Matthew 3:1-17: “The Calling And Ministry Of John The Baptist”
by
1. INTRO: In this study of chapter 3 of Matthew, we
will look primarily at the man John the Baptist, for we can learn much from his
character and example, and we will also concentrate on understanding what his
message and ministry were and what they mean to us.
1.1.
John the Baptist is a man who is an example of one who
is straight as an arrow in his faithful obedience to God and in fulfilling his
calling before the Lord, but he is also a man who is characterized by
tremendous humility
1.2.
John the Baptist’s ministry was very focused and is
characterized as being a ‘voice’ of one who is crying out, and the message that
he cries out with is a message of ‘repentence’
1.2.1. We want to
concentrate on understanding first what ‘repentence’ really means, as well as
what place it is to have in a person’s life
1.3.
John the Baptist’s ministry of bringing people to
repentence precedes Christ’s in the gospels because the first step to becoming
one of God’s people is to repent of your life of sin and turn your life over to
Christ. After this step, a Christian can
grow in his relationship with God and learn about the
1.3.1. Therefore,
it is important for us to learn about the ministry of John the Baptist
2.
VS 3:1-4 - “3:1 Now
in those days John the Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of
2.1.
This ministry of
John’s probably began about 6 months before Jesus’ began his ministry
2.2.
Let’s
characterize John the Baptist as presented here:
2.2.1.
He had taken a
Nazarite vow for life, meaning that his life was dedicated to God’s service and
he never cut the locks of his hair, never drank alcohol, etc.
2.2.2.
His lifestyle is
very austere, for since his parents knew of his calling before his birth,
sometime during his youth he had gone and began living in the wilderness,
forsaking all of the comforts and entrapments of civilized life, in order to
have his heart fully and completely focused upon seeking, knowing, and serving
the Lord
2.2.3.
He was very much
a typical Old Testament type of prophet, and his garb resembled the description
given of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:8.
2.2.4.
There are 28 or
29 years that have elapsed since chapter 2 ended, and the phrase, ‘Now in those
days’, found in verse 1 can be misleading
2.2.4.1.
Luke 3:23 tells
us that Jesus began His ministry at the age of 30 years old, and we know from
Luke chapters 1 and 2 that Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist conceived
perhaps 6 months before Mary, so this tells us that 28 or 29 years have elapsed
since chapter 2 of Matthew
2.2.5.
He ate locusts
and wild honey, and it was legal under the Mosaic law to eat locusts, and, in
fact, some say they taste quite good fried in honey
2.3.
As I stated
earlier, John the Baptist’s ministry is characterized here as simply being ‘a
voice’, and his purpose was to reach
2.3.1.
Quoting from
Isaiah 40, Matthew tells us that John’s ministry as a ‘voice’ was to ‘make
ready the way of the Lord, and make His paths straight’
2.3.1.1.
In that day, when
Kings would tour a land for peaceful or military reasons, there would be people
who would go before them to plan their trip in order to make sure that there
would be no rough roads and no impedances in the travel of the King. Here, King Jesus must have obstacles removed
before the way will be ready for His arrival
2.3.1.2.
The manner in
which the way was to be made ready was by calling men and women everywhere to
repent from going their own way and living in rebellion against the Lord, and
to turn back their hearts to Him to serve and follow the Lord and His ways
2.3.1.3.
An unknown writer
has written concerning what John’s message was to produce, “So repentence
must: (a) Bring down the eminences of
pride, presumption, ingratitude. (b) Fill up the hollows of inattention, apathy,
despondency. (c) Straighten the crooked places of prejudice,
censoriousness, covetousness. (d) Smooth the rough places of sabbath-breaking,
drukenness, profanity, immorality, instability”.
2.3.1.3.1.
In all of the
ways in which the people had turned away from the Lord, John the Baptist
preached to them to turn them back to God
2.3.1.3.2.
The religious
leaders, Pharisees, Saducees, Essenes, scribes, etc., as well as the general
populace of people in Jesus’ day were in a tremendous need of revival of
religion, for they had compromised and walked far away from the Lord and their
hearts had become very hard toward the Lord
2.3.1.3.2.1.
There had not
been a word from God through the prophets for about four hundred years, and
that divine silence had an effect on the people
2.3.1.3.2.1.1.
The Jews had been
bad enough when they had the prophets denouncing their sins all of the time
2.3.1.3.2.2.
There was a need
of repentence in
2.3.1.4.
John the Baptist
is a very good example to us of someone who was faithful to the Lord and to the
calling which the Lord had given him, for his ministry was very focused,
relating just to calling people everywhere to repent and turn to the Lord who
was soon to appear
2.3.1.4.1.
John the Baptist
was called by Jesus in Matt. 11:11 the greatest of all of the Old Testament
prophets, for though he had to play his tune on an instrument with only one
string, concentrating only on calling people to repentence, in this he is an
example to all of us to be faithful to our calling no matter how insignificant
we may at times feel that the particular gifts or ministries we have been
called to may be
2.3.1.5.
John the Baptist
was not a re-incarnated Elijah, however according to Jesus John came in the
spirit and power of Elijah the prophet of old (Matt. 11:14), and he fulfilled
the prophesies made concerning Elijah in verses such as Mal. 4:5-6, “5 “Behold,
I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and
terrible day of the Lord. 6 “And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to
their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come
and smite the land with a curse.””
2.3.1.5.1.
Sin causes a
separation of people from God, as well as people from people, and thus John is
prophesied by Malachi as being one who through his preaching repentence restore
the hearts of fathers to children and visa verse
2.4.
What does this
word ‘repent’ really mean?
2.4.1.
Repentence does
not merely mean a sorrow for sin
2.4.1.1.
Judas Iscariot
had such sorrow for his sin in betraying Jesus, for in Matthew 27:44 it is written that he told
the chief priests and elders, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood”. But
they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!”, and then he went out and
hanged himself. Judas was called a child
of perdition (hell) by Christ
2.4.1.2.
The rich young
ruler left Christ sorrowful but not repentant in Luke 18:23
2.4.1.3.
Godly sorrow for
sins committed is an important part of repentence however, and it is sad that
sometimes people are only sorry for their sins because they got caught sinning,
not because they had sinned in the first place
2.4.2.
Repentence does
not merely mean admitting what you have done is sin (as if God needed to be
told or reminded)
2.4.2.1.
A hardened
Pharoah admitted his sin (Exod. 9:27)
2.4.2.2.
A greedy Achan acknowledged
his sin (Josh 7:20)
2.4.2.3.
An insincere Saul
confessed his sins (1 Sam. 15:24)
2.4.3.
William Perkins,
a Puritan, wrote about what genuine repentence is, “Godly sorrow causeth grief
for sin, because it is sin. It makes any
man in whom it is to be of this disposition and mind, that if there were no
conscience to accuse, no devil to terrify, no Judge to arraign and condemn, no
hell to torment, yet he would be humbled and brought on his knees for his sins,
because he hath offended a loving, merciful, and long-suffering God”
2.4.4.
Genuine
repentence, like conversion itself, has to involve the heart, the mind, and the
will, for the heart must have godly sorrow for sins committed against a holy
loving Father, the mind must be pursuaded that the sin committed was indeed specific
transgression against God and His holy law which reveals the sin, and the will
must be yielded back to God to do His will and with the resolve that by His
strength and enabling that the sin or sins will not be committed again
2.4.5.
The word ‘repent’
in the Greek, “metanoeo”, is the combination of two words which combined mean,
“a change of mind”, and thus to ‘repent’ means to turn around and go the
absolute opposite direction from which you have been going
2.4.6.
The repentence
which John preached was to be done to prepare the people’s hearts for the
coming Messiah, for it was at this time that the Messiah was coming and
people’s hearts must be made ready to meet their Lord
2.5.
We Christians
must walk always repenting of our sins when we realize that we have fallen short
of obeying the Lord in our lives
2.5.1.
We need to apply
1 John 1:9 and confess our sins as often as is needed
3.
VS 3:5-6 - “5 Then
Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the
Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they
confessed their sins” - John’s
popularity
3.1.
John the Baptist
had for some reason become a popular figure in Israel, with people coming to
him from all parts, for his words were the product of his life of contrition as
well as anointing by the Holy Spirit, and thus they brought a fire of
conviction upon his hearers
3.2.
The word
“baptism” means “submersion”, and the fact that in John’s baptism that the
people were submerged under the water is seen later in this chapter where it
says of Jesus that “when He came out of the water”
3.3.
John’s baptism
was truly an unusual thing in
3.3.1.
In
3.3.2.
Other instances
of baptism were that the priests were washed before entering the holy place to
minister, and when Moses inagurated the Aaronic priesthood, the priests were
sprinkled with blood (but remember the word baptism means ‘immersion’)
3.3.3.
Those who were
being baptized by John were thinking of the baptism as being an outward symbol
of what was already an internal reality, they had turned from their sins and were
now new people to walk in the ways of the Lord.
The water itself had no transforming power, it was just a symbol of what
had already happened
3.3.3.1.
Indeed all
Christians must look at water baptism as being an outward symbol and testimony
of what God has already done in their life
3.4.
Not only did the
people get baptized by John, but they were also confessing their sins as they
were being baptized
3.4.1.
The people were
not merely admitting that they were sinful, but they were actually confessing
the particular sins which they were repenting of as they were being baptized
4.
VS 3:7-10 - “7 But
when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to
them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8
“Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose
that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to
you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10
“And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” - John rebukes and exhorts Pharisees and
Sadducees who came to him to be baptized
4.1.
It is a sad
thing, but unfortunately many of those who came to John to be baptized by him
were either not sincere or did not follow through with their public profession
of repentence
4.2.
We do not really
know the motives of these Pharisees and Sadducees in wanting to come and be
baptized by John
4.2.1.
They may have thought
of coming to John as being like what some who profess Christianity today think,
their supposed conversion experience is merely something that they are holding
onto for “fire insurance”
4.2.1.1.
Some people today
will tell you of a time where they felt the Lord’s dealing with them and they
went forward and prayed with someone to become a Christian, and they hope that
because of that they will go to heaven, but when it comes to following Christ
closely in their life today they have no interest
4.2.2.
They may have been
curious and came just to check out what was happening and then decided to go
along with the crowd and be baptized
4.2.3.
They may have
only come as spies trying to ascertain what kind of a threat and danger John
the Baptist may end up being to their religious institutions
4.3.
Christ calls the
Pharisees and Saducees who came to him a brood of ‘vipers’
4.3.1.
Vipers were the
most dangerous of snakes in the land for they were very poisonous, yet they
were small and hard to see and thus were often confused for being sticks, and
sometimes people would be bitten when they accidently picked them up
4.3.1.1.
Instead of
leading people to the fountain of life and joy in the Lord, these false
teachers and hypocrites were as deadly to the faith of the people of the land
as were poisonous vipers
4.3.2.
When people would
burn a field in order to have the vegetation plowed under so that the field
could be planted at another time, it was often the case that this presented a
danger, for if there were vipers in the field, that they would be escaping the
flames as they burned. Thinking of this
illustration, Jesus asks these men who warned them ‘to flee from the wrath to come?’
4.4.
John warns these
Pharisees and Saducees not to think that because Abraham was their father that
they did not need to worry about repenting
4.4.1.
The Jews have
always thought that because they are descendants of Abraham that they have a
special relationship with God and therefore they should not need to do anything
like repent of their sins in order to be accepted by God
4.4.2.
The Jews in
John’s day taught that father Abraham stood outside the doors of hades and made
sure that no Israelite who died would ever enter in there
4.4.3.
God does not need
any of us, and if we are not willing to lay our lives before Him and worship
and glorify Him with our hearts and lives, He will in fact raise up children
from stones if necessary to find a people who will worship Him
4.5.
John warns the
Pharisees and Saducees that God’s axe is already placed on the root of the
house of
4.5.1.
We know that in
70 AD the Romans came in and destroyed
4.5.1.1.
For a time the
nation of Israel has been set aside as God is calling out His church and
working in them, but as Romans 11 and other chapters of God’s Word reveal,
during the Tribulation Period in the end times, God will once again begin to
work in the nation of Israel, and all Israel will turn to faith in Christ and
be saved
4.5.2.
In John 15:1-6,
Jesus taught that those who do not bear fruit for God will be cut out and
burned, with the inference being eternal punishment in hell, and that those who
do bear fruit will be pruned that they bear more fruit, for God insists that
His people bear fruit for Him in their lives, “15:1 “I am the true vine, and My
Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He
takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear
more fruit. 3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to
you. 4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I
am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears
much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide
in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and
cast them into the fire, and they are burned”
4.5.2.1.
We Christians
need to realize that one way or the other the Lord is going to cause us to bear
fruit, and it is alot easier for us when we listen to the Lord and allow Him to
do His work in our lives
4.5.2.1.1.
In fact, Paul
wrote in 1 Cor. 11 that if we will judge ourselves that the Lord will not judge
(or discipline) us
4.5.2.2.
Jesus said that
by our fruits men would know us, for fruit-bearing is the true test of a
converted heart
5.
VS 3:11-12 - “11 “As
for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me
is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 “And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and
He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into
the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”” - John heralds Christ and His baptism
5.1.
We see in this
chapter the humility of John
5.1.1.
John preached
repentence but he himself was very aware of his own sinfulness and
unworthiness, for he says here that his is ‘not fit to remove His sandals’
5.1.1.1.
In the Greek and
the Hebrew culture, the lowest of servants had the job of removing the sandals
from their master’s or their master’s guest’s feet, and John speaks of himself
in that same low station in relation to the Messiah of not being worthy to be
the lowest of servants and remove Jesus’ sandals
5.1.2.
John also realize
how mighty the Lord was in relation to himself saying, ‘He is mightier than I’
5.1.3.
We see later in
this same chapter that John was at first unwilling to baptize Jesus who came to
him because he felt that he himself needed to be baptized by Jesus instead
5.2.
John proclaims
that Jesus Himself will baptize His people with the Holy Spirit
5.2.1.
Later in this
chapter Jesus is baptized in the Holy Spirit, and on the day of Pentecost and
throughout the book of Acts, Jesus baptizes His people with the Holy Spirit
5.2.2.
In John 20:22, we
see that Jesus breathed on the disciples and spoke to them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit”, but they were not yet baptized (submerged) in the Holy Spirit for He
had not fallen on them at this time (see Acts chapter 2 for that)
5.2.3.
In 1 Cor. 12:13,
Paul wrote the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ, and he writes
in the same book that if anyone does not have the Holy Spirit he is none of
His, however this baptism into the body of Christ is not the same baptism as
what is spoken of here of Christ baptising His people with the Holy Spirit
5.2.4.
The baptism of
the Holy Spirit can occur subsequent to salvation, and it is a special enabling
that is sovereignly given by God for the purpose of effective ministry (usually
involving evangelism)
5.3.
John proclaims
that Jesus will also baptize with ‘fire’
5.3.1.
There are two
views as to what this means
5.3.1.1.
Some believe that
the fire mentioned here is the ‘fire of purification’ which the Holy Spirit
performs in a believers life as He carries out that pruning and conforming of
him into the image of Christ
5.3.1.2.
Other people
believe that the fire mentioned here is the ‘fire of judgment’ that will fall
upon all of those who refuse Christ as their Lord and Savior
5.3.1.2.1.
Both views have
merit, however in context verse 12 seems to indicate that the fire that He
mentions is the ‘fire of judgment’ for the impenitent
5.3.2.
The ‘unquenchable
fire’ is the same one which Christ referred often to and which we know from the
book of Revelation as the “lake of fire” which all unbelievers will be thrown
into after appearing before the Great White Throne Judgment of Christ
6.
VS 3:13-15 - “13 Then
Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the
6.1.
We know from Luke
that Jesus was now 30 years of age, and now He realized that the time had come
for Him to begin His ministry, a ministry that would end at Calvary, and so He
immediately leaves His home in Nazareth of Galilee and goes to the
6.2.
We have a big
question to answer here in these verses regarding why it was that Jesus came to
John to be baptized by him?
6.2.1.
By coming to
John, Jesus gives His public approval and validation of John’s ministry, and by
being baptized by John, Jesus demonstrates by example to His followers their
need for public baptism and confession of Christ
6.2.2.
Jesus shows His
humility since knowing that He was worthy of all worship by creatures in heaven
and earth, yet He is willing to submit to the baptism of one of His very own
servants, John
6.2.3.
Jesus did not
need to have His sins washed away, nor to confess His sin, for He was the lamb
without spot or blemish who could qualify to be that perfect sacrifice for all
of the sins of mankind
6.2.4.
We need to
understand that Jesus lived His life in the flesh in submission to the Father
and to the very laws which He Himself had instituted, and as such He was
obedient to parents and authorities of man, and here in this verse He Himself
gives the reason that He had to be baptized, it was ‘to fulfill all
righteousness’
6.2.4.1.
In order to be
the perfect flawless sacrifice as well our example in all things, He had to
submit to the same baptism which He calls His followers to submit to
6.2.4.1.1.
That every
Christian is to come to God and to submit to water baptism becomes clearer
later in the gospels as well as in the book of Acts and the epistles, for
baptism for the Christian means just what it did to those who were baptised by
John, it is a public profession of faith through this symbol of the inward
transformation that has already been brought about by the Lord (see Romans 6)
6.3.
Jesus talks John
into baptising Him by telling him to ‘permit it at this time’
6.3.1.
In other words,
for now this is the relationship which Jesus must have to John and to his
ministry, however that will all change in the not too distant future when at the
Name of Jesus every knee both in heaven and earth will bow (Phil. 2)
7.
VS 3:16-17 - “16 And
after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the
heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and
coming upon Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”” -
Jesus is baptized by John
7.1.
We see in this
story of the baptism of Christ that God paints for us a beautiful picture of
the Trinity, for the Son is baptized, the Spirit falls upon Him, and the Father
speaks
7.1.1.
Matt. 28:19 gives
further evidence of the fact that God intended to paint a picture of the
Trinity in Christ’s baptism, for after Jesus is raised from the dead, He gives
His disciples the great commission and tells them to go out and baptize in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “19 “Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit”
7.1.2.
In John 1:32-34,
John the apostle records John the Baptist testifying that God had told him that
He would reveal the Messiah for when John baptized Him the Holy Spirit would
descend upon Him and remain there, “32 And John bore witness saying, “I have
beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.
33 “And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to
me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is
the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “And I have seen, and have borne
witness that this is the Son of God.””
7.1.2.1.
Even though John
and Jesus were cousins, John had been raised apart from Jesus, and he hadn’t
seen Jesus since early childhood, so he could only recognize Jesus by this sign
7.2.
Here and on the
Mount of Transfiguration, the Father spoke directly to Jesus in the presence of
witnesses and declared that He was His One and unique Son in whom He was well
pleased
7.2.1.
In 2 Peter
1:16-19, Peter mentions that the prophetic word concerning Christ is made more
trustworthy because of the fact that he and others were eye-witnesses when the
Father spoke these words to Christ on the Mt. of Transfiguration, “16 For we
did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when
He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was
made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am
well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when
we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word
made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a
dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts”
7.3. All true believers and followers of Christ are
children of God (John 1:12), however there is a special sense in which Christ
is the only and unique Son of God