Sermon on Luke 3:1-14, for the 2nd Sunday in Advent (3 YR lectionary), "Picture the Kingdom, See His Salvation"

** a little side note for those who pay attention to these things...I've moved back to the 3 year lectionary of readings. **

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. John the Baptist is our familiar Advent messenger, hailing the coming of Jesus. John preached a fiery message in the wilderness, calling people to repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Crowds of people turned out to hear him, but he rebuked them as a “brood of vipers…fleeing the wrath to come.” If John the Baptist were a visiting preacher at ELC, how would we respond to his sharp call to repentance? Pride or defensiveness? Close our ears or turn away? Alternatively, we could respond like some did to John, with the question, “Teacher, what shall we do?” A very good question. How do we respond to the call of repentance? What is repentance, and how do we bear fruits in keeping with repentance?

Metanoia is the Greek word for repentance here. It  means to “change your mind”. Changing our mind from evil to good. How hard is it to change your mind? Some of us are so stubborn that almost nothing can change our mind; others are so fickle that our minds are never made up. But repentance is the Spirit’s work in us, to change our hearts and minds and turn them back to God. It’s not man’s work, or our work, but a divine change God works in our hearts and minds. It shows us our sin is unacceptable to God. In repentance we cut off the excuse making, the rationalizing of our wrongs; the defensiveness or pride that tries to say that our sin is ok. Repentance is a change of mind (and heart) from evil to good.

How does God work such a change of mind in us, to create true repentance? The preaching of God's Law is the primary tool of the Holy Spirit. God’s Law shows us our sins, and the Spirit convicts our heart and conscience that we have sinned against God, and that sin is wrong. God clears the way in our hearts for His coming. Flattening mountains, filling in valleys, leveling and straightening out bumpy roads and crooked paths. God bulldozes our sin and pride, and levels our defensiveness against God’s Word. God crushes and shatters the rationalizations and self-justifications, with the hammer of His Law. Have no doubt that God’s will is certainly going to prevail over our will, and its best for us to yield to His way, rather than putting up futile resistance, and losing in the end anyway. Don’t be the one who dares to take your stand on the walls of Jericho, against God. Those walls are going to come tumbling down.

John calls all people to “bear fruits in keeping with repentance”. Changing our mind should also change our actions. Don’t continue in sin, once you know it’s wrong. It damages your conscience and grieves the Holy Spirit. Our spirit and flesh are always in a tug of war. The flesh always pulling us to evil, but the spirit striving toward the ways of God. When John shows us what the fruits of repentance look like, we get a picture of life in God’s kingdom. A picture of what our new life can look like in the Holy Spirit.  “What then shall we do?”

John’s answers all show at least one thing in common. Be less attached to the things of this world. Power, possessions, money, influence. In a life of repentance, these things should yield to generosity, mercy, charity, just dealings with each other, integrity and honesty in our work, and contentment. Our change of mind should be toward God’s priorities and values. No longer on greed or power grabs, or lording our authority over others. Living in Christ’s kingdom means bearing fruits worthy of repentance.

Grab that picture for a moment; consider the difference in life when we bear fruits of repentance. John pictures us sharing our excess food and clothing with those who don’t have enough. Charitable giving grows greatly around the holidays, but is a year-round need. Voluntarily giving and sharing with others is a reward all in itself; the joy of helping others. John commends tax collectors and soldiers to do their jobs with faithfulness and integrity. Taxes are rightfully due to government, for the services they provide, but John warned against collecting more than they were authorized. This applies to more than just the IRS. Consider how accountability and transparency improves trust and support of business and of government, compared to when those are missing. Suspicion and anger increases when trust is lost. But our entire trust for each other in society is improved when no one is trying to cheat others or be greedy, when our dealings are open, just, and fair.

Working with the military now, I notice how John returned the soldiers to their line of work with this remark: “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” He didn’t tell them that they couldn’t continue as soldiers, but he pledged them to use their position for good, and not to abuse their power or authority for money and personal gain. Soldiers doing their duty for good, are a great blessing for the peacefulness and stability of society, against enemies. But soldiers abusing their power, can be a great trouble to society. He says contentment should rule their lives, and to be satisfied with their pay. Same is true for us. Contentment helps us to appreciate what we have and to be thankful for what others have as well. It’s the absence of jealousy and greed. Sadly, contentment is in short supply in our world, and advertisers urge all the nice things of this world upon us, and create a lack of contentment in us. We are rarely satisfied with what we have.

Life in God’s kingdom unfolds from living God’s way. We bear the fruits of repentance when we examine our lives for sin and every evil, and strive by the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life. Not attached to the things of this world, but attached to the higher things of God. Motivated by the love of God to use our earthly possessions, our earthly power and influence, for the good of others. So it is good that we ask ourselves how unrepentance rears its ugly head in our lives. What are the sins that we make excuses for, or are protected by our personal pride or defensiveness? What sins find their way through the weak points in our armor? These need to be confessed to God, and laid before Him for forgiveness and help to amend our lives. These are the hills, ravines, crooked and rough roads that need to be leveled and straightened in our hearts, for the coming of the Lord. What does our life look like in the kingdom of God? How is God making us new, fruitful branches?

None of this comes to us apart from Christ. Jesus said: John 15:4–5 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Apart from Jesus, we can bear no fruits of repentance. This is God’s work in us. We become living, fruit bearing branches, by being in Christ Jesus, just as a garden hose only has water when it’s connected to the spigot and the water is turned on. Bearing fruit comes from being in the Living Vine Jesus. As our last verse of the epistle reading says, Philippians 1:11, we are “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” From Jesus we are living branches, fruit-bearing branches. From ourselves we are dead wood, ready to be cut off the tree and fuel for the fire. Living branches must remain in the Vine, that is Christ Jesus.

When John quotes the prophet Isaiah, to describe his mission of preparing the way of the Lord, he ends by saying “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” The salvation of God came in that singular person, our singular Savior, Jesus Christ. Aged Simeon confessed it when he sang over baby Jesus, held in his arms: “my own eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples” (Luke 2:30-31). Even those who were unwilling to see this salvation, in the person of Jesus Christ, trembled at the sight when the Son of God died on the cross for our sins. To see such an awesome sight, and even begin to comprehend the love of God, even for such “haters”, was enough to put the fear of God in many a heart.

Today we “see the salvation of God” through the eyes of the many eyewitnesses who faithfully put these things down in Scripture. We see with eyes of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, we may have life in His Name. Our eyes, like theirs, are opened by God’s Word, when His Law breaks down our defenses, exposes our sin and self-deceptions. Our eyes are opened when we realize that God fully knows each one of us, down to the very thoughts of our heart. And nevertheless, God loves us for the sake of His Son Jesus. And here the Gospel rays of light shine down on our opened eyes, as we too see the salvation of God. We see God gave us His Son, so that we might have life in His kingdom. Beginning here and now on earth, washed in the waters of baptism, and set on a new course of life with Him. We have a picture of what life can be like here and now, in the beginning of His kingdom, living by repentance, baptism, and forgiveness. But our life in His kingdom also points beyond this earthly struggle. We have been called by Jesus to “be His own and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He has risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true” Amen. (The Small Catechism, explanation of the 2^nd Article of the Creed).

Sermon Talking Points

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1. How does Luke 3:1-2 firmly locate these events in a historical setting? Looking at the list of names, what progression of importance do you notice? What is significant about the fact that the word of the Lord came to John, instead of these others? Cf. Luke 1:51-52.
2. John’s baptism was about 1) repentance and 2) forgiveness. Define these two Biblical terms. What does it mean to repent of sin, and what are the signs or fruits (3:8) of repentance?
3. How does humbling ourselves before God, and turning back to God “prepare the way” for the coming of the Lord?
4. In Luke 3:6, what does it mean to “see the salvation of God?”  cf. Isaiah 40:5; 52:10; Luke 2:30; Titus 2:11.
5. When John calls people to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (3:8), people ask what this should look like. Review John’s examples in Luke 3:10-14. Give some examples that would match your own life.
6. Notice that this is a picture of what life should be like in the kingdom of God. How is life on earth changed for the better when we live with mercy, cheerful giving, honesty and integrity in our work, just dealings with others and contentment with our wages? Add to this list as you picture the kingdom of God taking shape on earth through our lives of repentance and good fruit.
7. What must first be true, if a believer is to bear good fruit? John 15:4-6. So where does our good fruit come from? Philippians 1:11.