Preacher: Phil Swain Reading: Luke 3:1-22
January might be a slower month in the life of the church but our learning journey through the Gospel of Luke continues. This Sunday in our combined 10am worship gathering we will be zooming in on the character of John the Baptist and what Luke chapter 3 can reveal to us in our question of “who is Jesus”? John was preaching a baptism of repentance … but was it just a simple confession of sins or was John challenging us to consider a reorientation of our lives?
Sermon Text
We continue our journey through the gospel of Luke … this week it is Luke chapter 3 and it is a bit of a rollercoaster of a reading. But first … do you remember one of the things that we have learnt about Luke … that Luke loves details … and verse 1 of chapter 3 is the classic example of this. Luke wants us to know exactly when this story happened, so he gives us a timestamp by noting the current emperor, governor, ruler and high priests. Details.
I said this is a rollercoaster of a reading because it starts of full of grace and hope as John declares the good news that people should be baptised for the forgiveness of sins. Why? Because God wants to forgive. John then doubles down on this with the quote from Isaiah that every valley will be filled, every mountain made level. Crooked made straight, rough made smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation!!!
It truly is good news. Amazing Grace.
Then the very next verse, verse 7, John turns to the exact same crowds and calls them a nest of poisonous snakes and warns them not to think they are going to escape the coming anger of God.
But. But. But … didn’t John the Baptist just say that all people will see God’s salvation. Why is he saying that we shouldn’t think we will escape God’s wrath?
I had a choice to make when I was writing this sermon. I could choose to try break open this text to help us understand the thinking and personality traits of John the Baptist … how John seems to flip quickly from the Grace of God to the wrath of God … but … well its January and do we really want to wrestle with a character as complex as John the Baptist? Remember this is the bloke who eats locusts with honey.
So instead, I thought that we could wrestle with a question which is just as complex but not quite as weird – and that is the whole question of Baptist. I gave you the heads up earlier in the intro to the theme.
Baptism is something which is core to our beliefs as Christians. It is one of only two sacraments or holy rituals that we have in the Uniting Church. We have a baptism font as part of our church furniture … baptism is a big deal here at TUC. And yet as we started before – our understanding of what baptism is or what baptism represents or even what baptism does can be a little unclear.
So rather than trying to understand John the Baptist a little more, what I would like to do today is see what might be revealed if we explore baptism a little more.
And because it is January … I am going to get us to do some work together on this. I am going to open it up for all of us to do a little reflecting or thinking on three questions. You can do this quietly by yourself or you can turn to some people around you and have a conversation or you can jump on your phone and google or you can use the sheet that I have provided for you. For those watching online … I am going to read part of the sheet for you.
The three questions that I want us to spend 5 minutes reflecting on is:
- What is John’s understanding of baptism?
- What is the baptism that Jesus offers?
- What do you think that baptism is about?
If you were explaining baptism to a non-churched friend in 1-3 sentences … what would you say.
Is baptism necessary for salvation (being made right with God)
If baptism is not necessary for salvation … then why is it important to get baptised?
Why can we only be baptised once … if baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, shouldn’t we be baptised every week?
Phil’s Summary Sheet…
- Quotes about baptism…
- Faith and family of Jesus
- Some quotes about baptism and belonging.
- Read quote 3
- Read last quote
- Some bible verses about baptism
- One side is the four gospels of our reading today. Interesting that all highlight John’s understanding that his baptism was for repentance of sins. And yet he was not necessarily saying that Jesus’ baptism was also about that. Rather he talked about how Jesus would baptise with the Holy Spirit.
- The other side has some common verses in regard to Baptist including
- Go and make disciples of all people, baptising them in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit
- Peter in Acts 2 … repent and be baptised
- Paul in Romans … we are baptised into Jesus death and raised to a new life through Jesus’ resurrection
- Paul in 2 Corinthians … we should no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus … the old way of living has gone, the new way has come. (which while is not directly related to baptism … is what I say when I baptise adults because it is for me what sums up part of what baptism is about).
(Tick Tock)
Baptism is about
- Forgiveness of sins
- God’s offer of unconditional love and grace to us (little child … God has done this all for you, even though you do not know it).
- It is about the warm embrace of God’s family (or a marker on that journey … it doesn’t start with baptism)
- It is not necessary for salvation – but there is something special and significant in it. In a way that we can not understand, God places a hand on us in baptism and blesses us.
- Baptism is not the beginning of the journey … and is not the end of the journey … which is the segway back to the Gospel of Luke.
Luke in this reporting of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus wanted to make this point … it was not the baptism that was most important, it was the way that you lived your life now that you are baptised. If you made this public commitment to walk the way of Jesus … then you better walk the way of Jesus.
Listen again to Luke 3:8 – Live in a way that shows you have turned from your sins!
Luke challenges us to not use God’s grace as a loophole rather in response to God’s grace to live fruitful lives for God. It is about producing fruit!
(Side note – mission planning. How do we live, how do we do ministry, in a way that is most effective in producing fruit)
This is what John the Baptist was saying in Luke’s version of this narrative. Live in a way that shows you have turned from your sins!
I love how John says this and then the people in verse 10 respond with … “Then what should we do…”
Ok, says John. Here is the general answer – be a blessing to others by sharing the blessings that you have received from God. “Anyone who has extra clothes should share with the one who has none. And anyone who has extra food should do the same.” That is a great start to living in response to God’s grace.
The Tax collectors wanted to be more specific. Ok but what specifically should we do? Don’t collect more than you should
The Soldiers also asked “what specifically should we do?”
Don’t force people to give you money, don’t bring false charges
As I was writing this sermon I was thinking … this is really good stuff … until I realised that this was also a challenge to me.
If I was wondering how I should live my life in a way that showed I had turned from me sin and asked John the Baptist the question “What should I do?” … what would John say?
Generally John would probably say the same “be a blessing to others by sharing the blessings that you have received from God.” But what if I followed up with the specific question … but what should I – Phil the pastor here at TUC – what should I do? … that is a challenging question to ponder.
What would John the Baptist say if you asked him the specific question, “and what should I do”?
What do we need to do (or not do) to show that we have turned from our sins, that we are producing fruit for God?
I read an interesting line in my prep for this sermon. They said that in Luke’s gospel, John the Baptist message was not only about repentance, but a reorientation of our lives towards God. It was not just about a single moment of grace but a commitment to a lifetime following Jesus.
The question “what should we do” is not something that we ask as we are being baptised, but something that we should ask God every morning, in every major moment or decision.
Baptism is a marker on the journey.
The journey is the daily orientating of yourself in the ways of God.
Amen.
I hope this has been helpful – it has been a little all over the place but I hope that God in the midst of this has spoken to you. As Luke said in Luke 3:18, John the Baptist spoke many things to warn people but he also shared with them good news. I hope today that you have heard both the challenge and the good news of this chapter.
I also wish to add, that if for any reason – you have not been baptised and would like to me … people talk to me. There are a handful of people in the church at the moment who would like to be baptised, so we will be starting that process soon. If you would like to be a part of it … please talk to me.
If you have been baptised as a child and never had the chance to confirm that or publicly own that for yourself … and would like to reaffirm your baptism … also talk to me.