MATTHEW CHAPTER 3.
The Years Between:
The Emergence Of John The Baptizer:
The Message Of John The Baptist:
The Threat.
The Promise.
The Demand.
Jesus And His Baptism:
Key Takeaway: The Identity Of Jesus As The Son Of God Is Revealed In His Baptism.
Simple Outline:
I. John The Baptist Emerges (3:1-12).
A. John Preaches (3:1-3).
B. John And The Jewish Leaders (3:4-12).
2. Jesus Is Baptized (3:13-17).
A. Who Needs To Be Baptized (3:13-15).
B. Revelation Through Baptism (3:16-17).
THE YEARS BETWEEN: MATTHEW 3:
In Between The 2 Chapters There Are 30 Silent Years.
What Was Happening In Those Silent Years?
Jesus Came Into The World To Be The Savior Of It.
For Thirty Years He Stayed Mostly In Palestine.
Most Of The Life Of Jesus Were Spent In Nazareth.
He Did Go To Jerusalem To The Passover Celebration.
He Died When He Was Thirty-Three.
Thirty Were Spent Without Record In Nazareth.
What was happening then?
(1) Jesus Was Growing Up To Manhood In A Good Home:
(2) Jesus Was Fulfilling The Duties Of An Eldest Son:
Jesus Sets Example: The Simple Duties Of The Home.
(3) Jesus Was Learning What It Was Like To Work:
Earn Money, Buy Food And Clothes, Conduct Business.
Jesus Wanted To Know And Experience REAL LIFE.
THE EMERGENCE OF JOHN THE BAPTIZER.
MATTHEW 3:1-6.
John The Baptizer Arrived On The Scene.
John Was Preaching In The Wilderness Of Judea.
His Message:
Repent For The Kingdom Of The Heaven Is Near.
Make Ready The Road By Which The Lord Is Coming.
Make Straight The Paths Which He Must Travel.
Many Responded And Went Out To Him.
They Confessed Their Sins.
They Were Baptized In The River Jordan.
The Emergence Of John: The Voice Of God Thru Him.
It Had Been 400 Years Since There Had Been A Prophet.
The Voice Of Prophecy Had Been Silent.
In John The Prophetic Voice Spoke Again.
What Were The Characteristics Of John ?
(i) He Fearlessly Denounced Evil.
John Rebuked:
Herod The King And His Unlawful Marriage.
Orthodox Religion In Their Ritualistic Formalism.
Ordinary People Who Lived Being Unaware Of God.
He Was Like A Light Which Lit Up The Dark Places;
He Was Like Wind Which Swept Throughout The Country.
(ii) He Urgently Summoned Men To Righteousness.
John's Message:
A Negative Message;
A Positive Message Of The Moral Standards Of God.
He Not Only Denounced Men For What They Had Done;
He Summoned Them To What They Ought To Do.
He Not Only Condemned Men For What They Were;
He Challenged Them To Be What They Could Be.
He Was Like A Voice Calling Men To Higher Things.
(iii) John Came From God.
He Came Out Of The Desert.
He Came To Men After Lonely Preparation By God.
(iv) John Pointed Beyond Himself.
A Light To Illumine Evil,
A Voice To Rebuke Sin,
A Signpost To God.
John Was Not Seeking His Own Fame.
He Wished To Prepare Them For The One Coming.
John Was Preparing The Way For The King.
The Preacher, The Teacher, The Prophet: Points At God.
THE MESSAGE: THREAT AND PROMISE.
MATTHEW 3:7-12.
THE THREAT:
John Told The Religious Leaders They Were Snakes.
John Told Them To Produce Fruit To Fit Repentance.
Metaphor: The Axe Is Already Applied To The Root Of The Trees.
Every Non Productive Trees Will Be Cut And Burned.
He Warns Them:
No Use Pleading That Abraham Was Their Father.
No Value To Them Being In Biological Family.
To The Orthodox Jew That Was An Incredible Statement.
Abraham Was Unique.
Abraham Was Good And Found Favor With God.
Abraham Merits Was Sufficient For Himself.
Abraham Merits Was Sufficient For All Descendants.
He Had Built Up A Treasury Of Merit.
He Had Built Enough Merit To Meet All Claims.
The Jews Believed Being A Jew Excused Them.
All Jews Were Covered By The Merits Of Abraham.
They Talked About The Delivering Merits Of The Fathers.
The Jewish Leaders Say:
Abraham Sat At The Gates Of Gehenna.
That A Jew Was Protected From Eternal Suffering.
Which Enabled The Ships To Sail Safely On The Seas;
That The Rain Descended On The Earth;
That It Was The Merits Of Abraham Which Enabled Moses To Enter Into Heaven And To Receive The Law;
That It Was Because Of The Merits Of Abraham That David Was Heard.
Even For The Wicked These Merits Sufficed.
THE FALSE DOCTRINE THAT JOHN IS REBUKING ?
Evil Living Cannot Plead The Merits Of Faithful Fathers.
One Cannot Live On The Spiritual Capital Of The Past.
THE MESSAGE: THE THREAT, NOW THE PROMISE:
After John's Threat There Came The Promise.
John Pointed Beyond Himself To The Promised One.
John Says: He Was Not Fit To Even Carry His Sandals.
An Attitude Of Self-Obliteration, Not Self-Importance.
His Only Importance: :Signpost Pointing To The Messiah.
JOHN WILL BAPTIZE YOU:
WITH WATER THAT YOU MAY REPENT.
JESUS WILL BAPTIZE YOU:
WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND WITH FIRE.
THE PROMISED ONE WOULD BE WITH THE SPIRIT:
All Through Their History The Jews Had Looked For The Time When The Spirit Would Come.
Ezekiel Says:
A New Heart God Will Give Us,
A New Spirit I Will Put Within You,
God Will Put His Spirit Within Us.
God Will Cause Us To Walk In His Statutes.
God Will Cause Us To Be Careful To Observe His Law.
God Will Put His Spirit Within Us And We Shall Live.
God Will Not Hide His Face From Us Any More.
He Will Pour Out His Spirit Upon Israel.
He Will Pour Out My Spirit On All Flesh.
WHAT IS THE GIFT AND WORK OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD?
We Need To See It In Hebrew Terms.
John Was A Jew.
John Was Speaking Mostly To Jews.
Speaking In Terms Of The Jewish Doctrine Of The Spirit.
(i) The Word For Spirit: It Also Means Breath.
Breath Is Life; The Promise Of Life.
The Spirit Of God Breathes God's Life Into A Man.
When The Spirit Of God Enters Us A Defeated Life Leaves Us And A New Life Begins.
(ii) The Word For Spirit: It Also Means Wind.
It Is The Word For The Storm Wind.
The Mighty Rushing Wind That Once Elijah Heard.
Wind Means Power.
The Wind Has An Irresistible Power.
The Spirit Of God Is The Spirit Of Power.
(iii) The Word For Spirit: It Is Connected With Creation.
It Was The Spirit Of God Who Moved Upon The Face Of The Waters And Made The Chaos Into A Cosmos, Turned Disorder Into Order, And Made A World Out Of Nothing.
The Spirit Of God Can Re-Create Us.
(iv) The Word For Spirit: It Is Connected With Truth To Mankind.
The Spirit Changes Mankind's Human Ignorance Into Divine Knowledge.
(v) The Word For Spirit: It Is Connected With Sight.
The Spirit Enables Men To Recognize God's Truth When They See It.
When The Spirit Enters Our Hearts, Our Eyes Are Opened.
The Prejudices Which Blinded Us Are Taken Away.
The Self-Will Which Darkened Us Is Removed.
The Spirit Enables Us To See With Spiritual Eyes.
THE PROMISED ONE WILL BE WITH FIRE.
The Idea Of Illumination.
The Blaze Of A Flame Sends A Light Through The Night And Illuminates The Darkest Corners.
The Idea Of Warmth.
As One Who Light A Fire In Cold Rooms.
The Idea Of Purification.
The Purifying Flame Burns Away Lies And Leaves Truth.
THE PROMISED ONE WILL BE WITH SEPARATION.
The Picture Of The Threshing Floor.
The Grain Is Tossed Into The Air.
The Heavy Grain Falls To The Ground.
The Light Chaff Blows Away By The Wind.
The Coming Of Christ Involves A Separation.
Men Either Accept Him Or Reject Him.
When Confronted With The Message Of Jesus:
With A Choice Which Cannot Be Avoided.
With A Choices To Either Be For Or Against.
With A Choice Which Settles Your Destiny.
Mankind Is Separated By Their Reaction To Jesus Christ.
THE MESSAGE OF JOHN--THE DEMAND.
There Was One Basic Demand.
Demand Of John: REPENT!
Demand Of Jesus: REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL !
Repentance Was Central To All Religious Faith.
Repentance Was Central To All Relationship With God.
Repentance Was The Condition Of God's Forgiveness.
Repentance Was The Condition Of God's Restoration.
A CARDINAL DOCTRINE OF JUDAISM: REPENTANCE.
To The Jew:
One Gateway Back To God: The Gateway Of Repentance.
The Essence Of Repentance:
Change Of Mind, Change Of Life, Change Of Conduct.
Repentance Is That The Sinner Forsakes His Sin.
It Is A Turn From Evil To God With A Change In Action.
No Person Is Hopeless For Repentance.
No Person Is Beyond Repentance.
JESUS AND HIS BAPTISM.
MATTHEW 3:13-17.
Jesus Came From Galilee To Be Baptized In The Jordan.
John Says: He Was Not Worthy.
Jesus Says: Let It Be So To Fulfill All Righteousness.
Jesus Came Up Immediately From The Water.
The Heavens Were Opened For John To See.
The Spirit Descended Like A Dove Upon Jesus.
This Voice From Heaven Was Heard By John And Jesus.
This Was:
The Very Moment For Which Jesus Had Been Waiting.
The Beginning Of His Public Ministry.
The Opportunity To Identify With The People In Baptism.
THE VOICE HEARD BY JOHN AND JESUS AT THE BAPTISM IS OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE:
This Is My Beloved Son With Whom I Am Well Pleased.
That Sentence Is Composed Of Two Quotations.
This Is My Beloved Son (Psalms: 2:7): Description Of The Messiah, The Mighty King Of God Who Was To Come.
With Whom I Am Well Pleased (Isaiah: 42:1): Description Of The Suffering Servant That Is Also Stated In Isaiah 53.
THE BAPTISM SHOWS TWO CERTAINTIES:
The Certainty That:
Jesus Was Indeed The Chosen One Of God,
The Way In Front Of Him Was The Way Of The Cross.
Again, His Baptism Was:
The Kickoff For His Earthly Ministry !
He Knew That He Was Chosen To Be King,
He Knew That His Throne Must Be A Cross.
He Knew That He Was Destined To Be A Conqueror,
His Only Weapon Of This Conquest: THE POWER OF SUFFERING LOVE.
There Was Set Before Jesus Both His Task And The Only Way To The Fulfilling Of It.
FINAL QUESTION FOR US:
What Shall Be The Punishment Of The Sinner?
Wisdom Says:
Misfortune Pursues Sinners (Proverbs:13:21).
Prophecy Says:
The Soul That Sins Shall Die (Ezekiel:18:4).
The Law Says:
Let Him Bring A Sacrifice (Leviticus:1:4).
GOD SAYS:
LET THEM REPENT AND OBTAIN ATONEMENT.
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