July 25, 2024

Passage Read: Matthew 1-4
Meditation Verses: 3:7-10

Thought

John and Jesus both preached the same message: "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." John pointed to Jesus; Jesus pointed to Himself and the work He would do to purchase our forgiveness and transformation. For both, the repentance God sought was expected to change how we lived. John called the religious leaders to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. His baptism wasn't just one more religious thing people needed to collect in order to be right with God. It was meant to symbolize a change of life and behavior, from living by our own ways and for our own purposes to living by God's ways and for His purposes. Jesus' message was no different; neither was His expectation. The difference was that John pointed people in expectation to the coming Messiah, while Jesus called them to follow Him and provided the means by which we could be changed to walk in obedience.

Application

The message of the Gospel is first and foremost a message of repentance, of leaving behind my wisdom and ways to trust God and follow His wisdom and ways. In turning from myself to God, I am not simply washed clean of my sins, forgiven, but actually made new in the attitude of my mind and made a new creation, designed to walk in holiness and righteousness--which are defined by God's very nature and described by His commands. This is also the message I need to be preaching, that people repent and prove their repentance--and more perfectly, their transformation by God--by their deeds, by their changed lives, by their walking according to the Word and instruction and likeness of God.