3 Resolutions From John The Baptist

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By Sarah Carter

[This is part of a series on John The Baptist as Prophet. You can read the other posts here!]

Dear American Church, here are some Resolutions. Love, John the Baptist.

Ok, I’m a little late for the New Year’s resolutions, but since it’s still relatively early in 2014, I think we can still throw a few out there. Instead of new gym routines and eating better, maybe we can collectively agree on some resolutions for the church in the US as a whole. In line with our John the Baptist series, I’m gonna go out on a hermeneutical limb and try to imagine what John’s suggestions for improvement to the American church might sound like. What he would say to us if we, like the crowd, invited him to tell us what to do? (These are my reflections on Luke 3:1-18).

First, he might us some harsh language.

John gives a pretty stiff tongue-lashing to the crowd that comes out to listen to him, calling them a “brood of vipers”. It’s hard to find an equivalent to this phrase…spawn of satan comes to mind, except he’s not joking. However it might be translated by urban dictionary for today, it’s not good. It is a good way to get people’s attention, however.

John the Baptist wasn’t above some shock and awe to get people to really listen up, and he probably would need some of the same tactics to shake us out of our religiosity as well. John was speaking to those that would use their religious designation, by culture or heritage, as a shield from judgment. American Christians need just as much reminder of this as Jews in Jesus’ time. John’s point, in even simpler terms, is: it doesn’t matter what you call yourself, it matters what you do.

Before we get into a works vs. faith debate, John’s doing was producing fruit worthy of repentance. What does fruit “worthy of repentance” mean? The greek translation of worthy is axios: having the weight of another thing of like value or corresponding to a thing. This conjures up the image of scales, and on one are our actions, and on the other is our repentance. Our faith births in us right actions and real repentance. We cannot say that we follow Jesus without acting as he calls us to act, and John ties that to the measure of our repentance.

So, now that we’re all feeling good after John’s warm intro, what kind of resolutions might he give us?

Resolution #1: Be less greedy.

“John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

There are so many ways he could say this to us: “Don’t buy so much crap.” “Stop hoarding while others starve.” “Give away all your Christmas presents.” “Inoculate yourselves from the sickness of materialism.” All of it equally hard to hear as wealthy people by the world’s standards.

We know greed is bad. Deep down, we know that God wants us to be radically generous and take care of those around us, especially those who are in real need. The problem is that we rationalize our own actions so that we don’t have to do all that… very much.

John’s charge is equally as sweeping as it is microscopic. For the American church, this could be a chance for denominations and mega-churches and storefronts to all take a look at how we’re spending the Church’s (people of God’s) tithes and offerings. Are we spending God’s tithe on building His Kingdom? But it’s also a chance for each of us, individually, to ask ourselves the same questions.

John’s suggestion? Give (sacrificially) to those that don’t have what you have. Lessen the gap. You have two shirts? Give one to those that have none. You have two church buildings? Give one to those that have none.

What if 2014 was the year that the American church went to war with the materialism and greed within it’s walls, and radically realigned our wealth towards the poor and those on the margins?

Resolution #2: Unleash God’s justice through our jobs.

Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

¹³“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

It’s almost impossible to understand or relate with the character of a tax collector in New Testament times, mainly because we, the American church, are not an oppressed people group. It is difficult to claim understanding of the betrayal of a tax collector, a Jew working for the Roman government and exploiting his own people. What’s fascinating is that John’s charge to this reviled group of businessmen was not to leave their professions and become rabbis, but to instead reflect God’s justice within their job as tax collectors. Why? Because powerful repentance can be worked out in complex situations, and change sometimes can only come from inside.

Now, there will be times when God calls us into new jobs (like Levi) or when injustice is too great to stay within the system. But there is also unknown potential within the American church of men and women that God has put into jobs for the distinct purpose of reflecting his justice on this earth. I know this is true when a doctor friend makes time to see a young teen mom with an alarming looking rash, or teachers band together to start an after school tutoring program for recently immigrated refugees.

What if 2014 saw an unprecedented unleashing of people right within their current jobs to radically bring God’s justice on earth for His glory and His people?

Resolution #3: Engage the fight of systemic racism.

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

OK, this resolution may be a stretch to connect to John’s narrative here. What I am pulling from this portion of the text is John’s response to people in power, in this case soldiers. His charge is a strict warning towards using power to abuse and manipulate power, mainly surrounding money.

So while this last resolution is about race, not money (although there are many connections there), I still think John would speak directly to the American church’s use of power in this context. And I must further clarify that this resolution would be pointedly for the white American church, which holds much power politically, theologically, and economically.

The courts’ devastating ruling on the Trayvon Martin case, Rick Warren’s ignorant social media blunder and ensuing debate, and most recently some very unimpressive evangelical responses to the Duck Dynasty controversy are just a few of the moments in 2013 that shed some light on the extreme need for repentance and humility, and the challenge for God’s people to engage systemic racism in our country.

I realize that this is a complex issue that needs more than a few paragraphs and people much smarter or experienced than me to lead us into meaningful dialogue. But what I do know is that it’s time for white Christians to acknowledge our privilege and repent of the ways that we contribute daily to systemic racism in our churches and our country. Then we need to listen to the courageous voices of people like Brent Campbell who experience and are oppressed by that racism but are compelled by the love of Jesus to keep loving others.

What if 2014 was the year that together, as God’s people, we engaged the fight of racism in our country, bringing God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven?

Let’s get in shape.

John’s message of a baptism of repentance was a call to get in shape. To prepare the way for the Messiah to come into their lives and their religion. It was “an assault on the status quo… embrac[ing] behaviors rooted in radical realignment with God’s purposes.”[1] It was, and continues to be, the ultimate call for God’s people to get in shape. We recently celebrated another prophet in our church, Martin Luther King Jr. I believe he would be calling the people of God to the same things as John the Baptist was. How will we respond this year?