John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were happy to enjoy his light for a while (John 5:35 NCV)

In John 5:35, Jesus informs us about something too crucial to look the other way. He says that when John the Baptist first came on the scene and announced the good news about the coming of Jesus (His ministry and kingdom), the people who heard him were “willing to rejoice FOR A WHILE. . .”

Interesting. The phrase, “for a while,” indicates that at some turning point, the people had stopped following John due to the fact that they had changed their minds about what they were hearing. What was it that caused the people do stop rejoicing over their commitment to follow the Lord via the ministry of John?

The answer is simple: It was John’s message of repentance. Read Luke 3:7-14. Three groups of people come to John asking what to do – the multitudes (v. 10), tax-gatherers (v. 12), and some soldiers (v. 14). But here is the dirty little secret: When John informs each groups what they had to do in order to follow the Messiah, there is no record given of their response! We are not told if each group had actually done what John had told them to do. In fact, there’s good evidence to show that they had not “brought forth fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8), because when Jesus comes on the scene, were there any tax-gatherers, soldiers and multitudes of people ready to follow Him at the premier of His ministry? None! Jesus had to go and choose twelve in order to get the ball rolling.

Also, notice that in verses 10 and 14 of Luke 3, the multitudes and soldiers were “questioning Him.” The bible does not say that these groups were asking Him questions, but that they were “questioning Him” – do you see the difference?

If you were teaching and I ask you a question, that would not be a problem. But if you were teaching and I started “questioning you,” then that would be a problem because I would be seeking to pick an argument with you.

The idea is that the people were not asking Jesus questions about repentance, but they were “questioning Him” about it. “What do you mean this is what I got to do? Who gives you the right to say these things?” “Where are your credentials?”

And as you remember the story about John’s life, he was quickly arrested and put into prison for his “preaching of repentance” (Matt. 14:3-4). Later he died there (14:6-12). For a while, John was believed, until he started talking about repentance and changing one’s life, then he needed to be silenced!

Earlier Jesus pointed out to the multitude (Matt. 11:7) that they had been saying about John, that “he had a demon” (v. 18). What would give people that idea? John was not a glutton or a drunkard the text says. So why would he be characterized as someone who possessed a demon? Because when people do not like someone and the message that he is expounding, and they cannot logically refute it, the next best thing is to try to discredit the messenger by labeling him with something bad to demean his character.

Oftentimes people are not able to stand toe-to-toe with a Christian as he uses the Word of God to confront a moral issue. God’s wisdom is always right and if used well will come out as the most logical and influential idea in any argument. Therefore, since God cannot be shown to be wrong, let’s discredit the messenger by labeling him with bad names, such as: “he’s possessed with a demon.” It doesn’t matter if his life is holy and pure such as was the case with John the Baptist. Let’s just give to him a bad name so others will hear about it and not pay any attention to what he is saying.

The same thing was said of Jesus but using different analogies. Although John did not drink wine and had a very strict diet, but was nevertheless labeled as a “demon-possessed” person, Jesus on the other hand did drink wine and was not on any ceremonial eating plan (Luke 11:19). Yet Jesus was labeled as a glutton, a drunkard and worse of all, A FRIEND OF SINNERS!

Again notice that no effort is being used to discredit Jesus’ message, because they could not. So the unbelievers were throwing out immoral labels onto Jesus seeking to discredit his character.

If you oppose homosexuality then you are a homophobe. If you are not in favor of affirmative action then you are a racist. If you do not favor the war in Iraq then you are insensitive and mean-spirited. If you don’t agree with Hillary Clinton then you are a sexist. If you are a conservative then you are a bigot. If you are suspicious of Arabs and Muslims while in a crowded area or at an airport, then you are xenophobic and racially profiling. The list goes on.

But my point is this: Why did the people only follow John for a while? Because as soon as he started demanding of the people repentance and a change life if they were seeking to be true and authentic followers of Jesus Christ Himself, they abandoned ship and tried to justify their decision of doing so by labeling John with bad names.

This commonly happens today. People will come to church all excited and emotionally charged! As soon as they hear a message that pertains to them personally about the need to repent of a particular sin that they do not want to give up for the love of Christ, they move on telling themselves and others that there is something wrong with the pastor or the church.

This is not only true of sheep – I need to make this clear, but also of shepherds. No one likes to be told to change their ways especially if they like their ways even though such ways may be evil and suspicious.

But the bottom line behind it all is this: Jesus stated, “You search the Scriptures. . .that bear witness of Me, but you are UNWILLING TO COME TO ME that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).

Most of the time it is not the messenger’s fault or some faulty reasoning in the kernel of the message, rather it is the “unwillingness” of the listener to appropriate “fruits in keeping with repentance.”

A woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. She says to the clerk, "May I have 50 Christmas stamps?"

The clerk says, "What denomination?"

The woman says, "Has it really come to this? Okay, give me 6 Catholic, 12 Presbyterian, 10 Lutheran and 22 Baptists."

Yes, it “really has come down to this!” Personal repentance on a daily and regular basis is a necessity for following the Lord (1 John 1:9). A refusal to do so, reveals the spiritual condition of one’s heart and also the motive for following Jesus or a commitment to a church “for a while.”