I
n the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea and Herod was a mere tetrarch of Galilee, the word of God came to John in the wilderness.
One could find him in the district around the Jordan river, preaching a baptism of repentance. People often referred to John as “The Baptist,” likely because he would baptize anyone who would get within arm’s reach. "Repent and be baptized!” he shouted, “change your way of life, stop wasting your lives in debauchery. Come, be baptized as a ‘memorial,’ as a ‘witness’ that you will henceforth live for God, for his kingdom is at your very door!" Thousands in and around Judea came to see John. It was a bit of a circus, really. Most came for the entertainment John provided. Some came out of curiosity. Some took him seriously. These, more often than not, submitted to his baptism. And some of these, among them a few scraggly fishermen, followed him and became his disciples. Many thought John strange because he dressed in camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet included dried locusts dipped in wild honey. But however he was perceived by the populace, John the Baptist could not be ignored.
Among the curious to come to see John were many of the religious leaders. Because of the Baptist’s obvious popularity, they too, thought it expedient to be baptized by him. They liked John’s austerity. They mistakenly thought him to be a legalist, like them. But John was quickly aware that they intended to use association with him for their own ends, so characteristically, he said to them, "You poisonous brood of vipers! Flee from the wrath to come! Are you really interested in repentance? Then show it by living humble, godly lives. Do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father.' What is that!? God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham! Listen to me! The woodsman’s axe is already laid at the root of the trees. You know what that means. God will cut down every tree that does not bear good fruit and throw it into the fire.”
Bear good fruit? How bizzare . . . muttering among themselves.
