Good cross references for the rest of this story are found in. Mark 1:2-11, Luke 3:1-22 and John 1:19-34

Interesting facts about John the Baptizer.

· BORN TO AN OLDER COUPLE NAMED ZECHARIAH AND ELIZABETH. LK. 1:5

· ANGEL DELIEVERED A MESSAGE TO ZECHARIAH ABOUT THE BIRTH OF HIS SON AND THE ONE WHO HE WOULD BE A MESSENGER FOR. LK. 1:14-17

· HE WAS A COUSIN TO JESUS THROUGH MARY’S SIDE AND UPON HEARING ABOUT JESUS BIRTH, JOHN LEAPED WHILE HE WAS IN HIS MOTHER’S WOMB. LK. 1:44

· HE WOULD BE CLAIMED AS THE GREATEST OF THE PROPHETS BY JESUS. MATT. 11:7-15

The preacher. Matthew 3:1-2

Matthew 3:1-2 ( ESV )

¹^£In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

²“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Å Those days-When Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was over Galilee, and the High Priest would have been Annas and Caiphas. Lk. 3. John like Jesus would have been in his early 30s.

Å John the Baptist-Lit. John the Baptizer.

Å Wilderness-An area probably west of the Dead Sea which was a barren desert like area. Probably near the N. region close to where the Jordon flows. (Why not Jerusalem? Keeps with the idea of I Cor. 1:26-29.

Å Repent-A change of mind. A radical tuning from sin, not by our merit but that would be manifested by a work of the Spirit that would cause changed lives that bore fruit. John was not satisfied with just regret or remorse this is the type of repentance that Esau showed. Heb. 12:17

Å Kingdom of Heaven-In Matt. another way of saying for God’s name. Idea is that it was God’s kingdom was coming to them and over their lives. The rule of the God of heaven over earth. 2 views: Kingdom now-with the hearts of believers and 2) The majority of the time Jesus is talking of a literal future kingdom in which He will reign.

The prophecy fulfiller. Matthew 3:3

Matthew 3:3-4 ( ESV )

³For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ^£“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare^£ the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”

⁴Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

· Isaiah-Is. 40:3-5 John’s ministry was to get the people ready for the coming of Christ.

· Prepare-This comes from the custom of sending people in front of rulers to make the roads passable. All hindrances or roadblocks were to be taken out of the way and make the path smooth and straight if at all possible. Change the crooked to the straight.

· Garment-His clothing and eating habits evoked images of Elijah from II Kings 1:8 this would remind some of them of the prophet who would be like Elijah before the Christ would come in Mal. 4:5

· His keeping of the diet was in keeping with his status of a lifelong Nazarene. Lev. 11:21-22 This was common in the area and they were esp. eaten by the poor. He was a man who did not live with comfort as his goal but like the common people around him.

The followers. Matthew 3:5-6

Matthew 3:5-6 ( ESV )

⁵Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him,

⁶and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

· Jerusalem-The people came from as far away as Jerusalem, Judea and closer by from the Jordan. They were hungry and thirsty for the truth.

· Baptized-To plunge, dip or to immerse. These people were not just being baptized but they were looking for a Messiah, they also were willing to declare their sins thus saying to all I am a sinner and in need of a savior. No water could save their soul but they were looking forward to a savior who would.

The false ones. Matthew 3:7-9

Matthew 3:7-9 ( ESV )

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

Pharisees-Believed in miracles and the Law of God. They held the Word of God in high esteem but were often those who became legalistic and saw the Law as a means to salvation plus there man made traditions.

SADDUCEES-These were the liberals of their day and when it came to the Word of God they denied the supernatural elements of the Word. Both factions did not get along with each other but were united when it came to their hatred of Jesus.

· You brood of vipers-He saw past their hypocrisies. Vipers were claimed as an unclean animal and John said you are their offspring. (Just like vipers they were often subtle in their movements behind the scenes.

· Wrath to come-Images of the O.T. day of the Lord comes into their mind as a time of judgment in Zeph. 1:18. As far as John was concerned many of them deserved this day of wrath.

· Bear fruit-True repentance is not just knowledge of something. Works are going to be a natural part of faith when one believes in Christ. Eph. 2:10

· Presume-It was a natural assumption by many of them that they were automatically going to be part of the kingdom because of their Jewish birth.

· Abraham as our Father-They would constantly use this statement against Jesus. In John 8:33-42 Jesus tells them that salvation is a heart issue not built on being born into the right race or by works.

· Stones-God could make these rocks into people. God wanted these men who had hearts of stone to see them turn into hearts of flesh. Ez. 1:19 and Ez. 36:26.

APPLICATIONS AND OBSERVATIONS:

· JUST LIKE THE PROPHECIES WERE FULFILLED IN THIS PASSAGE, ALL THE PROPHECIES OF THE WORD OF GOD WILL BE FULFILLED. HAVE HOPE!!

· THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST IS NOT ALWAYS AN EASY MESSAGE TO GIVE BUT NONETHELESS WE ARE CALLED TO PROCLAIM IT IN ALL OF ITS TRUTH.

· AM I EXCITED ABOUT THE COMING OF CHRIST?

· ARE WE WILLING TO REACH ALL MEN WITH THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST EVEN THOUGH IT MIGHT COST US CERTAIN LUXURIES OR APPLAUSE?

· WE ARE NEVER BORN AGAIN BY GOOD WORKS OR BY ASSUMING THAT WE WILL INHEIRT THE KINGDOM OF GOD BECAUSE OF RACE, CHURCH, PARENTAGE, OR ANY EFFORT ON OUR PART. IT IS ONLY THROUGH JESUS.

SALT AND LIGHT

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

A CHANGE IS COMING.