jesus had not yet been born, but from God’s perspective, Jesus was there. John said that Jesus was both “with God” and “was God” (John 1:1). What this meant was that Jesus was separate from, but equal with his father. Jesus and Jehovah, or God the Father, are not the same person, and yet, they are both one and the same, as far as we are concerned.

John said, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). A way of describing Jesus would be to say that he is God with skin on. To be “made flesh” meant that Jesus took on the form of a human. Jesus was completely human, but that did not make him less than God. Another way of saying it would be that when Jesus was born, God became visible to the world. John distinguished Jesus by saying that he was “full of grace and truth.” Grace and truth are characteristics of God that differentiate him from man. When Jesus became a man, humanity was altered so that it could conform to God’s standards and be able to exhibit the same characteristics that he has. John said of Jesus, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). In the same way that Jesus took on the form of a man and became like us, we can take on the form of God through the Holy Spirit, and become like him.

Filled with the Holy Ghost

The miraculous birth of John the Baptist was accompanied by the unusual involvement of the Holy Spirit in not only John’s life, but also in the lives of his parents. It says in Luke 1:15 that John was “filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” Although there could be several explanations as to why John needed to be filled with God’s Spirit before he was born, the most obvious was that God hard wired John’s supernatural intelligence into his genetic code when he created him. Therefore, John’s mind couldn’t function properly without the help of the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit. John’s mother, Elizabeth was also filled with the Holy Spirit before her son was born (Luke 1:41). The last family member to be filled with the Spirit was John’s father Zacharias. After Zacharias confirmed that his son’s name was to be John as foretold by the angel Gabriel, it says in Luke 1:64-67:

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake; and praised God. and fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost.

Prior to the birth of John the Baptist, there was only one instance where someone was filled with the spirit of God (Exodus 31:3). Afterward, it wasn’t until the day of Pentecost when everyone who believed in Jesus Christ was “filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:4) that the Holy Spirit was fully manifested in the world. When someone was filled with the Holy Spirit, it meant that God himself was dwelling inside the person. Apparently, before Jesus was conceived, it was only possible for the Holy Spirit to dwell in one person at a time. The fact that John, his mother Elizabeth, and father Zachariah were all filled with the Holy Spirit at the same time demonstrated that things had changed dramatically. God’s presence in the world was no longer limited; he could be in many places at the same time through the indwelling of his Holy Spirit.

The connection

After 400 years of waiting for their Messiah to arrive, the Jews may have wondered if God had forgotten about his chosen people. The last prophecy the Jews had received through the prophet Malachi was to look for the coming day of the LORD. In order for the Jews to make the connection when it happened, God told them, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:6). A contingent fulfillment of this prophecy took place when the birth of John the Baptist was announced. His father, Zacharias received a visit from the angel Gabriel who said of his son, “he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb…And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children” (Luke 1:15,17).

John the Baptist was not Elijah returning in the flesh, but he functioned like the Old Testament preacher of repentance (note on Luke 1:17). The connection made between these two men was meant to signal to the Jews that their Messiah was coming. In fact, it was only six months later that the birth of Jesus was announced. This time, the angel Gabriel made a connection between Jesus and the covenant God made with King David (2 Samuel 7:13,16). Gabriel said, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 32-33).

The back to back birth announcements of John the Baptist and Jesus were probably received with some measure of skepticism because it had been such a long time since there had been any communication from God to his chosen people. The connection Gabriel made to Old Testament prophecy was necessary to link Jesus with the Jews’ long awaited Messiah. Even though it was clearly evident that the time had finally come for God to fulfill his promise, things didn’t change immediately. John the Baptist and Jesus grew up under what you might say were normal conditions for children of that time period. There is no indication that people took any notice of Jesus during his childhood. It wasn’t until some thirty years later that Jesus’ ministry actually began. What is important to note about what was happening at that time was that the miraculous births of these two critical figures seemingly went unnoticed or were disregarded altogether by the Jews.

The coming day of the LORD

The final chapter of the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi 4 describes in sharp contrast two potential outcomes the Jews could expect in a time period identified as “the coming day of the LORD.” The prophet Isaiah discussed at length the coming day of the LORD, but the context for this event was much different because the destruction of Jerusalem and exile of God’s people had not yet occurred. When Malachi addressed the topic, the Jews had returned from captivity and were clearly focused on the arrival of their Messiah. Even though the birth of Jesus was still some 400 years away, it was the only event left on God’s prophetic calendar with regards to salvation and deliverance of his people. What may still have been unknown at that time, or at least misunderstood, was that God’s chosen people would reject their Messiah and miss the opportunity to have his kingdom established on earth immediately.

Some of the Jews did accept Jesus as their Savior and were essential in the establishment of his church, but God’s ultimate goal of establishing a kingdom on earth over which his Messiah would rule and reign forever was delayed in a physical sense. Jesus currently sits on a throne in heaven and has been given all authority over mankind, but Satan is still active in his pursuit of evil and is able to disrupt the lives of God’s children. The appointed day of the LORD is when Satan’s work will be brought to an end and God’s judgment of the world will begin. At that time, it will be evident who is a follower of Satan and who is a follower of Jesus Christ. Malachi said of those that choose Satan as their master, “For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch” (Malachi 4:1).

Although God’s chosen people were and still are downtrodden and afflicted in this world, news of the coming day of the LORD was intended to bring them hope and inspiration about their future. Unlike those that had forsaken God’s law and determined it was unnecessary to obey his instructions, the faithful Jews were promised a final victory. God told them, “but unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 4:2-3). This prophecy was only partially fulfilled during Jesus’ ministry. The treading down of the wicked won’t be fully accomplished until Jesus’ returns in the coming day of the LORD.