Proclamation:
“…
The Word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the
Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of
Isaiah the prophet: ‘A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way
for The Lord …’” Luke 3:2-4 (NIV)
Explanation:
These
words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the
physician and frequent travelling companion of the Apostle Paul. In this chapter Luke presents the beginning
of ministry of John, the baptizer. Luke
identifies the time period by naming the leaders who were ruling at the time.
(Luke 3:1-2) Then he states that when
The Word of God came to John while he was in the wilderness, that he got busy
working for The Lord. (Luke 3:3) His
message was clear, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) Luke noted that John’s preaching in the
wilderness fulfilled the prophesy which was written by the prophet Isaiah. (Isaiah
40:3) John not only baptized people but
he also told them what they must do to produce good fruit in keeping with
repentance. (Luke 3:7-14) Many thought
that he was the Messiah but he made it clear that he was not Him. (Luke
3:15-17) Luke ends this chapter by
recounting the lineage or genealogy of Jesus, The Christ, back to David, and continuing
back to Abraham, and then all the way back to Adam.
Application:
Unfortunately,
today too many believers are just “bench members” in church. We pray when we get up, when we go to bed,
and before we eat, and we attend worship services on Sunday. The Lord God has kingdom building work for
each of us to do. Who did we share The
Word of God with this past week? What
good work did we do that men might see and give God glory? (Matthew 5:16) The Lord God has given each one of us a gift (1
Corinthians 12:7-11) which we are to use for His glory. When The Word of God came to John, the
baptizer, he got busy working for The Lord.
What did you do when The Word of God came to you? Kingdom building is not just for preachers,
all of us have work to do.
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