The Fruits of Repentance

​Luke 3: 1 - 20
 
A reading of the gospels may provide a view that Jesus’ ministry in Galilee often eclipsed the message of John the Baptist, but Luke’s Gospel presented a perspective that John presaged the arrival of the Messiah. In those days, the Jews believed that they would escape the coming judgment by Yahweh, simply due to their special relationship as His chosen people and as Abraham’s descendants. Although John’s conception of the gospel was pre-crucifixion (v.18), he preached a markedly different judgment theology, calling them to repentance (vv.3-6). In a nutshell, he warned them that they would not escape God’s judgment, and that God was more than able ‘from these stones to call forth children to Abraham.’ The hyperbole is obvious. What is said implied that God can bring others who are not Jews to be His children, who possess Abraham’s character and nature, vv.7-9; cf. Roms 4:11-12, 16-17; Gal 3:7,29. The overlap of John’s message with his cousin’s was seamless, paving the way for the gospel of salvation.
 
Many repented at John’s warnings, but what does repentance look like as the Jews turn their backs on their religious and racial pedigrees to trust in the mercy of God? First of all, there is a requirement that his followers bear fruits in keeping with it (vv.8-9). Luke mentioned three broad groups of enquirers, viz., the crowds, tax collectors and soldiers, and his exhortations were instructionally specific to each. Was there a reason for Luke to mention just these three groups? An obvious observation would be that these groups represented only a wider distribution of professions, and John’s remonstrations were inclusive. The animosities the commoners have toward the tax collectors and soldiers, who were part of the despised Roman occupation establishment were widely felt. But repentance leveled the playing field, and with it the elimination of enmities between enemies. Repenting of their culpability and accepting the mercy of God has only one outcome – a desire and readiness to extend that same mercy to others. Furthermore, Luke’s intention was to emphasize to Theophilus, who was likely a high-ranking Roman official, the abuse of power inherent within the administrative system and the availability of God’s mercy for forgiveness and hope, to those who repented. 
 
To repent meant they had to behave differently towards each other as the nuanced exhortations implied. The disenfranchised, the mainstay of John’s audience, were instructed to share what little necessities they possessed, viz., clothing and food, with those even less fortunate than themselves (vv.10-11; cf. Heb 13:5). It was apparent that abuse of the taxation system by the tax collectors was a common practice. They were charged to collect what they were instructed to do, no more (vv.12-13). And soldiers were upbraided not to use their lawful authority to extort money or falsely accuse others (v.14), and to be content with their wages, indicating that they could live within their means on their current income. The obsession of accumulating and hoarding wealth spotlighted by John meant an absence of a lifestyle of dependence on God’s mercy and faithfulness, that inevitably drove them towards seeking security and contentment in its accretion, and in illegitimate ways too (Heb 13:5). To value mercy was not only to desist from the exploitation of others, but also to use their resources compassionately to alleviate distress and poverty around them (cf. Micah 6:8). The underlying guide was that they were stewards of all the resources that God has given to them (Ps 24:1; 1 Cor 7:23; 1 Tim 6:7-10). It is a pertinent reminder that these were object lessons prior to the full gospel message that John required – a challenge to our present lifestyle and worldly concerns.