The coming of Jesus Christ can be thought of in two respects: we look to Christmas celebrating His birth, and thank God for His ministry that came afterward.
The texts today at Long Ridge Congregational Church (North Stamford, Connecticut) focused upon the beginning of Jesus Christ’s ministry, at age thirty, the traditional time of maturity for the priestly order.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
"A voice of one calling in the desert, ’Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ “
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 axe 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. (Luke 3:1-16)
The advent of Jesus’s earthly ministry spread the Word of God from the tribes of Israel to all the world. With His crucifixion, Jesus atoned for our sins, and with His resurrection He remains always with us in the Holy Spirit. Every individual has the opportunity to open his heart to the Word of God and to repent his sins.
There is no need for intervention by a mighty Pharaoh claiming divine powers, or by the collectivized political state worshipped by liberal-progressive-socialists. Salvation is a matter of the heart, open to the least among us, equally with the most powerful, but only as individuals. The welfare state can’t do it for you.
Roughly thirty years after the crucifixion and the resurrection, the Apostle Paul wrote from his jail cell in Rome to the church at Philippi:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7).
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