Luke 3 "The Last Prophet..."

S = Luke 3:1-3 “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

O = In the very specific historical context of v. 1-2a …the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Annas & Caiaphas, something important happened that had nothing to do with the political/power structure of men—the Word of God came to John…twice! This was the message of God and the wording is the same as many of the Old Testament prophets (Abraham, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, etc.) and I believe this is the last time it is used. John the last prophet preparing the people for the Kingdom of God, to reveal the Messiah to them. Jesus, the Word of God, also came to John to be baptized. As the people repented and then were baptized, it made a way for Jesus to come to change them. They couldn’t hear the message of salvation until there was awareness of personal sin. This moment was pivotal in the history of the world…

A = Do I bear fruit in keeping with repentance or do I just give lip service to God? John’s instruction to the people was in essence to be generous, be honest, and to be just in the way they lived and handled their possessions. I need God’s word to come to me… but it has in the Bible and in Jesus by the indwelling Spirit. I need only to remember to give time to listen to his message to me today. I need to go to the word with my daily question, “What shall I do?” Whose shall I be today? Will I live for me or for Jesus and will people be able to tell the difference? I am pretty sure that they can!

P = O Lord, you desire me to speak your good news, your word, in every area of my life. Give me voice and vigor to do so today! May I be changed on the inside by your grace so that it makes a difference for others on the outside!  Amen!