1 In the fifteenth year of the rule of the emperor Tiberius—when Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea and Herod was ruler[a] over Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler[b] over Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was ruler[c] over Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—God’s word came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 John went throughout the region of the Jordan River, calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. 4 This is just as it was written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
A voice crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way for the Lord;
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled.
The crooked will be made straight
and the rough places made smooth.
6 All humanity will see God’s salvation.”[d]
Reflection
Holman Bible Publishers prints the CSB Tony Evans Study Bible which I have found to be valuable in some of its interpretation. I have used that for today’s Devotional and just learned that Dr. Tony Evans died on October 17th after a lengthy battle with cancer at age 74. I think he will be missed by many people.
Dr. Evans’ description of John’s message for the Israelites, and us today, is worthy of reflection. “John exhorted the people to repentance and proclaimed to them the good news of the coming kingdom of God. But John was no coward. He also spoke truth to power. Not only did he rebuke the masses, but he rebuked the rulers. John warned his hearers not to assume they were safe merely because they were descendants of Abraham. God had brought judgment on the people of Israel before because of their sins. That they were currently under foreign rule, in fact, was an indication that the nation had forsaken God in the past. The warning that the ax is already at the root of the trees meant judgment was right around the corner— a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70.”
In yesterday’s Devotional we saw how the Spirit spoke to different people providing context to the birth of Jesus and who he would be. Today we see the Spirit leading John to call the people to repent and his words carry meaning for us today.
by Clarence Beverage
For Pondering and Prayer
I got to wondering what does the word repent mean in our day. Please do your own research. The following to me feels more positive and helpful than some other definitions.
The Greek word for repent is metanoia. The closest literal English meaning of the word is to have a change of mind, to think differently afterwards or changing your mind after being with according to HELPS word study and Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.
To repent can mean to be convinced of another way, to change your mind or convictions. It can be in response to hearing or seeing, being convinced in your mind and heart, to change your actions.
Repentance means turning from going your own way to going God’s way and responding to God’s love by being transformed in your convictions and actions. Biblical repentance should be about our seeking to be one with God.
What does repentance mean to you?
Can you think of a time when you felt strongly that you needed to repent?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the reminders you give us through scripture that tell us of how humans behaved long ago. Help us to see ourselves in them and learn from their lives and actions. We thank you for loving us so much, that across time, you always seek us out and want to be in relation with each of us. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
