“Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” (Luke 3:8)
John’s preaching was honest and challenging. Many of those who came to him thought they were righteous because of their ancestry.
John makes clear that what matters, is the fruit of repentance.
Very practically, he gives people with different trades an assignment.
- To the tax collectors who came to be baptized he said, “Do not demand more than you are authorized to do.”
- The soldiers were instructed by him, “Do not harass anyone, do not extort anyone and be content with your wages.”
- In general, he said to the people, “Share your abundance with those less fortunate.”
John also gave many other exhortations and preached the Gospel to the people.
What do you think; would the people baptized by John have been happy with the directives he gave them?