Change yourself

Just a moment. Advent is the waiting for the birth of Jesus and here we have a story about John the Baptist. Surely John gets his own time of the year to be heard? Well, if only two of the gospels actually tell of the birth of Jesus, all four speak of John the Baptist. There must be something of note about this character, and how he’s linked to Jesus.

We are told in Matthew 11: 2-11, that John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and called for people to repent. John might have been part of the Essene community who lived in that area.  “The Dead Sea Scrolls, largely discovered between 1946 and 1956, are the remains of the library of a religious community of Jewish men that flourished on the northwest shore of Dead Sea in the last centuries B.C. and the first century A.D. This community belonged to the larger Essene movement, a branch or sect of ancient Judaism that strove for holiness through a demanding, ascetical lifestyle. The documents recovered among the Scrolls included books of the Bible, religious rules, apocalyptic literature, hymns, prophecies, and commentaries on Scripture” 

The Essenes

The Essenes also lived an ascetical life in the desert near the location where John baptized. They practiced a baptism ritual that led to initiation into their community. John is the one who has used the River Jordan as the place to be baptised. He has entered the promised land over the Jordan – citing back to Joshua 4. He also has called for this repentance for the kingdom of Heaven is near. Note, not the Kingdom of God, for God was not a word to be mentioned by Jews.

Change – what for?

This call for a transformation in people has been heard so many times before. Theudas from the Book of Acts was one who had a following, calling people to come to the Jordan with all that they had. This positioning at the Jordan River was seen by Jews as one of a prelude to a change in the ways of the land, and rule. So you can imagine how the Roman puppet rulers of the land must have felt when they hear yet again of another revolution in their midst. This is akin to a political overthrow. John calls for a challenge to all of the injustices experienced by the people – and from what we know of the Romans, there might be quite a list.

Fashion Statement

John also stands out as his clothing is quite avantgarde: camel hair with a leather belt. I once asked a congregation do you know a hairy man? The response was not as expected. The dress is of Elijah who was prophesied to return before the day of the Lord. Interesting. All of the signs look menacing to the rulers and good to the people.

Diet

John’s diet was also fashionable : locusts and wild honey, so wouldn’t be amiss in “I’m a celebrity get me out of here…” Oddly if you write the Greek word for locusts with one letter changed you don’t get locusts but pancakes, which I’d favour.

But this diet was very much in vogue for those from Nazareth, or from the Essene community. Elijah also enjoyed such a diet. Do you see the link now?

John was Mr popular amongst the locals, so much so that they flocked to him. Herod Antipas of Galilee feared a revolt, such was his unpopularity. When John called for repentance was a call for people to turn, change their ways – literally “Change your whole self”. The Jews would have seen great resonance in immersion in water as a sign of baptism, repentance.  Then John goes full tilt at the Pharisees and Sadducees.  

Pharisees and Sadducees

If the Pharisees were one’s who held tight to the Jewish Scriptures, then the Sadducees were one’s who held very tight indeed to the Torah. They had some commonality but the divergence in their beliefs was so great that they could sit together in ‘parliament’ but they were at each other always. One believed in life after death, the other certainly not – they were sad u cee. 😉

John explains that every tree which does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. But there is life possible if they would repent/change. 

Now let’s not sit there and get hot under the collar that we might also be thrown into the fire – this is Jewish apocalyptic talk, a type of poetry which would have resonated back then. 

So what does this mean to us today? 

We cannot rely on history and nostalgia, repentance must be seen in fruits – what are and what we do.

Christmastime is a time of preparation for gift-giving, parties. John also brings a message of preparation: “Change your whole self” What now? What about those mince pies? It’s a time of waiting but also doing. How can we demonstrably show how Christmas is different to us, that it is more than a time of exuberant purchases, excessive eating, but extraordinary closeness to our God – who brings peace amongst the calamity of life?

So we’ve looked at whether a transformation was possible beyond all our imagination. And John spoke about a Change in us, something that would bring about a transformation here on Earth.

Jesus never spoke of an afterlife fantasy about Heaven

but a transformed society her on earth. Are we up for that?