3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.
5 ‘Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be brought low;
The crooked will become straight,
And the rough roads smooth;
6 And all flesh will see the salvation of God.’”7 So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” 12 And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”
15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ, 16 John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Now, some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's [Herod Antipas] army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist; for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness.
Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD), Antiquities of the Jews, 18.5.2 [116-118]
Where John the Baptist baptized … John baptized at Bethany beyond the Jordan (John 1:28). Two significant OT events occurred here: the site where Joshua led the children into the Promised Land; the site where Elijah was taken up into heaven. This is significant: John’s preaching and baptism were a preparation for the advent of the Messiah and entering the Kingdom of God. In addition, it is important to note that John came preaching in the power and spirit of Elijah. John’s ministry begins where Elijah’s ministry ended. Here John will baptize Jesus, the greater Joshua, Who will cross the Jordan to begin His conquest of Satan, sin and death so that God’s people may enter into Heaven, the true Promised Land.
Bearing fruit in keeping with repentance … John the Baptist comes “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”John’s preaching was rather harsh and grim, a stark and striking call to repentance to those who had become complacent : “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Bearing fruit in keeping with repentance … John would not suffer those who would come to be baptized but confessed no sin (referring especially to the Sadducees and Pharisees, cf St Matthew 3:7), nor those who wanted to be baptized without bringing forth fruits of repentance. They must bring forth the fruit of true repentance. “What then shall we do?” True repentance issues forth in the daily, practical amendment of life.
The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.
To tax collectors, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.”
To soldiers,“Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”
So we read in St Matthew 25 … 31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; …
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
St. James wrote, What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? (James 2:14) ...See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone (James 2:24) ... For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead (James 2:26).
Bearing fruit in keeping with repentance … There is an organic connection between bearing fruit and repentance, just as there is an organic connection between a tree and the fruit it brings forth peculiar to its nature. True repentance is not just some passing regret, a shedding of some tears, or some vague wish to be different. True repentance is a true amendment of life, a conversion of heart that is visible, manifest.
Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
JSH+