Author : T.O.D. Johnston
Verses 4-6. The ministry of John fulfilled prophecy of the Old Testament especially Isaiah. John is the voice calling the people to prepare for the coming of God's Savior. The focus and desires of the people need to change in order to be ready and able to accept the redemption that Jesus was to bring. The crooked selfish ways must be left behind and the straight path followed. The path of righteousness to God leads to salvation.This was absolutely necessary because the people were spiritually and morally bankrupt. Also John had to reshape their beliefs about the Messiah. Most Jews of those times looked for a Messiah to be political, to deliver them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. John had to convince them that their greatest need was not a political solution, but a personal and spiritual deliverance from their own sinfulness. John had to show that this need would be met by God's true Messiah; this was His true mission. The people must be ready and expect Him. Everything prepared - He will surely come and all will see Him. All will make a decision. Not all will accept Him - but there is no middle ground. Those that are prepared He will redeem. Those that aren't are doomed.Verses 7-9. A brief outline shows how John fulfilled the prophecies concerning him preparing the way. Also because of the supernatural events before, and after, his birth - he was widely known as exceptional. When he began preaching, great multitudes came to hear him. Luke mentions a few, but typical, examples of John's message. He draws attention to their sins and calls on them to repent. He warns and threatens them about judgment on those who refuse to turn to God. He calls them self satisfied and full of pride - just coming to hear him is not enough. The point is repentance - baptism is the outward sign of the inward change. He calls the people a generation of vipers, trying to avoid God's wrath. Like snakes when the grass is on fire, they try to escape. He says they must produce good fruit to prove true repentance.Verse 8. He warns them not to rely on being descendants of Abraham. Heredity and outward eremonies do not save from sin, nor from the coming wrath of God. By saying that God can raise the scattered stones of the desert, the people of faith, it has been suggested that He is thinking of these stones as Gentiles who also would be offered the Gospel. The nation of Israel rejected Jesus and in 70 A.D. came their destruction and desolation. The true children of Abraham are spiritual, no matter the people or nation.The author taught from the Gospel of Luke at Paran Baptist Church on Highway 341 / Johnsonville Hwy in Lake City, South Carolina. This commentary is based on the notes he took in preparation for the lessons. He now enjoys spending his time with his family, and at his art studio on 118 Sauls St., Lake City, South Carolina. The above lesson was excerpted from his online Holy Bible Commentaries.
Keyword : holy bible,bible study,bible commentary,online bible,christian books,christian writing
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