May the mumbling commence!
Ever had a preacher or prophet (Sometimes they are the same; sometimes they are not.) make you uncomfortable? God occasionally uses a preacher or prophet to make people uncomfortable. God sometimes works through the John the Baptists of the world.
Today’s gospel reading is squarely within John the Baptist’s ministry before Jesus began his ministry. One thing that I like about the chronological Bible is that the gospel accounts are seen side-by-side. Especially in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) we can see much duplication. But we also see various areas of emphasis. I find the parallel and diverging parts of John the Baptist’s story in Matthew and Luke interesting. Read them below:
But when [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:7-12)
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely – be content with your pay." The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.
But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. (Luke 3:7-20)
I think Luke’s version of the events makes John the Baptist more uncomfortable to hear but also more understandable. Matthew records John addressing the religious leaders of his day with the comment, while Luke records John addressing the crowds. It is easier for many of us to think that we are not included in the scathing comments about the Pharisees and Sadducees. (But many of us are closer to them than to the crowds – “pillars of the church.”) Without seeing these gospels side-by-side, it is difficult to catch that little difference.
However, there is a much expanded section in Luke that is difficult to miss. In it, John addresses the questions of groups of people asking John: “What does God require me to do?” It is harder to distance ourselves from the John the Baptist that Luke records. Everyone is held accountable – even the tax collectors and soldiers. Tax collectors were hated people who had sold out to the Romans for wealth and power. John did not tell them to leave their profession; he told them to be honest with their collections.
John had similar words for soldiers (which, by the way, is perplexing to those who know Jesus the Prince of Peace. Maybe it’s John the Baptist's view?) There is no room for hatred among God’s children.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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