Yum, harvest time – grapes and corn, squash and greens, tomatoes too. Fruits of the season. Good Fruits. (And yum key lime pie too – perfect balance of sweet and tart)

We are to remember John the Baptist preparing the Way for Jesus, speaking about good fruit – spiritual good fruit. We can appreciate connections back to the scriptures and travails of their ancestors, teaching about the 12 tribes, Jacob’s descendants, Moses rescues, Abraham’s children, Noah’s sons, Adam’s lineage. A long line of God’s chosen people. John himself was son of a priest Zachariah, who was approached by God within the holy sanctuary. All the stepping stones were put into place. 

Stepping stones were put into place, 

especially as many weeds were in the mix of the wandering people. Jesus Himself was the seed of the woman, Eve, to crush the devil. Stepping stones keep the weeds down, and so did John the Baptist – helping remind the people of needed repentance, representative by baptism with water. John knew of the promise of God sending a Messiah, equal to God, ready to reset righteousness. Baptism by the Holy Spirit. Ready to Right the Repentant ones.

John prophesied of Jesus and said: “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Winnowing is what Jesus did and will do, get the good seed and leave the rest behind. Good seed comes from good fruit. Winnowing the seeds in the harvest is preparing the grain for the next planting, in addition to getting the nutritious seed fraction stored up for feeding the people. Jesus Himself did both. It’s the balance of sweet and tart, saving cuts the sting of sin away…

John said: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance... The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 

Jesus spoke of His father the vine dresser, Himself as the vine for our branches. If God throws unproductive branches into the fire, Jesus IS the productive source for our souls to produce good fruit. Repentance brings us back to the open flow into our branches for proper growth. 

Tis the harvest season now for our summer crops, it will be harvest of souls soon enough. We need to be Repentant and Restore and keep being fruitful. 

Enjoy the season…

Amen

—-

Matthew 3 NIV

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”