May 18, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Matthew? Here’s today’s reading:
Matthew 3 (NIV)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ ” ……Continue Reading
Mathew 3:
John the Baptist comes forward, fulfilling prophecy. His message?
Repent (verse 2). But not only repent…bear fruit in keeping with repentance. (verse 8).
John’s message about the coming Messiah is not your typical American Sunday School depiction of Jesus, sitting in a sun-warmed meadow with children and lambs all around him.
No, John proclaims that “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matt 3:10) and “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matt 3:12).
John’s message was for the people of the that day, and it is for the people of OUR day…it is for US. What does repentance look like in my life? Am I turning from and walking away from my sin? Indeed, am I RUNNING away from my sin? Or am I like a dog who returns to his vomit? May it never be. By God’s grace and the indwelling Spirit, I know that when I walk by the Spirit, I will not gratify the desires for of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16). That is a promise of God…may we all lean into those promises and decide THIS day, and every day, who we will serve…ourselves, or God.
The Pharisees and Sadducees go to where John is baptizing, but they do not repent and get baptized themselves. Then John tells them something that we all should take heed of – to strive to live out of the repentant heart that we have by producing good fruit. In other words, by living our lives doing what the Lord has purposed us to do.
12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Oh God let us be the wheat. Thank you Jesus
Sean, you speak the truth, and “hit the nail on the head,” or for most who are intentionally playing with their sin as a Christian, missed the nail and hit the thumb!
The Lord knoweth them that are his, and rewardeth them that diligently seek him!
I find here in Matthew 3, that no one baptized John the Baptist, he acknowledged that same before Christ. Never thought of it before today. Probably a lot to unpack here about the doctrine of baptism, but in the end, God wanted repentant souls to publicly demonstrate their faith decision. Jesus commands it, baptism fulfills all righteousness, and is reserved ONLY for those who have already repented.
In my accountability partner discussions, we conclude baptism is commanded by Christ, it is therefore required of the repentant soul exclusively- where it is possible for them to do so.
Likewise, it is not the instrument of salvation. Why be baptized? Jesus Christ commanded it! Peace, -reb
Matthew 3
“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.””
Matthew 3:16-17 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.3.16-17.NIV
Taking energy from Sean’s posts, To all the accountability partnerships in LHCC: I encourage you today, this very minute to believe Jesus Christ himself and stop that particular sin. “Go and sin no more.”
Once you realize, like David, that the sin-battle is the Lord’s battle, not yours, that sin impulse will vanish instantly, as though you were born again-again!!! 🙂 reb
John the Baptist preached for people to “repent” and I read that this is an action word not a word of feelings. We are not to just feel sorry for our actions but rather do something about them! We must make changes in our life not simply feel bad about our sin and continue to do it. I don’t know that we need to wear a camel’s hair belt and eat locust and honey but John gave himself tangible reminders and we could benefit from this idea that it should be a daily event to die to self and the desires of the flesh.
Matthew 3
John the Baptist Preached in the desert of judea, Saying repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near. This came from Isaiah “a voice of one calling in the desert. Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”People came from all over Jordan Confessing their sins they were vantized by him in the jordan river. Pharisees and Sudducess coming to where he was baptizing. You brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance! John said I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.The axe is already at the root of the trees and every tree He explains that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I baptize you with water for repentance. After someone more powerful than I will baptize you with the holy spirit and with fire. He will gather wheat and burn the chaff in the fire.
John did not want to baptize Jesus. He wanted to be baptized by jesus. Jesus.
Told him let it be so now.It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. John said okay. Can you imagine that as soon as Jesus was baptized? The heavens were opened and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lightening on him.
And the voice from heaven said this is my Son whom I love. With him. I am well please. I always get chills at how beautiful that must have been the way the bible describes it. How important John was!
Matthew 3
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
”But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?“
Matthew 3:7 NKJV
This is before Jesus’ death, so this is a different baptism. This is a baptism of repentance, for a person pre-Christ under the law, seeking to be cleansed from sin….an act of humility. John doesn’t welcome the Pharisees and Sadducees to be baptized because he knows their hearts and motives. They will not repent. They are not humble and will not believe the One who comes after him. To the leaders he points out Christ as judge.
”I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”“
Matthew 3:11-12 NKJV
John the baptizer just didn`t appear on the scene from no where. He was a messenger of God to prepare the way for Christ. Just as we are in some ways to share Christ with others and plant spiritual seeds with them. He was born for such a time as this. It was in God`s timing. What is impossible with man is always possible with God. John was a miracle for he was born from elderly parents that couldn`t have a child. But also another miracle was that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit at birth. This was God intervening in history. They were a godly couple and feared God for they kept God`s commandments. Their names were Zacharias and Elisabeth and he was a priest. They were descendants from the line of Aaron. So we get the picture that they must have taught their son scripture which would only be the Old Testament. John was a cousin of Jesus for Mary and Elizabeth were cousins. We also know that John was 6 months older than Jesus. A lot of the details are in Luke. We don`t know at what point John was by himself in the desert but maybe Jesus and John had some fellowship with each other as children. John being filled with the Holy Spirit at birth and Jesus being who He is. We don`t know for scripture doesn`t tell us. Just a thought. John`s message of repentance and preparing for the Kingdom of Heaven was to make the Jewish people realize that just because they were Jews didn`t mean that they would go to Heaven. They had to repent of their sins and walk with God. Jesus and then later Paul and others made this very clear that salvation is by faith alone and not of works. Works only come after a person is saved to demonstrate one`s love for Christ. Baptism doesn`t save but it is a sign to others that we are saved and following Christ. For Christ does command it. Jesus was baptized by John to show us this example. Jesus didn’t need to be saved, for after all, He is our Savor. But sometimes it is impossible to be baptized like the thief on the cross. But he was saved because he believed in Jesus the Son of God. Then when Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. This was to show mankind who Jesus is. Then God spoke and also confirmed who Jesus is.
Just a side note here of my own baptism. A couple of months after I came to Christ, I was baptized at the age of 20. I had just come out of a leg cast that I was in for three weeks. So I was on crutches. I had to be lowed into the baptism tank by two strong men. I will never forget it.
Matthew 3
Matthew 3 John the Baptist was a prophet who taught repentance. He made a way for Jesus, he taught God’s law and the repentance with water he told of who would be coming that he wasn’t even worthy of carrying his sandals. He told how Jesus would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John, and Jesus didn’t do it because of sin he was sinless, he did it to accomplish God’s mission. He was showing his support for John, and to fulfill all righteousness. When John baptized Jesus the heaven opened and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him and then a voice from Heaven said, this is my son whom I am well pleased with and whom I love.
John the Baptist is one of the most enigmatic figures in the Bible. His practices were so strange and yet his life fully committed to the work that God had given and His message so strong and filled with conviction and power. And the work God had given him was to prepare the way for Jesus, to make Him more known. And what better way to call people to repentance: to have them think more clearly about God and what He would have and require from them. It was also a way to make people aware that God was on the move and doing something significant. A part of this ministry was to point out what was wrong in the religious establishment , but only because they were so wrong, and also to point to One coming after him. And how amazing when that day came. You do wonder how much interaction Jesus and John had being cousins and how much he knew about Jesus. But it was clear here, either by knowledge or revelation, that this is the One. And yes, how silly that I would baptize YOU. But even the Son of man submitted Himself to the one God had chosen to prepare the way. Therefore the torch had to be passed, the baton given over: that the one who was the one for a time, is no longer the one because THE One has come on the scene.
Matthew 3