Luke 3:10-14 (ESV)
[10] And the crowds asked him,
“What then shall we do?” [11] And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is
to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” [12]
Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall
we do?” [13] And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to
do.” [14] Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to
them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation and be
content with your wages.”
I find it fascinating that none
of what we would consider the “big” sins are mentioned here. What is the fruit
of repentance? For John it was sharing with those less fortunate. It was not
abusing power and authority. It was not taking advantage of others or using
them. It was learning to be content. No mention of immorality. No mention of intoxication.
No mention of brawling. Maybe those things were obvious. But for John, and
later for Jesus, the true fruit of repentance leaned heavily toward those
things that we tend to ignore. Why would I give away a tunic when I only have
two? I might need it. Why would I give food to the hungry? They should learn to
work like everyone else. Why would I not pad the tax bill a bit? That’s common
practice, an industry standard. Everyone does it.
In fact, in some of our
conservative, evangelical churches, if a pastor were to suggest what John is
suggesting, they might be susceptible to accusations of being woke, liberal, or
embracing the social gospel. Helping the poor, sharing with those who have
less, not taking advantage of our positions of privilege. Those are the things
that John says are the fruits of repentance. And let’s be honest, those sound
very much like what Jesus taught as well. Maybe we are so focused on correcting
our broken world in all of its immorality that we have lost sight of what it
really means to live like Jesus.
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