In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar-- when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene-- 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all people will see God's salvation.'" (Luke 3:1-6 NIV)
Anthony “Spud” Webb was 5’ 6” tall and played in the National Basketball Association for twelve years.
Not only did he defy the stereotype of a typical basketball player he actually won the dunk contest in 1986.
When one thinks of a great basketball player and a slam dunk artist, they don’t think of someone 5’6” tall. Being 5’5” myself, and loving basketball, Spud Webb was a hero! But when he walked into a gym no one thought of him as a dunk artist!
People are often stereotyped and over time a picture develops that may not be exactly accurate. This has been the case with John the Baptist who most consider a kind of wild-eyed prophet living in the wilderness calling for repentance and preparing the way for the coming Messiah.
However, in this advent reading (Luke 3:1-6) we are reminded of another side of John’s message; namely, John’s announcement of the love of God found in Jesus Christ.
Love Expressed Through Forgiveness and Salvation
Two expressions of his loving message stand out during the advent season: the forgiveness of sins and God’s salvation.
1. Forgiveness of Sins
The “forgiveness of sins” and God’s salvation are rich terms used on numerous occasions in the early preaching of the church (Acts 2:38, 10:43, 13:38, 26:18).
However, during this advent season we may view the “forgiveness of sins,” and salvation as God’s willingness to remove from children the consequences of mistakes. In Christ there is no fear of punishment, guilt, and despair.
Not only does Christ offer to forgive our sins, He offers His salvation; salvation as a rescue plan. We are forgiven and saved from a life of slavery to sin and evil.
This advent message is a message of love. Forgiveness and salvation are expressions of God’s love to be celebrated as we remember the birth of Christ.
Advent love is God’s offer of forgiveness and new life.
This is a beautiful and much needed message for our children. God loves us so much that He is willing to forgive mistakes and bad thoughts and actions.
He is also willing to help us live a different life where we are not enslaved to bad decisions, thoughts, and actions. All of this is because of Jesus Christ, who was born into this world to bring the forgiveness of sins.
Children do not need to feel ongoing guilt and shame. Boys and girls do not need to feel like they can never change and should not feel resigned to living a life of slavery to sin.
2. God's Salvation
Closely related to the forgiveness of sins is the announcement of God’s salvation (vs. 6).
John is announcing another expression of God’s love express in the message of salvation. John is almost certainly referring to prophecies like those found in Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God Himself promises to return and “forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more” (vs. 34).
Echoing the first Passover, God would redeem people not merely from physical slavery, but slavery to sin. He would lead them out into a “land” where they could worship God and live as God intended.
This “salvation” was freedom from slavery to the powers of this world and the oppression of sin. The possibility of living as God intended.
As we celebrate the advent of Christ and look for His return we can help children experience these two essential loving elements spoken of by John the Baptist.
Children can be freed from guilt, shame and the despair that comes with sin.
They can experience mercy, forgiveness and the hope that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. And they can be saved from slavery to the power of sin, evil and darkness and begin to experience the new life that God has for them.
Although John the Baptist was a wilderness prophet calling God’s people to repentance, we can also realize that his advent message was also a message of God’s love.
This fourth Sunday of advent let’s celebrate the love of God, expressed in Christ Jesus, the forgiver of sins and savior of the world.
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