Scripture: Luke 3:1-20

Main Idea: We should prepare our hearts for Jesus’ reign through true repentance

Before new homes can be built, the ground has to be leveled. Hadley and I moved into our neighborhood before it was complete. We watched heavy machinery cut trees down, moved massive amounts of land, and flattened the red clay into flat plots. Only after all the leveling of the earth can the cement foundation be laid down. This preparatory work is of the utmost importance because it ensures the house is built on a good and level foundation.

Similarly, work must be done to prepare our hearts for what God wants to build in our lives. Just as trees and land must be removed to prepare for a new home, sin must be bulldozed from our hearts to prepare for Jesus to fill our lives with His righteousness. How do we remove sin and prepare the ground of our hearts for Jesus? We prepare our hearts for Jesus’ reign through repentance.

Today, we’re discussing the importance of repentance. Repentance is the sincere turning away from our sins and toward God’s will for our lives. It’s a change of direction, an earnest confession followed by changed actions. CSB Study Bible defines repentance as “a change of heart and mind about one’s personal sins.” We no longer see sin as enjoyable or okay, but we are determined to hate our sins. Repentance is more than wanting to be free from the penalty of sin, it’s wanting to be free from sin altogether. Repentance is the key to experiencing God’s forgiveness and salvation. Repentance prepares the way for Jesus’ good work in our lives.

We’re starting our series, the Gospel of Luke. We’re picking up in Luke chapter 3 today. Between today and Easter, we will walk through the whole Gospel of Luke. Luke’s purpose in writing the Gospel is for us to see and know that Jesus is the Messiah who brings salvation to those who trust Him. Today, we begin with Luke 3:1-20, which includes John the Baptist proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Listen now to the Word of the Lord.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight! Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low; the crooked will become straight, the rough ways smooth, and everyone will see the salvation of God.

He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

“What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him. He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.” Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do?” He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”

Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done, Herod added this to everything else—he locked up John in prison.

Luke 3:1-20

The main idea here is that repentance prepares our hearts for Jesus. To be in a saving relationship with God through Jesus, we must sincerely repent. As we walk through the passage, I’ll explain the value of repentance, the nature of true repentance, and the importance of repentance for salvation.

First, notice the value of repentance in that it provides forgiveness. Look at verse 3. He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness comes through a baptism of repentance. What is a baptism of repentance? Baptism of repentance is where people where baptized in water as outward sign of their inner decision to repent. The water baptism symbolized the cleansing away of sin from their lives. So, a baptism of repentance was an opportunity for people to express to God that they no longer wanted to live in sin and they desired His cleansing.

Notice how verse 3 says “…for the forgiveness of sins.” Repentance has value because it provides forgiveness. Forgiveness means there is no longer hostility. Forgiveness means God doesn’t hold our sins against us. Forgiveness means our relationship with God is restored. John the Baptist was proclaiming the good news of forgiveness. If we repent, God will forgive us!

Last Saturday, I woke up and came downstairs. Hadley was making breakfast and the boys were playing video games. I got my coffee and sat down to watch a show. But, I could tell something was off. There was a tension in the air and I couldn’t put my finger on why. So, I asked Hadley if something was wrong. She kindly shared with me what was bothering her. A week prior she had asked me to wash our dog. He was starting to smell and needed a bath. I had told her then that I would do it and I would do it by the end of that day. Well, that day had come and gone and there was no bath. Then a whole week went by and still no bath. Moreover, I had been slack on my responsibility at cleaning up the after the dog in the backyard, which had become a problem with the boys playing in our backyard. So, Hadley was understandably frustrated that I hadn’t followed through on my commitment to wash the dog and that I was slacking on my other dog related chores.

After she shared this with me, I knew I had messed up. I hadn’t followed through on what I said I would do. I had dropped the ball and she had every right to be upset. To be honest, I wanted to make excuses. I didn’t want to be wrong. But, I knew I had to own up to my mistake and to make it right. So, I had to swallow my pride and I told her, “I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right. I messed up. I dropped the ball. Please, forgive me. Can I wash the dog today and let’s get back on track?” She was gracious with me and we sorted it out. After that conversation the tension was released and the the rest of the day was much better. I washed the dog and cleaned up the backyard. We were on our way again.

Similarly, God will forgive us for our dropped balls and mess-ups. More than that, He’s willing to forgive our downright evil choices. The places where we didn’t just drop the ball, but we willfully rejected His commands and vandalized His property. But God’s forgiveness is conditional on our repentance. If we confess our sins, He forgives us. 1 John 1:9 says: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Repentance is valuable because it provides us God’s forgiveness.

Also, repentance has value because it prepares our hearts for the Messiah. Quoting Isaiah 40:3-5, John the Baptist says, “A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight! Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low; the crooked will become straight, the rough ways smooth, and everyone will see the salvation of God.” By quoting this passage from Isaiah, John the Baptist was identifying himself as the forerunner to the Messiah. He was fulfilling the prophecy of preparing the way of the Lord. In ancient times, before a king would travel, servants would go before the king and prepare the paths to ensure they were suitable for travel. If the roadways were not level, the servants would need to prepare the way. By calling people to repentance, John was preparing the way for the King’s arrival. He was removing obstacles to the message of Messiah so that people would be ready to receive the Gospel.

The same is true for us today. Repentance prepares our hearts for Jesus. It removes the obstacles in our souls that prohibit us from fully following Jesus. A repentant heart is in a posture of humility that is ready to receive Jesus as Savior.

Reflect for a moment. What sins do you need to repent of today so that Jesus can fill your life with His righteousness? Maybe it’s sins of the tongue–gossip, slander, lies. Maybe it’s sins of the eyes–lust, greed, envy. Maybe it’s sins of the head–pride, self-righteousness, unbelief. We all have sins that we need to repent of in preparation for Jesus. What sins do you need to confess? Let’s determine to repent of sins as God reveals them to us. As we repent, we create room for Jesus’ righteousness to fill our lives more and more.

Also, if you’ve yet to be baptized, take that step of obedience as an outward sign of your inner decision to repent and trust in Jesus. You can move towards baptism by filling out our baptism form online to get more information about our upcoming baptisms.

So, repentance is valuable because it leads us to forgiveness and it prepares our hearts for Jesus.

Next, we see in the passage the nature of true repentance. True repentance is revealed by the fruit of right living. Look at verses 7-8.

He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John warns the crowds to check their hearts for true repentance. Notice that true repentance is identified by fruit. He said, “…produce fruit consistent with repentance”. What does it mean to produce fruit consistent with repentance? It means that true repentance is revealed by changed actions. Repentance isn’t just being sorry for sin; it’s striving to live differently. It’s both a turning away from sin and a turning towards right living. For example, my apology to Hadley wouldn’t have meant much if I hadn’t changed my actions by washing the dog and cleaning up.

John calls us to check our lives for the fruit of repentance. His words also carry a solemn warning. If our lives don’t bear fruit in keeping with repentance, then we are still dead in our sins and trespasses. We are still in danger of the judgment of fire. In verse 9, he warns us, “The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” This judgment language will come up again at the end of the passage.

The severity of judgment prompts the crowds to ask clarifying questions. They want to be sure they are bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. So, John gives the crowds some specific examples of good fruit in verses 10-14. He calls them in verse 11 to share resources, in verse 13 to have integrity in their work, and verse 14 not to extort money from people and to be content with their wages. The examples reveal that true repentance should lead us to live differently. After repenting, we should become more generous, more loving, and more virtuous. Our lives should demonstrate the fruit of genuine repentance.

Interestingly, all these examples connect with money and how we treat one another regarding resources. God wants us to remember what He spoke through the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” So, one type of fruit we should look for as we repent is generosity. Generosity is a key indicator of a life transformed by sincere repentance.

Bearing fruit in keeping with repentance doesn’t mean we’ll be perfect overnight. We will still mess up and sin. But bearing fruit means there is evidence of change. I may not be perfect with my tongue, but I’m not the same person I once was. I may not be perfect with my thoughts, but I’m not the person I once was. I may not be perfect, but I’m growing more and more like Jesus over time.

Reflect on your discipleship journey. Can you see any fruit of sincere repentance? Are there any sins that you are letting linger and not addressing? True repentance is known by its fruit.

Lastly, John underscores the importance of repentance because of the coming Messiah. Let’s look at verses 15-17.

Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”

John clarifies that he isn’t the Messiah, but the Messiah is coming. John says that the Messiah is more powerful than he is. He is not even worthy to untie the Messiah’s sandals. Jesus is the Messiah who John is pointing towards. In the rest of the Gospel of Luke, we’ll study Jesus’ life and teachings as the Messiah.

John shows the importance of repentance by explaining how the Messiah will bring both salvation and judgment. In the end, there will be two groups of people. First, there are those who truly repent of sin. They will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. They will be forgiven. They will be cleansed of unrighteousness. Using a farming metaphor, repentant people are like the wheat of the field. They are useful and will be gathered in Jesus’ barn. We want to be in this first group through repentance.

But there is again a solemn warning for those who persist in sin and remain unrepentant. The second group of people are the unrepentant. John says they will be baptized by fire, which is God’s wrath. They are like the chaff- the wheat husk- that is useless. Think of that husk of corn that you rip off and throw away. Verse 17 warns that they will experience “the fire that never goes out.” This is a reference to hell, which is the end of all who reject the Messiah. The warning couldn’t be more serious.

This feels heavy, and it is. But don’t miss verse 18. Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. Luke describes this message as good news! It sounds like hellfire and brimstone. How is this good news? It’s good news because there is salvation through repentance. God doesn’t delight in the punishment of the wicked, but longs for people to come to repentance (Cf. Ezekiel 33:11). We don’t have to experience God’s wrath because the Messiah is coming to bear the penalty of sins for us.

Be encouraged and assured that if you’ve sincerely repented and trusted in Jesus for salvation, you no longer have to fear judgment. Romans 8:1 reminds us: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. John proclaims that we are truly forgiven when we truly repent. Jesus is our peace and reconciliation with God.

Also, John’s proclamation is good news because the Messiah’s coming means that all evil and every injustice will be dealt with in the end. All the sins of the world- every hateful word spoken, every act of unjust violence, and every evil deed- will be dealt with through the cross for forgiveness or through the fires of eternal judgment. That is good news because evil doesn’t prevail. The Messiah, in His justice and goodness, wins in the end.

As we close, consider where God is calling you to repent today. Where are uneven places in your life that God wants to smooth out? What sins is He calling you to turn from? Let’s turn from our sins and bear the fruit of righteousness. Let’s know that we are forgiven because we see the evidence of true repentance in our lives. Through true repentance, we can prepare our hearts for Jesus, the Messiah.