Luke 3:14 Commentary and Bible Study

The soldiers also came to John. This is work which some Christians have been reluctant to do. The job of a soldier may well be to fight and even to kill; he is the ultimate backstop of the state in enforcing its will. This seems to some to be something that is essentially wrong, but again, John does not tell the soldiers who come to him to leave their jobs. Rather he tells them to be content with their wages, something which would itself be immoral if they were not conscientiously carrying out their work. Just as God has ordained government, so he has ordained the soldier, for the state cannot carry out its function by persuasion alone. There will always be situations both internal and external to the state which require the use of force, of the sword, and who carries a sword or the equivalent other than a police force or a soldier? There are complexities in this, for not every war is just and there have always been conscientious objectors who do not refuse to fight in some situations, and who in certain cases take issue with their government’s decision. But in general they serve in the army and do whatever they are told. That of course is required of a soldier who has to do some very difficult tasks.John has something to say to them, but it is not that they should stop doing their work as soldiers. There are temptations in every avenue of work and he identifies three particular problems. First, the legitimate use of force could be put to illegitimate use. They could use their position as soldiers for personal advantage, threatening those who they had no right to threaten in order to put pressure on them take from them what they had no right to take. John is not telling these soldiers never to use force in any situation. If he meant that, he really would be telling them to stop being soldiers. What he means is that they must not use violence as a means of extortion. They must not steal, or hurt those who were not fighting them; they must not terrorise citizens. The word literally means ‘to shake thoroughly’ or ‘to cause to tremble’, which includes the idea of using violence to get their way, as well as of causing others to be terrified. The soldier must visibly be a force for good. The soldier is to operate in a framework of law, not of lawlessness. ‘Neither be false accusers.’ This might have been done to invent an excuse for doing violence to someone. It was all part of creating an atmosphere of intimidation. If recompense was not made to the soldier who mad these accusations, violence would follow.‘And be content with your wages.’ That means do not try to supplement them through evil means, and do not grumble about what you receive. This must have been common enough, and there is always a strong temptation to join with others in complaining about our lot. The believer stands out as markedly different when he refuses to do this, and instead makes clear that he is satisfied.In receiving these answers from the prophet John, the people were sure that they received an answer from the Lord, and their consciences would have been at peace in doing their work. That is a good position to be in. Some were no doubt guilty in the very areas that John points out and would have needed to repent. Others who had already repented were confirmed in their repentance.