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 speak of 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment