Question
Repent, for the Kingdom of God is Near
Matthew 3:1-17
Key Verse 3:2
1. Read verses 1-3. What was God doing in "Those days…"? What does it mean that the kingdom of heaven is near? What was John’s mission? (3; Isa 40:3) Why is it important that his mission was rooted in God’s word?
2. Read verses 4-6. What does John’s lifestyle show about him? How did the people respond to him? What does this show about them? How did John’s baptism prepare the way for Jesus?
3. Read verses 7-10. Why did John rebuke the religious leaders? What were they proud of? Why was this pride groundless? What evidence of real faith does God seek in his people? What happens to those who do not repent?
4. Read verses 11-12. What was John's testimony about Jesus? What was the purpose of John's baptism? What does it mean that Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire?
5. Read verses 13-15. Why did Jesus come to be baptized by John? What does “to fulfill all righteousness” mean? What does this show about Jesus?
6. Read verses 16-17. What happened as soon as Jesus came out of the water? What was God's testimony about Jesus? Why do you think God was pleased with Jesus?
Message
Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is Near
Matthew 3:1-17
Key Verse 3:2
2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Last week we learned that a new king was born to the Jews—Jesus Christ. We learned that many didn’t want this new king to be their ruler. So many ignored the news and just filed it away as trivial. While others went on a seek and destroy mission. Despite efforts to ignore, forget or destroy Jesus, he survived, grew-up and matured. Today we fast-forward twenty five or so years to see how Jesus went about claiming his kingdom and what our role is in his kingdom. Let’s pray.
Let’s read verses 1-3. 1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "
In ancient times any great king used a herald to proclaim his coming arrival. We might have in our memory a picture of a man with a trumpet or horn blowing hard saying, “Make way for the king, the king is coming.” This warning was to get the people ready to greet the king and get them to move all the junk out of the streets so he could have clear access to their towns. The work of a herald was important because it helped the people to not be caught-off-guard. People could change their clothes, wash their faces and brush their teeth before the king passed by in his chariot or carriage.
Still today Presidents and world leaders have police officers, motorcades and PR officials who prepare the way for them. Many people work together to clear the streets of obstructions so that the President’s motorcade can advance smoothly. Since everyone is aware of the President’s coming people come out to greet and welcome him. It is on account of the modern heralds that interaction between Presidents and their people can take place.
So whether in ancient times or modern the heralds job is still the same—go to the people, warn the people and help them to prepare themselves. The job of heralding for Jesus the king of kings was placed squarely on the shoulders of a man named John the Baptist. However, his job working as herald was much more difficult than your typical herald. Let me read again verses 1-2.
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
John wasn’t preparing the road for Jesus and he wasn’t trying to organize a welcoming committee. John was laboring to prepare the hearts of people, something far more difficult than any preparing streets. Why? Because Jesus wasn’t coming to be king in their cities and towns but he was coming to be king of their hearts. John’s job was to get people to soften their hard hearts and clear out all the junk that was blocking the way. John’s job was to help the people repent of the sin that was sitting on the throne of their hearts and make Jesus their personal Lord and King. This was a difficult job so how did he do it?
John began by preaching that the kingdom of heaven is near. For his audience it seemed like great news to hear that the kingdom of heaven was near because they were already the so-called “People of God”. It seems that they should have been happy to hear that this day was coming. But all these fantasies were dashed to pieces as John revealed that they were not going to be welcomed as citizens into this kingdom but be burned up as enemies of the kingdom. John pointed out there lawless sinning and declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Since they had cast aside the laws of God’s Word—they were going to be cast aside by God’s kingdom. Since their hearts had evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly — they had no place in the coming kingdom of heaven. There was of course one positive opportunity—REPENT of all that is evil by changing their heart. And then then throw themselves on the mercy of God to forgive their evil deeds. Remorse for sins wouldn’t work. Feelings of guilt for sins means nothing to God. What God likes to see is a repentant heart.
So what is repentance? Repentance is acknowledgement and owning up to all the evil one has committed internally in the heart and externally in the body, then accompany it with confession. Repentance includes immediately stopping external actions and seeking the Lord to fully cleanse our deep internal evils. As we know when it comes to repentance there is always work to be done and always more areas of purity we can find. Those who are diligent to repent and keep repenting can eagerly expect good things from the Lord.
Living in sin, is living as an outlaw—literally outside God’s laws. John’s mission was to preach repentance and get his people ready to participate in the kingdom of heaven less they be destroyed by the kingdom of heaven. John told people to repent because they were living as outlaws of the kingdom of heaven. Living in lawlessness may go well for a while but eventually the time would come when the kingdom of heaven would come near and everyone who was living in lawlessness would be punished.
Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near means; stop sinning and embrace God’s authority over our lives before it is too late.
Let’s read verses 4-6.
4John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
These verses tell us that John applied the Bible to his life extensively. Where did he get the idea to wear camel’s hair and a leather belt? If we read the OT carefully we find a passage of scripture that describes the clothing of the prophet Elijah. No surprise, Elijah wore a garment of hair with a leather belt around his waste. John the Baptist at sometime understood God’s calling on his life—that he was to be the messenger of the Lord who came in the power and spirit of Elijah. What better way to identify with his calling than to emulate the dress of Elijah. Does this mean that we all should wear camel’s hair? Of course not but it does mean that if we take the Bible seriously and apply it to our lives extensively it will transform how we identify ourselves and may transform how we present ourselves to others. What about his diet of locust and wild honey? John may have liked this food and he may not. The point is that he had a mission out in the wilderness preaching and baptizing. He didn’t have time to pursue an occupation nor did he ask for donations. So to support his physical needs he ate what God had provided in the areas he baptized. He put his mission from God first and let his practical needs fall were they would. He let God provide for him in a humble way as he put preaching on the top of his list. Actually, what John ate and what he wore are small things but they show that John was applying the Word of God to his life in big and small ways. He was submissive to the word of God and lived it out as a true servant of God.
John’s holy and devoted life had a profound effect on the people who came to him. 6 “Confessing their sins they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. People were truly convicted by John’s message and they made a public proclamation of their repentance by confessing and being baptized. People in the entire region were getting serious about having a place in the kingdom of heaven and so John’s work was totally successful.
For many believers John the Baptist is our hero and standard for ministry. He was the first evangelist in the NT pointing people to Jesus and his successful ability to help people repent of sins is our hearts desire. Many believers dream of preaching mighty messages of repentance but sometimes it seems only like a dream that becomes less and less likely as the years go by. However, John’s success is nothing new and his example is for all believers to take to heart for John’s success isn’t something special that is too high or too hard for anyone to reach. John’s success is simply in his willingness to repent personally before asking others to do the same thing. He was able to help prepare others because he himself had done so prior. Someone once said a Shepherd can only lead his sheep as far as he has gone himself. In the coming semester we have a chance to go and find the crowds of sin sick people and help them. However, we have to be realistic. If we are sin sick ourselves. Repentance is the only way to open ones heart to the Lord Jesus and experience his grace and power. I pray that we all may repent newly of evil deeds and find new strength from the LORD. (I personally pray to repent newly and deeply of my pride, idolatry and selfishness and be filled with the Holy Spirit to prepare college students for the kingdom of heaven.
So what happens to so-called believers when they don’t personally keep with repentance like John the Baptist. Answer: they turn into hypocrites and Pharisees. Look at verses 7-10.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were the religious professionals. In many ways they were better than most people because they didn’t live out sinful lifestyles. If anyone looked ready for the kingdom of heaven it was these men. They felt superior to everyone else because they didn’t sin like everyone else. John wasn’t fooled though by their slick presentation. John rebuked them as being a brood of vipers and told them to produce fruit in keeping with repentance or else they would be cut down by God and thrown into the fire.
The condition of the Pharisees tell us that impostors won’t get into the kingdom of heaven, only those who produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
From John the Baptist we learned the importance of repentance to prepare for the kingdom of heaven. John knew the limitations of his baptism of repentance. He also knew that to make real citizens of the kingdom of heaven more drastic measures were necessary. Look at verses 11-12.
11"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 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."
Here John discloses the limitations of his message and the limitlessness of Jesus’ message and ministry. Jesus the king of the kingdom is exalted in power. Where John poured out water on people, Jesus would pour out the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus has the ability to gather his wheat into the barn and save his people whereas John was just a voice—a man who needed to be saved himself.
John’s ministry of repentance is key in the sense that it is preparatory but Jesus’ ministry has the real power to heal us from evil hearts and sinful desires through the power of the Holy Spirit. Where John’s ministry qualified many for the coming kingdom, Jesus’ ministry actually makes people into citizens. We therefore can’t neglect the importance of repentance, Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.
This all sounds great but how do we experience all these great things. How do I really start living as citizen of heaven? By God’s grace, we have a king who not only serves us but who also teaches us the way. Look at verses 13-17.
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. 16As 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 lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
It is somewhat of a strange event that took place here. It was even confusing to John the Baptists. When Jesus came to be baptized, John said, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” All Jesus was doing was confirming the ministry of baptism for repentance as the starting point for all people who want to be apart of the kingdom. A baptism for repentance is where Jesus began and it tells us that repentance is where all people must begin.
What happened next is most amazing. When Jesus was baptized heaven was opened and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” From that point on Jesus began his ministry. What meaning is there for us. Simple—To be a part of the kingdom of heaven we must first repent, accept Jesus and then receive the Holy Spirit as Jesus shows us here. This order of events is called conversion and it takes us from living lawless lives to living lives as heavenly citizens. However, we must now continue following Jesus as we will see from the rest of the book of Matthew.
One Word: Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.