Westminster Towers
Mt 3: 1-12
By Deacon Larry Brockman
So, just who was John the Baptist, and does his message apply to us today?
We know from the Gospel of Luke that John was Jesus’ Cousin, born to Elizabeth, a cousin of Jesus’ mother Mary. According to the first chapter of Luke, when Mary visited Elizabeth Elizabeth’s child “leapt in her womb”. So, John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth’s womb when the child in Mary’s womb came near his mother. Wow! There can be no doubt about it- life begins at conception.
And what did the leaping in the womb signify? Bible scholars have suggested that it was at this moment in time that the Holy Spirit filled John having been instilled in John by the Lord Jesus himself. And so, John was something special. He was graced by God and had been given a mission. And that message was defined in Isaiah the prophet, and then predicted by his own father Zechariah.
You see, Elizabeth was the wife of a Levitical priest, Zechariah, as is also mentioned in Luke 1. That means that John was of the priestly tribe, and destined to be a priest himself. Elizabeth was thought to be barren, and advanced in age. But an angel of the Lord visited Zechariah when he was acting as the priest and offering incense in the Holy of Holies. It is interesting to note that because there were so many Levites at the time, a Levitical priest was only given the honor of offering incense in the Holy of Holies of the temple once in his life! So this was a very important occasion in Zechariah’s life. And to his amazement, he was told by the angel Gabriel that Elizabeth would bear a child as he did his duties. But he disbelieved, and was struck dumb by the angel until the child was born.
After the child was born, Zechariah regained his speech, and said this of his son (Lk 1:76): “And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.”
So, John the Baptist was the son of a Priest, and thus a priest by birth right. He was a cousin of Jesus on his mother’s side; and he was filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth! John’s name was given to him by the angel; and the name John means: “The Lord is Gracious.” Yes, indeed, the Lord was gracious to John, giving him a special mission and grace. And John’s mission was to prepare the way of the Lord for all mankind, including the Gentiles.
Our Gospel begins this morning with John faithfully fulfulling the prophecy made by his own Father, Zechariah. John is discharging his duties as a priest by conducting a rite of Baptism of Repentance, and proclaiming the coming of the Most High and the Kingdom of God. Indeed, the rite of Baptism has roots in Jewish ceremonial services. When someone other than a Jew wished to follow Judaism, they were “Baptized” in water, symbolizing a washing away of their old way of life, and the adoption of a new way of life. This is precisely what John was doing, but he was offering this Baptism of repentance to everyone.
The Gospel speaks of John’s clothing and food. John was in the survival mode. He was clothed in a rough camel skin; and was eating the most basic of food; food off the land consisting of locusts and honey. This indicates John is in a state of self-mortification as a way of purification. He could not have been accused of hypocrisy- like some fiery preachers of our day, who dress to the nines and enjoy many of life’s comforts. John was the genuine article, and his sincerity shone through.
We are told that he was angry at the Pharisees and Sadducees. So, why is that? Well at that time, the Jews were hoping to be saved from centuries of domination by the Syrians, Greeks and Romans. They were looking for a savior, the Messiah; one who would herald a new Kingdom like David’s Kingdom of old. And this anticipation was very popular at that time. John emerges preaching in the desert, drawing large crowds because the proclamation of the coming of the Kingdom and a savior was something they were all hoping for.
But the Pharisees and the Sadducees were not there for Baptism. The Pharisees were separated from the people because of their zeal for precise fulfillment of the letter of the law. They wanted to check up on John and make sure his rite of Baptism followed the letter of the law. The Sadducees were part of the Jewish establishment that was wary of political efforts to establish a new Kingdom. They just wanted to be left alone to control the Jews as long as the state stayed out of their business.
These two groups did not get along- they despised each other. They coexisted here because they had a common aim. You see, both the Sadducees and the Pharisees came to John’s Baptism as spies. They were certainly not there to repent and change. And so, they drew anger from John.
John calls these people out for what they really were: a brood of vipers. You see, a viper would have to escape and return to water after stinging a victim, or it would die. How appropriate, then, was John’s description of these two groups. They were there to find fault and do injury; and as soon as they believed they had found what they wanted, they would have escaped the crowd. They were not interested in repentance. They viewed themselves as the Chosen people; the children of Abraham. They thought they were the people who had it right, each in their own way.
But John sets them straight as he says: “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance”, and then he goes on to admonish them of the fate of those who do not bear good fruit. First he says: “Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.” John is one of those rare people who can look into the hearts of men and know who they really are; what their real motivation is. And what he sees is a lack of action from these people. They are caught up in themselves; they are judgmental of others; but they are not bearing fruit from their actions. They have not learned to fear the Lord and to respond to his inner voice. And so John then says: “Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Just to make it clear what he means by the fire, he talks about the kind of Baptism that will be administered by the “One who is coming”. This is going to be different- it is not just a cleansing of sin, which the water was supposed to do, but it was going to be a Baptism of the Holy Spirit and of fire as well.
First, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit cleanses us from our sin, so that we are ready for the gifts of God’s Spirit. Then the Spirit animates us; motivates us; and gives us our mission along with the gifts of the Spirit God has chosen for each of us.
But what about the Baptism of fire? Well, we are free to choose God’s gifts in Baptism or not. Those who choose it respond to the call and bear fruit in their lives. These are the wheat that is harvested. But there are some who reject it- as the Pharisees and Sadducees are accused of doing. They are the chaff that is thrown in the fire. That is the fire of condemnation that never leaves. It is an everlasting fire that consumes them forever because they realize, too late, that they have turned away from God while they lived, and there is no recourse after death.
Today, we are in the middle of the Church season of Advent. It’s the season when we prepare for the coming of the Lord. We anticipate two comings. First, the coming of the Christ Child at Christmas. That is kind of like our Baptism, our original call. And like the baby Jesus, we are introduced into life in the church. We can respond to that call or not. But the readings in the Church calendar actually emphasize the Second coming in the first two weekends of Advent. The Second Coming of Christ is the Last Judgment. That happens for all of us when we die; and it can happen at any time. The great St. Augustine has said that those who don’t embrace the first coming of Christ are going to be very uncomfortable with the second coming. So all of us need to be ready for it at all times. The big question is: are you ready for it?
As we listen and analyze today’s reading from Matthew, it is easy to feel like bystanders listening to a tale from long ago. But the reality is that we are just like the crowd that followed after John the Baptist. Some of us are like the Pharisees, interested in the letter of the law, and looking to justify ourselves by following the law to the letter. These people relish finding where others trip up because it makes them feel better about themselves.
Others are like the Sadducees who are looking for the Kingdom, but who are preoccupied with the rut they are in. They think they are saved and are not interested in change. They want to keep things just as they always have been. They want to run away from making changes that may challenge them.
Still others are like the great crowd of followers of John. They are looking for something new and they are open to change in varying degrees. They are willing to listen; and they are excited about the prospects of the Kingdom.
We would all do well to think about John’s message in the context of our own lives. Because no matter what our age or station in life is, God is continuously asking for our attention and response. First, we need to fight complacency and self- satisfaction- the sins of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Then, we need to be open to the inner voice calling us to something new. It can be something simple- new friends, a new environment, trying different things. Or it can be more challenging, like coping with lost loved ones; forgiving past offenses; or accepting infirmities that limit our capabilities, so that we cannot do the things we used to be able to do. What matters is our ability to love God and feel comfortable that we are listening to him all the time so that we are ready, and comfortable, with the Second Coming of Christ, whenever it happens.
