The Everlasting Barn

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

THE EVERLASTING BARN

Luke 3:15-18

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.   16 John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

NIV

It is interesting that people would think that John, a man whose clothes were made from camel’s hair and ate locust, a critter much like a grasshopper, and wild honey, would be the Christ. Although eating locusts might have been more common than we would think, according to the law as recorded in Leviticus, the Jews were allowed to eat locusts, a bald locust, a beetle, and the grasshopper. Nevertheless, just because John was preaching repentance and baptizing in water, they thought he might be the Christ, the promised Messiah spoken of by the prophets. However, John makes it clear he is not the Christ, in fact, he makes it clear what the Christ will do when he comes. We do wonder if John is still already filled with the Spirit because of the time he was as he was still in his mother’s womb when he was in the presence of Jesus within Mary’s womb because he uses the term, “Holy Spirit and with fire”. It certainly appears John knows exactly what the ministry of Jesus is going to be. Mankind will be separated because of Jesus, some will believe, as we do, and thus we will be gathered into the barn. We will be gathered up by Jesus and taken to that place, that barn so to speak, where he is and we will be with him forever. But there is the chaff that will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. Perhaps John is taking this warning directly from both the first psalm of David, and from the prophet Jeremiah who both compare the righteous and the wicked with the wicked not standing in with the righteous or the blessed who trust in the Lord but being blow away like the chaff in the wind. All we can do is praise God and be so thankful that we responded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Because of our faith in Jesus, we can look forward to the great gathering of all Christ’s followers and that we will be safely put in His  everlasting barn, in the kingdom of God.