Matthew 3:1 ¶ In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
Luke is more specific in how he fixes a date.
Luke 3:1 ¶ Now in the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor
of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch
of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of
Abilene, 2 Annas and Caiaphas being the
high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the
wilderness.
Mark also references this and, in fact, starts there alluding to
the Old Testament.
Mark 1:1 ¶ The beginning of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2
As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy
face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 The voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and
preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
The kingdom of heaven is only used in Matthew as a
reference to the kingdom of God which phrase Matthew also uses. For
proof of this by the text itself see;
By the way, a difference in those two phrases is not necessary to
prove the millennial reign of Christ or Israel’s importance.
Matthew
19:23 ¶ Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Matthew
11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them
that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:
notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist
until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by
force.
With;
Luke 7:28 For I say unto
you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than
John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than
he.
…then…
Matthew
13:10 And the disciples came, and said
unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is
given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it
is not given.
With;
Mark
4:10 And when he was alone, they that
were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given
to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
And…
Matthew
13:31 Another parable put he forth unto
them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a
man took, and sowed in his field: 32
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the
greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come
and lodge in the branches thereof.
With…
Mark
4:30 And he said, Whereunto shall we
liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31 It
is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is
less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and
becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the
fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Luke
13:18 ¶ Then said he, Unto what is the
kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a
man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and
the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
And…
Matthew
13:33 Another parable spake he unto
them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in
three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
With…
Luke
13:20 And again he said, Whereunto shall
I liken the kingdom of God? 21 It is
like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the
whole was leavened.
And…
Matthew
18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you,
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into
the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in
the kingdom of heaven.
With…
Mark
10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said
unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for
of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Verily
I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little
child, he shall not enter therein.
Luke
18:16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of
God. 17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever
shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter
therein.
And…
Matthew
4:17 From that time Jesus began to
preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
With…
Mark
1:14 ¶ Now after that John was put in
prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
And…
Matthew
5:3 ¶ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
With…
Luke
6:20 ¶ And he lifted up his eyes on his
disciples, and said, Blessed be ye
poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
In verse 3 Matthew quotes Isaiah;
Isaiah 40:3 ¶ The voice of
him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Also quoted in Mark and John;
Mark 1:3 The voice of one
crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight.
John 1:23 He said, I am the
voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as
said the prophet Esaias.
Luke quotes more fully with the Holy Spirit giving us word
substitutions that give the deeper meaning of the Old Testament passage;
Luke 3:4 As it is written
in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight.5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Isaiah 40:3 ¶ The voice of
him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4
Every valley shall be exalted, and
every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be
made straight, and the rough places plain: 5
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Verse 4 gives a description of John the Baptist’s appearance and
his diet confirmed in Mark.
Mark 1:6 And John was
clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he
did eat locusts and wild honey;
John reminds us of the prophet Elijah.
2Kings 1:8 And they
answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his
loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
Interestingly, there is this in the last book of the Old
Testament;
Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will
send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of
the LORD:6 And he shall turn the heart
of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Which we will see as explained by Jesus that John was a type of
Elijah coming in his power and authority and therefore Elijah had come to
announce the Messiah, if in type, power, and authority.
Matthew 17:10 And his
disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first
come? 11 And Jesus answered and said
unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come
already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed.
Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake
unto them of John the Baptist.
Verses 5 and 6 show that a large group of people from all over the
Roman province of Judea near the Jordan including Jerusalem. John’s baptism for
sin was to get the nation of Israel prepared to receive their Messiah. John the
Baptist will be the prophet who declares Christ. He will teach the Jewish
people as a nation to repent of their sins and be baptized as symbol of their
repentance. John’s baptism had no saving power but was an outward expression of
a commitment to righteousness in preparation for the Messiah to come.
Note that the kingdom of heaven and of God is about to be
revealed. Its nature and essence, its reality in the Lord Jesus Christ is just
on the verge of being shown to the Jews. The Jews need to prepare their hearts
and make sure their commitment. The Messiah is coming. They are still under the
Law.
Although the physical act of baptism is not mentioned in the law
for the general populace of Jews washing is referred to for the priests to wash
their hands and feet in Exodus 30:18-21. Peter refers to Noah’s experience in
the Ark saving him and his family from the Great Flood as a type of baptism in
1Peter 3:20-21. Paul uses typology in calling the flight through the Red Sea as
a type of baptism in 1Corinthians 10:1-2. Jonah’s experience in the deep is
also a type of baptism.
What is important is that as Old Testament shadows of future
truths and prophecies become more and more concrete as the Bible progresses we
have here John the Baptist preparing in baptism the Jews for the Messiah who is
about to appear. This is a commitment by the Jews, a commitment of the
spiritual heart in repentance of sin, sin that causes a need for the Messiah to
come to them.
We should consider the prayerful request from David.
Psalm 51:1 ¶ «To the chief
Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had
gone in to Bathsheba.» Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy
lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from
mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I
sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when
thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin
did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold,
thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part
thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 ¶ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken
may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my
sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free
spirit. 13 Then will I teach
transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 ¶ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou
God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my
mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest
not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices
of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure
unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the
sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then
shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
So, by David, Moses, Jonah, and even Naaman the Syrian we have a
fortelling in type of this baptism presented by John. This is not the same
baptism that we share. This is for national repentance in preparation of a
Messiah who, for us, has already come and will return. As the Messiah had not
been revealed yet David, Moses, and Jonah could not have made the following
prayer Peter commands the believing Jews to make later.
Acts 2:36 Therefore let all
the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye
have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 37 ¶
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 3:7 ¶ But when he
saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them,
O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for
repentance: 9 And think not to say
within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you,
that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of
the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire. 11 I
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is
mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor,
and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with
unquenchable fire.
John the Baptist condemns the religious elite. The wrath to come
is referred to in several places and it is assumed that the Jews already know
that this is expected.
1Thessalonians 1:10 And to
wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which
delivered us from the wrath to come.
Revelation 11:18 And the
nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they
should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the
prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and
shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
God’s judgment will be poured out at the end on wicked mankind and
John here is suggesting that the religious elite of Israel are among the wicked
to be judged.
Verse 8 shows us an important facet of the King James Bible in its
self-defining qualities. What does the word meet mean here? We
cross-reference the verse to Luke 3:8.
Luke 3:8 Bring forth
therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves,
We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these
stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Here we see that meet means worthy. This makes these
statements in Genesis make more sense to us.
Genesis 2:18 And the LORD
God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help
meet for him…:20 And Adam gave names to
all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but
for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
There is no such thing as a helpmeet, Christian. God created a
helper that was up to the task, a woman made from man. He created a helper
worthy for Adam in Eve.
What are fruits worthy of the mind of repentance from sin? For
these Jews obedience to the Law and turning from their sins against the Law was
fundamental.
Deuteronomy 6:24 And the
LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our
good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we
observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath
commanded us.
Faith in Christ is our righteousness.
Romans 10:4 For Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
And our works are centered around that faith and belief unlike the
Jews who had not seen the Messiah yet.
John 6:28 ¶ Then said they
unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is
the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
With regard to repentance, to repent is to turn from something,
changing your mind about it and rejecting it.
Exodus
32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians
speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the
mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce
wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Ezekiel
18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O
house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent,
and turn yourselves from all
your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
The self-righteousness of the religious elite could not accomplish
this. Only humility before God could accomplish this.
Verse 9 is one of those things Jesus says that underscores the
ability of God to do what our reality tells us is impossible. This type of
hyperbole is used elsewhere.
Luke 19:40 And he answered
and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the
stones would immediately cry out.
One commentator, Peter Ruckman, suggested that stones may record
sound and be a record of what is said in their vicinity. What do you think? God
could take inanimate objects, lifeless things, and make living human beings out
of them if He desired as He controls all reality and every function of every
cell.
Verses 10-12 state very clearly that the Messiah to come will
separate those who will obey and follow God and those who will not. This is a
theme of Matthew. There are several passages that underscore the dividing that
Christ does. The ministry of reconciling mankind to God’s self and the judgment
to come for those who will reject His free offer of salvation are both referred
to here in the early part of Matthew. Let’s look at some other passages as two
examples of this thought, a gathering and a judgment.
Matthew 13:24 ¶ Another
parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a
man which sowed good seed in his field: 25
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and
went his way. 26 But when the blade was
sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and
said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then
hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An
enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and
gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay;
lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up
also the wheat with them. 30
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I
will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matthew 25:31 ¶ When the
Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand,
but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall
the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I
was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye
visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee
drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger,
and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and
came unto thee? 40 And the King shall
answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred,
and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in:
naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him,
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked,
or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I
say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least
of these, ye did it not to me. 46
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous
into life eternal.
Matthew 3:13 ¶ Then cometh
Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to
be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15
And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for
thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up
straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he
saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Suffer, meaning to allow or permit as in the phrase I suffer fools
gladly when you are amazed at someone’s willful ignorance.
As Jesus, who is God in the flesh, requires of Himself that He
submit to the baptism of John an interesting figure of speech takes place. The
Spirit, capital S, of God, the very mind of God, descends on Jesus like a dove.
That is a simile connecting two unlike things with as or like. A
dove did not descend on Christ literally but only in type. Using a dove as a
symbol we can look back at Noah’s days as the Ark came to rest of dry land. The
dove signifies the Holy Spirit in Genesis 8 with Noah’s name related to the
Comforter when one compares Genesis 5:29 to John 14, 15, and 16’s reference to
the Holy Ghost as the Comforter.
John reported that Jesus didn’t do any baptizing Himself but that
His disciples baptized people.
John 4:1 When therefore the
Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more
disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus
himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
Verses 16 and 17 have their parallels in Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:22, and John 1:32-33.
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