for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Luke 1:15-17
Few things make me more uncomfortable than an angry person with a sign yelling with a red face, “repent!!!” I don’t know if it’s because I don’t like being yelled at or what, but I shrink away from it. Despite my discomfort, this was the message of both John and Jesus: repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2 and Matthew 4:17).
Might we be missing something if we allow this invitation to repentance to repel us?
Perhaps due to a history of passionate people, the call the repentance has been one of anger and has felt like a challenge to, “change or else.” While love for others and the desire to see change for the better should understandably come with some passion, God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit-empowered John might have had something else in mind.
From the passage above, we see that John was destined to be different. Not unlike Old Testament prophets, God called John to be consecrated before Him.* It was not uncommon for people in the day of Jesus to drink wine, including the religiously devout.* John’s consecration to not drink wine would have set him apart quite obviously, as would his refusal to drink “strong drinks” (such as barley beer and other intoxicating drinks).*
Unlike prophets of old, however, John was “filled with the Holy Spirit from birth (or even in the womb!).* While the Spirit worked in and through the lives of the prophets, this was a new act of God to usher in the new era of the Messiah.* Similar to the strange acts of many of the Old Testament prophets, John separated himself from the norms of society by looking…well… like a mess! Matthew 3:4 describes him in this way:
Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Despite the unusual ways and looks of John (that may repel some people), God had something very loving and generous in mind. In Scripture, when God goes to the trouble to name a child Himself, that child proves to be significant in God’s plan (see e.g., Genesis 16:8, 11; 17:19; 1 Kings 13:2; Isaiah 7:14; 49:1; Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31).*
God named the one who would prepare the way of the Lord, invite others to do the same, and call all to repentance “John.” Amazingly, the name “John” in Hebrew doesn’t mean, “crazy angry guy,” nor does it mean, “turn you sinners.” The name “John” means, “God is Gracious (or merciful).”* God’s heart for His people is to prepare the way of Jesus with grace and mercy!
In fact, God intends the work of John to heal family! God wants people reconciled to Himself, and in the process, people will be reconciled to one another!* Repentance is necessary as the road to reconciliation, but the heart of God is gracious and merciful: giving us what we need via the Holy Spirit, and not giving us what we deserve through the work of Jesus. J. R. Edwards says this about what Zechariah and Elizabeth were told about their coming miracle boy:
The work ascribed to John will exceed that of a religious and moral reformer. The latter may change behaviors, but John’s mission will be animated by “spirit and power” (v. 17) and result in conversion. Where divisions reach their deepest and most destructive levels, John’s mission will turn the hearts of parents to children, reconcile families, and transform strong-willed rebellion to righteousness. John’s mission will not stop with individual change but will effect the formation of a new society, turning Israel back to God.
Repentance is a sweet invitation to welcome the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in our lives for the purpose of bringing us closer to God and one another. That sounds like something I need and want in my life.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to repent. Perhaps today God wants you to receive His great love for you that permeates everything that He says and does. Maybe today God wants you to live set apart to do a good work.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke (Lk 1:8–23). InterVarsity Press.
Garland, D. E. (2012). Luke (pp. 66–68). Zondervan.
Edwards, J. R. (2015). The Gospel according to Luke (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 37–38). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Liefeld, W. L., & Pao, D. W. (2007). Luke. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke–Acts (Revised Edition) (Vol. 10, pp. 55–56). Zondervan.
Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke (pp. 49–50). Zondervan Publishing House.
Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke: 1:1–9:50 (Vol. 1, pp. 84–91). Baker Academic.
Nolland, J. (1989). Luke 1:1–9:20 (Vol. 35A, pp. 30–32). Word, Incorporated.