John the Baptist and the Prophetic Spirit of Pentecost

When we survey the total picture, we discover a remarkable fact. John the Baptist left no segment of society untouched by the proclamation of God’s word. He prophesied to all classes and groups: rich and poor, despised and esteemed, powerful and lowly. He held up the standard of God’s righteousness regardless of whom he was facing. Jesus asked rhetorically about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see, a reed shaken by the wind?” No, for John the rules did not change depending on who was in the audience. Whoever went out into the wilderness to hear John could count on one thing—hearing the prophetic word of God spoken without compromise and applied to the relevant issues of their lives.

 

The Content of Prophetic Preaching

The question to be asked is, “What did John preach?” From the Isaiah quote in verses 4-6 we can respond that John preached the good news of God’s salvation. But the parallel accounts in the other gospels⁷ indicate that John’s prophetic preaching was foundational and preparatory. By preaching “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (v.3), John laid down the necessary groundwork for Jesus’ preaching of the Gospel and the approaching⁸ kingdom of God. Repentance raises the fundamental issue of sin and the need of forgiveness as an indispensable requirement for entrance into the kingdom of God. Later Luke records Jesus’ warning to self-righteous Judean Jews: “I tell you, . . . unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (13:3). It seems clear that for John, like the Messiah whose coming he heralded, repentance from sin and the Gospel were inseparable.⁹ The second topic of John’s preaching concerns social responsibility toward the poor. When some among the “multitudes” ask John, “what then shall we do?” John instructs them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise” (v. 11). Note that the question posed to John was an open-ended one. John could have chosen any one of a hundred items of moral or ethical concern, but he calls the multitudes to take care of the poor and needy among them.¹⁰ In doing so, they would display the same benevolent and merciful compassion that God showed them in redemption.¹¹ Those who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt 6:33) must not neglect their duty to reflect the character of His redemptive grace. Paul understood this. When encouraging the Corinthians to complete the collection for the Jerusalem poor he wrote, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9, emphasis mine)¹²

Tags: baptist, featured, john, pentecost, prophetic, spirit

Category: Ministry, Spring 2005