Thoughts for the Day

 … repentance for the forgiveness of sins.                 Luke 3:3 & 24:47

If the gospels were being written today, is there any doubt they would be blockbusters?  At least 700 pages long and maybe in several volumes.  Paper is so cheap, indeed not even necessary.  How different when the gospels were actually written!  Quite how the writers decided on their lengths I’ve no idea, but I can imagine them laying out all their material in some way and thinking very, very carefully how to structure their writing for greatest impact within whatever limits they were working to.  I read recently how the very first prophesy that Matthew refers to being fulfilled in Jesus is that “they will call him Immanuel – which means ‘God with us’ “, and the very last words in his gospel are Jesus saying, “I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.”  It was clearly intentional and a clever way to pack in an extra bit of emphasis.

I discover Luke did a similar thing.  He marks the opening of chapter 3, which signals the beginning of ministry, with 6 different time stamps, as if to emphasise its importance, and tells us that in that year John the Baptist began ‘preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’.  And he more or less concludes his gospel with Jesus telling his disciples, “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations…”.  It seems John’s ministry was not just a trailblazer for Jesus, but the start of the mission that was to continue and continue and continue.

So, we are presented with an interesting picture.  We are undoubtedly required to demonstrate, as best we can, the love of God in our lives, but we are to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins, which is an altogether tougher message.