Read Luke 3.
Thirty years have passed and we have no information about John, the Baptist
from his birth until here. He preached because "the word of the Lord
came" to him (v.2). His message was simple. It was a call to
repentance that would be evidenced by a changed life.
John A. Martin wrote the following insight into the quote from Isaiah. "When a king traveled the desert, workmen
preceded him to clear debris and smooth out the roads to make his trip easier.
In Luke the leveling of the land was a figurative expression denoting
that the way of the Messiah would be made smooth because through John a large
number of people were ready to receive Jesus' message." (Bible Knowledge
Commentary New Testament Edition, p.211)
Being baptized
in water pictured what had spiritually already taken place inside that
individual; a burial of the old life and a resurrection to now live for God.
It was public so others would know that this one is no longer the same.
Because they were descendants of Abraham, many believed they were automatically
in right standing with God. They just needed, then, to keep up the
outward demands of the Law. But John, just like the prophets before him,
reminded them that being right with God begins with a personal commitment from
the heart.
John preached a coming judgment for those who did not repent and "bear fruits" of a changed life in keeping with their commitment to God. He gave specific examples in verses 10-14 of what that may look like for certain individuals.
When he told them that their belief in "we have Abraham as our father" was not good enough, that got their attention. Just as today, having believing parents, joining a church, going through certain rituals, and doing good deeds will not result in the forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
"But to
all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
the children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh
nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13)
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