The Path of Peace

 Scripture: Matthew 3:1-12

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’ ”

⁴ Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Questions

1. What is the point of John’s baptism and how did it impact the Jewish community?
2. What does it mean to repent, both for John’s audience and for us today?
3. Why does John call the leaders a “brood of vipers”?

Background

Related Scriptures: Isaiah 11:1–10

John’s message of repentance is based on the idea that God’s kingdom has arrived. Repentance is laying aside one’s lifestyle to live in the kingdom. That is laying down all the character traits that do not fit in the culture of God’s kingdom.

John’s baptism implies a critique of the larger Jewish culture, Jesus receiving this baptism is not about him being “cleansed from sin” as stepping through death to life in God with the people who are committed to God’s ways.

John calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a “brood of vipers” seems to reflect Jeremiah 46:22 where Egypt tries to escape the coming judgment. This would place them in the position of slaveowners, who are mistreating God’s people. The imagery may also represent the notion that vipers kill their mother, meaning these political elites are killing their mother, Israel.

When John mentions “Abraham as our ancestor” he is saying their belief is they can do what they like and they will be saved, while he is saying they need to live like that is true.

Reflection

I love Longfellow’s poem I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day at first it seems like it is a sweet sentimental ode to a classic Christmas. Then in stanzas 4-6 he reflects on the deep despair of trauma, death, destruction, and war. Then in verse 7 when we think that human brokenness has triumphed over the Church’s message, the bells resound even louder, “Peace on Earth”. Longfellow wrote this in 1863 during the height of the Civil War as his world was thrown into turmoil with no obvious end in sight. And so, to hear him in the midst of that time recognize the drive to peace drown out the cannons of war is amazing. His optimism for peace is not a generic beauty pageant desire, instead it is clearly rooted in the Church and our ability to hear and live out the words of the angels in Luke 2:14, “Peace on Earth goodwill to men.”

Even though the peace is not explicitly mentioned in Matthew 3 it is one of the major themes of Jesus’ life and is certainly in the background of John’s message. John’s message of repentance is not simply “confessing sins”, “apologizing”, or “asking Jesus into your heart”. Those are all great things (and should be done) but repentance is living a life that reflects the kingdom which Jesus reigns over. Baptism was and is a sign of renewal that a person has given up living in their old ways and is going to commit to living out God’s plan. And peace is God’s plan.

John lashes out at the ruling elite who come to where he is baptizing comparing them to vipers. His entire comment to these leaders is to associate them with destruction and to tell them they need to change. John associates the Pharisees and Sadducees with the kind of devastation that Longfellow saw in the Civil War. And this is the antithesis of God’s kingdom and the way people should live. John’s description of the Pharisees aligns nicely with Longfellow’s comment, “hate is strong and mocks the song…”. Peace is a constructive activity while hatred is a destructive activity. Peace seeks to build relationships and society, peace is about actively bringing people into closer connection and providing them with blessings. Isaiah 11 describes peace as,

“but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor
    and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.” (Isaiah 11:4)

This is how Jesus saw himself, the one who is going to bring justice and righteousness—a reset of society to elevate the poor and oppressed. The Bible’s idea of peace is about fixing the flaws in society so that everyone lives in God’s blessing. This is exactly what makes the Bible’s message of peace different and what makes it so powerful. The Romans were famous for the “Pax Romana” a “peace” founded on fear and oppression. Their peace is the kind so many in the world look for as the highest ideal, the absence of physical conflict. As we read Matthew this is what John and Jesus accuse the Jewish leaders of doing. The buy into this Roman notion of peace– a lack of conflict—without committing to building society. John’s baptism and Jesus’ reign are about putting us on the path to peace. Not an absence of conflict that allows fear and oppression to govern society, but a commitment to building up society and looking out for those who are currently left out. Vipers are those who kill and destroy, repentance is a commitment to build. May you hear this call this Christmas.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”