We have begun to see the ministry of John the Baptist. We should remember that the purpose of the ministry is to make the people of Israel ready for the Lord. In order to do this, John the Baptist goes about preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin (Luke 3:3). The point was that the baptism signified the remission of sin. Remission comes from ἄφεσις which is “the act of freeing from an obligation, guilt, or punishment, i.e., pardon, cancellation.”79 John was preaching that if one wants to be forgiven of sin then he must repent of his sin. Repentance leads to forgiveness.
Last week we saw an example John’s preaching. He had three points of concern: rebuke of sin, repentance of sin, and the impending wrath that is for sin. The overall point was that the only way to escape God’s wrath against sin is to bear fruit worthy of repentance. This was significant in order for us to understand the meaning behind μετάνοια. Repentance is not a simple confession of sin, though they be similar. Repentance is about change. μετάνοια primarily means a change of mind, that one is turning away. Another fair translation would be conversion.80 This is why so much stress was placed upon the fruit worthy of repentance/conversion. It is not enough to simple say, “I need to be forgiven of my sin,” one must also turn from his previous sinful lifestyle. Jesus did not pay the penalty for our sin on the cross so that we could continue in our sin but so that we might be saved from our sin. From the moment of repentance and onward, the believer is supposed to display fruit of that repentance. The believer is supposed to show good works that glorify God. The believer is supposed to show evidence of his faith. We may come in as prostitutes, liars, and thieves; but we are to leave that at the cross so that we may be called saints, the sons of God.
So you may say, “That’s all well and good, but what does that look like?” This is a good question. Now that doctrine has been explained we should move on to ethics. The point of teaching is that our actions change. So, what are works that worthy of repentance? Or in other words, now that one has repented, what does life look like? How shall we then live? What works demonstrate that a person truly has repented of their sins?
Before these actions are stated and discussed, we must make one thing clear. These are actions take place because a man has repented of his sins. The order should be noticed. The actions that are going to be discussed to not take place to make up for our bad actions. These seemingly good actions are not meant to help turn the scales back into your favor. The actions are not meant as a way of earning your way out of the impending wrath of God to come upon sin. Only repentance that gives way to fruit will save a man from the wrath of God upon sin. These good actions are a result of the repentance. They are caused by the fact that the believer has an understanding of the gospel. He has a proper understanding of his new relationship with God. He knows that he has been saved from his sin and these actions follow from that. What is taking place is due to the fact that the man has been made a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
All of this can be summed up in the second greatest commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Mark 12:31).
General Crowd (3:10–11)
The crowd that came to John understood that their life was to be different from now on. They knew that true repentance meant change. Therefore, they ask, “Τὶ οὖν ποιήσωμεν; (What then shall we do?)” The apostle Paul asked the same question, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). Our will from this point forward should be re-aligned to match that of God’s. Therefore this crowd asks a good question. Righteousness is a strange creature to a man who has been living a life enslaved and deadened by sin.
3:11. John’s answer to their question is very simple, practical, and strait forward. He does not call for a revolution like the zealots. He is getting the people ready for the coming of the Lord, which means that Israel needs to be ready to be citizens of God’s kingdom. There we could say that this is the manner in which a citizen of heaven is supposed to act.
John gives two examples to the crowd in general as to what they are supposed to do now that they are to live a life bearing fruit of repentance. The first example is that the man who has two χιτῶνας is supposed to share (the verb is in the imperative mood) with a person who does not have a χιτών. A χιτών is “a shirt that is worn next to the skin.”81 We know this is not the word for an outer garment or coat, that is an ἱμάτιον. The Greek languages uses these words in a distinct manner. The shirt was not entirely necessary. However, if it was possible, a person tried to wear two χιτῶνας for comfort. Therefore, John is exhorting anyone who has an amount that is not truly necessary that the man should share his shirt with one who is lacking. We have a colloquial phrase that parallels this exhortation: “The man would give you the shirt off his back.” John is advocating that we do this.
The second example of how to live a life that is bearing the fruit of repentance is very similar to the first example. A man who has meat should do likewise. If we find that our neighbor is in an impoverished position and is lacking food, something should be done. We live in a country that has abundance. If you disagree, then you do not know what poverty looks like. Let me demonstrate that you have abundance. Have you ever thrown out food because it went bad before you got around to eating it? You were so busy eating other food that you did not have the time to get the food in the back of the fridge that started growing green mold.
Let me further point out that μεταδότω (share) is in the imperative mood, meaning that John is not making a simple suggestion. John is making an exhortation. We should be eager to perform such actions for others. Why? Because we have witnessed the love of God. We have witnessed how God provides for those who trust in Him. It would be shameful if we are bestowed gifts from the Almighty and do not turn around to do the same. This is how citizens of God’s coming kingdom are supposed to act. They are supposed to show love unto their neighbor.
Tax Collectors (3:12–13)
The first two examples we saw were from the crowd in general. The question may have been a recurring theme in the responses to John’s preaching. The question gets repeated to John. However, we should notice who is asking the question this time. This time the question is coming from τελῶναι (tax collectors). In order to understand why this is significant, we need to understand the cultural stigma that surrounded tax collectors. The tax revenue system was very open and allowed for a lot of abuse. The job of collecting property taxes and poll taxes from a particular region was contracted to whoever won by the government. The contractor that won the bid would then in turn hire men, usually locals, to go collect the taxes from the people. The problem was that the contractors would pay their workers from collecting extra revenue from the citizens, an amount that was open to the discretion of the contractors and not the government. Therefore these tax collectors were cast in a very poor light by their countrymen. They were seen as men who were hired by the government, robbed their own poor countrymen, and worse yet, they worked on the Sabbath. They were considered one of the worst kind of low life alongside prostitutes (cf. Matt. 21:31–32). They were called unclean because they frequently did business with Gentiles. They were also considered as traitors turning their backs on Israel.
A Jew entering the customs service cut himself off from decent society. He was disqualified from being a judge or even a witness in court, and excommunicated from the synagogue. The members of his family were considered to be equally tarnished.…Money handled by tax collectors was tainted and could not be used, ever for charity, for to touch the wealth of a man who obtains it unlawfully is to share his guilt.82
Yet we should also notice something else about these tax collectors. They came to be baptized by John. They came for the repentance of sin. This is not said of the Pharisees and Sadducees. These were men who knew that they were to live different from now on but they were not sure how. Their career put them in a tough place.
3:13. John’s answer to the repentant tax collectors is interesting and simple. The simple part is that John exhorts to not take more than what was ordered. They are to do their job in an honest manner. What is interesting is that John fully expects these men to keep their job! John never tells them to quit being a tax collector. The reason is this: their job might be despised by everyone but there is still a way that God can be glorified by the job of the tax collector. A government has to have taxes and it needs people to collect those taxes. What no one needs is a tax collector that take advantage of the system and extorts the citizens. Therefore John tells them to just simply do their job honestly.
Here’s another thing. Think about how the repentant tax collector’s new lifestyle is going to have an impact on those around him. The other tax collectors knew what he was doing before and they are now seeing a profound change. They are seeing him being kind to the citizens that he used to extort. Others will ask questions. People, we are aliens in this world. We will be seen as weird. But we are called to act as people that are ready for the coming of our Lord. We are to do this not just in our churches where everyone is like minded, or in our personal homes where no one can see us. We are to be doing these things in the work place as well. Fruit of repentance is to be seen in our entire lives.
Soldiers (3:14)
The last group that we see ask this question in a very similar fashion are soldiers. The way they point the question though seems to imply that surely there is no way that can continue in the same manner of life. The soldier was disliked like the tax collectors. The soldier reminded the Jews that they were in subjection to a foreign gentile ruler and not a sovereign nation. Now the race of the soldiers is unclear.
It is generally agreed that these soldiers were Jewish rather than Roman. They could have come from of three groups: Antipas’s army in Perea, which included foreign troops as well; the Judean “police”; or soldiers who assisted and protected the toll collectors. The last possibility may be indicated by καὶ ἡμεῖς at the end of the question: What shall “we also” do? (i.e., we alongside the toll collectors). It may also be supported by John’s reply focusing exclusively on money. These two factors indicate a possible connection between the two groups of 3:12–14, though one cannot be certain.83
Whomever these soldiers may be, John’s answer to them comes in two prohibitions and one exhortation. The first prohibition is that the soldiers are not διασείσητε. διασείω means to “extort money by force or threat of violence; literally it means to ‘shake violently.’”84 The imagery of the school-yard shaking a kid upside-down for his lunch money comes to mind. The prohibition is similar. They are told to not falsely accuse anyone coming from συκοφαντέω which means, “to put pressure on someone for personal gain, i.e., harass, squeeze, shake down, blackmail.”85 The exhortation is that the soldiers are supposed to be content with their wages/provisions they are given. You should notice that the exhortation is in direct opposition to what John prohibits. The exhortation is meant to replace the former practice. The soldiers are supposed to realize that God has provided them with they really need and therefore there is no point in bullying anyone to get more money or possessions.
As I have mentioned before, all of these answers by John can be summed up by the second greatest commandment. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. If you display unto others how you want to be treated because you realize that God has cancelled your debt of sin then others will notice the fruit that has come from repentance. They will notice that you are born-again. You are a son of God awaiting the coming of His kingdom.
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79. BDAG, 155.
80. BDAG, 640–1.
81. BDAG, 1085.
82. Norman Hillyer, “τελώνιον,” in NIDNTT, 3:756.
83. Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), 312–3.
84. BDAG, 236.
85. BDAG, 955.
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