The Offense of John the Baptist and His Modern-Day Counterparts

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

Whether it be on Facebook, television, or almost any other media source, Americans are inundated by a constant stream of material that is at best frivolous and at worst utterly sin-ridden. When God is mentioned in the positive, He is typically rendered as a loving God who loves all people regardless of their intentions and responses toward Him. Unfortunately, many churches have been caught up in this societal purge of God as He is depicted in His fulness in Scripture.

Typically (at least in America), people who make the effort to rise from their slumber and attend church are looking for a boost for the upcoming week. They come desiring an experience that affirms God’s closeness, His attendance unto them in their struggles, and His love for them despite their persistence in sin. In short, they want a friendly and uplifting message that drips with grace and defangs truth lest they become forced to confront their sin and be made to humble themselves in repentance.

In such an environment, a preacher with any sense is confronted with the obvious choice of keeping their job by delivering a soft message or taking up their cross by delivering the truth no matter the cost. In many churches, it is clear that the preacher has retreated by conforming to the first option. This, however, is not the example set by the likes of Godly preachers such as John the Baptist.

Speaking to the Jews of his day, he says,

“You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3:7-9).[i]

Instead of carefully choosing his vocabulary and tone so as to avoid hurting the feelings of his audience, the Baptist opened with “You brood of vipers.” Before charging this man of God with slander, one should note that Jesus Himself was known to call members of his audience by this same term (cf. Mat 23:33). Jesus also called his listeners “hypocrites” and likened them unto “white-washed tombs” (Mat 23:23, 27). At one point in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus even directly called those listening “evil” (Mat 7:11).

On the surface, John the Baptist and even Christ Himself could be charged with slander but that would mean that the intentions of their hearts were only focused on staining the dignity of people who bear God’s image. Clearly, John the Baptist and certainly Christ Himself had no such ill will. Rather, they were fulfilling the gospel call to declare the truth to a lost and dying world. They were not lifting themselves up among men, but they were exalting the truth by means of their proclamation.

Part of that truth is known as the offense of the gospel. Specifically, the gospel declares that all have sinned, run afoul of holy God, rightfully incurred His wrath, and remain justly condemned in their sin (if left to themselves). In Luke 3:7, John begins his message with a very terse and seemingly derisive moniker that is meant to awaken the listener by shocking them with the offense of the gospel.

In response, many modern churchgoers would likely be offended by the rudeness of a preacher who dared to place their feelings in a secondary position to their need to repent. These same people would almost certainly either raise up calls for the pastor’s resignation or storm out the door. In defense of themselves, they would no doubt enshrine themselves with the label of victim given what they would maintain was an unjust treatment of them by a preacher who clearly has forgotten his humility.

Nevertheless, the true gospel proclaimer continues to wade in to this debacle that arises when sinners are offended by the gospel. Like John the Baptist and even Christ Himself, he sets aside concerns for the people’s desires for emotional comfort when it comes to confronting them with their sin and just condemnation before God apart from Christ. While those trapped in their sin cling to their desire to be gods themselves, the godly preacher exalts God, defames the sinner, and points to Christ.

Charging people with sin is but one way that a true gospel proclaimer offends people. In Luke 3:8, the Baptist demonstrates another way that ministers are to deliberately offend their listeners. The Baptist recognized that the people were placing their hope for salvation in the fact that they were biological descendants of Abraham. Instead of comforting them in their hope, John ripped it out, for he knew it to be a false hope. Like the Jews of that day, modern day people are clinging to all manner of hopes. For some, their hopes involve various things such as money, fame, good health, etc. that they feel will give them their best life now. Others hold fast to all manner of beliefs that they trust will direct them into heaven or some such place upon their demise. In response to these worldly hopes that people desperately and fervently hold unto, the gospel preachers must deliver the gospel which proclaims Christ to be the only hope.

Like Christ, the Apostles, and many since that time, he must as a matter of course boldly obliterate the false hopes of his day even if that buys him a cross of suffering and death. With such boldness, a true preacher can know that God will be pleased. He must be careful to remember that only the truth should provide the offense for he himself is a sinner just like the ‘brood of vipers’ who filled John the Baptist’s audience. He himself has likewise clung to all manner of hopes other than the one true hope. He himself has been blinded by sin and reacted in offense to the gospel. Thankfully, he himself has found God’s grace through repentance and faith in Christ. Therefore, such a faithful preacher should always hold fast to the words of humility spoken by John the Baptist: “One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals” (Luke 3:16).

[i]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.