Of Roots and Fruits
Part 11 - Luke 3:1-22 (ESV) - Pastor curtis Isaacson
John 6:28-29 (esv)
“Then they said to Jesus, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” He answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.””
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John the baptizer comes on the scene in Luke 3 nearly 20 years after the close of chapter 2. Like a good historian, Luke paints a picture of the date John enters the scene, as well as the state of both the Roman and Jewish political systems (and it wasn't good). John's ministry of repentance would stand in stark contrast to the self-sufficiency, power politics, religious pedigrees and ritual practices of the day (and so, too, ours). He understood his prophetic assignment to "prepare the way of the Lord" by calling people to repentance: a change of mind that would result in a change of conduct. Through repentance, John was calling the people to prepare the way for Jesus (both spiritually and physically) and would play the key role in inaugurating Jesus' earthly ministry and confirming Him as the Messiah. This Messiah would finally establish the reality of true and lasting forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God.
