We will focus on the first part of this verse, which says, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” Let’s first understand who said this and to whom. This was a message from John the Baptist, urging people to repent so that they could bear fruit worthy of heaven. John the Baptist lived during a time when the Israelis and Jewish people had no leader. They had no prophet. People were living according to their own desires. John the Baptist was born after a period of approximately 400 years. He came before Jesus Christ to prepare the people to receive Jesus. He paved the way for Jesus. He taught the people to repent and bear fruit worthy of repentance. John the Baptist saw that people were living according to their own will. They were not following the law. They didn’t know how to obey God’s commandments. They didn’t know how to live a holy life.
Therefore, through this message, John the Baptist was telling the Israelis and Jewish people to change their lives. When their lives changed, the fruit of that change should be evident in their lives. As we read further in this passage, some people, upon hearing John’s message, came to him and asked, “What should we do?” As we read in verse 12 of this same chapter, tax collectors also came and were baptized and asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” Then John the Baptist told them, “Do not collect more than you are authorized to.” At that time, tax collectors and customs officials were greatly troubling the people and extorting excessive amounts of money from them. The tax collectors were taking more money from the people than they were required to give to the government, keeping a large portion for themselves. That is why John the Baptist was telling them to only take the amount of money from the people that they were required to give to the government, and nothing more.
In this way, John the Baptist was pointing out the tax collectors’ wrongdoing and telling them to correct it. He was telling them to change their lives and bear fruit worthy of repentance.
Later, in verse 14 of the same chapter, we see that the soldiers came to him and asked what they should do. He told them not to extort money from anyone or falsely accuse anyone. The soldiers of that time were extorting money from people and making false accusations, and they were not content with their wages. That is why John the Baptist was telling them to bear fruit worthy of repentance, that is, to change their lives. He was teaching them not to make false accusations against people, not to extort money from them, and to be content with the wages they received.
Now let’s see what this message means for us. If we say that we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and that we have repented, then we too must bear fruit worthy of repentance. Suppose you realize you have lied, and then you pray to God about it. Now you must bear fruit worthy of repentance. This means that from now on you must only speak the truth and change your life.
Suppose you are praying, and the Holy Spirit puts it in your heart that you are proud, that you are looking down on others, that you are not seeking God’s help, and that you are making decisions in your life according to your own will. Then you must pray to overcome your pride and bear fruit worthy of repentance. You must become humble and meek and eliminate the pride within you. Furthermore, in chapter 3, verse 9, we see that John the Baptist is quite strict. He says that if you do not repent and bear worthy fruit, you will be cut down. The Lord Jesus Christ also says the same thing in a verse, which is found in John 15:6.
In this verse, Jesus Christ is also saying that we must bear good fruit. If our lives show fruits like greed, anger, envy, and lies, then it is a sad thing for us, and we are like a branch that will be cut off. This will lead us to hell, not heaven. Therefore, from today onwards, we must bring forth fruits worthy of repentance in our lives and change our lives so that we may go to heaven.
