06.28.2026 Sunday Sermon
Pastor Lee Jeungbok
Text: Luke 3:1–17
Title: John the Baptist, Preparing the Way for the Messiah
Most of the significant encounters in our lives are prepared encounters. Opportunities that come without preparation are easily missed, but a prepared person seizes them.
John the Baptist, who appears in today’s text, is precisely the person who prepared the way to welcome Jesus Christ. Through today’s message, let us examine who John the Baptist was, what he proclaimed, and what kind of person the Messiah he testified about is.
## 1. What Happened to John the Baptist (3:1–2)
### 1.1) Luke testifies that John the Baptist was an actual figure in history.
The historical setting was during the time when *"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod [Antipas] tetrarch of Galilee."* Furthermore, the religious setting was *"during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas."* This demonstrates that the Gospel stands not on myth, but on historical fact.
On YouTube, a famous person (Do-ol) argued regarding the Bible that its authors are all fake. He claims that Matthew did not write Matthew, nor did Mark or Luke write their respective Gospels. He even claims that James, who led the first Council of Jerusalem, was Jesus' elder brother, thereby denying the virgin birth of Jesus. In reality, James is recorded in the Bible as Jesus' younger brother.
Arguments that deceive the hearts of believers like this existed even during the early church era. And in the future, people will continue to emerge with various theories to shake and stumble the hearts of believers. This is why Luke speaks with even greater clarity: the Gospel is an event of God that actually took place in history.
### 1.2) The word of God came to John the Baptist, a real historical figure.
> *"The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness."*
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The emphasis of this verse is on **"John son of Zechariah in the wilderness."** The word of God did not come to someone at the center of power or in a magnificent temple, but to a person in the wilderness.
Here, the wilderness carries a situational meaning as a place apart from people and worldly values, where one meets God alone. Therefore, God often sends those who will undertake His ministry into the wilderness to prepare them. Of course, John’s religious sect was the Essenes, which had ascetic tendencies.
What Luke wants to emphasize is that John was the son of Zechariah and the person prepared for the way of the Messiah. God came to find him and gave him the word to prepare the Messiah’s way.
### 1.3) Let us apply what happened to John the Baptist to ourselves.
Where is our church and where are we ourselves right now? Are we staying in a place where we are preparing to receive the word of God?
Of course, I am not advising you to go and live in an empty desert. Rather, it means that like John, we too must have a place where we can focus solely on God. We must have a place where we can look entirely to God, away from worldly anxieties or pleasures. When we do so, we will be able to well fulfill our mission of proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Messiah. However, if our church and our believers pursue worldly popularity, become elitist, and material-driven, the word of God will not be revealed in our church.
## 2. John’s Ministry of Preparing the Way for the Messiah is God's Promise (3:2–6)
John did not just start his ministry suddenly one day because the word of God came to him while he was in the wilderness. It was God's plan prophesied through the prophet Isaiah about 700 years prior. And now, as God's time had come, the word came through John. Following that promise, John began to preach a message of repentance to prepare the way for the Messiah.
There is an important truth here: **there are no coincidences in the work of God.** The word of promise God has given us is thoroughly planned, prepared, and fulfilled at God's appointed time through a prepared person. In that regard, our worshiping God in this place right now is also accomplished within God's plan. For those who believe this word, there will be God's peace and comfort.
## 3. How Did John Prepare the Way for the Messiah? (3:3–9)
### 3.1) John straightens hearts that are distorted, crooked, and deeply scarred by sin.
He prepares them to receive the Messiah with joy.
> *"A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘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 people will see God’s salvation."*
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This metaphor feels as vivid as a road construction site. While it is not actually about flattening a dented road, it is similarly like paving straight the path of a heart devastated by sin. John worked to pave rightly the path of hearts that were crooked and hollowed out by sin, preparing people to accept the coming Messiah.
### 3.2) John’s preaching shattered hearts that were wrapped in pride.
> *"And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’"*
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The Jews of that time were people who outwardly observed their faith very well. They were individuals with immense pride in being descendants of Abraham. Consequently, their faith and hearts were in a state of severe arrogance.
John had to declare a message to people in this state so that they would receive the coming Messiah. This is why John begins his very first sermon with incredibly intense words: *"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?"*
It is the same today. The hardest person to repent inside the church is the one who has become arrogant within religious zeal. John seemed to know these religious folk well. For such people, a preacher needs to preach like John to shatter proud hearts. John began with what is practically an insult—*"You brood of vipers!"*—and led them to repent. That is why Luke 3:18 evaluates such intense language as "good news."
### 3.3) Those who hear the word must demonstrate fruits keeping with repentance (3:10–14).
The reason people hear the word but fail to bear fruit is either because their hearts are proud and they reject it, or because they are moved in their hearts upon hearing it but finish without any action. James calls such people those who hear but do not do. Faith without actions bears no fruit.
Thus, John answers very specifically about a life that bears the fruit of repentance:
* Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none.
* Anyone who has food should do the same.
* Tax collectors, do not collect any more than you are required to for your own benefit.
* Soldiers, do not extort money using your weapons, and be content with your pay.
This message told them to act according to their current situations and professions. The fruit of repentance is a life change where one hears the word right where they are and acts according to the values of the Kingdom of God.
In repentance, the actual remarkable change happens in the heart. Sharing one shirt out of two is a change from pursuing internal greed to a heart that loves one's neighbor. For a tax collector to gain excess profit is an unrighteous act. However, one whose heart is changed by repentance honestly takes only what is appointed. At that time, chief tax collectors bought the right to collect taxes from the Roman government. They paid Rome the contracted amount they agreed to collect from the Jews, and kept the excess for themselves. Furthermore, it is a change where a soldier's greed—using violence to extort other people's property and time—turns into a heart content with what they have.
The way John prepared the path for the Messiah's coming was through the preaching of repentance that transforms the heart.
## 4. John’s Preaching of Repentance Included Powerful Warnings
> **Luke 3:9, 17**
> *"The ax 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."*
> *"His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."*
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John proclaimed repentance for the coming way of the Messiah so that people would receive the Messiah who brings salvation. Now, John reveals that the coming Messiah is not only a Savior, but also the One who executes judgment upon those who do not repent.
* **First, it is a warning that something very grave will happen to the future of those who do not repent.** *"The Judge's ax is laid at the root of the trees."* To say that the ax is at the root of the tree means one is in immense danger. At the same time, it is a warning that God's judgment is imminent, so one must repent quickly. Therefore, repentance cannot be delayed.
* **Second warning:** Because those who do not repent are chaff, the Judge will gather them and burn them in unquenchable fire. This judgment will take place at the end of the age.
John is simultaneously conveying both the importance of repentance to accept the Messiah and the danger faced by those who do not repent.
## 5. The Attitude of John the Baptist in Preparing the Way
> **Luke 3:15–16**
> *"The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, ‘I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’"*
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The people mistook John for the Christ. However, John states clearly: *"I am not worthy to untie His sandals."* John did not elevate himself; he exalted only Jesus. This is the true posture of a minister. All glory must go to Jesus Christ, not to the minister.
This clear attitude of John is an example that all church leaders and believers must follow. The teaching of pastors and teachers must direct the gaze of believers toward Jesus Christ, our Lord.
## 6. Conclusion and Application
### 6.1) God uses prepared people.
John was a prepared person who looked only to God in the wilderness. We, too, must have a place where we step away from the noise and busyness of the world to meet God deeply. In that wilderness, we can become people prepared for the coming Messiah.
### 6.2) The way to welcome the Messiah is the way of repentance.
The repentance John preached is not an emotional shift; it must manifest as a change in life. Therefore, you, our believers, must each bear the fruit of a life change keeping with repentance right where you are, in your respective positions.
### 6.3) Jesus is both Savior and Judge.
The warning words, *"The ax 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,"* inform us that judgment is imminent.
Please keep this in mind: it takes time for a heart transformed by repentance to actually bear the fruit of repentance. Even if you repented upon hearing the word today, that itself is not yet the fruit. The fruit of true repentance is revealed through a continuous change of life. Therefore, do not miss the opportunity, and begin a life transformed by repentance right now in this very place. The Judge’s ax is at the root of the trees.
### 6.4) We must live like John the Baptist.
John did not display himself; he exalted only Jesus Christ. The direction of our faith and life must be identical. We must ensure that the gaze is directed not toward us, but only toward Jesus.
Therefore, I urge the members of our church in the name of the Lord to spend this week humbling yourselves before the Word, bearing the fruits of repentance, and living a life that exalts Jesus Christ.
Let us pray. (End)