The Bible Provocateur
The Bible Provocateur
LIVE DISCUSSION: John the Baptist, Repentance, Apostasy (2 of 5)
The pathway to God isn't meant to be complicated. Through an exploration of Luke 3:4-5, this conversation unpacks the powerful imagery of mountains being brought low, valleys raised up, crooked paths straightened, and rough ways made smooth—all describing how God has made Himself accessible to humanity.
Mountains in Scripture often symbolize pride and self-exaltation, representing our human tendency to elevate ourselves to positions only God should occupy. Throughout history, from Pharaoh to King Saul, those who exalted themselves were eventually brought low. Conversely, valleys represent humility, with God promising to exalt those who humble themselves before Him.
Most fascinating is the imagery of straightening crooked paths and smoothing rough ways. The religious leaders of Jesus' time had created unnecessarily complex spiritual pathways filled with legalistic requirements that obscured God's true intent. When Jesus began His ministry, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount, He systematically straightened these paths with His repeated formula: "You have heard it was said... but I tell you..." He wasn't changing God's law but revealing its proper understanding and application.
The conversation delves into how repentance connects to forgiveness—not merely changing one's mind but turning from sin toward God. This spiritual transformation involves recognizing our sinful nature and inability to merit salvation through works. Christ's "spiritual roadwork" ensures that no one can claim ignorance as an excuse for not finding the way to God.
Perhaps most encouraging is the reminder that even the Pharisees—once keepers of the crooked roads—could experience transformation. As recorded in Acts, many religious leaders eventually embraced the straight path Jesus revealed, demonstrating that God's accessibility extends to all who would humble themselves and follow His clearly marked way.
Join us as we examine our own spiritual journeys and consider whether we're still attempting to climb mountains of self-righteousness or humbly walking the straight path Christ has prepared.
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So speak, to where God is, the highest heights. That's where God is, that's why it is so much. That's why it is usually often used as a reference for pride and arrogance and self-absaltation, because the higher you try to raise yourself, like the king of Tyre did in Isaiah 14, you are trying to approach where God is. This is why man, who, who loves to celebrate himself, and this is how, why, when we turn men into celebrities, we are elevating men, as they are elevating themselves to be in a place where only God belongs. Everyone who is raised up high will be brought low. We see this throughout scripture. We saw it with Pharaoh, we saw it with Jezebel and Ahab, we saw it with Balaam, we saw it with all these people. We saw it with King Saul, but they will all be brought low. We even saw it with the apostle Paul, before he was the great apostle that he was, before he departed. He was brought low and then exalted again, but it was all by God who does it, and notice that these valleys that are lifted up and that these mountains that are made low, and all the other things that we're going to talk about going forward, these are all done. These are all things that, as my brother Jeff mentioned, is the result of what was actually done in ancient times. But the point here is that what's happening here is that this work is not a work that is done by man. This is a work that is done by the Lord himself, and he sent his servant to do this, to establish this. But it's the Lord's work. He's the one that ordered these things to happen in order that he would level the playing field and that he will compel his people to come to him. He made a way for them to have access to him. So the mountains represent pride and and and things that are exalted, things that people that lift themselves up above the state that they ought to be raised up to. They should not be up there, and he says they will be brought low, and those in the valley who are humble and lowly will be exalted, but all will be brought to be on the same path, exalted, but all will be brought to be on the same path.
Speaker 1:Now notice also in luke and in isaiah. In isaiah it says that and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain, rough places, plain. And in Luke 3, verse 5, it says that and the crooked shall be made, uh um, straight and the rough ways shall be made smooth reach the Lord are going to be that are crooked and that are rough shall be made straight and plain. It will be made straight and it will be made smooth. And the whole idea is to make the pathway in such a way that it is not. There are not roadblocks, there aren't speed bumps, there aren't like, I believe, what it is. There are not spots in your feasts, in other words, rocks. It's not a road that is too difficult to traverse. The terrain is made even. The terrain is made even the terrain is made smooth, and all this indicates something very significant. In fact, let me ask my brother, michael, how you doing, brother?
Speaker 2:Hey, hey, how's everyone.
Speaker 1:Doing all right, doing all right. Let me ask you this question about the road, about the crooked paths being made straight and the rough ways being made smooth. What do you think the significance of that is?
Speaker 2:Talking about John the Baptist here. Yep, I think he's laying the foundation. He's already proclaiming what's going on, so it's almost as if you shouldn't be caught off guard. I haven't looked too much into that on a spiritual level, as much as just a teaching level. He's fulfilling prophecy, right? He's definitely fulfilling prophecy, right. He definitely fulfilling prophecy and prophecy, yeah. And so, to reiterate how john the baptist is doing, I mean, he's out there, uh, he's taking care of untruths, and so he's smoothing out what these pharisees were teaching as the crooked ways. Basically, I would say in that sense, and he's smoothing out what these Pharisees were teaching as the crooked ways. Basically, I would say in that sense, and he's smoothing out, because he has no problem calling out the Pharisees himself, and so he's just teaching truth.
Speaker 1:Sister Lisa, what does it mean to you?
Speaker 4:To me. I would think the crooked ways are like all the other ways people think they can reach the Lord, and it's really simple. It's one path, one way. It's Jesus. That's how I look at it.
Speaker 4:That's what I would take for the crooked. I would think, like crooked when we say it's not true, like if someone is a crooked person, they're dishonest. So you see what I'm saying. To me it's like all the dishonest ways people say that you have to get to the Father and he's going to straighten that out. It is what it is, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Yep, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Brother Jeff, what do you think?
Speaker 5:Oh, what do I think? Oh, let me, let me get the fire burning again here. That's going to get some smoke. Uh, you know, I, I agree, I agree with Michael and Lisa. I mean, you know, I agree with Michael and Lisa. I mean it's the crooked ways.
Speaker 5:I didn't really think about the crooked ways of approach, but I like that thought from Lisa. I mean that's really good. I hadn't thought of that before. But the fact there's only one path, I mean I totally agree with that. I'm not sure I can add anything to it, except just add my acclimation. But the rough place is smooth, rough place is planed. You know, I think I would think about that, and that is. You know, the difficulties people have along the path. But you know, I don't know, I haven't thought much about it more than that. I guess obstructions, they are certainly obstructions when the path is not smooth, or like when you talked about having rocks on your feet when you're walking. So I think that those may be things we acquire on the path that interfere with our progress to the Lord, maybe distractions, ignorance.
Speaker 1:That's exactly what it is right there. That's exactly what it is. That's exactly what it is. And so what you have here, with these the operative words, there was distractions, you know, and, lisa, you know, hinted at the deception. And that's what these are. These have to do. These have to do. These crooked ways have to do with deceptive activities and beliefs. Primarily is what we're talking about, about and and pervasive wickedness as a result of these, of these deceptions, these, these deceiving ideas, and they promote dishonesty, they promote sin and they promote moral corruption. This is what this is what they do.
Speaker 1:Listen to what a hebrew says, and I'll get you in a second, michael. Listen to what, I'm sorry, listen to what proverbs says in Proverbs 2, verse 14. It says talking about those who rejoice in doing evil and they delight in the perversity of the wicked whose ways are crooked and who are devious in their paths. To deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. And it goes on. And I'm going to bring up one more verse in Isaiah 58. It says this the way of peace they have not known. Remember, we're talking about the ways, what we're talking about, but the way of peace they have not known. There is no justice in their ways. They have made themselves crooked paths. Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. And see, this is what we're talking about these crooked roads, these crooked paths that need to be made, that need to be made straight, and so so we're also. You know, this is the result. This results in ungodly living, unrighteous living, to walk these crooked paths and these are the paths that, by God's truth, as conveyed and taught by our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ, these are the things that he makes straight.
Speaker 1:He makes these things straight and, like I said, by his commission of this great prophet to establish this whole process whereby people can have an easy way to the Lord, because all this is talking about, all of what we've been discussing, is showing how the Lord has made it so that there is no way that people can complain that he made it difficult for them to get to him. He is saying I am making myself accessible to you and I'm making the road to be easy, to get here Easy, and so he's straightening folks out. When he talks about making these, making these paths straight, making these rough places smooth. He's talking about what? These truths Of the gospel, what this is going to do To us, basically, to straighten folks out, to straighten us out.
Speaker 1:It's a very crude message because it's such a simple thing. You know, we have so many people, like you know, we like to talk about, me included. We like to talk about the deep things in the word of god. But sometimes just getting back to these basic things, these basic elemental truths, basic things, these basic elemental truths, is what we need. It's what we need when God makes crooked paths straight. It means bringing people into the truth. It is establishing order, it is imputing righteousness when these things are believed.
Speaker 1:But Christ has made a way so that no man can complain. No man's going to be able to say it's because somebody told me the wrong thing, it was my mom's fault, it was my dad's fault, it was my wife's fault or my husband's fault. Nobody can say or put the blame on anything. Nobody can say it was the fortune teller's fault. No one can say it was Allah's fault. You can't blame your misdirection, you cannot blame the fact that you did not see a clear path to the king, when he is the one that established a clear, smooth path so that nobody could miss the way. Brother michael, go ahead. I know I went a little longer.
Speaker 2:Go ahead no, that's all right man. So, going on that, now that I sat down and my brain started working on this, you would have thought those passages like the passage in Proverbs you read and, of course, isaiah talking about all this you would have thought those prophecies would have been taken as a warning from the spiritual leaders of the time, like when they read that and when they would study that those Pharisees would say God is warning us, what are we doing wrong? And they couldn't even see it until John the Baptist came on the scene and they still couldn't see it. So they should have seen the warning to come and they were completely blind in it.
Speaker 1:They really should have. Think about this picture. You read, like you said, brother, you read Isaiah 40, right? You read verses 3 through 5 in Isaiah 40. And this is what Luke is quoting Now. You have all these things that are in alignment. That are in alignment those Jews who understood that the 70 weeks of Daniel lead us up right to this point of Christ, to the very moment of his ministry beginning. When he was baptized, he was 30 years old. This begins the 69th week. He was crucified in the middle of the week, when he was 33, three and a half years in. And you got these Christians running around talking about some tribulation period which is just a figment of people's imagination. But that prophecy was all about Christ, just like this prophecy is all about Christ. They all point to the same event. Go ahead, michael.
Speaker 2:Not just that, but the Pharisees were the creators of the crooked road.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:They kept everything. And that's the warning. It's like I'm talking to you. You're the ones that keep the crooked road and you deceive the people.
Speaker 1:If you ever had to, michael, if you ever had, if you pointed to any section of Scripture that clearly establishes where Christ is smoothing out their crooked paths, where would you go to? Where Christ is smoothing out their crooked paths? Where?
Speaker 2:would you go to when Christ himself was smoothing out the path?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. Well, he's making things very clear when would you refer to in the scriptures?
Speaker 2:Well, for me I would go to the Old Testament, because to me Christ made it clear in the the old testament I'm talking about in the new testament.
Speaker 1:Okay, by christ for christ. Hmm, when he started, when he was smoothing out the road yeah, in other words, like you're talking about you, because what you're talking about is right the pharisees and religious leaders, leaders of that day. They are responsible for creating these crooked pathways. Like you said, deception.
Speaker 2:I would have to see what he was. If there's, I would have to go back to where he was 12 years old and was teaching them in the temple when he was left behind, and see what he was teaching then or when he was face-to-face. And he's calling them whitewashed tombs. Right, I'm trying to think where else. I mean he kind of told the Pharisees how it is several times, when he's explaining the law like adultery and so forth, that it's a thought more than a physical act.
Speaker 1:All right, so let's talk about that for a second. Where was that at?
Speaker 2:Oh man, I'm not good on this.
Speaker 1:That's all right. That's what we have in this exercise. That's what we're doing. Sister Lisa, where have you been? Oh, if you wanted to point somewhere in the Scripture during, where'd you? No he, oh, if you, if you wanted to point somewhere in the scripture during.
Speaker 4:When.
Speaker 3:Christ he.
Speaker 4:I don't know that. I don't know the verses, but Jesus himself. He's explaining to the Pharisees that you've seen me. If you were of my father, you would seen me. If you were of my father, you would love me, you know his teachings were completely different to theirs.
Speaker 4:They missed the whole. They missed the whole point in. They wanted to do you know everything from the outside, but their hearts were far from him. And I don't know to me. He's basically telling them you've missed it all. And I don't know to me it's he's basically telling them you've missed it all. You're not. Yep, he did that's a hard one, that's a hard one, jonathan.
Speaker 2:Would you say the sermon on the Mount?
Speaker 1:Yes, sir, exactly, that's exactly what I'm getting at Sermon on the Mount. Okay, when you go, when you go to the sermon on the Mount, he goes from chapter you know, we go from 5 to verse 7. And what does Christ do over and over again? What does he do, jeff, brother, jeff, what does he do over and over again in Matthew?
Speaker 5:You've got it right here In the Olivet Discourse. Yeah, I mean he's doing what Michael said. I mean he's addressing the Pharisees. I'm going to go to it. I need to. I don't have all the verses on my hand. Matthew 6, I think it would be like candy. Except she drives while she looks up her Bible. That scares me. She needs to tell me what her tractor trailer looks like in case I'm behind her. She's looking up scripture. I've driven one folks. That thing can get out of control in a second. You know, I'm sorry. You know. Know, during that whole thing you know I mean he's talking about he gives out the prayer that we should be, you know, fasting to be seen only by God, laying up treasures you can't serve God and riches, don't worry, judge not. You know you'll know them by their fruits. I mean he's laying it all out in there. But you may be looking for something more specific.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, I'm not looking for anything specific, I'm looking at all of it as a thing. I'm just trying to get what people were thinking. So you know, we see many times in the scriptures and when Christ talks about you have heard of old that it was said this, but I hear I tell you now this right he's. He begins to clear up this misunderstanding that that the nation of israel had and their leaders had with regarding to what god had been communicating to them. You see that over and over again and so but, but, but in and so but in the Sermon on the Mount you really get this clarity Of what God's expectation has always been, but it had always been misunderstood.
Speaker 5:Right.
Speaker 1:This is an important thing, because that's what we're dealing with Right here in these passages in Luke. Brother Jay, you want to add something.
Speaker 3:We're talking about? What subject is it again?
Speaker 1:Oh, all right, we're in Luke, chapter 3, verse 4 and 5. Luke 3 and 4. Yeah, we're talking about John the Baptist and what his role was.
Speaker 3:He was the prophet supposed to come right Right To proclaim Jesus Christ as the Messiah, right, Right. So that was his role.
Speaker 3:He was the last prophet, he was a preparer. He was a preparer of the way of the Lord, and that's what he did. And when he came to, jesus went to get baptized. And John the Baptist told Jesus you're the one I'm not worthy of my sandals. He knew that he was a sinner. I'm the one that should be baptized, right? So the thing is that he, with John the Baptist, was a very powerful spokesman. He got so mad at the Jews because they were hypocritical. You think because you're sons of Abraham. No, I can turn that rock and make a son of Abraham, right? That's my thoughts.
Speaker 1:No problem, michael, you were going to say something else, or?
Speaker 2:did I get you already, I would say. When you said he was bringing clarity, I would say the clarity was that you were never intended to be able to keep the law. But put faith in me because I will Right, absolutely Not me, but put faith in Christ. Not me, not Michael, but I think that's what. Because the Pharisees thought as long as they physically didn't do things, they were all good. Right. You know, when he told them even your thoughts, I'm sure they took a step back. I was like what so he? He wanted them to see that you were never capable of keeping the law Right. And that's why I'm here, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Brother Jeff go ahead.
Speaker 5:A couple things. One is, you know, when you look at, you understand Christ Jesus in the Old Testament, you realize that the God who spoke to Moses and delivered the law was Jesus Christ. It was him, the Son of God, who actually, I mean, no, you know, the only time we hear the Father speaks in the New Testament, in the Old Testament, jesus, moses saw Jesus, because no one's ever seen the Father. So, you know, it's ironic that they did not accept the fact that I mean, the Lord, jesus Christ himself, gave them the law.
Speaker 5:The other thing is, too, is the Pharisees felt that, you know, if they, it's almost, you know, I can understand why Jesus would be so mad? Because the Pharisees, you know, had this system of trying to perform all these things properly. You know, had this system of trying to perform all these things properly, and they felt that by doing that they were justified and they were really almost trying to manipulate God. You know, I'm so good. Therefore, you know, whatever you know, we're expecting the warrior Messiah. That's what you should send. You know, to me, it just makes me tremble. You know, to me, it just makes me tremble.
Speaker 1:Makes me tremble. It's pretty amazing because we have the benefit of looking back and seeing this and yet so many of us today in the modern church don't, still are not even paying attention to what he has made clear, what he has made perfectly clear. You know, and you know like. Here's an example in Matthew 5, right, here's an example of what I was talking about. He says, he says in verse 21,. You have heard that it was said by them of old time you shall not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in the danger of judgment. And then he says but I say unto you, this is where he clears it up, this is where this is what I'm talking about, this is where he's making the path smooth. But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of judgment. Whosoever shall say to his brother Raka, shall be in danger of judgment. Whosoever shall say to his brother Raka shall be in danger of the council. But whosoever shall say thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Speaker 1:Now, he speaks this way throughout these chapters, here, and so when he talks about what they have heard, he is talking about how they interpreted these things and he clears up how those things were wrong and he makes, he gives clarity to the understanding of things that were completely misunderstood mission this is what his whole uh, uh mission was when he came here and put on human flesh was to make these things, set these things straight, to clear this pathway and to make it so that people can access him. And and it's and it's, when you think about it, the fact that god, that God, is doing this and going to these lengths to try to explain men what should have been understood by the way he presents it. This is what you heard, but you got it wrong, you applied it wrong. But he is making them addressing what Brother Michael was saying, but he is making them addressing what brother michael was saying.
Speaker 1:He is showing them that those that that what was given to you to live by, you mistook as being something that was intended for salvation, this whole law keeping thing. You misunderstood it all, you misapplied it all, and then you taught people these things. But now he's coming to set the record straight. He's coming to make the pathway straight. He's coming to smooth out the rough places, he's coming to straighten out the crooked places. But this is what he's talking about. He talks about.
Speaker 1:Go ahead.
Speaker 3:I'm going to make a comment On Luke 3-5, right, Actually 3-4. 3-3, right, and I'm reading from the Legacy Standard Bible and he says he came into the district around Georgia preaching the baptism repentance and forgiveness. Now think the district around Georgia preaching a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sin. Now think about this. You know you have people who say, oh, baptism of repentance means a change in mind, Does it? Yeah, that's part of it. That's what it says in Greek, that's part of it. But notice what it says here A baptism for forgiveness of sins. What's the purpose of repentance? To turn from sin. Right, that's what it means. We don't want to practice sin, no more. So you repent of that sin. Then comes forgiveness. Right, there we go. That's what it means. Right, Right, right, there we go. That's what it means, right.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, it is a change of heart, it is a change of mind and all of that is included in that. In other words, you're not only now turning from what you loved and that mindset that you had that allows you to connect to the, to that, to that sinful life, but now you're looking in a different direction for salvation, for the salvation, and that's where you, that's where you find the forgiveness, because repent, you know, to repent for your sins and to turn and to be forgiven. You know there's a lot in between that section that that is all encompassing of our salvation. Know, because it starts with repentance and it ends with forgiveness, and all that takes place when we come to Christ in faith.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the thing is that, like I talk to these King James people, oh, it means a change of unbelief to belief. That's true, that's what it means. A change of unbelief to belief, that's true, that's what it means. But the other part is we have to recognize that we sin against God. We have a sinful nature and when we say that I confess my sins to God, that means we're repenting from our sins. And then I met another person who said confession of sins is a work. I said what? Confession is not a work? You're just confessing your sins to God. We confess our sins to God every day of the week.
Speaker 3:You know, right, but it's not a work right.
Speaker 1:Well, see, here's the thing. See the thing when it comes to works or a work, whatever it may be, the issue really comes down to not really defining what a work is, but defining what a work results in. And the issue here is that there is no work that any man can do, no work of any type that can warrant salvation. There is no. There is no work you can do that merits any part of salvation. All right, and that's what's the main thing that needs to be understood. Yes, men do works, men perform works, as Christians and as unbelievers. Men work, but whether you are an unbeliever or a believer, there is no work that any man can do, safe or not, that merits any part of salvation. And that's the key thing that needs to be understood, which is funny enough the most difficult thing for men to lay hold of, most difficult thing, brother Michael.
Speaker 3:Most difficult thing, brother Michael, we have to realize everybody sins every day of the week. That's just our nature. Our flesh is weak, no matter what we do, we sin every day of the week. Tell me one person that doesn't sin, you know, and I'll give him $100. You're right, brother.
Speaker 1:You're right, Jake. Go ahead, Michael.
Speaker 2:So I like the fact that Jesus smoothed out this road so well and in Acts we see many therapies come to believe. So there is hope in that. If you have this issue of being legalist, if you are trying to say you have to do this and you have to do that, there's even hope in those people because you saw that in Acts not just Nicodemus, but it says there are many Pharisees that came to believe in Christ and the work of salvation, to be in those guys the keeper of the crooked road, and they even saw the light. So I just like that. I just that's one of my favorite scriptures talking about the Pharisees, because I know how much they were the ones holding on to their authority and stuff.
Speaker 1:And even in them it was open.
Speaker 1:Right. So when we talk about these rough ways in Luke 3-5, he talks about, in the rough ways we made smooth, that's what we've been talking about. But so and you? So one of these things, I would say, um, rough ways, because, remember, we have to apply these things spiritually and if we don't apply all that we read in the scriptures spiritually, we're going to, we're going to miss something here, and that's the point that Christ was making when he began his ministry of preaching the gospel, making us understand what he, what god, really intended for his word, his oracles, to be understood as conveying.
Speaker 1:But we also have, as people, so as so, as spiritual beings, we often have hardships, and we often have just hardship, things in life that are just hard to get through, and these things become stumbling blocks that prevent us from finding Christ and for walking in an upright manner. So let me ask you, lisa, what would you say, even from your own experience, if you want to or not, in general it doesn't matter what would you say are some hardships and obstacles that we could consider to be rough ground, rough ways?
Speaker 4:In our walk with Christ, you mean.
Speaker 1:I mean before, in other words, things that make it difficult to come to Christ.
Speaker 4:Well, I like.