Repentance and Forgiveness

Luke 3:1-3 (ESV)
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, [2] during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. [3] And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Proclaiming a Baptism of Repentance for the Forgiveness of Sins. The two go hand in hand, forgiveness and repentance, or repentance and forgiveness. Even the acceptance of forgiveness is an act of repentance. It is a realization that you need forgiveness. John the Baptist, the son of Zechariah is doing this. He is proclaiming it, which in this instance means that he is doing it and explaining that when he does it one is doing an act of repentance and thereby receiving the forgiveness of sins. Wherever there is repentance there is also forgiveness. One should not though, that John’s baptism isn’t the same as that which Jesus does. Jesus gives more. John is doing this merely to prepare the way for Jesus. Jesus is the way.