Matthew Chapter 3

¹ In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

• John’s father Zacharias was going about his priestly duties in the temple. He was lighting the incense when Gabriel appeared to him.
  Luke 1:13-17 ¹³ But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.¹⁴ And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.¹⁵ For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.¹⁶ And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.¹⁷ And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
  John was called from before he was born… as a Levite his lineage was that of the priesthood, but even from this he was set apart to ready things for the coming of the Savior, Jesus. When John’s mother was pregnant with him and Mary who was pregnant with Jesus came together, John was filled with the Holy Spirit.
  Luke 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
  His steps were ordered by the Lord… his life was being led by the Holy Spirit. He didn’t go to the temple and submit to the priesthood in the traditional way, he went instead into the wilderness and compelled men to repent and get baptized. He knew to do this because he was led by the Holy Spirit.

² And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

• Repent in greek (G3340)is : metanoeō (sounds like Met-tee-nigh-ee-o)
  –to change one’s mind, i.e. to repent
  –to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins
• The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand: A new, much awaited event was occuring that would be the most significant event in all of history, Jesus the Messiah had come. The prophets of old were given prophecies about the coming of the Messiah and the significance of this event. It was the hallmark of the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven…. the Messiah was coming to set up his Kingdom.The Jews had been waiting for this for a long time. John announced that the time was here to repent and get ready because the Kingdom was close by.
• There were people waiting for the coming of the Messiah who knew the scriptures well… and understood prophecy that missed Jesus’s arrival and who he was because they had a preconceived idea of what the coming of the Messiah would look like. The scribes and the Pharsees missed it… the cheif priest not only missed it, he determined to put Jesus to death. They were students of the word…while being blind to the meaning of the things they studied. This happens when you aren’t led by the Holy Spirit. John received the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb…so he knew what was happening. This is why it isn’t enough to be a student of the Word of God… you must also be born again and have the Holy Spirit guiding you into all truth.

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.

• Isaiah 40:2-3 ² Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.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 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.

• John’s way of living was in contrast to the way the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Priests and Chief Priest were living who were living luxuriously. They had wealth and status…whereas John the Baptist lived a life of a person in the wilderness… his clothing was protective and not ornamental, his food nourished his body but wasn’t dainty. John’s life was one focused on his calling and not on “living his best life now”.

⁵ Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

• They all went out to John, so John was feeding them the truth they were hungry for.

⁶ And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

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:

• Fruits meet for repentance, meaning they need to repent, then have a change of heart with the actions that support this change.

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.

• John warned them not to rely on their linage to Abraham to save them. God seeks people who will worship him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). A true worshiper seeks to know the heart of God… they accept and understand the Sovereignty of God… they seek true relationship and are willing to do anything to attain it. Then there are people who think they can get there through religion…they know of God because they study the scriptures, but because they don’t have the Holy Spirit guiding them… they never see God in 3D…only in a conceptual way. They may even know more about God in a factual way… but their spirit (hearts) are completely clueless about the meanings of all those facts and how they form a picture of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Because they can’t understand or accept anything beyond the religious aspect, they think that’s all there is and they rely on that to save them… in this instance these Pharisees and Sadducees are relying on their linage and connection to Abraham to save them. John confronts this idea directly and tells them that they can still be lost.

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.

• God is looking for real connection with people… he is giving us Grace and Mercy because he knows we aren’t capable of good works…or living sinless lives. We are sinful to our very core, and the ONLY way we can be saved is by God’s mercy and grace. His mercy and grace came when Jesus laid down his life in the place of ours… JESUS TOOK OUR RIGHTFUL PUNISHMENT…. HE ENDURED THE CROSS ON OUR BEHALF… HE SETTLED OUR ACCOUNT WITH GOD….that was and is the only way to be saved… so to present works instead… or religion instead is an insult to grace because it trivializes the sinfulness of mankind and the gift that Jesus gave when he suffered and died for us. This AMAZING GRACE AND MERCY FROM JESUS is what keeps us connected to God…this is our roots of righteousness. It’s not our linage or our good works or religion.

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:

• John the Baptist was sent to prepare the hearts of men to hear Jesus and receive him as their savior. He starts with repentance. In order to receive Jesus as our savior, we need to recognize our need for salvation. This means we need to recognize our sinfulness. It also means we have to desire to follow Jesus and all that entails. Luke 14:26-28 ²⁶ If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.²⁷ And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are leaving our sinfully directed life and taking up the cross to follow Jesus. We can not accept Jesus while still holding on to the plan to continue living in sin. We will still sin, but we are no longer giving ourselves over to sinfulness without restraint. Not because we think not sinning will save our souls, it won’t… but because we see sin is evil and have changed our minds and no longer want to live a life that opposes Jesus and God…. who are good. We submit our entire life to God, holding nothing back.
  The components of receiving Jesus as our savior are: Repenting for sins, turning away from the sinful life, receiving Jesus as Savior, then following Jesus which will require you to take up your own cross… and what was the first thing Jesus did? He was baptized. I don’t know if this is a salvation requirement, but we are commanded to so… be baptized.

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.

• Jesus is the Judge….and at the day of judgment he will gather all the true believers to be with him and all the people who rejected him or tried to make their own way will be sent to eternal damnation in hell.

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.

• Baptizing is fulfilling righteousness, so it seems to me to be an important part of our salvation. I know people say it isn’t but, it looks like the Bible here says it is. I know the thief on the cross wasn’t baptized…and there are people who receive Jesus right before death who aren’t as well… but maybe there is grace in certain unavoidable situations… like when David and his people entered the temple and ate the shew bread that was forbidden for them to eat 1 Samuel 21:6. God is a righteous God…he looks at the situation and hearts of man…he isn’t looking for a loop hole to disqualify people with… not after he went through sending his only son Jesus who went through the pain of dying on the cross for our sins…and we shouldn’t be out there looking for a loop hole to disobey God regarding baptism either… because if we are we are in rebellion and sin… the theif on the cross wasn’t looking for a loop hole to avoid baptism… it was beyond his control. There is a difference.
  I feel very sorry for people who believe they will stand before God and use his word against him… God sees the heart…

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:

• It wasn’t a dove it was LIKE A DOVE.

¹⁷ And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.