He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.
Luke 3:7–18
In Medieval Europe, the ancient church ushered in the winter season with the festival of Martinmas (11 November), which honors St. Martin of Tours, a 4th-century Roman soldier and later Bishop of Tours (in modern France). Martin’s feast day is one that sets the mood for the season of Advent: it reminds us of a famous episode from when the saint was a young soldier and studying to enter the church as a catechumen. Passing through the gates of Amiens (Roman Ambianum) in the bitter cold of winter, he encountered a beggar who was shivering in rags. Having nothing to offer him but the cloak (capella) on his back, he took it off, cut it in two, and gave half to the old man. In his Life of Martin, 4th-century historian Sulpicius Severus tells us that, in a dream that night, Martin had a vision of Christ wearing the very portion of the cloak he had given the beggar and proclaiming to the angels that surrounded him: “Martin, who is still but a catechumen, has clothed me with this garment.” In our household, we use Martinmas to set the stage for Advent as a time not only of waiting for Christ’s return, but of focusing our minds and hearts on the sacred duty of care so clearly and even startlingly set out before us in the Gospel reading for today: a call to generosity, charity, and kenosis (self-emptying).
Our passage from Luke opens as John the Baptist “prepare(s) the way of the Lord,” preaching a message of repentance and commanding his followers to “produce good fruit,”—or else. As John says, we are to bear good fruits as evidence of our repentance, saying that it is insufficient for us to merely claim that “we have Abraham as our father.” That is, it is insufficient to profess our identity as followers of Christ without actually following him. What does it mean to follow Jesus? “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Here, John foreshadows Jesus’ own message about the fruit that his followers are to bear. The Gospel of Matthew, for instance, contains one of the clearest and most explicit directives to this effect: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me… Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25.35–40).
Today’s passage has John the Baptist explaining that those who do not bear good fruit will be thrown into the fire. A scary thought, and not one that “vibes” well with the shopping mall Christmas songs we are surrounded by this season. But Christianity is not a philosophy. It is a relationship with God (and with our brothers and sisters in Christ). And Jesus shows us exactly how we may bear that good fruit—by remaining in relationship with Him. “I am the true vine,” says Jesus (John 15.1–5). “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” As Jesus explains, the fruit we bear must come from the relationship we have with Him—a point that does not absolve us from the need to try to bear that good fruit. In a season dominated by materialism and excess, one that easily distorts our focus, let us prayerfully consider what we may be able to do for our less fortunate brothers and sisters. Following John the Baptist, let us channel our resources moderately and generously. Let us focus on our loved ones and our brothers and sisters, remaining in Jesus as we work to produce good fruit for his kingdom.
Dr. Bram ten Berge is an associate professor of classics at Hope College.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.