Big Idea: John preaches repentance to remove the most obtrusive obstacle in coming to Jesus; our own self-righteousness.
John’s goal is to prepare the way for the Messiah. In order to do so, he has to remove the greatest obstacle we have to Jesus’ saving ministry. And that obstacle is our own self-sufficiency.
Two sources of self-sufficiency that keep us from trusting in Christ;
______________________ (heritage)
Luke 3:8 (ESV) — 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Romans 3:10-18 (ESV) —10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God… 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” …18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
The quickest and most unimpeded way to the Savior is through a proper understanding of our dire situation.
In your natural state, you are liable to God’s judgement. All men, women, and children, born into this world are guilty.
___________________ (hard work)
Luke 3:10–11 (ESV) — 10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
The whole point in presenting the Law here is to show the audience that their real problem is not, first, what they do but their corrupt hearts.
Luke 18:18–23 (ESV) — 18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
Jesus intended to make the rich young ruler sad to reveal his real source of allegiance and worship. His desire wasn’t first and foremost to gain eternal life, his desire was to add to his wealth. Here is the reality, before we can come to Jesus, we first have to recognize our need for Jesus.
And that is one of the purposes of the Law. The law beats us down, in order to build us up in Christ. The law is a reflection pool that shows us just how deep and pervasive our corruption is because it shows us just how high and holy God is.
Repentance is the wide-open path to the Savior!
Questions to Consider
What is the Lord calling you to repent of? What does repentance look like in the life of the Christian?
Are there ways you are tempted to water down the gospel? In what ways might you be careful to preach repentance to those you are seeking to win to Christ?
