Ready For Him to Come • Luke 3:1-18
57:54 Teaching begins
Notes
What makes you late for an appointment? I had the time to get ready but I didn’t use it to get ready. That’s embarrassing.
You avoid that shame and embarrassment by getting to the airport early. You do what it takes to get ready beforehand.
The Lord is coming to save His people but they’re not ready for Him. They are already prepared for shame and everlasting contempt. So God prepares His people to receive Him by humbling them.
Only when you’re humbled are you ready for Him to come.
I’m reading in Luke 3.
1. Luke grounds the gospel in history again, vv. 1-2.
A. In ancient writings the author would synchronise the reigns of different kings and officials to fix the date. Luke has already done this in chapter 1:5 and chapter 2:1.
B. The fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar is a historical date.
1. He was the adopted son of Caesar Augustus, the son of his wife, Livia, but not his own son. Augustus brought on Tiberius on as co-ruler, then Augustus died and Tiberius was on his own.
2. Tiberius’ 15th year makes this date A.D. 27.
C. All the others mentioned here also appear in secular history. This is factual history.
2. John preaches the gospel, a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, vv. 3-18.
3. God’s purpose is to prepare a people to be ready for the Lord to come, and it’s according to the words of Isaiah the prophet.
A. When a king comes to a city he doesn’t want any difficulty in his way. There is to be no resistance to his journey, no opposition, no obstacles. He doesn’t have to put up with that. He’s the king.
B. All hindrances have to be removed: valleys, mountains and hills, crooked ways, and rough ways.
1. Valleys, or ravines in some translations, are low places in the earth. Especially ravines are made by rushing water wearing away the earth.
2. Mountains and hills are raised up, generally you go around them because they’re immovable. Yet here they will be humbled, brought low.
3. Crooked ways aren’t straight, they go this way and that. They’re aimless and it’s hard to get anywhere on them.
4. Rough ways jolt your carriage, they’re hard on horses’ hooves. They’re violent.
C. God isn’t thinking about physical obstacles like He was going to a place, He’s going to your heart. There are obstacles and difficulties in God’s arriving at a heart.
1. You get low because you think about yourself. I can’t.
2. You get lifted up because you think about yourself. I’m too important.
3. You become crooked and deviate from a straight way because you think about yourself. I’m going my own way.
4. You are rough and don’t care about jolting others because you think about yourself. I don’t care.
5. These are the obstacles to God arriving in the heart: I can’t, I’m too important, I’m going my own way, I don’t care.
4. John prepares the way of the Lord. He preaches the word of God that first of all flattens everyone equally. He proclaims the certain judgment of God on everyone.
A. What a question! “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
1. It means you have a bigger problem than, “I can’t,” “I’m too important,” “I’m going my own way,” “I don’t care.” You have to look away from yourself to see you’re under the judgment of God and you are going to hell.
2. Warning is futile, fleeing won’t help you, either. What’s the use? As Jesus will say later to the Pharisees, “How will you escape the sentence of hell?” Where will you go to escape the wrath of God? You can’t.
B. The reason for judgment and condemnation is righteous wrath for not living the life God made you to live. You bear no fruit for God.
1. John is alluding to Isaiah 5, where a man plants a vineyard and does everything so that the vineyard will be fruitful and then it produces worthless fruit. He asks, “What shall I do with my vineyard? I’ll destroy it.”
2. This parable describes God’s people: Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
3. For this worthless fruit God will judge each person: Isaiah 5:12-14 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; but they do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, nor do they consider the work of His hands. Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; and Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
C. The end of life lived badly is eternal punishment in hell.
1. John says in verse 17 the Lord is coming and will gather up the wheat into His barn and He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. He will separate the righteous from the wicked and burn the wicked.
2. Isaiah 66:22-24 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me,” declares the LORD, “So your offspring and your name will endure. And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the LORD. “Then they will go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched; and they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”
D. John’s point is that the Lord is coming for judgment and you are not ready. You are liable to eternal wrath and punishment.
E. He also makes clear no one can make up for your badly lived life.
1. God made Abraham a promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. Some smart theologian could say, “Well, if I go to judgment then where will God’s promise be?” John says, “God doesn’t need you to fulfil His promise to Abraham. He can raise up children to Abraham from these rocks.” That’s no hope.
2. Another false hope is that Abraham had so much merit with God that he could give the extra merit to those who come short of being righteous with God. That’s the idea of asking the Virgin Mary and the saints for their extra merit to help you out if you don’t have enough merit.
3. John says no one can help you out. You’ve lived badly and you are liable and responsible before God. He’s coming and you’re not ready. Who warned you to flee from the wrath of God?
5. This is a miracle with power: the crowds hear John speak the word of God and receive it. They agree they are guilty before God.
A. John performed no miracle or sign.
B. But that doesn’t mean that he was powerless. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. And the word of God had come to him in power, and he was speaking the living word of God to these people.
C. They believed John was telling them the truth. That conviction comes from God.
D. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Miracles do not build your faith and they are terrible foundations for your faith. What God has said is true. Your foundation is to be truth. That’s why these people believe John. They know he is telling them the truth.
6. John preaches the second part of the gospel: repent.
A. Repent means to change your mind and therefore change your life direction. Before you said, “I can’t, I’m too important, I’m going my own way, I don’t care.” Now you say, “Yes, Lord.” You obey Him.
B. John is telling them to do God’s will, not their own will. All these things are in the law of God
1. Share your food with those who have none. Give clothing to those who have none.
2. Don’t abuse your job to make money. Just collect what you are ordered to collect, don’t shake down people because you can.
3. Does repentance save anyone? No. He’s going to direct them to look to Jesus, that’s the third part of the gospel. But your life has to show that you have changed your mind or else you haven’t changed your mind, you haven’t repented. So John is telling them even now, if you know that you are guilty before God, you must change your mind and your life and begin to obey God.
7. The third part of the gospel is to entrust your life to Jesus Christ and obey Him.
A. The people are in a state of expectation, thinking, is John the Messiah?
B. John only points to the One who is coming.
1. He says, “I baptise with water, it’s a symbol of washing and appealing to God for forgiveness and a clean conscience.”
2. “But the One who is coming is mightier than I.” I can convict you of the truth that you’re living badly. He can empower you to live rightly by baptising you with the Holy Spirit and fire. My baptism is a symbol; His baptism is the reality: forgiveness of sins, new life with power.
C. They knew John was from God because he didn’t call attention to himself, he didn’t exalt himself or draw people after himself. He was there to point to Jesus, the life, the reality. God Himself.
8. So what? Have you believed the gospel?
A. Have you believed the truth, that you have lived badly by living for yourself and not obeying God?
B. Do you realise that the judgment of God is against all those who live badly? That you have a bigger problem than, “I can’t, I’m too important, I’m going my own way, I don’t care.” You are under the condemnation of God. That means eternal punishment.
C. Have you believed the truth and repented?
1. If you repent there has to be a change in your life. Has your life changed so that it is marked by increasing obedience to Jesus?
2. I was disobeying Jesus once, and I really fought what He was telling me to do. What changed my mind was reading Deuteronomy 29:18-19 in the NIV: Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.
3. I will be safe even though I persist in going my own way. God says, “No, you won’t.” Deuteronomy 29:20-21 The LORD will never be willing to forgive them; his wrath and zeal will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the LORD will blot out their names from under heaven. The LORD will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.
4. If your faith in Jesus doesn’t radically alter the direction of your life, you are still on the road to destruction.
D. Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
1. Water baptism is a symbol. It doesn’t save you. If you are not born again of the Holy Spirit you only get wet.
2. You need the Holy Spirit to come upon you that He might dominate you, that you would be led by the Spirit. Romans 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
3. What if you are not seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit? Your repentance is questionable, your conviction of sin is questionable. Your faith in Jesus is questionable. Can you live not being sure of your salvation? Jesus is going to gather up His wheat into His barn and burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. You don’t know where you’re going? You have bigger problems than you know. You need to find out and make sure you’re ready for when Jesus comes.
E. Just as Jesus historically came and began ministering in 27 A.D. He’s coming back again historically. Are you ready for Him to come right now?
Let’s pray.