What will John the Baptist say if he is doing ministry in Singapore?
Seriously, what will he say to us today, if he is transported to our
time?
Bad news: He can't and he won't!
Good news: He had already spoken!
We all know the biblical account. John the Baptist was baptizing
followers of God in Jerusalem, Judea & the region in the Jordan River (Luke
3; Matt 3). In came 3 separate groups, & John the Baptist delivered 3 short
but thought-provoking admonitions. These words should search our hearts & pierce our souls as much as they did to his audiences in the 1st
century.
His message was clear & concise: Bear fruits that’s worthy of
repentance. (Matt 3:8; Luke 3:8).
John the Baptist was tired, even sick, of the pious & pretentious
hypocrites of his days: people who wanted him to baptize them only because they
desired to join the popular religious movement of that day. To them, John’s
baptism is but a fashionable statement, a ceremonial transaction that will
legitimize their vain religious grand-standing.
But John publicly exposed their fraudulent attitudes & dangerous
beliefs. He demanded that they “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). To
John, repentance is the prerequisite for sinners before a holy God. It’s the
only response & posture before the Throne of Grace. And he further outlined
the heart of repentance: Change, or more aptly, transformation. Like all
transformation, the end product is drastically different from the raw
materials. In other words, genuine repentance makes an observable difference in
a person’s life.
John understood the people of his days. He knew that if a man repents
before God, he will be different in at least 3 observable ways. He will be
first generous, giving of his surplus to others in need (Luke 3:11); then
honest, taking no more than one is authorized to have (Luke 3:13); & finally
contented with such as one has or allocated (Luke 3:14).
Generosity, honesty & contentment are rare character qualities in
these avaricious days. More often than not, we find instead meanness,
dishonesty & discontentment, which give rise to pain & sorrow, with distress,
distrust, disillusionment & disappointment. However, where these former
virtues are truly present & practiced, they would bring not only stability to
our community, but peace to the individual soul & restoration to his
relationships with others.
How does it apply to us today?
To begin, we can easily identify ourselves in the groups John
confronted.
The first group he addressed was the multitude. In a sea of unknown
faces & strangers, it’s each for his own. Acts of giving & sharing your
staffs freely is in short supply in this beastly octagon. It is natural to be
selfish in the faceless & heartless multitude. The multitude prefers the
effect of by-standers rather than the actions of first responders. There is no
class differences in multitude. It covers anybody & everybody, male or
female, straight or straight-up messy, young & old, educated or less educated,
rich or filthy rich, wise or otherwise. Regardless of zip codes, gene codes or bank
codes, you are in this group. In today’s count, they are the Average Joe & Jane. In the absence
of godly generosity, this group usually exhibits meanness to everyone in
preference of self-preservation.
The second group was the tax collectors. They were the power brokers of
their days, the “go-betweeners”, the outsource specialists, the elites, the
private & privileged club members. They were also a much hated cohort. In
today’s terms, these middlemen represent anyone who have influences or ascribed
authority over others, usually getting people to do what they don’t like (like
tax) & with delegated power to enforce compliance. Tax collectors are usually
rich people; rich people are usually powerful people; & powerful people
are usually corrupted, due to abuse. In today’s term, they are the for-profits businessmen,
the for-commissions salesman of Wall Street, & those with no conscience and no products of and
on their own. Their product is YOU! Yes, you – the consumer. They will juice
and milk you dry, by hook or by crook; usually by crook. To get you to use, try
and buy their products and services, some non-disclosures and fact omission are
necessary. In business dealings everyday and everywhere, dishonesty is par for the course. Truth is non-kosher & taboo; half-truths & whole lies are the most trade-able commodities. The tax
collectors’ sins are working for the wrong cause (their Roman handlers) and over-charging.
Our culture placed an obscene premium on over-rated people offering over-priced
products to an over-dosed population. Hence John warned them squarely against
dishonesty!
The final group was the soldiers. Quite sure he referred to Roman
soldiers & not local conscripted soldiers of Jewish descent, because the
Roman overlords would not condone such military arrangement. In those days,
solders were also policemen. They were the on-site dispute-settling agents when
no clear legal paths were presented. A little extortion will cover a multitude
of wrongdoings. Either way, they represented for us today those in civil & government
offices, with or without the military outfitting. Their known characteristics
are tendencies to intimidate (threatening subordinates and contractors), proclivities
to bear false witnesses (falsified document, fake reports, kissing superiors’ asses
for career advancement prospect). Worst still, this group always grumble & grip about being overworked & underpaid, even though to the average reasonable bystanders, they are drawing
astronomic income. To this group, enough is never enough. Such discontentment
is fertile soil for an oasis of sinful endeavors.
Okay, I may have exaggerated a little. However, human’s nature have not
changed much over 2 millennium. If anything, it has actually gotten worst. There
is much meanness, dishonesty & discontentment despite repackaging them via 21st
century lies & lingo. Not been
generous is relabeled as being careful with our resources. Dishonesty is
re-branded as being shrewd, or just a lack of candor. Discontentment is lauded
as upward-seeking & self-motivated. Same soup, different labels on the menu. Bottom-line:
The goal is not which group you may pigeon-holed into. Fact is, I saw
myself in ALL 3 groups! The whole purpose is to repent, & through the process
grow in generosity, honesty & contentment, & by extension, be like our Lord
Jesus Christ.
As the Scripture exhorts, repentance is a gift from God (2 Tim 2:25). As
with all gifts, there is a Giver. The precious Son of God suffered & died on
the Cross so that we all can have reconciliation with the Father through His
perfect sacrificial atonement. Like every divine gifts, repentance will bring
much blessing to the soul of man if received in humility & with gratitude. It
may at first evoke some resistance of mind & heaviness of heart, but it has a
unique & divine therapy all of its own. The end result: Helping us draw
closer to God, & find rest.
So, I will end the way I started: What will John the Baptist say to us
today after 2000 years?
Well, I guess he will utter the same admonitions: Bear fruits in
keeping with repentance!
Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
Those who repent (μετάνοια)*
and believe in Jesus Christ will find rest for their souls. (Matt 11:28)
*μετάνοια (metanoia) - Strong NT 3341 – a change of mind
