Jesus did not stray far from John the Baptist. He too believed that repentance should be followed up by certain actions, but those actions were mixed with the wonderful news that the Kingdom of God had arrived. His was more of a celebration because the Kingdom of God was present, more than a lifelong struggle to live in holiness before God.
And yet...
- John the Baptist demanded that people bring fruits of repentance before he would baptize them. Jesus had no such demands. Jesus did, however, pare down his followers by breaking down their false notions about him (John 6).
- John the Baptist warned about the coming kingdom, which came as the judgment and the wrath of God purging the land. Jesus celebrated the arrival of the kingdom of God that had been long awaited.
- John the Baptist had nothing to say to those who rejected him. Jesus condemned the cities that rejected him because in rejecting him, they were rejecting God's kingdom that had come.
- John the Baptist preached that the fires of hell came with the coming kingdom and the "one who was to come." Jesus preached that those fires came later at the final judgment, which most believed was very close. However, Jesus did see that through his ministry, he was kindling that fire (Luke 12:49-59).
-John the Baptist preached that the fires of hell would be for those who did not bring forth the fruits of repentance. Jesus said it was for those who rejected him and his kingdom, and for those who neglected the needs of the poor and the powerless.
So repentance was demanded by both John and by Jesus, but John's carried with it a different meaning. It was what my friends and I use to call "fire insurance," keeping people from the fires of God's wrath. For Jesus it was more of a welcoming in celebration.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment