When one thinks of John the Baptist, one envisions this wild-eyed man with unkempt hair, dressed in animal skins and carrying a staff. His preaching is fiery, maybe even angry sounding — like some street corner preacher come to save the world, starting in Times Square. He may have been a number of those things, but what seems incongruous to modern sensibilities is that he was one who came preaching “good news” (Luke 3:18). John the Baptist was first and foremost a gospel preacher.
But his message and method are so unfriendly. He calls people names. He demands that they live ethical lives lest they face the wrath of God. And his description of the one who would follow him, the one for whom he is preparing the way, is not in the least appealing. That one comes prepared to consign people to eternal torment, like chaff burning with “unquenchable fire” if they do not repent of their sins. That’s gospel preaching? Where’s the love?
It’s Luke’s description of John as one who came “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” that helps us understand why his message was good news. He was laboring to “prepare a people” for the Lord. He warned of the one who was coming with a “winnowing fork is in his hand,” who would baptize either with the Holy Spirit or with fire (the Holy Spirit for those who heeded the call, and fire for those who did not), and people in need of righteousness could be prepared for that day by having their sins forgiven. Letting those under the wrath of God know that God has provided salvation is, indeed, good news. To suggest that they need not fear God’s wrath, or that the way of escaping judgment is though a heroic effort of self-improvement, is to substitute a false gospel for the true. It would be the most unloving message that one could ever utter.
John the Baptist’s method might not be suitable for every situation, but the substance of his message is. No one escapes the Day of Judgment. And what needs to be known about that day is summed up in the words, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). But the one whom John heralded was the one whose shed blood atoned for sin so that all who are his can say “there is . . . now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). That is the gospel. That is good news.
