Introduction
For this second Sunday of Advent, Mélanie Ehrismann reflects on Matthew 3:1-12: John the Baptist bursts into the Judean wilderness with a cry that shakes everyone, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" Advent doesn't call us to passive waiting, but to actively preparing the way of the Lord who is coming. Mélanie offers an image that illuminates the whole text: a symphony orchestra tuning up before it plays.
Message Outline
1. Active waiting, not passive waiting
- Last week with Stéphane Guillet, the church saw that no one knows when Jesus will return, Jesus himself calls us to stay alert without falling asleep.
- Today, Matthew 3 offers another kind of waiting: preparing the way of the Lord who is coming. It's no longer just watching, it's acting ahead of the encounter.
- We're right at the beginning of Matthew's Gospel. Jesus hasn't even started his ministry yet, all we know is that he's been born. And already John the Baptist is opening the road.
- John looks like an Old Testament prophet: clothing of camel's hair, a leather belt, food of locusts and wild honey. And his message matches the look.
2. John the Baptist and the voice of Isaiah 40: one and the same call
- All four Gospels tie John's ministry to the voice announced in Isaiah 40: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.'"
- In its own context, Isaiah 40 speaks to the people of Israel in exile, far from home, with no land and no temple. In the middle of that long wait, a promise breaks through: the Lord is going to intervene, he's coming through the desert, so prepare him a way.
- John declares that the moment has come: "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." The Lord is here, he's arriving. The hour of deliverance and judgment has struck.
- It's Jesus' presence on earth that brings this about, Jesus, called Immanuel, "God with us." Preparing the way means preparing for his coming.
3. "Repent": tuning up like an orchestra
- Behind "repent" lies the idea of repentance, a word many translations render exactly that way.
- Repentance isn't feeling bad. It's an invitation to think differently. A conversion, a change of direction, a call to be completely reoriented, a full change of course from the inside out.
- Changing doesn't mean becoming someone else. It's "stay who you are, but don't stay as you are. Be who you are, but don't stay as you are."
- The image of the symphony orchestra: before every rehearsal, each musician tunes up. The trombone isn't called to become a violin, but as a trombone, it's called to be in tune. Preparing means tuning yourself.
- Repenting means tuning your whole being to heaven, because the Kingdom is on its way in. It's aligning yourself with God because he's here, close at hand.
- Aligning yourself with God is also a U-turn: turning away from sin, from idols, from all the false gods that take God's place in your life, to turn instead toward the one true God revealed in Jesus Christ.
4. Fruit worthy of radical change
- How do you know if you've really reoriented yourself toward God? By fruit worthy of repentance.
- The crowd embraces John's message and gets baptized as a sign of this changed life, like those baptized last week.
- The Pharisees and Sadducees, teachers of the law, also come asking for baptism. But John sharply rebukes them: "Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Produce fruit worthy of repentance."
- They know exactly how to say and do the right things, but without personal conversion, without an authentic inner conversion. Their approach isn't sincere, it lacks the fruit that should go with it.
- In the orchestra image, this is the professional musician who arrives, sits down, but doesn't tune up. He's part of the project, but because he's a pro, he thinks he no longer needs to tune.
5. Judgment: not to scare, but to wake the sleepers
- John repeatedly points to the coming judgment: the axe already at the root of the trees, the winnowing fork separating wheat from chaff, the fire that burns.
- This isn't meant to frighten. It's meant to shake a sleeping crowd, and especially religious people who rest on their piety, their status, their claim to belong to God.
- Judgment isn't a threat, it's a reality that accompanies the good news of God's Kingdom. And fire has a double function: it purifies those who belong to God, and it exposes the guilt of those who reject him.
- By reminding us how serious the stakes are, John calls for a sincere response, free of every excuse, every privilege, every past success. A response here, now, today, just as you are.
6. Two lessons from the rebuke aimed at the Pharisees
- First lesson: everyone is called to conversion. Those far from God as much as those close to him. Those with no Christian upbringing as much as those who grew up steeped in it. Those who've never read the Bible as much as those who know it by heart.
- What matters isn't where you stand, but the trajectory you take. What direction are you heading today?
- Second lesson: an authentic, personal conversion produces fruit naturally, like a healthy tree. Thinking differently means living differently.
- Hence the importance of discipleship. The manual used to prepare future baptismal candidates is even called "Preparing for Baptism and the Life of a Disciple." Baptism itself isn't the mark of radical change, what follows is: the life lived after Jesus, a transformed life, consistent with the trajectory you've taken.
7. The "conversions" that keep happening in the Christian life
- As we wait for Jesus' coming, the temptation is to lean on our status, "I'm already a Christian, I come every Sunday, I'm already baptized, I don't need to question myself anymore", instead of answering God's call to change and become more like him.
- Answering that call means recognizing that even baptized, committed, and trained, we still need to let Jesus transform us. We still need to repent to live our faith in concrete ways.
- There's the first conversion, the moment we give our life to Jesus, expressed through baptism as the will to live differently. And then there are all the other conversions throughout the rest of the Christian life.
- One pastor writes: "I've been converted four times." Not that he changed religion four times, in the Bible, conversion isn't joining a religion, it's always turning to Christ. Four separate times, God redirected his life in a radically different way.
- In the orchestra image: mid-rehearsal, the conductor stops and points to a musician who's drifted out of tune. Is that unkind? No, it's grace. Without that correction, the violinist couldn't keep playing in the symphony.
8. Jesus Christ, the one who comes in all his power
- This account reminds us that we're not the ones bringing Jesus near. He is the one coming in all his greatness and power. And he alone has authority to forgive sins, isn't that the very definition of his power?
- In him, the Kingdom of Heaven hasn't just drawn near, it has been inaugurated through his death and resurrection.
- Jesus didn't just draw near to us, he took our place so that we could share in that Kingdom, so that we could anticipate the heavenly melody now, in this present time.
- In this season of waiting, let's sharpen our ear: where is the Spirit pointing out our dissonance? Will we answer God's call today, once again? Let's let God redirect our lives in a radically different way.
Key Takeaways
- Advent isn't just passive waiting: Matthew 3:1-12 calls you to actively prepare the way of the Lord who is coming.
- "Repent" means tuning up, like a musician before rehearsal: stay who you are, but don't stay as you are.
- Conversion isn't feeling bad about yourself, it's thinking differently and reorienting your whole self toward the God revealed in Jesus Christ.
- Authentic conversion produces fruit naturally, like a healthy tree. Without fruit, religious practice stays hollow, John said as much, sharply, to the Pharisees.
- There isn't just one conversion in the Christian life. Even baptized, even committed, you still need to let Jesus redirect your life, and that correction is grace, not rejection.
Personal Application
- Where in your life is God's Spirit pointing to a "dissonance" you've stopped listening to long ago?
- During this Advent, is your waiting for Jesus more passive ("we'll see") or active ("I'm preparing the way")? What would change this week if you approached it as preparation?
- Are you tempted to lean on your status (baptism, involvement, years at church), to avoid hearing the call to reorient yourself today?
- What false gods or specific habits do you need to turn away from in order to turn back to Christ?
- If a brother or sister gave you the "conductor's" correction on a specific area of your life, would you be able to hear it as grace rather than rejection?
Scripture References
- Matthew 3:1-12 · John the Baptist preaches in the Judean wilderness
- Isaiah 40:3-5 · A voice cries: Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness
- Matthew 1:23 · They shall call his name Immanuel, which is, being interpreted, "God with us"
Further reading
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "repent" really mean in this text?
Contrary to what we sometimes hear, biblical repentance isn't feeling bad or wallowing in guilt. The word behind "repent" describes a conversion, a change of direction, a total reorientation from the inside out. Mélanie Ehrismann offers the image of a musician tuning up before rehearsal: he doesn't become a different instrument, he stays what he is, but he lets himself be adjusted to play in tune. That's what repentance is: staying who you are, but not staying as you are. It's also a U-turn, turning away from everything that takes God's place (sin, idols, false gods) to turn instead toward the God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Why is John the Baptist so harsh with the Pharisees who come for baptism?
Because they come to baptism without inner, authentic conversion. They're teachers of the law who know exactly how to say and do the right things, but their approach isn't sincere. John spots it by one simple sign: they lack the fruit to go with it. In the orchestra image, they're the professional musicians who, because they think they're already good, believe they no longer need to tune up. They take their seat in the orchestra but won't let themselves be adjusted. John reminds us that authentic conversion produces fruit naturally, like a healthy tree. Without fruit, neither status, nor tenure, nor outward piety is enough, not even being able to say "we have Abraham as our father."
If I'm already baptized and involved in church, does this text still apply to me?
Yes, and that's actually one of the central points of the message. Mélanie Ehrismann highlights that there's a first conversion (the moment we give our life to Jesus and express it through baptism), and then all the other conversions that keep happening throughout the Christian life. One pastor testifies that he has "been converted four times": not that he changed religion four times, but that God redirected his life four separate times in a radically different way. Answering John the Baptist's call today means recognizing that even baptized, committed, and trained, you still need to let Jesus transform you. Resting on your status ("I'm already a Christian, I don't need to question myself") is exactly the posture John rebukes in the Pharisees.
Never miss a sermon from Église Évangélique Libre
A clear summary of every new message, delivered to you.
to take notes and ask questions.