Luke 3:7–14

The Joy of Repentance

One way John the Baptist helped the people prepare themselves to receive Jesus Christ was by inviting them to repent. This lesson is intended to help you better understand repentance and the joy that regular repentance brings.

Student preparation: Invite students to reflect on their own attitudes about and experiences with repentance by pondering questions such as these: “What feelings or emotions come when you think of repentance? Why?”“What experiences have you had with repentance?”“What questions do you have about repentance?”

Possible Learning Activities

Repentance can be a sensitive topic. Be careful to help students learn without sharing details of past sins. Understand that some students may be prone to excessive feelings of inadequacy and guilt. Help the students understand and feel the love, mercy, and help of the Savior available to them individually.

What brings you joy?

Reflect on what brings joy to you. Consider listing as many examples as you can in 30 seconds.

Consider allowing students to share some of their responses.

President Russell M. Nelson taught the following about how we can receive joy in our lives:

When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him.

(Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 67)

Repentance is changing by turning away from sin and drawing closer to God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ (see Guide to the Scriptures, “Repent, Repentance,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Did you put repentance on your list of things that bring you joy? Why or why not?

Invite students to add more of their thoughts on repentance by sharing their answers from the suggested student preparation activity. Consider which questions it would be best to discuss as a class, to share answers anonymously, or to use as self-reflection for students to record privately in their study journals.
If you did not think of repentance as something that brings you joy, what feelings or emotions come when you think of repentance? Why?
Why might someone not always immediately feel joy while repenting?

Ponder any questions you may have about repentance. Later in the lesson, you will have an opportunity to seek for answers to these questions.

“Repent ye. … Prepare ye the way of the Lord”

To help prepare the people to receive Jesus Christ, John the Baptist invited them to repent (see Matthew 3:1–3).

In the previous lesson, you studied what Mark and Matthew recorded about John the Baptist. Luke included additional details about John. Read Luke 3:10–14, looking for how John helped the people repent.

What changes did John invite the people to make?
How might these changes have helped the people turn from sin and be prepared to accept and follow Jesus Christ?

Study the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson. As you do, pay attention to what the Holy Ghost is teaching you about repentance and the Savior Jesus Christ.

Consider displaying the following statement or making it a handout for students.

Too many people consider repentance as punishment—something to be avoided except in the most serious circumstances. But this feeling of being penalized is engendered by Satan. He tries to block us from looking to Jesus Christ, who stands with open arms, hoping and willing to heal, forgive, cleanse, strengthen, purify, and sanctify us.

The word for repentance in the Greek New Testament is metanoeo. The prefix meta- means “change.” The suffix -noeo is related to Greek words that mean “mind,” “knowledge,” “spirit,” and “breath.”

Thus, when Jesus asks you and me to “repent” [Luke 13:3, 5], He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit—even the way we breathe. He is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our wives, teach our children, and even care for our bodies.

Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day.

(Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 67)

What stands out to you from President Nelson’s teachings about repentance and Jesus Christ?

Consider inviting students to imagine the Savior standing with open arms, hoping to help, forgive, heal, and strengthen them. Invite them to imagine the joy He wants them to experience as they strive to repent.
When have you witnessed the blessings of repentance in yourself or others?
Why do you think the Savior is so hopeful that we will repent and is so willing to forgive us?

For the next several minutes, you will choose and study a specific aspect of repentance that will help you draw closer to and become more like Jesus Christ, have increased access to His power and peace, and feel greater joy. The following are specific aspects of repentance that you may want to study. Choose one of these to study, or study one of your own questions about the topic of repentance.

Consider referring to students’ questions about repentance that they pondered earlier and using them in place of, or in addition to, the following study questions.

How do I repent?
How can I find more joy in repentance?
How can I overcome the fear of repentance?
What might a regular, daily focus on repentance involve, or what might it look like in my life?

The following are some specific resources to help you deepen your understanding of repentance. These are available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org or on the Gospel Library app. These and other resources can be used to guide your study of the aspect of repentance you have chosen. Consider taking notes and highlighting details that you find most important.

Decide which resources are available and would be best to provide to students. If necessary, show students how to look up the various entries.

For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices [booklet, 2022], “Jesus Christ Will Help You,” 6–9
Gospel Topics, “Repentance,” “Forgiveness,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
Topical Guide, “Repent, Repentance,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
Guide to the Scriptures, “Repent, Repentance,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
General conference addresses such as Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 67–69
Dale G. Renlund, “Repentance: A Joyful Choice,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 121–24

Consider having students work in pairs or small groups to discuss and teach one another what they have learned. They can use the following questions:
What did you learn from your study?
What advice would you give to someone struggling to understand why they need to repent? What would you want them to know and understand about Jesus Christ?
What has helped you to develop or strengthen your testimony of the joy of repentance through Jesus Christ?

Commentary and Background Information

Luke 3:7. Why did John call the people a “generation of vipers”?

A Palestinian viper is the most common poisonous snake in Israel. Vipers are active at night and typically hunt by hiding and then sneaking up on their prey. When they feel threatened, vipers will coil their bodies, hiss, and strike at their opponents. Similarly, the Pharisees and Sadducees felt threatened by John because he drew many people away from their false teachings.

Luke 3:8. What are “fruits worthy of repentance”?

In the scriptures, types of people are sometimes symbolized by trees that produce either good fruit or bad fruit. To “bring forth … fruits worthy of repentance” means to change our desires and actions to follow God’s teachings.

Luke 3:12. What are publicans?

In ancient Rome, publicans were tax collectors for the Roman government. Publicans were generally hated by the Jews, because the people viewed them as traitors to their own nation and because the publicans often charged more money for taxes than was necessary (see Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 3:19–20 [in the Bible appendix]; Luke 3:12–13). Some publicans readily accepted the gospel (see Matthew 9:9–10; Luke 19:1–10; Guide to the Scriptures, “Publican,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Does repentance save us?

It is not repentance per se that saves man. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that saves us. It is not by our sincere and honest change of behavior alone that we are saved, but “by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). True repentance, however, is the condition required so that God’s forgiveness can come into our lives. True repentance makes “a brilliant day [out] of the darkest night” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 362).

(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Point of Safe Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 100)

Supplemental Learning Activity

An alternative to having students study a specific aspect of repentance

Give students the following prompt:

Imagine that your bishop feels like the youth in your ward have a negative attitude toward repentance. In preparation for an upcoming ward youth council meeting, he asks you to come prepared with questions and answers from the youth’s perspective on the topic of repentance. The bishopric will then use these topics to create a devotional to help the youth. Individually or with the help of your classmates, draft a few potential questions and answers about repentance that you feel would be most helpful for the youth in your ward. In your answers, include specific scriptures and prophetic quotes that would be helpful for the youth to know and understand.