In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!Clear the road for him!’”John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.“I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” (Matthew 3:1–12 NLT)
Throughout the Bible, we see whole chapters detailing the lineages of kings and patriarchs. Even in passing, we read how important familial lines are to the Israelites throughout their history: Isaiah is described as the “son of Amoz,” Hosea is “son of Beeri,” Ezekiel is “son of Buzi,” and on and on it goes.
Throughout their history, familial lineage for the Jewish people is part of the story of who they are, both as a people and as individuals. While this is true of many people groups the world over, for the Jews, their family determined what land was theirs to inherit, if they could serve in the Levitical priesthood, and even pointed toward the coming Messiah, as they knew he would descend from the line of David.
But then a strange thing happens when John shows up. He rails against the Jewish leaders for trusting in their lineage to save them. For generations upon generations, this is exactly what they were taught: as descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they were a chosen people, blessed above all other nations. Yet now John was denouncing this viewpoint as false, that the true children of Abraham are those who produce good fruit.
In the words of Paul, “All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:14–15).
When we produce good fruit – when we allow the Spirit to direct our actions and we deny our selfish nature – we are setting ourselves apart from the world around us. In essence, following the way of Jesus, choosing each day to live as he would were he in our place, results in us showing off our lineage as children of God. To adapt a phrase we so often use in the NAB, when we act as servants of the Kingdom of God, we become signs and foretastes of that Kingdom in the here and now.
In what ways are you becoming a sign, servant, and foretaste of the Kingdom of God in your daily life? Where are you missing the mark? Invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate your heart and your actions from the past day or two so you might examine yourself to see what kind of fruit you are producing and in what areas you still need to grow in your lineage as a child of God.