John
the Baptist burst upon the Jewish scene like a flaming voice from
God. He came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, acclaimed by the
people as a prophet of God. The uniqueness of his prophecy was the
announcement of the coming of the Christ. His message was a call to
repentance, a genuine renewal of piety, but in the context of
preparation for the kingdom of heaven. In this sense his
confrontation with Pharisees, Sadducees, publicans and soldiers had
sociopolitical implications; a new kingdom was being announced.
Here again Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah, thereby
bridging the old covenant to the new inbreaking of the messianic age.
The quote from Isaiah clearly focuses on the messianic age: “The
voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the
Lord.’”
The description of John introduces him as a unique and
bold prophet. In being clothed with camel’s hair and a leather
belt, even his appearance marked him as a man of the wilderness
rather than a man of the courts and the streets. His diet of the
locust-bean and wild honey was good food, but it was the rough diet
of a man who lived close to earth and nature. Like Elijah in his
spirit and power, John broke the comfortable silence of humanism with
a word from Yahweh. Significantly, this inbreaking of a special
message from God comes not from the synagogues or the temple schools
but from a man whose schooling was in his walk with God.
John’s message was focused on the very center of
Jewish faith, for the call to repentance meant turning away from sin
and turning toward God. He was a stern realist regarding right and
wrong, calling for public confession and integrity in daily life. His
message is given in Luke 3:10–14: share with the needy, bear fruit
of integrity, do not extort money, be content with your wages. He saw
himself as only a slave for the coming Messiah (v. 11), yet he was
the voice to prepare the way—lifting the valleys of poverty that
embitter, lowering the hills of pride and wealth, smoothing the rough
road of social injustice, trying to show others that the kingdom was
at hand. To repent meant to live the life that God means for us to
live.
John seems to have introduced a baptism with water as a
unique symbol of “repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark
1:4). Scholars have wrestled with the relationship of this baptism to
that with blood in the initiatory rites of the Essene community, as
well as with proselyte baptism highly regarded by the school of
Hillel. But John was not creating a new religious structure. Rather,
he was announcing the coming of the King. Baptism for John was a
symbol of repentance, a symbol of cleansing from sin and turning away
from the old life to a new life.
In verses 5 and 6 we read that “Jerusalem, all
Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were
baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” It is
evident first, that his ministry was understood and respected, for
the people came from Jerusalem and from the total region to John’s
ministry. Second, it is evident that his baptism was understood as a
baptism of repentance, for the people were baptized, “confessing
their sins.”
The boldness of John is evident in his addressing the
religious leaders who came to him, describing them as a brood of
vipers. The picture is as though they fled judgment like snakes from
a field on fire. John requires of them “fruits worthy of
repentance.” In verse 9 he attacks their claim to identity with
Abraham by traditional or ethnic associations. God’s children are
children of faith as was Abraham, rather than people with simply an
ethnic or traditional relationship. Here again, the Gospel of Matthew
points beyond the Jewish community to an understanding of God as
bringing His message of grace through Abraham and his Jewish
descendants, a message for the whole world.
John’s words in verse 10 are a special word of
judgment corresponding to the judgments of the Old Testament
prophets. He said that God would cut off Israel for their unbelief
and called for persons to return to a life of faith. John was a
herald of reform, introducing a movement which would touch every
level of society: the religious, ethical, social, and political.
We here note the character of John the Baptist as the
forerunner of the Messiah. In the light of the testimonies of the
Scripture: (1) John was the witness of the Messiah (John 1:6–8);
(2) John understood his place in relation to the Messiah (John
1:19–23); (3) John announced the Christ as the Lamb of God (John
1:29–30); (4) John was a voice of transition from the old covenant
to the new (Matt. 1:11–14); (5) John accepted his role with
humility, stating, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John
3:30); (6) John was a fearless preacher before men of whatever rank
in society (Mark 6:20); (7) John’s witness of the Christ was
recognized by the people, for they said, “John performed no sign,
but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true” (John
10:41).
John announced the baptism with the Spirit and the
baptism with fire as superior to his baptism with water. The word
“baptism” means to be brought under the control of a superior
power or influence. There are five uses of the term “baptism” in
the New Testament. There is the baptism with water, which symbolizes
being initiated into the church or being brought under the influence
of the covenant community. Second, there is the baptism with the Holy
Spirit, which means to be brought under the control and influence of
the presence of the Spirit of God. Third, there is the baptism with
suffering, which means to be brought under the influence of a
suffering, purging experience. Fourth, there is the baptism with
fire, which means to be brought under the influence of a judging,
refining, searching experience. And fifth, there is the baptism into
the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), which means to be brought under
the control of the Head of the church which is Jesus Christ, and to
be made a part of His body.
In verse 11, John speaks of the baptism with the
Holy Spirit and with fire in a relationship which seems to
hold grace and judgment together. Baptism with the Spirit has to do
with the gift of divine presence, and the baptism with fire has to do
with a judgment experience which God’s presence brings to bear upon
persons who are not open to Him. These two baptisms are of redeeming
love and of righteous fear.
This is the first use of the term “baptism with the
Holy Spirit.” John said that he baptized with water, meaning
that John was the agent, and that with which he baptized was water.
In a similar way he refers to the Christ as the one who will do
another kind of baptizing, and that with which He would baptize would
be the Holy Spirit. Simply interpreted, this means that Jesus is the
one who does the baptizing with the Spirit, and the baptism is the
Holy Spirit Himself. What one receives in the baptism with the Holy
Spirit is the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Master.
The emphasis is on the baptism with the Spirit or
in the Spirit. This is not to be read as baptism of the
Spirit, as though it is something the Holy Spirit does. The baptism
is the gift of the Spirit Himself. There are things which the Holy
Spirit does for us and we can properly speak about the regeneration
of the Holy Ghost, the illumination of the Spirit, the
fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, the
anointing of the Spirit, etc. But when we refer to the baptism
we must speak of the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
There are at least five ways in which the Christian
church has spoken of the baptism with the Spirit through the
centuries. The first is the historical interpretation, which is to
say that the Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost to the
church, that He has been in the church ever since, and that we share
in the Spirit as we share in the church. The second is the Wesleyan
interpretation which relates the baptism with the Spirit to
sanctification, affirming that beyond the initial experience of grace
and justification by faith, there is a second work of a baptism with
the Spirit for sanctification. A third interpretation may be called
the R. A. Torrey interpretation, which relates the baptism with the
Spirit as a special enduement for power to witness which is to be
sought and experienced in the life of the believer. Fourth, there is
the charismatic interpretation which relates the baptism with the
Spirit to gifts or manifestations, associating these gifts with the
expression of the baptism itself. Fifth, there is the relational
interpretation which sees the baptism with the Holy Spirit as the
occasion in which Christ gives the Holy Spirit to dwell in the life
of one who takes Him as Lord. While there is truth in all of these
interpretations, the relational interpretation seems to be the most
satisfactory.
Now,
all of a sudden, John the Baptist walks onto the pages of Scripture.
If we had Matthew’s Gospel only, we would ask, “Where did he come
from, and what is his background?”—because Matthew gives us none
of that, and the reason is obvious. The prophet Malachi had said that
the messenger would come ahead to prepare the way for the coming of
the King—“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare
the way before me …” (Mal. 3:1). This messenger was John the
Baptist. You don’t really need to know about the background of a
messenger. When the Western Union boy delivers a message to your
door, do you say to him, “Young man, did your ancestors come over
on the Mayflower? What is your background?” You’re not interested
in that. You are interested in the message because the message is
all–important, and that is what you want. So you thank him, give
him a tip, and dismiss him. You are through with him.
John the Baptist made it very clear that he was just the
messenger, and Matthew is making that clear, too. Therefore, he walks
out onto the page of Scripture, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
saying, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Now let’s deal with these expressions: (1) “Repent
ye”; (2) “the kingdom of heaven”; and (3) “is at hand.”
They are very important.
“Repent” is an expression that always has been given
to God’s people as a challenge to turn around. “Repent” in the
original Greek is metanoia,
meaning “to change your mind.” You are going in one direction;
turn around and go in another direction.
Repentance is primarily, I think, for saved people, that
is, for God’s people in any age. They are the ones who, when they
become cold and indifferent, are to turn. That was the message to the
seven churches of Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3, and it was the
message of the Lord Jesus Himself.
Someone may ask whether the unsaved man is supposed to
repent. The unsaved man is told that he is to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. That was the message of Paul to the jailer at
Philippi (see Acts 16:31). That old rascal needed to do some
repenting; but when an unsaved man believes in Jesus, he is
repenting. Faith means to turn to Christ, and when you turn to
Christ, you must also turn from something. If you don’t turn from
something, then you aren’t really turning to Christ. So repentance
is really a part of believing, but the primary message that should be
given to the lost today is that they should believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ. We like to see folk come forward in a service to
receive Christ or sign a card signifying that they have made that
decision, but the important thing is to trust Christ as your
Savior, and if you really turn to Him, you turn from
something else.
The expression “kingdom of heaven” means the rule of
the heavens over the earth. The Lord Jesus is the King. You can’t
have a kingdom without a king; neither can you have a king without a
kingdom. Remember Richard III who said in the Shakespearean play, “My
kingdom for a horse.” If he had traded his kingdom for a horse, he
wouldn’t have been a king. He would have been only a man on
horseback. A king must have a kingdom. So what did John the Baptist
mean by “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”? He meant that the
Kingdom of Heaven is present in the Person of the King.
Is there a present reality of the Kingdom of Heaven?
Yes, there is. Those who come to Him as Savior and acknowledge Him
are translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son. They belong to Him
now. And they have a much more intimate relationship than that of a
subject with a king. Christ is the Bridegroom, and believers are part
of His bride!
Then someone may ask whether we are like subjects in a
kingdom because we are to carry out His commands. Again I say, there
is more to it than that. We are to obey Him because we love Him. It
is a love relationship. “If ye love me, keep my commandments”
(John 14:15).
The “kingdom of heaven” is the rule of the heavens
over the earth. That’s not in existence today. Christ is not
reigning over the world now. There must be something wrong with the
thinking of those who insist that the Kingdom of Heaven is in
existence in our day. Christ is not reigning in any form, shape, or
fashion—except in the hearts of those who have received Him.
However, He is coming someday to establish His Kingdom on the earth.
When He does, He will put down rebellion. Believe me, He is really
going to put it down.
The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand, or was present, in
the Person of the King. That was the only way in which it was
present.
Matthew now tells us that what he is recording is in
fulfillment of prophecy—
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 [Matt. 3:3].
“The prophet Esaias” is Isaiah, and the prophecy is
in Isaiah 40:3.
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness”—all
that John the Baptist claimed for himself was that he was a voice
crying in the wilderness. And his purpose was to “prepare the way
of the Lord.”
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 [Matt. 3:4].
He’s a strange individual, isn’t he? He follows a
strange diet and has an unusual way of dressing. I hate to say this,
but today John would probably qualify in his looks as a vagrant. His
raiment was of camel’s hair, his leathern girdle was about his
loins, his meat was locusts and wild honey. We’re told that he
never shaved and had long hair. Here’s an unusual man, friend, a
man with a mission. He’s really an Old Testament character, walking
out of the Old Testament onto the pages of the New Testament. He is
the last of the Old Testament prophets.
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and
all the region round about Jordan [Matt. 3:5].
Notice that the crowds went out to him. John did not
rent a stadium or an auditorium or a church, and there was no
committee that invited him. In fact, he didn’t come to town at all.
If you wanted to hear John, you went out to where he was. Obviously,
the Spirit of God was on this man.
And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their
sins [Matt. 3:6].
In
other words, all of this denoted a change
in the lives of these people. The very fact that they submitted to
John’s baptism was an indication that they were leaving their old
lives and turning to new lives.2
John
the Baptist (Matt. 3:1–15)
For over 400 years, the nation had not heard the voice
of a prophet. Then John appeared and a great revival took place.
Consider four facts about John.
His message (vv. 1–2, 7–10).
John’s preaching centered on repentance and the kingdom of heaven.
The word repent means “to change one’s mind and act on
that change.” John was not satisfied with regret or remorse; he
wanted “fruits meet for repentance” (Matt. 3:8). There had to be
evidence of a changed mind and a changed life.
All kinds of people came to hear John preach and to
watch the great baptismal services he conducted. Many publicans and
sinners came in sincere humility (Matt. 21:31–32), but the
religious leaders refused to submit. They thought that they were good
enough to please God; yet John called them a “generation of
vipers.” Jesus used the same language when He dealt with this
self-righteous crowd (Matt. 12:34; 23:33; John 8:44).
The Pharisees were the traditionalists of their day,
while the Sadducees were more liberal (see Acts 23:6–9). The
wealthy Sadducees controlled the “temple business” that Jesus
cleaned out. These two groups usually fought each other for control
of the nation, but when it came to opposing Jesus Christ, the
Pharisees and Sadducees united forces.
John’s message was one of judgment. Israel had sinned
and needed to repent, and the religious leaders ought to lead the
way. The ax was lying at the root of the tree; and if the tree
(Israel) did not bear good fruit, it would be cut down (see Luke
13:6–10). If the nation repented, the way would be prepared for the
coming of the Messiah.
His authority (vv. 3–4). John
fulfilled the prophecy given in Isaiah 40:3. In a spiritual sense,
John was “Elijah who was to come” for he came in the “spirit
and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:16–17). He even dressed as Elijah
did and preached the same message of judgment (2 Kings 1:8). John was
the last of the Old Testament prophets (Luke 16:16) and the greatest
of them (Matt. 11:7–15; see 17:9–13).
The Jews baptized Gentile converts, but John was
baptizing Jews! His baptism was authorized from heaven (Matt.
21:23–27); it was not something John devised or borrowed. It was a
baptism of repentance, looking forward to the Messiah’s
coming (Acts 19:1–7). His baptism fulfilled two purposes: it
prepared the nation for Christ and it presented Christ to the nation
(John 1:31).
But John mentioned two other baptisms: a baptism of the
Spirit and a baptism of fire (Matt. 3:11). The baptism of the Spirit
came at Pentecost (Acts 1:5, and note that Jesus said nothing
about fire). Today, whenever a sinner trusts Christ, he is born again
and immediately baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ, the
church (1 Cor. 12:12–13). In contrast, the baptism of fire refers
to the future judgment, as Matthew explains (Matt. 3:12).
His obedience (vv. 13–15). Jesus
was not baptized because He was a repentant sinner. Even John tried
to stop Jesus, but the Lord knew it was His Father’s will. Why was
Jesus baptized? First, His baptism gave approval to John’s
ministry. Second, He identified Himself with publicans and sinners,
the very people He came to save. But mainly, His baptism pictured His
future baptism on the cross (Matt. 20:22; Luke 12:50) when all the
“waves and billows” of God’s judgment would go over Him (Ps.
42:7; Jonah 2:3).
Thus, John the Baptist bore witness to Jesus Christ as
the Son of God, and also as the Lamb of God (John 1:29). Because of
John’s witness, many sinners trusted Jesus Christ (John 10:39–42).3
3:1.
The forerunner of Christ was John the Baptist. He was the son
of Zacharias and Elisabeth, and a cousin of the Lord (cf. Lk 1:5–80).
The significance of his preparatory ministry cannot be overestimated.
Even Josephus (Antiq. xviii 5.2) refers to him by name. John
was a child of promise whose birth had been announced by the angel
Gabriel to his father who was a priest. His birth was accompanied by
the promise: “He shall be great in the sight of the Lord … and
shall be filled with the Holy Ghost” (Lk 1:15). Jesus said of him
that there was none greater than John (Mt 11:11) during the Old
Testament dispensation. This would imply that John the Baptist was
the epitome of the message of the Old Testament itself.
Matthew’s reference to John the Baptist assumes that
his readers were familiar with him. There is no connection anywhere
in Scripture to relate John to one of the Essene communities or to
the Qumran sect (of the Dead Sea Scrolls). The real significance of
John seems to be his appearance in the wilderness of Judea,
the eastern part of the province lying beyond the mountain ridge and
west of the Dead Sea. This infertile area may rightly be called a
“wilderness.” John’s appearance, preaching a message of
repentance, is in fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3, “Prepare ye the way
of the Lord.” The words of the prophet originally formed the part
of his message to the Babylonian exiles, who eventually returned to
their own land. John, the last of the prophets of Israel, was now
commissioned to prepare the way for the King. “The reign of God was
immediately to be made manifest in Israel in all its fullness in the
Person and the work of none other than the Messiah Himself”
(Tasker, p. 47). John is presented as the prophet sent in the spirit
of Elijah “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
Lord” (Mal 4:5). His appearance (wearing a rough coat of camel’s
hair and having a leather belt around his waist) and his dynamic and
often scathing preaching, certainly depicts him in the life-style of
Israel’s ancient prophet. Jesus would later proclaim, “I tell you
that Elijah has already come!” (For a recent study see M. Loane,
John the Baptist.)
2. Repent means a change of mind that leads to a
change of action. Repentance (Gr metanoia) is basically “a
change of mind” which results in a change of conduct. Repentance is
not sorrow. It involves a complete change of attitude regarding God
and sin and is often accompanied by a sense of sorrow and a
corresponding change in conduct. Such repentance does not arise
within man himself, but is the result of God’s mercy in leading man
to it (cf. Acts 5:31; Rom 2:4; 2 Tim 2:25). Thus, repentance involves
the very process of conversion whereby men are born again. (On the
significance of repentance see H. A. Ironside, Except Ye Repent.)
John’s message of repentance was necessary in order to
prepare people for the kingdom of heaven which was at hand.
The phrase “kingdom of heaven” is used only in the Gospel of
Matthew and seems to be based on similar references in the book of
Daniel. The phrase “the kingdom of God” is used more frequently
by Mark and Luke. The change is perhaps due to Matthew’s Jewish
background and outlook. Since the Jews regarded it as blasphemous to
refer to God by name, it is possible that Matthew substituted the
word heaven for that reason. Usually the two phrases are used
interchangeably in the Gospels. The kingdom of heaven is the rule of
heaven over earth. The Jews of Jesus’ day were looking forward to
the coming of a Messiah who would reign in a Davidic kingdom on
earth. It is this kingdom which Christ proclaimed was a literal
earthly kingdom, based upon spiritual principles, which would demand
a right relationship with God for entrance into that kingdom.
Therefore, John the Baptist’s ministry is clearly seen as a time of
preparation for the coming of Christ and the proclamation of His
kingdom.
3–7. Spoken of by the prophet Isaiah [Esaias].
All four Gospels relate this prophecy to a fulfillment in the life
and ministry of John the Baptist (Mk 1:2; Lk 3:4; Jn 1:23). Make
his paths straight refers to the straightening or preparing of
one’s life in a right relationship with God in order to prepare for
the coming of the King. John’s dress of camel’s hair, and a
leathern girdle was similar to Elijah’s clothing (2 Kgs 1:8)
and was the usual dress of prophets (Zech 13:4). Locusts were
an allowable food (cf. Lev 11:22) and were eaten by the very poorest
of people. The reference in verse 5 to Jerusalem, and all Judea
relates to the people of those places. John’s ministry was received
with great enthusiasm in its early stages. So great was his success
that even many of the Pharisees and Sadducees (vs. 7) came to
this baptism.4
3:6
They confessed their sins. Confession is more than simply
acknowledging one’s own sinfulness; it is agreeing with God’s
verdict on sin and expressing the desire to get rid of sin and live
for God. Confessing means more than verbal response, affirmation, or
praise; it means agreeing to change to a life of obedience and
service. After this, John baptized them in the Jordan River.
When you wash dirty hands, the results are immediately visible. But
repentance happens inside, with a cleansing that isn’t seen right
away. So John used a symbolic action that people could see: baptism.
For baptism, John needed water, and he used the Jordan River.5
1
Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol.
24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.
2
McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels
(Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34, pp. 47–50).
Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
3
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol.
1, pp. 16–17). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
4
Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible
Commentary (pp. 1875–1876). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
5
Barton, B., Comfort, P., Osborne, G., Taylor, L. K., & Veerman,
D. (2001). Life Application New Testament Commentary (p. 17).
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.
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