Luke 2:40-3:14: The Early Life Of Jesus / Intro. To The
Ministry Of John The Baptist”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at the first 39 verses of chapter 2 and the birth and dedication of Jesus.
1.1.1. We observed three different witnesses of the birth of Jesus the
Messiah provided by the Lord to us:
Shepherds, Simeon, Anna.
1.1.2. We saw how that in all aspects that Jesus was raised up in strict
adherence to the Law of Moses, and this had to be in order for Him to be the
Lamb without spot or blemish who could come and die on the cross and make full
payment for our sins.
1.1.3. Through simply observing what the scripture says in our study we
debunked some of the popular Christmas lore and traditions.
1.2.
In our study today, we are
going to look at verse 40 of chapter 2 through verse 14 of chapter 3.
1.2.1. In these verses in chapter 2 we will look at the only Biblical account
of the “early life of Jesus,” that period of time from the events described of
his birth until He began His public ministry.
1.2.1.1. This is a story recounted of Jesus’ parents taking Him at age 12 to the
temple during the yearly Passover celebration.
1.2.2. In the first 14 verses of chapter 3 we will look at what Luke tells us
about the calling and ministry of John the Baptist.
1.2.2.1. We will observe how that the Old Testament had foretold John’s coming
to prepare the way for the Messiah, Jesus.
We will observe the various ways that John fulfilled those Old Testament
prophecies concerning his ministry.
1.2.2.2. We will next observe some of the preaching of John the Baptist and thus
become familiar with the ministry that the Lord called him to.
2. VS 2:40 - “40 The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and
the grace of God was upon Him.” - Jesus grew strong and increased in wisdom,
the grace of God being upon Him
2.1.
This verse really covers all
that we know from inspiration of the Lord concerning the life of Jesus from the
events of the Christmas story given in the gospels, until the story we will
consider next that occurs when Jesus was 12 years old and He went on a trip to
Jerusalem with His parents.
2.2.
This verse simply tells us
that Jesus was growing up physically as all healthy babies do and that He was
growing in understanding of godly wisdom.
2.3.
In the church many times the
error has been made of emphasizing Jesus’ deity too much. This verse gives us insight into Jesus’
humanity.
2.4.
Throughout history it has
been a subject of great curiosity as to what Jesus’ life may have been like
prior to that time when He began His public ministry. We as people have a longing and hunger to
know more about this period of Jesus’ life, but unfortunately the only stories
we can safely rely upon are those that are in the scriptures (what we call our
Bible), and these contain no further material on this period of time.
2.5.
Curiously, in the first few
centuries after Jesus had been raised from the dead there were numerous books
that were written that contained stories about the life of Jesus, including
this period of time in Jesus’ early life.
These books are considered extra Biblical books because they were not
accepted into the cannon of the scripture due to the nature of the stories
written in them. The stories
contradicted passages that the inspired scripture records, record teachings of
Jesus that are very questionable, contain apocalyptic Gnostic material that is questionable,
or contain stories about Jesus as a boy that show Him as using his power to
perform miracles in a mischievous or
self-serving way. As an example, here is
an extra Biblical examples of the early life of Jesus from “The Infancy Gospel
Of Thomas” : “II. 1 This little child Jesus when he was five years old was playing
at the ford of a brook: and he gathered together the waters that flowed there
into pools, and made them straightway clean, and commanded them by his word
alone. 2 And having made soft clay, he fashioned thereof twelve sparrows. And
it was the Sabbath when he did these things (or made them). And there were also
many other little children playing with him. 3 And a certain Jew when he saw
what Jesus did, playing upon the Sabbath day, departed straightway and told his
father Joseph: Lo, thy child is at the brook, and he hath taken clay and
fashioned twelve little birds, and hath polluted the Sabbath day. 4 And Joseph
came to the place and saw: and cried out to him, saying: Wherefore doest thou
these things on the Sabbath, which it is not lawful to do? But Jesus clapped
his hands together and cried out to the sparrows and said to them: Go! and the
sparrows took their flight and went away chirping. 5 And when the Jews saw it
they were amazed, and departed and told their chief men that which they had
seen Jesus do. III. 1 But the son of Annas the scribe was standing there with
Joseph; and he took a branch of a willow and dispersed the waters which Jesus
had gathered together. 2 And when Jesus saw what was done, he was wroth and said
unto him: O evil, ungodly, and foolish one, what hurt did the pools and the
waters do thee? behold, now also thou shalt be withered like a tree, and shalt
not bear leaves, neither root, nor fruit. 3 And straightway that lad withered
up wholly, but Jesus departed and went unto Joseph's house. But the parents of
him that was withered took him up, bewailing his youth, and brought him to
Joseph, and accused him 'for that thou hast such a child which doeth such
deeds.' IV. 1 After that again he went
through the village, and a child ran and dashed against his shoulder. And Jesus
was provoked and said unto him: Thou shalt not finish thy course (lit. go all
thy way). And immediately he fell down and died. But certain when they saw what
was done said: Whence was this young child born, for that every word of his is
an accomplished work? And the parents of him that was dead came unto Joseph,
and blamed him, saying: Thou that hast such a child canst not dwell with us in
the village: or do thou teach him to bless and not to curse: for he slayeth our
children… IX. 1 Now after certain days Jesus was playing in the upper story of a
certain house, and one of the young children that played with him fell down
from the house and died. And the other children when they saw it fled, and
Jesus remained alone. 2 And the parents of him that was dead came and accused
him that he had cast him down. (And Jesus said: I did not cast him down) but
they reviled him still. 3 Then Jesus leaped down from the roof and stood by the
body of the child and cried with a loud voice and said: Zeno (for so was his
name called), arise and tell me, did I cast thee down? And straightway he arose
and said: Nay, Lord, thou didst not cast me down, but didst raise me up. And
when they saw it they were amazed: and the parents of the child glorified God
for the sign which had come to pass, and worshipped Jesus.” We should realize that it is a waste of time
reading accounts of Jesus of this extra Biblical type for they can only confuse
us. The scriptures (our Bible) alone are
inspired and everything that contradicts them must be rejected.
2.6.
Another evidence against
these extra Biblical gospel writings is that John 2:11 tells us explicitly that
Jesus’ turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana was the “first” of
Jesus’ miracles.
2.7.
Before we leave discussing
this verse we need to think about the implications of what it is saying. Jesus was “growing” in wisdom and
understanding of God’s purposes and the Word of God, yet we wonder how this
could be if He being God is truly omniscient?
2.7.1. Philippians 2:1-11 may shed
some light on this question because it speaks of Jesus being emptied out from
His form as God in order to come and be made a man in His incarnation, “5 Have
this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who,
although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross.”
2.7.2. Part of the humbling of Himself in order to become human and thus
qualify to become that perfect sacrifice that could take away all of the sins
of mankind evidently involved Jesus losing aspects of His godhead in the
process, perhaps even characteristics such as His omnipotence, omniscience,
omnipresence, etc.
2.7.3. We wonder how much Jesus really understood of His purpose at every age
as He was growing up, and yet it does in fact appear from this verse that Jesus
was growing in His understanding of these things. The Lord has kept secret much about the early
life of Jesus but what the scriptures contain is all that we need, for we know
that it says that He has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness
(2 Peter 1:3). The scripture is true
that says that those things which are revealed belong to us and that the secret
things belong to the Lord (Deut. 29:29).
3. VS 2:41-46 - “41 Now His parents went to
3.1.
Again demonstrating how that
Jesus’ parents sought to keep the Law of Moses in every particular, we see that
every year they would travel to
3.2.
Not only did Jesus’ parents make
an appearance at the temple for the observance of the Passover, we see here
that they demonstrate their zeal for the Lord by ‘spending the full number
of days’ there at the temple.
3.3.
The caravan that Joseph and
Mary traveled in was probably large enough that they didn’t miss Jesus until
the end of that day, supposing Him to be traveling with a relative.
3.4.
Discovering Jesus to be
missing that evening, Joseph and Mary then decide to return back to
3.5.
Jesus was probably sitting
with the Jewish teachers in the inner court where the priests made the
sacrifices.
3.6.
Jesus was now twelve years
old, meaning that a certain rite of passage had now occurred in His life. Today, young Jewish men are given a Bar Mitzvah around this
age. We might then expect Jesus to begin
to behave differently at this point in time.
He was beginning to be a man and be His own person.
4. VS 2:47 - “47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” - Those present in the temple
were amazed at Jesus’ understanding and answers
4.1.
Contrary to what some have thought,
Jesus was not teaching the lawyers and scribes here, rather He was sitting with
them and learning from them.
4.2.
Jesus was at the point in
His life where He was to be in subjection to His parents and in subjection to
all of the authority in the temple, therefore He would not be teaching or
rebuking the teachers at this point in His life. We will see in the gospels that when Jesus
finally begins His ministry at age 30 that He will indict the religious leaders
bringing harsh criticism and accusations against them.
5. VS 2:48-49 - “48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him,
“Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been
anxiously looking for You.” 49 And He said to them, “ Why is it that
you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?
”” -
Joseph and Mary are astonished when the find Jesus and Mary brings Him a
rebuke for troubling them by remaining behind at the temple
5.1.
Mary rebukes Jesus for
lacking sensitivity towards her and Joseph for disappearing on them. Further, she tells Jesus that they were in a
panic frantically looking for Him. This
is the force of the language which she uses when questioning Him.
5.2.
Jesus does not lash back
sharply but simply asks her and Joseph why they were looking for Him for did
they not understand that He had to be about His father’s business?
5.3.
Jesus was giving a challenge
to His mother though that He would not always be doing her will in His life,
but rather His father’s will.
5.4.
These are Jesus’ first
expressions in the scriptures of the purpose for which He came into the
world. They are the beginning of His
explanation of His person to mankind.
5.5.
The word ‘house’ is
in italics here meaning that the word is not in the original manuscripts. In other words, some word is implied by
Jesus’ expression. However, we must use
our best judgment to speculate as to what Jesus was referring. Perhaps the best explanation is that Jesus is
saying that He had to be about His “Father’s things.”
5.6.
Simeon had prophesied to
Mary that because of Jesus a sword would pierce her heart and that she would be
troubled. This is the first known
instance of Jesus’ fulfilling this prophesy to Mary.
6. VS 2:50 - “50 But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.” - Joseph and Mary did not
understand what Jesus was trying to communicate to them
6.1.
This verse is interesting
for it shows us that Joseph and Mary were slow to understand the things of God,
slow to comprehend the things that were being done in and through the life of
Jesus.
6.2.
Eighteen plus years later
when Jesus was performing His ministry His family (minus Joseph who appears to
have been deceased by this time) still don’t understand His purpose (see Luke
8:19-21; John 7:1-5).
6.3.
Those churches who say that
Mary was herself born of immaculate conception and sinless should try to
explain how that if Mary was this way why she was so slow to comprehend
spiritual truth concerning Jesus. This
verse and many others reveal that Mary was just like all other sinful men and
women, slow to comprehend spiritual truth.
She was very apostolic in that sense for the 12 apostles were also very
slow to comprehend spiritual truth about Jesus.
6.3.1. Some of those who claim Mary to be immaculately conceived and sinless
have tried to say that this verse says that it was the crowd itself not Mary
who did not understand Jesus’ words.
However, this is a major stretch…
7. VS 2:51-52 - “51 And He went down with them and came to
7.1.
Again, as was mentioned, we
see Jesus living in subjection to His parents’ will at this point in His life.
7.2.
Young people need to follow
Jesus’ example and be in subjection to their parents while they are living in
their household and not yet adults.
7.3.
In fact, all of us need to
follow Jesus’ example and learn from our elders and be in subjection to them as
the scriptures teach us to do.
7.4.
All of us as people ought to
seek God’s will and counsel, however it is many times the case that instead we
counsel God and do our own will.
7.5.
We see here that Mary ‘treasured all these things in her
heart,’ which shows her
piety. However, my question is how it is
that Luke knew what Mary was thinking at this point in time? He had heard stories about the things Mary had
done, but we see a few times in this gospel that Luke knows what Mary is
thinking. This appears to be significant
evidence that Mary was most likely one of Luke’s contributing sources in
compiling the material for this gospel writing.
7.6.
Note that Jesus just kept on ‘increasing in wisdom and stature’
and that because of the God’s hand on His life and the purity of His character
He began to also increase ‘in favor with God and men.’
8. VS 3:1-2 - “1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius
Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his
brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and
Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the high priesthood of Annas
and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the
wilderness.” - Luke gives us the time stamp historical
details for the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry
8.1.
Luke is again using exacting
detail in writing this letter for he cites seven different men and their being
in office here in order to coordinate the clearest historical time reference
for us: Tiberius Ceasar, Pontius Pilate,
Herod Antipas, Herod Philip, Trachonitis and Lysanias were tetrarch of Abilee,
Annas and Ciaphas were high priest.
8.2.
These details tell us that
the date of the beginning of John’s ministry was 28-29 BC.
8.3.
There are two high priests,
however this is not unprecedented.
8.3.1. In David’s day both Abiathar and Zadok served as high priest.
8.3.2. Also it could be that one of them these two priests listed here had
ruled for a long time and now was retired yet out of respect he kept his title
of high priest much in the same way a retired president of the United States is
always called president.
8.3.3.
8.4.
Darrell Bock has written the
following about how these rulers came to rule, “Herod the Great (“king” from
37 b.c. to 4 b.c.), ruled a vast region that encompassed much of what had been
ancient
8.5.
Much in the same way that
the Word of God came to Old Testament prophets when they were called to their
office and service, the Word of God came to John the Baptist now as he is being
called to begin his ministry. God gave
John a burning passion to preach His message of repentance for the coming of
the Lord was at hand.
9. VS 3:3-6 - “3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism
of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; 4 as it is written in the
book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The
voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make
ready the way of the Lord, Make
His paths straight. 5 ‘Every
ravine will be filled, And every
mountain and hill will be brought low; The
crooked will become straight, And
the rough roads smooth; 6 And
all flesh will see the salvation of God.’ ”” - John the Baptist begins his
ministry in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy
9.1.
The area of John’s ministry
is described here as ‘around the
9.2.
Luke quotes Isaiah 40 here which
foretold the coming of a forerunner of the Messiah. He writes that this one who is to come will:
9.2.1. Be a voice ‘crying in the wilderness.’
9.2.2. ‘Make ready the way of the
Lord.’
9.2.2.1. If a mighty ruler were to come to visit a people, then there would be
workers who would come before him to make sure that there was a nice smooth and
straight road for him to travel on.
9.2.3. ‘Make His paths straight.’
9.2.3.1. Again, a ruler would not want to travel on a crooked or dangerous path
when coming to a distant nation or people.
The road would need to be straightened for him.
9.2.4. ‘Every
ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be brought low;
The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth.’
9.2.4.1. This again speaks of the manner in which the road would be cleared and
made fit for the travel of a mighty king to a distant people.
9.2.5. ‘All flesh shall see the salvation of God.’
9.2.5.1. This aspect of the Ministry of the Messiah involves final
eschatology. In God’s mind, the coming
of Jesus was the ushering in of what the scriptures refer to as “the last
days.” Jesus ushers in the end
times. However, today we are still
waiting the final fulfillment of this aspect of prophecy regarding Jesus
Christ.
9.3.
John the Baptist not only
baptized people, he also was called to preach and he had a message to
preach. John’s message was one of ‘repentance’
in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
We will look at some examples of his preaching this message next, but ‘repentance’
in general refers to a turning back to the Lord, of ordering one’s life around
obedience and following of the Lord after having lived a life apart from
obeying the Lord. It is a commitment to
be a person who is a “doer” of God’s will.
9.4.
In the work of Christ, one
day all that is sinful will be removed from the presence of the Lord and from
the lives of those who will be His people.
The Lord is totally holy and He will remove all uncleanness from us. Therefore, at this juncture while we are on
earth as God’s people we are called to begin to learn to walk in holiness, the
holiness that defines the Lord.
9.5.
The function of John the
Baptist in leveling and making straight and smooth the path for the Lord was
being accomplished as he preached his message of repentance. As people turned the control of their life
over to the Lord in obedience to Him and His commandments their hearts were
prepared to receive the message of salvation through Jesus.
9.6.
We as God’s people always need
to be repenting whenever we realize that we have not measured up to the Lord’s
holiness. We need to ask the Lord to
remove the rough and crooked ways from our lives. We need to ask the Lord to give us tender
hearts for Him.
9.7.
The Jews baptized Gentile
proselytes during this time, however John’s baptism was unique for he was
called to baptize Jews into this baptism of repentance.
9.8.
Baptism for believers today
looks back at what Jesus has already done in our lives. It is not something that is necessary in
order for a person to be saved, rather it is an emblem of the work that the
Lord has already done in our lives.
However, John’s baptism was one that was to cause his followers to look
forward to Jesus’ coming.
9.9.
It appears from Acts 19:1-7
that those who had been baptized in John’s baptism would be re-baptized after
the left John to begin to follow Jesus, “1 It happened that
while Apollos was at
10.
VS 3:7-9 - “7 So he began saying
to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers,
who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 “Therefore bear
fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We
have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is
able to raise up children to Abraham. 9 “Indeed the axe is already
laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is
cut down and thrown into the fire.”” - John the Baptist challenges those who are
coming to him to be baptized to bear fruits in keeping with repentance
10.1.
There was just something in
the air at this time, something that was making people aware that judgment from
the Lord was coming. The people of God
had grown so cold and rebellious towards the Lord that in their darkness they
sensed an impending doom.
10.1.1.
It is my prayer that we in
this day may get a sense of this same thing, that the Lord is ready to return
in judgment at any moment. We need an
urgency to live godly lives pleasing to the Lord.
10.2.
When a field in
10.3.
Repentance is necessary for
all who come to Christ as it is a necessary step in the process of them coming
to have saving faith in Christ. However,
in our day it grieves me that there are many churches that are preaching gospel
messages and giving altar calls to receive Christ as Savior that mention
nothing of turning your life over to Christ in repentance. Many people are being given false assurance
of salvation and they are having false conversions. People need to receive the challenge of John
the Baptist to bring forth the fruit of repentance if they have truly come to
know the Lord.
10.4.
Just as “faith without works
is dead” so too repentance without “the fruit of repentance” is dead, or
non-existent.
10.5.
John the Baptist warns the
people coming out to him that if they truly were not repenting and turning
their lives over in obedience to the Lord that He was ‘able to raise up
children to Abraham.’ Then John goes
on to say that ‘every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire.’
10.6.
People tend to think that for some reason that God is a respecter of
persons and that He certainly wouldn’t judge them, yet this is foolish. In John 15:1-9 Jesus taught this same truth
about repentance being essential or judgment will come as John did, when Jesus
said that those who refuse to abide in Him would be removed as a branch, “1
“ I am the true vine , and My Father is the vinedresser . 2 “
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit , He takes away ; and every branch
that bears fruit , He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit . 3 “
You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 “
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it
abides in the vine , so neither can you unless you abide in
10.7.
Those who are claiming a saving relationship with Jesus yet who are
refusing to abide in Christ walking in repentance will not be saved in the end
according to Jesus.
11.
VS 3:10-14 - “10 And the crowds were
questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” 11 And he would
answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who
has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” 12 And some tax
collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall
we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have
been ordered to.” 14 Some soldiers were questioning him,
saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do
not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be
content with your wages.”” - John gives practical examples
of a life of repentance
11.1.
Since John had mentioned
that a person who wanted to be one of God’s people had to bring forth the
fruits of repentance, the crowds were questioning John asking in essence, “What
are the fruits of repentance?”
11.2.
In Jesus reply concerning
what genuine repentance involves notice that Jesus does not refer to external
observance of rites, a set of rules to be kept, or a set of spiritual
disciplines to keep. Rather, Jesus
points the people to walking according to the “royal law of love” or “loving
others as you love yourself,” and keeping justice and mercy and being kind and
thoughtful of others.
11.3.
John’s practical examples of
a life of repentance are pretty remarkable when you realize that they came from
a man who had lived his life apart from people in the wilderness, while he ate
locusts and wild honey and wore for clothes camel’s skins.
11.4.
Jesus gives three examples
of genuine repentance:
11.4.1.
The first example given by
John for genuine repentance is that, ‘the man who has two tunics is to share
with him who has none, and ‘he who has food is to do likewise.’
11.4.1.1. It is God’s will for we who are His people to consider the needs of others. The Lord expects to share out of our surplus
with those who are in need.
11.4.1.2. All of the preaching and spiritual exercises we may do are worthless if
we do not have compassion upon those who are in genuine need. Jesus makes this perfectly clear in Matt.
25:32-46 when He talks about the how that one day He will separate the sheep
from the goats, “32 “ All the nations will be gathered before
Him; and He will separate them from one another , as the shepherd separates the
sheep from the goats ; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right ,
and the goats on the left . 34 “ Then the King will say to those on
His right , ‘ Come , you who are blessed of My Father , inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world . 35 ‘For I was
hungry , and you gave Me something to eat ; I was thirsty , and you gave
Me something to drink ; I was a stranger , and you invited Me in; 36
naked , and you clothed Me; I was sick , and you visited Me; I was in
prison , and you came to Me.’ 37 “ Then the righteous will answer
Him, ‘ Lord , when did we see You hungry , and feed You, or thirsty , and give
You something to drink ? 38 ‘And when did we see You a
stranger , and invite You in, or naked , and clothe You? 39 ‘ When
did we see You sick , or in prison , and come to You?’ 40 “ The King
will answer and say to them, ‘ Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did
it to one of these brothers of Mine , even the least of them, you
did it to Me.’ 41 “ Then He will also say to those on His left , ‘
Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared
for the devil and his angels ; 42 for I was hungry , and you gave Me
nothing to eat ; I was thirsty , and you gave Me nothing to drink ; 43
I was a stranger , and you did not invite Me in; naked , and you did not
clothe Me; sick , and in prison , and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “
Then they themselves also will answer , ‘ Lord , when did we see You hungry ,
or thirsty , or a stranger , or naked , or sick , or in prison , and did not
take care of You?’ 45 “ Then He will answer them, ‘ Truly I say to
you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these , you
did not do it to Me.’ 46 “ These will go away into eternal
punishment , but the righteous into eternal life.””
11.4.2.
To a tax collector who
wanted to be baptized John said that he must ‘Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.’
11.4.2.1. In
11.4.2.2. Jesus tells this tax collector that he should be fair and not collect
more than he had been ordered to collect.
In other words this was an admonishment that a tax collector should not
be greedy and force people to pay above what a fair amount was for their taxes.
11.4.2.3. Notice that Jesus does not tell the tax collector that if he were truly
serious about obeying the Lord that he would quit his job.
11.4.3.
Some soldiers came to Jesus
and asked them what genuine repentance consisted of and Jesus told them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or
accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”
11.4.3.1. Throughout history soldiers of all nations have sometimes abused their
authority. Jesus here tells these
soldiers to not abuse their authority by taking money from someone using force. This probably was a reference to requiring a
bribe in order to not be arrested or killed for some made up charge.
11.4.3.2. Soldiers also have been know to plant evidence and testify falsely in
court, therefore Jesus tells them not to accuse someone falsely.
11.4.3.3. Finally, soldiers were often forced to work for little or no wages in
11.4.3.4. Note that John did not tell these soldiers that if they were truly
spiritual and serious about serving the Lord that they would resign as
soldiers.
12.
CONCLUSIONS:
12.1.
As we consider the preaching
of John the baptism, we ought to ask ourselves if we are truly bringing forth
the fruits that are consistent with repentance.
12.1.1.
Is there any area of your
life that does not match what God’s word teaches and reveals is God’s will for
your life?