December 7, 2025
- Mo. Ramona Hayes
- Dec 8, 2025
- 4 min read
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.”[a] 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[b] 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[c] 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[d] 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.”
Sermon
It doesn't make the most appealing Christmas card: a wild-eyed man with long hair and a beard wearing a rough tunic of camel hair with a leather belt around his waist, his hand raised. The caption around the picture: Merry Christmas, You Brood of Vipers!
Yeah, there's nothing particularly Christmassy about John and today's gospel reading. Of course, we're not celebrating Christmas yet. We’re only two weeks into Advent. And John is perfect for Advent.
Why is John perfect for Advent?
John’s job is to be the voice crying out in the wilderness:
[singing] Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Prepare ye the way of the Lord.
Folks from all over Jerusalem and up and down the Jordan river and through Judea flocked to see John. This wild man in the wilderness just might be Elijah come again. He looks like Elijah, wearing camel hair clothes and a leather belt. He sounds like Elijah, calling the people to return to God, denouncing the oppression of the rulers.
And if John is Elijah, then Messiah is on the way. They’ve been waiting an exceedingly long time. Excitement fills the air as they flocked to John to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, to repent and be baptized in the river Jordan as a sign of that repentance.
Repent!
I think “repent” is one of those Christian-y words that somehow has lost its significance. If it’s used at all outside of Christianity, “repent” becomes kind of a joke - Repent Sinner! – or it brings to mind a TV evangelist or a guy standing on the street corner, screaming, “Repent! Repent!”
And I think “repentance” is considered a one and done thing: we confess guilt, say “sorry” and go on with our lives.
But there’s more to repentance than just saying sorry.
I heard the best illustration of what it means to repent in a children’s sermon by Pastor Bob Brueckner (St Michaels Lutheran Fort Wayne, IN). He started to talk about the meaning of repentance and then said, “Oh wait! I forgot something up by the altar. I’ll just go get it.” Then he headed in the opposite direction down the sanctuary aisle.
The children stopped him, “You’re going the wrong way!” He looked at them and said, “Oh you’re right! I’m sorry,” Then continued down the aisle away from the altar. The children stopped him again and he apologized again. One more time he headed down the aisle, and the children called out and said he was going the wrong way. This time he turned and said, “It doesn’t do much good to say I’m sorry, if I keep going in the wrong direction, does it? I have to turn around and do something different right?”
Repentance is change.
When you hear John or Jesus say repent – what they are really saying is turn around your heart and life. Or as the Common English Bible says, “change your hearts and lives.”
It’s the Greek “metanoia” - turn around, go the other way.
It’s the Hebrew “teshuvah” - "return, turn back to God.
Change your hearts and your lives.
Repenting is not a one and done thing- it’s a constant process. It’s about confessing brokenness, which opens us up to allow God to work in our hearts and lives.
Repentance is the way we prepare. It’s the journey of aligning your life with God.
Last week Jesus taught us to keep awake and watch – watch for those places where God shows up. This week John is teaching is to prepare by allowing our hearts to be tuned to the values of God’s kingdom, aligning our lives with what Jesus taught and did:
Some previews of Jesus’s teaching in Matthew:
The sermon on the mount
The reply to John’s questions we’ll hear next week that the lame walk and the blind see
Healing
Parable of the sheep and goats
His practice of inclusion, welcome, forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration to wholeness.
This is the business we are to be ready do. In Matthew’s gospel, faith is shown by our actions. These actions aren’t something we do to be worthy – we’re already cherished children of God! These acts are instead a result of our faith – fruits worthy of repentance, fruits that show true repentance – metanoia.
They are what we do to prepare for Jesus coming in our hearts and in our world
Sing with me: "Prepare ye the way of the lord…"