Repent
(Matthew 3:13-17)
John the Baptist urged repentance in wilderness of Judea to prepare the way for the coming King. To meet the King, people needed to prepare their hearts to repent, not offer precious gifts or build a splendid palace.
1. Acknowledge the Hopeless Reality
During that time, baptism was a ritual for a gentile who wanted to convert to Judaism. For Jews, being baptized meant confessing themselves that they did not belong to God and admitting that Judaism could not guarantee salvation. Thus, it was not easy for them to come out to John the Baptist to be baptized.
2. Determine to Change Your Life
Among those who came out to be baptized by John the Baptist were Pharisees and Sadducees. However, they did not intend to reveal that they determined to change their lives before God. Instead, they demonstrated their righteousness by using the authority of John the Baptist. John the Baptist penetrated their hearts exactly and said, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”
3. Change Your Heart
John the Baptist urged people to change their hearts. This is the foundation of our faith that welcomes Christ. It is a huge mistake to think that you are closer to God for having an outer format of faith life and having knowledge about the spiritual world. Even if our knowledge is related to the spiritual world, it is still just knowledge and is only stored in our heads, not in our spirits. The Lord seeks our changed hearts sprinkled with His blood and our hearts that His word has been planted. If you have this changed heart, the fruits of good deeds will necessarily be revealed.
February 26, 2023
Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim
