Chapter 4
THE MESSAGE OF REPENTANCE
(Matthew 3:1-12)
Before we begin our study relative to John the Baptist's message of repentance, let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father we ask You to please bless our study of Your Word. Help us to understand why You sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Your Son, Jesus. Cause us to see the wonderful plan You brought forth to grant us eternal life with You. Father, in Jesus' Name we ask these things.
Amen
To begin our study let us review some background material to see that the arrival of John the Baptist fulfilled what was foretold in the Old Testament.
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES
In reading the Old Testament one discovers that there were several prophecies that foretold that prior to the revealing of the Messiah a messenger will come to prepare the way for Him. To see this let us first read the prophecy God gave through His servant Isaiah. It is recorded for us in,
Isaiah 40:1-5
"[1] Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. [2] Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. [3] A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD ; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. [5] And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.""
Let us notice the following verses,
1-2 … God proclaimed to Jerusalem that their hardship will come to an end. Specifically, they paid double the price for their iniquities.
To put these verses in perspective it is noted that prior to the time of this prophecy the nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms. The name of the Northern Kingdom continued to be identified as Israel; whereas the Southern Kingdom was called Judah. According to Robinson’s “Biblical Timeline” in approximately 722BC, the Northern Kingdom (Israel) was overrun by the Assyrians and was renamed Samaria. This prophecy was given after this event.1 Thus, since verse 1 tells us that God was speaking to the inhabitants of Jerusalem which was inside the territory of Judah, this prophesy was pointing to the time after the future Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586BC1, which was the second payment to be made for their iniquities.
Let us now return to Isaiah and notice verse
3a … A messenger will come from the wilderness.
3b-4 … This was a custom of how a path or road was cleared and leveled prior to the arrival of a great dignitary such as a king. This was done to not only show respect for the king but also to ease the difficulty of his journey. As we will see later in our study, this portion of the prophecy was not intended to be a physical leveling of a road. It was intended to be the smoothing out of a spiritual path for our Lord.
5 … This prophecy was pointing to the time when the glory of the Lord would be revealed.
We find that God gave a similar prophecy through His servant Malachi. The prophecy of interest in recorded in,
Malachi 3:1-4
""[1] See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. [2] But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. [3] He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, [4] and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years."
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … God made it even clearer through Malachi that it will be Him that will come to the people of Judah. He further stated that He will come to His temple, which is a reference to the Temple that was going to be rebuilt after the people of Judah returned from their Babylonian captivity.
2-3 … God asked the question of who will be able to stand when He appears. The reason for the question was because He foretold that when He comes He will purify the "sons of Levi." The significance of this is twofold: (1) A portion of the Levites were the priests who offered the sacrifices to God and (2) The remaining Levites were in charge of the temple and various services. It is important to note, God stated that after this purification He will then have men who will provide offerings in righteousness and therefore acceptable to Him.
In examining the above prophecies one discovers there was a twofold message. The first message was that before the Lord will be revealed a messenger would come to prepare the way for Him. The second message was that when He comes to His temple He will purify the "sons of Levi." In other words, He was going to purify those who were called to minister to Him.
Consequently, our study of the ministry of John the Baptist will be accomplished in two parts. The first part, which we will cover in this chapter, will be to examine John the Baptist's activities that prepared the way for our Lord. The second aspect of John the Baptist's mission will be covered in chapter 5. In this chapter we will see how Jesus purified those who were now called to minister unto Him.
To explore John the Baptist's activities that prepared the way for the Lord we will,
1. See that John the Baptist was the foretold messenger.
2. See that John's message of repentance was the manner in which God chose to prepare the way for the Messiah.
3. Examine some reasons why people may not repent of their sinful ways.
4. Summarize the message of this study.
With the above background and introduction in mind we begin our study by noting that,
THE FORETOLD MESSENGER FROM GOD WAS JOHN THE BAPTIST
To see that John fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah and Malachi, let us read about his ministry. To do this we will read the Scriptures from our theme,
Matthew 3:1-12
"[1] In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea [2] and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." [3] This 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.'" [4] John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. [5] People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. [6] Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. [7] But 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? [8] Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. [9] And 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. [10] The 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. [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. [12] His 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.""
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … John came in the desert or wilderness of Judea. This fulfilled a portion of the prophecy given through Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3a).
2… John's message was a message of repentance, which meant to turn away from our sinful activities and prepare our heart to receive our Lord.
3 … The Holy Spirit, by quoting the prophecy given by Isaiah, made it without question that the arrival of John the Baptist was its fulfillment.
5-6 …This was a baptism of repentance. To gain insight into the significance of why John baptized, let us first read the definition of what it means to be baptized. According to W. E. Vine’s: “An Expository Dictionary of the New Testament.”(2), the Greek meaning of the word baptism is:
"Consisting of the processes of immersion, submersion and emergence, that is to dip."
The phrase “to baptize”:
"was used among the Greeks to signify the dyeing of a garment or the drawing of water by dipping the empty cup into a bowl full of water."
Thus, the purpose of the baptism of repentance was to demonstrate or signify that the person being baptized wanted to change their ways and live a new life style. They did this by symbolically washing away their old ways and came out of the water with the resolution to lead a life pleasing to God.
8 … As signified through baptism, repentance was and is not to be in word only. True repentance is also to be reflected through our actions and/or behavior.
9-12 … John also warned the people that the Person who was coming after him will fulfill the prophecy given through Malachi. Specifically, the person who was he preparing the way for will cleanse or purge His threshing floor that is clean up the house of Judah.
From the above account of John's activities, we come to realize that he prepared the way for the Lord Jesus Christ through,
THE MESSAGE OF REPENTANCE
Why repentance? Why is it that we prepare the way for our Lord Jesus Christ through repentance? To answer these questions we must first understand that in the context of John the Baptist's message of repentance, the Holy Spirit, through him, was calling people to change their mind about wanting to sin and lead a wanton life. In other words, He was asking them and now us to change our purpose to one of wanting to please God rather than following our own sinful ways.
The Bible teaches us that repentance manifests itself when we admit to ourselves and God that we are sinners, have sinned and are in need of forgiveness. To see this let us read the following excerpt from the first letter of the Apostle John.
1 John 1:9-10
"[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."
In other words, if we think we are fine or try to cover up our sin, then there is no forgiveness. This is exactly what our Lord Jesus Christ was saying to the teachers of His day. To see this let us read from,
Luke 5:31-32
"[31] Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [32] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.""
Thus, we find we must be humble and honest before our Lord Jesus Christ and confess to Him our failings and our desire to serve and follow Him. When we do this we pave the way for our Lord to come and refresh us. To see this let us consider the following excerpt of what the Apostle Peter told those who had just witnessed the healing of a lame man,
Acts 3:19-20
"[19] Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, [20] and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus."
SOME HINDERANCES
With the above command to repent in mind let us now examine the question of: "Are there things that would prevent us from repentance?" To find out let us look to the example of the Pharisees and Sadducees. However, before we do let us first find out who these people were and what they believed. The following brief descriptions of these groups of people were derived from Alfred Edersheim's book titled: "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah 3."
Pharisees
1. This was a name given to them that means "separated ones" or "pious ones."
2. They were composed of priests, scribes and lawyers and had a presence in the Jewish religious and political ruling community.
3. They had two main objectives:
a. Observe in the strictest manner all the ordinances concerning Levitical purity. In other words to purify themselves they strictly and rigorously followed the moral and ceremonial laws.
b. Be extremely careful about following and complying with religious duties, such as tithes and other obligations.
4. Believed in the bodily resurrection of the dead.
5. Believed in spirits and angels.
6. Believed man has only a partial influence in God's pre ordination of events in their life.
Sadducees
1. This was a name given to them meaning "righteous ones."
2. They were composed of priests, scribes and lawyers and had a presence in the Jewish religious and political community.
3. Did not necessarily disagree with the two main objectives of the Pharisees. However, they did object to the rigor and fidelity with which the Pharisees practiced them.
4. Denied the resurrection of the dead.
5. Denied the existence of spirits and angels.
6. Denied God's pre ordination over their life. Believed it is man's free will choice between good and evil that affects his misery or happiness.
With this background let us now address the question of what prevented them from repenting and accepting the fact that they needed Jesus.
First of all the Bible teaches us that,
They Relied Upon Their Heritage and religious activities to Save Them
Before we begin reading the following Jesus’ discourse, it is noted that in the following verses He is talking to those who believed Him! With this in mind let us now read what Jesus said as recorded in,
John 8:31-47
"[31] To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. [32] Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." [33] They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" [34] Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. [35] Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. [37] I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. [38] I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father." [39] "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. [40] As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. [41] You are doing the things your own father does." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." [42] Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. [43] Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. [44] You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. [45] Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! [46] Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? [47] He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.""
Let us notice the following verses,
31(a) … Jesus was talking to Jews who believed Him. The same could be true with us. Namely, we too could believe Him. Is this enough? Is it enough to just believe what Jesus says? To find out, let us consider the next portion of this verse,
31(b) … If you hold to My teaching. In other words, Jesus is telling us that if we do what He says, then we are really His disciples. Specifically, our belief, that is faith, must produce fruits or action. When this occurs, that is we not only hear but do what Jesus says, then,
32 … The truth will set us free!
33 … The Jews did not understand. They prided themselves on the fact that they were Abraham’s descendants, and because of this they believed they were God’s chosen people. In addition, they were very diligent to comply with the services of the Temple and hence believed they complied with the required religious commands. Consequently, they could not understand what they were enslaved to. The same could very well be true with us. Namely, we could be thinking that I was raised in and belong to a Christian family. And/or I regularly attend Church and partake in various church activities, “What do I need to be set free from?” Well, Jesus tells us in the next verse,
34 … He who sins, is a slave to sin … pretty sobering, isn't it?
39a … Again the Pharisees and Sadducees were relying upon their heritage.
39b … This raises the question of “What did Abraham do that they did not do?” Simply put, Abraham loved, believed and with faith obeyed God.
40-42 … The Pharisees and Sadducees claimed that their father was God. In other words they claimed that they were God’s children. Jesus replied that He was sent by God and that if they really were God's children they would love Him. It is the same today. If a person claims to believe in God or be a child of God they will then love and follow and obey Jesus Christ.
47 … Those who belong to God will hear and obey what God says. Those who do not hear and obey do not yet belong to God.
Thus we see that the Pharisees and Sadducees prided themselves on their heritage and the various religious works or services they were participating in. It is this pride that prevented them from preparing their heart to receive Jesus Christ. In other words they felt they had no reason or need to repent or have a change of direction.
A second reason why the Pharisees and Sadducees had a difficult time to accept the fact that they needed to repent was because,
The Relied Upon How They Appeared To Others
In other words, they were focused on how they appeared on the outside of the body rather than examine what was really going on in the inside. To see this let us consider the following Scripture in which we read how Jesus chastised them for being self righteous.
Matthew 23:1-12
"[1] Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: [2] "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. [3] So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. [4] They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. [5] "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; [6] they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; [7] they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' [8] "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. [9] And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. [10] Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. [11] The greatest among you will be your servant. [12] For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Let us notice the following verses,
1-3 … The Pharisees carefully and accurately presented the Law. However, they themselves were not willing to follow or practice what they preached.
5-7 … They considered themselves to be holy and righteous by how they dressed, received praise and honor from others. In other words instead of seeking God's glory they sought after their own. They did this by seeking after the approval and admiration from other men.
To see that our God is more concerned about what is going on inside us, that is within our thoughts, attitudes and desires, rather than the mask we put on for the benefit of others, let us read what else He said to the Pharisees and Sadducees. To do this let us now read from,
Matthew 23:23-28
""[23] Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. [24] You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. [25] "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. [26] Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. [27] "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. [28] In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
THE MESSAGE OF THIS STUDY
The message or point of this study is twofold: (1) There is a message for the time of John the Baptist and (2) There is a message for today.
THE MESSAGE FOR THE DAYS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
This message can be found in,
Matthew 3:7-9
"[7] But 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? [8] Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. [9] And 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."
What are the fruits that John was speaking of? The answer to this question goes back to the definition of repentance. In other words, John was telling them they needed to change their ways. In the Gospel according to Luke we find some examples of the type of fruits that John the Baptist was talking about. To see this let us read from,
Luke 3:10-14
""[10] What should we do then?" the crowd asked. [11] John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." [12] Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" [13] "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. [14] Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely--be content with your pay.""
THE MESSAGE FOR TODAY
Today's message is also twofold. There is one for those who are not yet a born again believer in Jesus Christ and one for those who are.
For Those Who Are Not Yet Born Again Believers
To put the message or point of this study in its proper context, let us first read an excerpt of Jesus conversation with the Pharisee named Nicodemus. The passage of interest is in,
John 3:1-7
"[1] Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. [2] He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." [3] In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." [4] "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" [5] Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. [6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. [7] You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'"
In other words, unless you are born again of God the Holy Spirit, your sins have not yet been forgiven and you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Hence, the message for you is what Jesus said to those who were present on the last day of a Feast of Tabernacles. To read what Jesus Said we go to,
John7:37-39
[37]On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. [38] He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” [39] But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Let us notice the following verses,
37(a) … The thirst Jesus is talking about is not the thirst for physical water but is the thirst for righteousness, holiness and for God.
If you thirst for these things and sincerely want to live your life pleasing to God, then
37(b) … Go to Jesus and drink, that is ask Him for this spiritual water.
38 … If we believe and have faith in Him and ask Him to quench our thirst for righteousness and holiness, Jesus will provide you streams of living water to flow from within you.
39 … This living water is not physical water but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the new birth!
For Those Who Are Born Again Believers
For us, the message is that we are to live our lives in a manner consistent with our profession of faith. To see this, let us read what Jesus said to those who claimed to love Him. The message of interest is in,
John 14:15
"[15] If you love me, you will obey what I command."
This raises the question as to; “What Jesus did command His disciples to do?” The answer to this question is given to us in,
John 15:12
"[12] My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
How can we do this? How can we live our lives loving others? To find out we begin by reading from,
Galatians 5:16-18
"[16] So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. [17] For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law."
In other words, the born again Christian is to live their life under the control of God the Holy Spirit. Now, to help us discern whether or not we are walking under control of our sinful nature or under control of the Holy Spirit, the Bible gives us some examples of the various types of fruit. First, let us read the type of fruit that our sinful nature produces. Examples of these types of fruit can be found in,
Galatians 5:19-21
"[19] The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
Thus, when we see these emotions, thoughts or desires proceeding from within us we know we are being controlled or led by our sinful nature. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are vastly different from the fruits of our sinful nature. Examples of them are listed for us in,
Galatians 5:22-25
"[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. [24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. [25] Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
Thus, when we see these emotions, thoughts or desires proceeding from within us we can assume that we are now being controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Hence the message to us, the born again believers in Jesus Christ, can be found in,
Romans 8:12-15
"[12] Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. [13] For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, [14] because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15] For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father.""
Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen