When John the Baptist was traveling the countryside he had one message that he continually spoke. He sounded like ‘a broken record.’ Whether he was talking to the common Jewish person, the religious leaders or King Herod he said the same thing over and over and over again: ‘Repent.’ ‘Turn from living a self-centered life.’
The start of Jesus’ ministry is described this way: From that time on Jesus began to preach, Repent, … The message has always been: Repent. Turn from living a self-centered life.
Josephus, the first-century Roman historian, wrote that there were times in Israel when Jewish rebellion against the Roman government became catastrophically intense. One of the consequences of this insurgence was that the Romans would crucify more than 500 Israelites a day. He wrote that there were so many crucifixions, that there was no more room for crosses along the roads around Jerusalem and that they ran out of crosses to crucify people on.
There is a passage in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy that declared that anyone who dies hanging on a tree is cursed. The Jewish people always took down the bodies before nightfall.
In order to deepen the punishment on the Jews for their revolt the Romans would leave bodies up on crosses for days, weeks and even months. The rotting bodies hung there in front of everyone as the birds picked at their flesh. The message sent to the people of Israel was very clear. This is one of the reasons why people were so anxious for someone to set them free from Roman tyranny.
Scholars say that when Jesus said: Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38 NIV) or, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24 NIV), he probably did so while he and his entourage traveled on one of the roads into Jerusalem. Jesus looked up at one of those hanging on the cross and spoke these stinging words.
Everybody who was traveling with Jesus knew what he meant: "Be ready to die."
He was using a life event, in all of the sounds, sights and smells to illustrate the same old message: Repent – Turn from living a self-centered life!
The message has never changed. Every part of life that could be described as ugly, broken, wrong, unjust and damaging is the result of self-centered living.
The message is: Repent – Turn from living a self-centered life!
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