Matthew 3:1-6, part 2

DAY 13
July 28, 2024

John The Baptist, part 2
Matthew 3:1-6, part 2

Please note: There will be NO Adult Sunday School on 
September 1, 2024 and
September 8, 2024
We will resume on September 15, 2024

Review of last week-

Last week talked about the sins of the people of Israel going up and down, like peaks and valleys on a mountain range, and that John came at a time of a deep valley of sins that the people of Israel were in. And as our Holman commentary states on page 33, “The people of Israel had been thinking wrongly about God, themselves, their sin, their righteousness, and the nature of the kingdom.” To put it briefly it says, the people were “spiritually blind.”

Last week we also briefly defined some key terms, 

1. REPENTANCE (turning from sin toward God)
2. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (that place where God reigns -our hearts)
3. BAPTISM – immersion into water
4. And WHO JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS (a herald of Jesusthe Messiah, rightful King of the Jews)

Today we will go thru our six verses for today, and along the way, fill in a little more on these important key terms, because we will be running into some these throughout the rest of Matthew.

PRAY

Read Matthew 3:1-6 

Ok, let’s look at today’s verses:

V 1-2 (NIV 1984) 1 “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

John came for three reasons. 

1. First reason. John’s baptism of Jesus was the commencement of His earthly ministry, and as such, John came as a herald, to announce the long-awaited arrival of the Messiah, and to prove to his first century audience that Jesus is the rightful King of the Jews. That is one of the running themes of Matthew’s Gospel. John was chosen to introduce Israel to her new King, her last King, and the only rightful heir to the throne of David. (A herald is defined by dictionary.com as”a person or thing that precedes or comes before; forerunner; “)
2. Second reason. John came as “The Baptist” because he baptized people.
   1. Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3 and Acts 13:24 all say that John came “proclaiming a baptism of repentance.” (For more info on this, go to Acts 19:1 and following.)
   2. He came to baptize people, because thru their sin they had become ritually unclean, and to a first century Jew, being “ritually” clean was very important.  Since Matthew and most of his audience was Jewish, I looked this verse up in the Complete Jewish Study Bible just to get understanding of what John was doing with the Jews that were coming to him in the wilderness back there in the first century. John’s baptism wasn’t exactly the same as Christian baptisms today because John came before the cross and the resurrection. The Complete Jewish Study Bible commentary says, “To understand what “baptize” means, one must view it exclusively in its context (and that context is – before the cross and the resurrection) According to the Torah, one had to be ritually pure before entering the Tabernacle or Temple. Ritual purity could be lost in many ways, and the preeminent means of restoring it was through mikveh or washing.” 
3. And third reason. John came to preach in the desert, similarly to Elijah. And he came to preach a very specific message from from God. REPENTANCE. And the reason he was called to preach repentance? Because the Kingdom of Heaven has now, finally, come near. 

Probably the two most important phrases, or keywords, in this whole section is, 1) REPENT, and 2) Kingdom of Heaven

Let’s take a quick look at these two important phrases:

REPENTANCE

John the Baptist preached “repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Jesus preached the exact same message (Matt 4:17).
Three years later, just after the resurrection of Jesus, Peter, in Acts 2:38 also preaches repentance, But notice that now, after the crucifiction and resurrection, Peter begins preaching a “fuller” baptism, a little more”fuller” of a gospel message,- saying “(ESV) Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

And finally as Randy mentioned last week, did Paul also preached repentance in Acts 26:20 saying, “(NIV) … I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.” This last part also sound like the “fruit” of repentance, which we will talk about next week.

The Complete Jewish Study Bible Notes says about v 3:2 “Turn from your sins to God.” Saying that the underlying concept in the Hebrew is seen in the word t’shuvah, which I mentioned last week, and means turn, or turning, or return or returning, meaning to turn to God from one’s sins or to return back to God from one’s sins. The Jewish understanding of repentance is that each individual must make t’shuvah, yet that requires God’s grace to be able to do it: That squares beautifully with the universal Protestant doctrine of salvation as clearly seen in Eph. 2:8-9. Then the Jewish Study Bible adds something very amazing: It says, “ADONAI, turn us back to you; and we will come back” What I find really cool about that statement is that it is a quote from the Old Testament!   (Lam. 5:21- Jewish translation)

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

What is the kingdom of heaven? 

Short, but incomplete answer: That place where God rules, or reigns (key words), such as the hearts of believers.

Here in Matthew 3:2, John the Baptist gets the conversation started about the kingdom of heaven, then as we will see in Matthew 4, Jesus will take over the conversation from John, and speak about it a LOT about the Kingdom of Heaven in the rest of Matthew’s gospel. If you recall from our introductory comments back in April and May, the Kingdom of Heaven is a major theme in Matthew’s gospel. A little longer answer (but still incomplete) might be: The term translated “kingdom” is the Greek word basileia, which means “the realm in which a sovereign king rules (RULES IS THE KEY WORD HERE, not realm),” 

A verse describing the Kingdom, according to John Piper, can be found in Matthew 13:44. It is a one verse parable and says, “(NIV) The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” 

It is a TREASURE. It is extremely valuable, something we should value above ALL ELSE THAT WE HAVE! 

Questions: 

1. What do you treasure? (See Matt. 6:19-21)
2. Make a list of what makes the kingdom “VALUABLE.”
3. What are implications of this for your everyday life on this side of heaven?

For more info on the KINGDOM, see below

Vs 3 More prophecies (NIV 1984)
“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.’ ”

As stated in our commentary, on page 35, “(Holman Commentary) “The quote in 3:3 is from Isaiah 40:3.” Also see Malachi 3:1, which says,  “(NIV) “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me (a herald). Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come …

Then, in Malachi 4:5-6, it says, “(NIV) See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction. Very interestingly they are the very last verses in the Old Testament, and come immediately before Matthew’s Gospel. 

Could someone please look up and read Luke 1:17. In this passage, an angel of thd Lord is speaking to Zechariah, a priest, while he is in the temple. The angel is telling Zechariah about his yet to be born son, John, who will become known as John the Baptist. 

About these last two verses in Malachi, James Montgomery BOICE, in his commentary says, “(Boice Expositional Commentary) An angel had told John’s father, Zechariah, that John would fulfill this last prophecy (see Luke 1:17), and Jesus subsequently identified John as the “Elijah” Malachi had foretold (Matt. 17:10–13).

Verse 3:4 Even MORE PROPHECIES – and more connections to the OT.! This verse says, “(NIV) 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.

This verse is yet another a reference to the OT, to the prophet Elijah. In the OT book of the prophet Malachi (which I just referenced above), in chapter 4, verses 5-6, it says, (NIV) “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.” And in addition to that, Luke, in chapter 1, verse 17 says about John the Baptist, “(NIV 1984) 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah …”

And Jesus Himself identifies John the Baptist with the prophet Elijah in Matt 11:14 saying, “(NIV) And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.”

This all ties in very tightly to our last verse, Matt 3:3.

V5-6 (NIV) 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.

Our commentary says on page 35 that this verse is “obviously” hyperbole. “Obviously?” As much as I like the Holman Commentary, this is one of the few times I would probably disagree with it. I would take this verse literally.

Contrary to our Holman Commentary, the Life Application Commentary says, “(Life Application Bible Commentary New Testament) “The verb form of “went out” is in the imperfect tense, indicating continuous action. From Jeru­salem (the holy city of the Jews) and from the whole region of the Jordan, a stream of people constantly flowed into the wilderness to hear John the Baptist preach.

John attracted so many people because he was the first true prophet in four hundred years. His blasting of both Herod and the religious leaders was a daring act that fascinated common people.”

That is much easier to believe, and makes more sense of the text in the larger context of the rest of Matthew, where we see Jesus drawing large crowds. I would add to that, that when God decides to do something, it is supernatural. It is always effective and successful. And It is amazing. God sovereignly and supernaturally superintending (or directing) history to fulfill His purposes and His will, which is – the salvation of our souls: Our redemption. 

His purposes and His will cannot ever be thwarted in any way. 

COME, LORD JESUS. COME!

Questions about repentance:

In light of the previously mentioned spiritual trouble Israel was in when John came on the scene, 

1. Why is understanding this term – REPENTANCE – so important? And
2. Why is it so important to ACTUALLY repent? 

In the gospels, generally, who – what group of people – does it seem did most if the repenting, and who did not? 

And why?

Have you confessed and repented?

Questions about the Kingdom of Heaven:

Another verse describing the Kingdom, according to John Piper, can be found in Matthew 13:44. It is a one verse parable and says, “(NIV) The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” it is a TREASURE. It is extremely valuable, something we should value above ALL ELSE THAT WE HAVE! 

Video: https://youtu.be/-ABfkbeG6bU?si=7dxZSYqgrvO6iiac

Questions: 

1. What do you treasure? (See Matt. 6:19-21)
2. Make a list of what makes the kingdom “VALUABLE.”
3. What are implications of this for your everyday life on this side of heaven?

End of class notes. Additional info, questions and application are below.

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More info:

Repentance 

Secular dictionary definition (incomplete, not biblical) definition: 

feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin. (Oxford)

to feel sorrow for one’s sin and make up one’s mind to do what is right

: to feel sorry for or dissatisfied with something one has done : REGRET (Merriam-Webster Webster)

Does anyone see a problem with these”secular, cultural” definitions?

(CWSB Dictionary) metanoéō; contracted metanoṓ, fut. metanoḗsō, from metá (G3326), denoting change of place or condition, and noéō (G3539), to exercise the mind, think, comprehend. To repent, change the mind, relent. Theologically, it involves regret or sorrow, accompanied by a true change of heart toward God.     It is distinguished from metamélomai (G3338), to regret.

(CWSB Dictionary) In a religious sense implying pious sorrow for unbelief and sin and a turning from them unto God and the gospel of Christ. Used in an absolute sense

(CWSB Dictionary) meaning to repent and turn to God from idolatry;

(First-Century Study Bible Notes) Word Study

Repent:   metanoeō μετανοέω

Matthew 3:2

Metanoeō means to “change one’s mind” or “to have a total change of one’s thought or (and!)  behavior.” In Greek thought, the mind was one of the ultimate centers of a person’s being (the other being the heart). The Hebrew term for repentance is teshuvah, meaning to “turn or change directions.” Both the Greek and Hebrew concepts of repentance express a total transformation of the individual, what might be called a conversion.

Jewish source – Hebrew (OT) word for repentance. 

Typically, teshuvah is translated from the Hebrew as repentance, but it literally means return, as if turning back to something you’ve strayed or looked away from. 

But that begs the question: return to what?

Depending on the time and place, there have been different answers —The Hebrew Bible sees teshuvah as principally a return to God. “Come, let us return to the Lord,” the prophet Hoshea (14:2) tells the people of Israel. 

Traditional rabbinical commentators have interpreted this to mean that teshuvah requires confessing your sins to God.

(From https://www.brandeis.edu/jewish-experience/holidays-religious-traditions/2021/september/atonement-yom-kippur-mirsky.html#:~:text=Typically, teshuvah is translated from,strayed or looked away from.)

Kingdom of Heaven

These are two aspects to the kingdom of heaven are 1) the kingdom that is partially here now, and 2) the fully consummated kingdom kingdom yet to come when Jesus returns and creates the new heavens and the new earth. This kingdom yet to come is referenced in the Lord’s Prayer – Your kingdom come -, and at the end of Revelation 22:20, which says, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

In the physical, material world of the monarchs of the earth, a kingdom would normally refer to a physical space or define an area, often-times called the “realm,” like the kingdom of England or of France. 

In the spiritual world, it can mean a similar thing, but the Kingdom of Heaven is not a “realm, it is a”reign. God can and does rule over an area, or a realm, that is committed to Him and submitted to His loving rule, such as a church or a devout Christian household, but what makes it part of, or included in the Kingdom of Heaven is the God who reigns there. In the spiritual sense it  signifies that God is the ruler of our hearts. The CWSB Dictionary says,  “Spiritually, the kingdom of God is within the human heart (Luke 17:21).” That is a good definition for this day and age. However, when Jesus returns for His second coming, He will vanquish all His enemies and will completely rule, not only His believer’s hearts, but the whole of the physical and spiritual universe. 

There are many, many short, partial definitions of the kingdom of heaven (or of God) all throughout scripture. And each of these gives us just a little – incomplete – piece of the puzzle. One such short description can ge found in Romans 14:17, which says, “(NIV) 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” In other words the kingdom of heaven is spiritual in nature. 

Questions and APPLICATION: 

What can you say about John the Baptist from this short passage – from what scriptures tells us about him?

What kind of man was he? Good? Patient and kind? Righteous? Biblically correct? Fair? Was he clear in his message? 

What about his character? 

How did he handle himself?

Was he humble? How? (Contrast him with the Pharisee)

DO YOU SEE ANYTHING IN HIM THAT YOU THINK CHRIST FOLLOWERS TODAY SHOULD EMULATE? Is there any way in him, or anything in him that should motivate us or inspire us, or that we should copy?

How can we PREPARE THE WAY for the lost to hear about Jesus?

Quote: The best theology will not remove mystery from your life, so rest is found in trusting the One who rules, is all, and knows no mystery.  Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies, day 4

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After class notes