Luke 3:1-6
You Can’t Ignore This Voice
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— 2
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the
desert. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. 4 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. 5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6
And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ”
As word about John’s ministry began to spread in the city of Jerusalem, you can almost imagine the sort of
snide remarks that were being made, the fun that was being had at John’s expense – especially by the
religious leaders. So he’s dressed like an Old Testament prophet – camel skin and all? That’s a little old fashioned,
isn’t it? And how is he surviving – grasshoppers and wild honey? Wow, things must be going really well in his
ministry. And where exactly did he come from – who is he, the son of a priest? But he thinks he’s some kind of prophet?
And what is he doing – baptizing people? Doesn’t he even know the Old Testament scriptures? God hasn’t commanded
any such thing. And we’re supposed to leave the city of Jerusalem, the home of the temple, and venture out to the
desolate wilderness to listen to this guy? How easy it could have been to write off John as some lone weirdo and
pay no attention whatsoever to the message he proclaimed. But as Luke introduces us to John in our Gospel
today, one thing becomes very clear: You can’t ignore this voice.
First of all, consider where this voice came from. Luke begins chapter 3 by setting the historical context of
John’s ministry. “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— 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John
son of Zechariah in the desert.” There are some big names here: Tiberius Caesar – the emperor, Pontius
Pilate – the governor, Herod – the tetrarch, Annas and Caiaphas – high priests. And these men were from
some pretty important places: Rome, Judea, and Jerusalem. If you were going to give your attention to the
words of anyone, it might be one of these leaders.
But the word of the Lord had not come to any of them, but to John. John’s voice cannot be ignored because he
is the messenger of God himself. He is the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy: “See, I will send my
messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” John had a divine call and he proclaimed a divine
message in order to prepare the way for the divine Savior – the promised Messiah. He held no lofty political
or religious position among his people. He wasn’t active in the centers of civilization, but in the wilderness.
But the word of the Lord came to John son of Zechariah. And finally, that’s all that really matters.
God still brings people into our lives to share his Word with us, but we can be tempted to pay no attention to
them. How can my parents tell me what’s right or wrong in my life? Things are just different now – don’t they get
that? What does my friend know about my marriage or how I ought to treat my wife? I always talk to her that way –
she knows I’m joking. What business does a pastor have talking to me about how to use my money or my time? That’s
between me and God. Why should this elder bother me about staying away from church? There’s no law about how
often someone has to be in church. Who is she to question what I’m doing? I’m the pastor here. It’s easy to listen to
those people who always agree with our decisions, who never question us or confront us about the things we
do. It’s easy to listen to our own hearts that are so skilled at justifying everything we do. But the standard by
which we judge which voices we are going to listen to still must be this: are they speaking the words of God,
or not? And so before we close our ears to the various voices around us, we need to stop and consider this.
Because we may closing our ears to God himself.
When Jesus sent out his disciples to share his Word he told them this: “He who listens to you listens to me,
and he who rejects you, rejects me.” We can’t ignore the voice of John the Baptist or any other voice that God
graciously sends into our lives to share his Word with us, because by doing so, we’d be rejecting God himself.
If they are sharing God’s Word, then we know where these voices come from. And not only that, we also
know where they lead to – the Savior, and the eternal blessings that only he can give.
It’s important to keep this in mind because even when we know the voice comes from God, still, the very
message it proclaims can at times be hard to accept. John was a voice calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way
for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” This was no small demand. In very picturesque language John
speaks about the massive changes that sinful hearts require. The valleys of empty religion and vain
worldliness would have to be filled in with meaning and purpose. The towering mountains of spiritual pride
that rejects any call to repentance and sees no real need for a Savior would have to be sheered off and brought
low. The crooked ways that human hearts devise to serve ourselves and get our way would have to be
brought into line with the loving, servant heart that God requires. The rough treatment and harsh words that
we like to unload on our enemies, and even on our loved ones, would have to be smoothed over with mercy
and forgiveness.
John wasn’t calling on people to make a few tweeks in their everyday lives; he was calling for a massive
project that would rebuild their hearts and lives from the ground up. When we hear the voice of God’s Word
directed at our own hearts and lives calling for the same sort of dramatic changes that John did, it can be hard
to accept. So we often try to find ways to deflect the message. We might ask ourselves: “Is my problem of sin
really that bad, I mean I know some people who are way worse than I’ve ever been? Aren’t there many other people in
our world doing the exact same thing as I am – are we all wrong? Aren’t things different today than they were back in
Jesus’ time? Do these words of God really still apply to me? Besides all this, when people confront me about the things
I do or don’t do, aren’t they being judgmental, or at the very least unloving? That doesn’t sound like Jesus.” And
unfortunately, sometimes there is substance to an objection like this last one because the one sharing God’s
Word of truth may not be doing it in a very loving or patient way.
Nevertheless, as John says, a way has to be prepared – valleys filled, mountains leveled, and the crooked and
rough made straight and smooth. A way has to be prepared, but we have to remember that it’s being
prepared for the Lord who comes with forgiveness and salvation. John had this one great joy and privilege –
to point people to Christ. He was serious in his work of confronting people with their sin and calling for
repentance, but he did this always with the goal of presenting to them the one who would die to take all of
our sins away. Later he would point to Jesus and say: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of
the world.” As Luke says, John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He raised his
voice in the Judean wilderness not to shame and judge and condemn and leave people with out hope, but
rather to show them in no uncertain terms the need they had for a Savior, and then to present to them the
beautiful Savior that God sent. He pointed them to Jesus – the one who would be shamed, judged, and
condemned in the place of all people so that we might have an eternal hope. It’s through these messengers,
voices like John’s and others who speak the good news about Jesus, that all mankind will see God’s salvation.
So when we have the opportunity, may we voice God’s word to others with the very same spirit, the very
same goal of leading them to the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for all. May we speak the truth in love,
not to tear people down and drive them to despair, but to build them up in the joy of forgiveness and the
comfort of salvation. And when God’s Word is voiced to us, may we receive it in just the same way, with the
knowledge that it leads us to our Savior, even if that path is somewhat painful. We want to hear in the voice
of a Christian parent or friend or pastor, the voice of Jesus himself preparing the way for his entrance into our
hearts and lives. Any voice that speaks the words of God about repentance and forgiveness comes from him
and is meant to lead us back to him that we might be with him forever. You can’t ignore such a voice. Amen.