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Plato tells the story of a shepherd named Gyges, who was in the service of
the king. One day there was a great storm and an earthquake where he was pasturing
his flock. A great chasm opened in the earth and Gyges descended into the
chasm. There he saw many astonishing things, including what looked like a
human corpse. Although there were many amazing treasures in the chasm, he
took nothing except a gold ring the corpse had on his finger. He then made
his way out. He attended the usual meeting of shepherds which reported monthly
to the king, and as he was sitting in the meeting, he happened to twist the
bezel of the ring towards the inside of his hand. He immediately became invisible
to his companions. He was astonished, and began twisting the ring again, and
turned the bezel outwards, whereupon he became visible again. He experimented
with the ring to see if it really had this power and found that every time
he turned it outwards he became visible, and every time he turned it inwards,
he became invisible.
Having made this discovery, he managed to get himself invited to the palace
where he stole great treasures from the king himself. Being invisible, he
would never be caught. There would be no consequences for his actions whatsoever.
Plato asks the question, if we remove all consequences, all fear of punishment,
is there any reason to seek honesty, virtue, and character. It’s a good
question.
Matthew, the writer of our passage, is deeply concerned about connecting
Jewish themes with the life and message of Jesus Christ. He connects Old Testament
prophecy with events in Jesus’ life as a way of proving his unique relationship
with the God of the old covenant. Matthew also connects Jesus’ teachings
with Jewish Law, showing how Jesus reinterprets the Law without rejecting
it. Jesus as Messiah and Son of God are emphasized; so is the dominant and
recurring theme of the Kingdom of God. Jesus brings a new age, fulfilling
the enduring expectations of the Jewish people.
One of Matthew’s first connections with Old Testament prophecy comes
in the person of John the Baptist. Matthew makes the connection that John
the Baptist’s foretelling of the Messiah is foretold by the Prophet Isaiah.
This man is the one who prepares the way (Isaiah 40:3); his message and ministry
point toward the one who will immediately come after him. Matthew is building
his case that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah that has been anticipated for
centuries.
John the Baptist appears on the scene and bridges the old and the new. John’s
message and ministry is to the Jews. He stands with the tradition of the Prophets.
He shares their “counter-cultural” appeals, calls for repentance,
and message of coming judgment; he even looks the part, so to speak. He is
living geographically on the edge of society–some think on the edge of
sanity. John’s ministry was “in the wilderness,” located between
Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. It was a rocky and barren environment. John’s
allure must have been powerful, for countless people went out to see and hear
him. He was disturbing enough for the Pharisees and Sadducees also to seek
him in his preferred habitat. As said above, he stands in that grand tradition
of the Prophets from centuries before, offending the status quo, intentionally
and radically.
And yet, his message and particularly his method are unique. At first, his
message seems, again, to be the message of the Prophets. Repent or face God’s
wrath. Also like the Prophets, he is responsible for the foretelling of the
coming of the Messiah. What is radically different is that His Messiah’s
coming is eminent and immanent and true. The Messiah is here.
John the Baptist’s message is a radical one. But his method is just
as radical. He baptized. But that’s not different. Baptism was already
performed in and before that day. It was not radical to baptize. What was
radical is who he baptized. Baptism was one of the required means for a gentile
proselytite to become Jewish, along with circumcision and temple sacrifices.
And yet who is John calling to be baptized? Who? Jews! This is a radical method,
which would have highly offended the Jewish leaders. This explains their unusual
visit to the desert.
John the Baptist calls Jews to repentance, not just the common folk–those
we all know to be sinful–the tax collectors, the sinners, the prostitutes.
But he cries repent! To the Jewish leaders themselves. Repent from your sin.
Repent from your own self-righteousness. Repent of your hypocrisy. John did
not roll out the red carpet for the leaders, to say the least; he is ready
for them. And his proclamation to them is severe. They do not represent the
heart of God. He connects them with the very image of Satan, and condemns
their basis for their religious self assurance. Just because they follow the
line of Abraham does not prevent them from suffering under the judgment of
God. They will be judged by their fruit, not their family heritage. Repentance
literally means to change one’s mind, or to turn around and take the
opposite path. John has perfected the message of turning away from sins.
And yet, this is where he stands only on the edge of the Gospel. For his
methods are from the days of old. Commanding the people to repent. Threatening
with wrath if they don’t. If you do not repent, you will die. This is
what you are doing, these are the consequences. Stop what you are doing, and
there will be different consequences. Very straight forward. But is this the
Gospel?
There is something less than ideal about a repentance that is done to avoid
punishment. A psychologist named Kolberg developed an elaborate test to measure
maturity in the area of moral reasoning. He concluded that morality to avoid
punishment is the very lowest motivation for doing what is right. Is this
what Christianity is all about. At all cost, avoid punishment, and we leave
it at that.
But let’s go back to Plato. Ultimately, Plato is trying to make the
point that virtue is not true virtue if it is done, simply as an avoidance
of punishment. Nor is virtue, virtue, if it is done for a reward. There is
something higher, something deeper, something wider that must motivate the
human spirit to do good, at least in Plato’s estimation, if it is to
be truly good. Let’s use our own language. I think it is fair to say
that holiness is not holiness if our motivation is simply to avoid punishment.
I also think it is fair to say that holiness is not holiness if our motivation
is to gain a reward, even dare I say, an eternal reward. There must be something
higher, something deeper, something wider within our spirit that must motivate
us to holy living.
We know, pretty well I believe, what we are repenting away from, what we
are turning our backs on, what temptations trip us the most easily, what we
are leaving behind when we turn. We know very well what we repent from. Let
me suggest that the greater question is what we repent toward. I believe that
this question, what we repent to, gets us closer to that motivation that takes
us higher, deeper, wider, than avoiding punishment or seeking rewards. Grasping
for what we repent towards, without reservation, is what gives us a new heart.
In other words, the Kingdom of God is for those who understand that salvation
goes deeper than following a religious code.
John has perfected the message of turning from our sins. But we can’t
stop there, short of the full gospel. The higher, deeper, wider, comes from
Jesus the Christ, the Messiah who comes. John’s baptism is a baptism
of repentance with water—a symbol of the cleansing of our sins and of
turning from sin and death. Jesus’ baptism will be a baptism fire, a
baptism of true transformation, with the Holy Spirit—a symbol of the
cleansing of our hearts, and living a whole new life.
Mildred Bangs Wynkoop once said that the opposite of sin is not sinlessness.
Holiness is not an absence of something, namely sin. Holiness is the presence
of something greater, namely love. In other words, it is possible to try to
clean away all our sin, but if we succeeded we would still be missing the
true meaning of the Christian life. Paul himself said that he was perfect
in keeping the law. But before he met Christ, this self-righteous legalism
was empty and vain. Something more was needed. We certainly need more than
some legalistic righteousness.
When we come to God, We turn toward a God, who loved us so much that he gave an only begotten Son; we turn toward a Son who loved us so much he gave his life, suffering and dying for our sake; We move toward a Sanctifier who changes our hearts from within, and empowers us to follow God; who radically changes our inner motivation for obedience by giving us true freedom. We turn toward Love itself, experienced by the presence of the Holy Spirit. This gives our life meaning and purpose and eternal Joy. As we allow the Holy Spirit to burn any chaff within us, the wheat will remain and we will bear fruit as a consequential outcome of living our lives in God. As Jesus said, he came to give us life and that abundantly. This is the message of the Gospel. The Messiah is the means. This is the new covenant.
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