Repentance: The First Word of the Gospel

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." — Matthew 4:17

The first word of the gospel is not "love." It is not even "grace." The first word of the gospel is "repent." From Matthew through the Revelation, repentance is an urgent and indispensable theme that is kept at the very forefront of the gospel message.

Repentance: The First Word of John's Ministry

In keeping with the custom of the Jews in the first century of the Christian era, the lot fell to Zacharias the priest to burn incense in the temple of the Lord. While a multitude of people were outside in prayer at the hour of the incense offering, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. This angel was standing at the right of the altar. Immediately, fear gripped the priest, but the angel said, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John" (Luke 1:13). Several wonderful things were promised Zacharias in that moment of intense happiness, not the least being, "He will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (vv. 16-17). Zacharias marveled when he realized that his yet unborn son was going to be the forerunner of the Messiah. His heart leapt with joy at the knowledge that John's great work would be that of a preacher of repentance, turning the hearts of many people to the Lord.

In the light of this incredible promise given to Zacharias, it is not surprising that the record of a few years later reads, "Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, `Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying, `The voice of one crying in the wilderness, "make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight"'" (Matthew 3:1-3).

Not only is the word repent the dominant note in John's message, but he made the concept of repentance absolutely clear. Repentance makes the path straight between the Lord and the repenting person. Repentance is like clearing a highway of holiness to and from God.

Road builders do not follow every twist and turn or up and down of the natural contours of the land. They do not wind around the rocks and between the trees. They level the land as much as is reasonable. They clear the path, following the old axiom, "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line." Several critical factors are involved in road building, including: durability, safety, speed, and drainage. Imagine a highway built among the trees with all the roots and rubble merely covered over with asphalt. How long would it last? How much safety can be built into a road that winds and twists about, and is sixteen feet wide at this point, twenty-eight feet wide farther on, then suddenly narrowing to seven feet? Can any haste be made on a rutted and twisted path? A carelessly planned road that disregards the issue of drainage may be high and dry one day and washed out the next. Most road builders may have never heard of John the Baptist, but road builders do understand the principle of making the path straight just as John did.

Luke spelled out the details of John's message: "Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough roads smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luke 3:4-6). Without repentance, no one can make their way to the Lord, for there are too many ups and downs, ins and outs, and devious ways in the unrepentant heart. Apart from repentance, the Lord will not make His way to us. Making straight the way of the Lord is always a prelude to His coming. In repentance we clear our path to God; in granting us this repentance, God clears His path to us.

The people of John's day were generally no more interested in repentance than most folks are today. Yet Zacharias was advised that his son would be successful in turning "the hearts of fathers back to the children and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." This was to happen because John would come in the spirit and in the power of Elijah. No one, in his own strength, has ever successfully turned many hearts to righteousness. Indeed, no one has ever even turned a single heart to God. It was a power outside of John that made his ministry so potent. It was the spirit and power of Elijah that made the ministry of John the Baptist so effective. But what was the spirit and power of Elijah? It was the same Holy Spirit who made the ministries of both men so profoundly powerful. The angel had promised Zacharias, "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother's womb" (Luke 1:15). This promise proved to be gloriously true.

Although John the Baptist knew this incredible fullness of the Holy Spirit, he unflinchingly insisted, "As for me, I baptize you in water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). Part of the power of his life and ministry was the spirit of humility that obviously marked this extraordinary preacher.

We know that "John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Mark 1:4). One follows the other: repentance must precede forgiveness; forgiveness does follow repentance. There is something grossly unwise in supposing that a person can enjoy the forgiveness of sin while resisting or merely remaining ignorant of repentance.

The record of the ministry of John the Baptist was amazing indeed. It could, however, have a perplexing dimension if you fail to harmonize all the truth that is revealed concerning it. On one hand we read with delight, "Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the districts around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins" (Matthew...