John the Baptist came preaching of repentance of sins…for turning away from God. By John doing this it fulfilled this prophecy:
“A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3)
John was definitely from the wilderness…wearing clothes of camel’s hair, and eating locust and wild honey. People would come from all over the region to confess their sins and be baptized by John.
John sees the Pharisees walking his way and he calls them a brood of vipers (not a good thing). He warns that God is ready to take them down for their hypocrisy if they do not change their ways. He preaches repentance again.
John claims that his baptism is just water, but there is one who is following him that will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. He was preparing the way for Jesus.
John preaches of repentance. Jesus follows that up by preaching often about the same topic. Repentance is knowing you were wrong and turning from that wrong to do right. It’s not to be taken lightly. We must actually repent AND THEN TURN from it. So often we want the forgiveness but we aren’t truly willing to change. There’s no repentance in that.
What is it that you need to turn away from today?
A Journey With Jesus 