We don't know how much time elapsed between chapters 2 and 3
of the book of Daniel but how could he have gone from the man who seemed to
have some humility in chapter 2 to the man now erecting a golden statue and
demanding that all people in the kingdom worship the golden statue? This thing was quite large (90 feet high and
9 feet wide) and if it were golden it would have required enormous wealth to
have erected it. Why, however, would it
be required that all the people worship it and also require a death penalty for
the failure to pay homage? Forced
worship is no worship at all, it is obedience to a greater power. Certainly it would have been repugnant to any
worshipper of Yahweh and the three men known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
will have no part of it. Who comes to
the king with the accusation? The
Chaldeans, the spiritual leaders of the nation, the ones whose lives were saved
by Daniel. Gratitude?
John spoke and ministered with an authority and power that caused
people to wonder if he were the Messiah.
His conviction was such that people were drawn to the truth of the
proclamation. They were willing to
believe that he knew something that the priests, rabbis and scribes did not
know and were coming to him in repentance for preparation of the coming of the
king. John, however, is quite clear that
he is not the one they are waiting for, that one will come after and will come
in judgment. It must have indeed
surprised John when the sign given at the baptism of Jesus was instead a dove,
the symbol of peace. John was hesitant
to baptize Jesus anyway because he believed Him to be Messiah so his idea of
what Messiah was going to do had to be challenged at the sign of the dove.
John makes two very specific statements about why Jesus
came. "You know that he appeared in
order to take away sins…" and "The reason the Son of God appeared was
to destroy the works of the devil."
Those two things are related. John
says that the one who makes a practice of sinning is of the devil for he has
been sinning from the beginning (the beginning of what?) so the works of the
devil are sins. John links all of this
with life, the practice of righteousness v. the practice of sinning, you will
know a tree by its fruit. John the
Baptist was convinced that the Messiah was coming in judgment, our writer says
He came to take away sins. Was the
Baptist wrong? No, indeed Jesus did and
does judge sins, but He paid the penalty for them. The first work of the Holy Spirit is
conviction of sin and righteousness, sin is judged. The second work of the Spirit is to take away
sins, to make us fit for righteousness because we can now abide in Him, live by
the Spirit. We are enabled to be like Him.
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