Imagine yourself standing beside the muddy Jordan River, listening the fiery preaching of John the Baptist. The radical herald for Jesus Christ sparks revival and proclaims a baptism of repentance. Responsive crowds swarm him to be baptized. Suddenly, John charges, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance!” (Luke 3:8a NIV) A person in the mob elbows you, “What kind of fruit is that?” How would you respond?
Is repentance fruit a fruit of belief? We are called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). Study and meditation of God’s Word does transform and change thought patterns. Is a thought change enough for repentance fruit?
Is repentance fruit a fruit of feeling? The conviction of Holy Spirit does touch my emotions and I am moved to tears. “Or do you have contempt for the riches of God’s generosity, tolerance, and patience? Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is supposed to lead you to change your heart and life?” (Romans 2:4 CEB) The proper response to God’s goodness certainly isn’t feeling of contempt, but feelings alone don’t necessarily change a heart and life.
Is repentance fruit a fruit of character? Paul does list fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter five – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Are these Holy Spirit inspired character virtues repentance fruit?
Is repentance fruit a fruit of action? The uber-practical teaching of James, the respected leader of the first church in Jerusalem, connects lifestyle response with genuine faith. James strongly warns, “faith without deeds is useless” (James 2:20). Is a change in lifestyle the fruit that John desires?
Or, could it be that repentance fruit a combination of belief, emotion, character, and action?
To John’s exhortation “produce fruit” and the warning of judgement, the surrounding crowd asks John, “What should we do then?” (Luke 3:10) Dr. Luke, the Holy-Spirit-inspired human-author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, revisits the question of the crowd several times. In fact, Luke records some form of the question “What should we do?” being employed:
- by tax collectors (Luke 3:12),
- by soldiers (Luke 3:14),
- by an expert in the law (Luke 10:25),
- by a rich ruler (Luke 18:18),
- by the people who heard Peter’s Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:37),
- by Saul before his name-changed to Paul (Acts 22:10), and
- by a Philippian jailer (Acts 16:30).
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Have you ever honestly asked the question, “What should I do?” How did you respond to the answer? Did you make a behavior change? Or a change of direction?
John’s answer (Luke 3:11-14) “demonstrates in an explicit way that the redemptive visitation of God demands response” (Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke NICNT, p. 168-69).
John’s answer is somewhat surprising. We might have expected that he would ask them to do something penitential (“Go do four good acts to the orphans in your town”) or ecclesiastical (“Commit yourself to your local synagogue”) or perhaps devotional (“Pray through the Psalms”). But significantly, John’s advice was ethical. He asked them to change how they treated their fellow human beings (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Luke, Vol. 1, p. 114)
John answers the crowd’s question with practical, specific, ethical actions. John spurs each of his listeners to change radically their response to other people. For John, true repentance is evidenced by a lifestyle of righteous action. Response demonstrates if a person really means business. Genuinely repentant people will show fruit of deeds, action fruit, repentance fruit.
In his defense before Agrippa, the apostle Paul encapsulates his message, “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20b NIV). Paul’s call in Acts 26:20 for demonstration of a change in behavior echoes John’s preaching in Luke 3:8.
John yells, “If you have two coats, give one away . . . Do the same with your food . . . No more extortion—collect only what is required by law . . . No shakedowns, no blackmail—and be content.” (Luke 3:11-14 MSG) John’s examples deal with real life –
- how to handle prosperity,
- how to conduct business affairs,
- how to speak, and
- how to have an appropriate attitude toward material goods.
Are you giving generously? Are you dealing honestly? Are you speaking truthfully? Are you practicing contentment? Do you have repentance fruit in your life?
John’s essential message was simply that we be what we seem to be. If we want to seem godly, then we are to be godly, with no sham. He spelled out what that meant. He addressed himself in specifics to the ethics of the time: soldiers, don’t intimidate and coerce; tax collectors, collect no more than is your due. He spoke of sharing with those in need. But this was not a new ethic. The rabbis had been saying all these things. But John was preaching that those ethics were to be a way of life. The crux of his message was, “God has told us what to do and be. Do it, and don’t pretend to be something you’re not.” (Bruce Larson & Lloyd Ogilvie, Preacher’s Commentary Series: Luke, p. 73)
“Do the things that show you really have changed your hearts and lives.” (Luke 3:8a NCV)
