Luke 3:1-17

 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming 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:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

    make his paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled,

    and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall become straight,

    and the rough places shall become level ways,

6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics  is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. If we know Him, we understand that fact. But before people know Jesus, many paths seem good. In the time of John the Baptist, strict religion was a popular path. Many people thought that they could attain God’s favor by following a path of strict religious observance that was created and guarded by men. Those people were wrong.

There are, in fact, only two paths. The first is the Lord’s. His way is right and true and good. It does not need any augmentation or adjustment from us. Every other path is sin. The ones that look good on the outside and the ones that don’t. There are not multiple paths to God. All paths are not the same. There is only the way, and the way that seems right to mankind. One leads to life; the other leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). Even when the path we think is right is filled with rules about righteousness, the path can lead to death if it isn’t from the Lord.

John the Baptist understood these stakes well. He is the one God called and empowered to prepare people for Jesus’ public ministry. John takes his role seriously and doesn’t play nice with his language. People come out to hear him, and John calls them a “brood of vipers.” He warns those who are confident in their status that their faithful heritage won’t save them. John even predicts a time when Jesus will administer eternal judgment on humanity, burning up those who have not believed with “unquenchable fire.” 

It may be hard to see, but all of these warnings and admonitions are given in love. Neither John, nor God, wants people to be lost. And to prevent that, John’s message points out the danger we face and the deliverance God offers. 

What is this salvation? Jesus, the Christ, the way that leads to the Father. What does His way look like? The path God chooses is one of repentance (Luke 3:3,8): turning from sin and toward God. It is a path of charity (3:11): giving from your abundance to those in need. It is a path of upholding the law, being content with what you’ve been given, and submitting to the Messiah (3:12-16). 

From this point on in Luke, we will see the Messiah working out His plan of salvation. We will watch Him undergo temptation, heal the sick, teach the lost, and prepare for His death. 

•     Pray that God uses this time studying the path that Jesus took to help you place your feet firmly
      on the way. 
•     Confess your sins and repent when the Holy Spirit convicts you. 
•     Ask the Lord to help you bear fruit that demonstrates you have been saved by grace.