Seeds for 04/26/2023 - Matthew 3:1-10

Scripture: ¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Observation: John’s ministry of preparation is characterized by a call to and sign of repentance (baptism). Repentance is a U-turn of the heart. It’s recognizing we are going in the wrong direction—morally, spiritually, mentally, and other ways probably too.

I’ve always remembered this way of framing it from CS Lewis: “We all want progress… If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.”

The logic is clear and straightforward. Turning around is the fastest way forward, once we recognize we’re headed in the wrong direction. Repentance is the first step in God’s direction.

Many folks, however, have the Bart Simpson attitude toward repentance. It’s something we know we should do eventually, but would like to put off as long as possible.

Verse 8 stands out to me: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

What does this mean? Reading it in the context of the whole New Testament, it doesn’t mean, “clean up your act before you come to God.” What it does mean is that repentance can be genuine or an act. It can be a true humbling of the soul or it can be a performance. John’s target audience for that line was the religious teachers, the Pharisees and Sadducees who can come out to see and hear what he was about. Apparently they needed the message as much or more as anyone.

Repentance is not only about knowing something. It’s about doing something. It’s about asking for forgiveness, or making amends, or understanding the impact of our words and behavior on others. None of these are “earning favor with God” actions; they are “flows from a contrite heart” actions, that is, “fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Application:

• What makes repentance hard?

• What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?

Prayer: Lord, lead me in true repentance. Keep my heart softened toward you. Amen.

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“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)

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