Luke 3: 1-22 (by Erik Vanderkolk, pinch-hitter for Kenny)
The book of Luke is sometimes called the social justice Gospel, and that is part of the reason we named my son Luke. I wanted him to be a servant of Jesus and live a different type of life. It is no accident that God chose John the Baptist to make a way for Jesus. In Luke 3:1-22, he gives us such a great outline of what it means to be a servant of Jesus Christ. First, John is not concerned with status but with his mission in life. The passage says that John was living in the wilderness. The religious leaders of the day believed that their status with God was based on their birthright. Only people that were from a certain heritage needed to be baptized. On the contrary, John said, all need to repent and live a live worthy of those that they are following. We have seen people that proclaim to be followers of Jesus throughout history believe that somehow their ethnicity gives them favor in God's eyes…the white south, western societies coming to new shores. But even today some people that say they follow Christ believe in the prejudice notion that somehow God favors one ethnic group over others. But John preached repentance for all. All have sinned and fall short regardless of heritage. It is the heart that Jesus is concerned with.
And what is this life worthy of being a Christ follower? The life is one of servant hood. John goes on to say if you have two shirts, one should be given away for the brother that does not have any….another great sign of a Christ follower. What does that mean for us today? It is just as radical to us as it was for the religious leaders. This repentance leads us to good works.
Interestingly, one might conclude that this means we should give up our jobs, or we should all live our lives in great poverty. But that is not what he said when people asked what they should do. He did not tell the tax collectors that repented to stop being tax collectors. He said stop cheating. He did not tell the guards to stop being guards. He said stop being on the take. Sometimes our lives like the disciples mean a radical change of occupation…but sometimes if we are following Jesus it means a radical change in the way we do our jobs and the way we spend our money. We are a banker that is a follower of Jesus now, or a school teacher. The people around us should be astounded at our change as we follow Jesus.
Third, John the Baptist is uncompromising. He tells it like it is. John lets people know that he disapproves of the adultery of the government leader and pays the ultimate sacrifice. People mistake uncompromising for judgment or hate these days. On the contrary, John is a follower of Jesus precisely because he loves them enough to let them know they are going the wrong way. If my son Luke is having fun swimming in rough waters and I yell at him to get out of the water because he might drown, or run in and grab him and take him out, would you tell me I was not loving him? Am I judging him or hating him? You would say I was doing my job. He is watching out for the best interests of his son. That is indeed what we are doing when we are telling people there is a better way.
Lastly, it is never about John. It is about Jesus. The people are thinking maybe he is the savior. John never wants to be worshipped, and he does not want to be told he is even doing a great job. He points people to Jesus every time. Wow. How many times would we like to take credit for what God has done or how tempting is it to get off message? He knew what God's assignment for him was and he executed on it….but he was also executed for it. So much for the wealth gospel, but so much more for a life filled with meaning.
This passage concludes with God proclaiming, "This is my son, of whom I'm well pleased." Let us recall that Jesus is God's most prized possession, His one and only son. I proclaim this over my son Luke on many occasions, making sure that he knows that his father is proud of him no matter what. It is also a reminder that God gave his one and only son whom he loved greatly for our sake. Jesus is worthy to be praised and followed in the same way that John the Baptist followed Him…repenting, giving to the poor, living a life of integrity, aware of our mission, and uncompromising. And we do not have to do this alone. Jesus Himself gives us the power to do it.
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)
Kenny Sullivan
No comments:
Post a Comment