A Voice in the Wilderness

Matthew 3:1-10

January 27, 2002

 

Like Elijah the Tishbite, John the Baptist (or John the "Baptizing One") came on the scene of spiritual vapidity. Israel had suffered under the hand of the godless Ahab in the 9th century B.C. Ahab had introduced new levels of idolatry and rebellion that would have made some of Israel's pagan kings blush. In league with his idolatrous wife, Jezebel, Ahab squeezed the spiritual life out of the nation so that only a small remnant remained that worshiped the true and living God. In this setting Elijah emerged and announced judgment that initiated a three-year drought. Ahab desperately sought Elijah so that he could blame him for Israel's troubles. Finally, Elijah confronted him and declared that he and his father's house were the ones who had troubled Israel. He challenged the entire nation to quit their vacillation, and to confess that the Lord is God. At Mount Carmel, Elijah stood alone before the prophets of Baal and the Asherah, and the muted people of Israel. God answered him by fire that day, and demonstrated that there is no God but the Lord. Elijah's stand kindled a spiritual change in the nation.

 

John's ministry, by comparison, was brief, and without the accompanying miracles of Elijah. But his was even more important than his historical predecessor. For John announced the Messiah, and the coming of His kingdom. His demand for repentance followed by baptism in anticipation of the Messiah paved the way for Christ bringing in His kingdom, and serving as Prophet, Priest, and King. After the Transfiguration, the disciples asked Christ about the coming again of Elijah, who according to scribal teaching would precede the Messiah. Jesus responded, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished." Matthew explained, "Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist" (17:10-13). 

 

The last words of the Old Testament, spoken nearly 400 years before John's arrival, announced his entrance and mission. This prophecy, along with that given through Isaiah, set forth the foundation of John the Baptist coming to prepare the way of the Lord. Israel had been without the voice of a prophet for four centuries, and into that barrenness, Malachi's words echoed: "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse" (4:5-6). And Isaiah, 400 years earlier, declared, "A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God'" (40:3). A prelude to hope arrived, dressed in a camel hair garment and eating grasshoppers and wild honey, announcing the Messiah. Some might call him a curious eccentric. But we call him the forerunner of the Messiah. His message still rings with clarity. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What does this message say to our own generation?

 

I. Divine charge: make ready the way

 

The command through Isaiah explained clearly the charge given to John the Baptist: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!" Matthew further explained that John came "preaching in the wilderness." The term used for "preaching" points to the ancient herald who had the responsibility of delivering the king's message with precision and without addition. Whenever kings planned to visit a given area, the herald would go before him to announce his coming, and to exhort the subjects to prepare themselves for the king's visit. The king's delegates would also "make ready the way" or the roads by straightening out the rough spots, filling potholes, and ensuring that the king's passage would be smooth.

 

Using familiar language, both the prophets and the Gospel writers explain that John the Baptist was just such a herald who announced the King's coming, who exhorted the hearers to prepare by repentance, and whose ministry served to smooth the roads to men's hearts that had been pitted by years of rebellion and unbelief. This was the time that all history had anticipated. And John was the one who was given the divine charge to announce it.

 

Matthew does not discuss the wondrous birth and early life of John, son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, as does Luke (1:5-25, 39-45, 57-80). John, in the Prologue to his Gospel, explains the purpose of John as "a man sent from God," who "came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him" (1:6-8). Matthew begins at the point of John's ministry, probably around AD 27. Just how did John prepare the way of the Lord?

 

1. Repentance

 

The message we equate with John the Baptist is the call to repentance. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Repentance is a word that seems to have fallen out of the modern vocabulary, even as it had in the first century. Prophets of old called upon the people to "turn" and "return" to the Lord-which was the same concept as the New Testament term repentance. But by the time John came on the scene, most Jews had slipped into the lethargy of an external religion that had no life, and given over to affection for the world. So John's message struck a raw nerve among the people. It was so radical, so transforming, that people were coming from the cities and villages into the wilderness region of Judea to hear this message: "Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan." Steadily the crowds came. And without missing a beat or without toning down his message to accommodate more people, John thundered the call for repentance. As one preacher from another generation stated, "Never will Christ come into that soul, where the herald of repentance hath not been before him" [Hall, quoted by John Broadus, Selected Works of John Broadus, vol. III, 53].

 

What is involved in repentance? Ask most people and they will treat it as sorrow for sin. Granted, there should be sorrow for sin, but that is not repentance, for a person can be sorry for sin-or sorry that he got caught in his sin, without change of life. Repentance implies a change of mind or change of disposition toward sin and toward God. Broadus says it "is to change the mind, thought, purpose, as regards sin and the service of God-a change naturally accompanied by deep sorrow for past sin, and naturally leading to a change of the outward life" [34]. The focus on repentance is inward change that inevitably results in a change of conduct and a different attitude toward sin. The biblical teaching of repentance always engages the mind in reformation from following after sin to pursuing holiness in relationship to God.

 

The first message preached by Christ in His public ministry was repentance. "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost declared, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Paul summarized his ministry at Ephesus as teaching from house to house, "repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Jesus even explained, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3).

 

Strangely, some evangelicals say that there is no need for repentance. Yet to make such a claim demands creative interpretation-splicing texts to avoid the clear demand in the gospel. We are called upon to change our minds about our pursuits of sin, to turn from our sin, to despise it, to hate it, and to feel in our own bosom true sorrow for it. We are to turn to God for mercy and grace, appealing to Him for the provision of His Son for our sin, and to pursue holiness without which no on will see the Lord (Heb 12:14). The question that each of us must answer is this: have I repented of my sins? Have I gone beyond mere sorrow to turning away from sin and turning to God with a love for obedience and holiness? Have you known such grace of repentance in your life?

 

2. Kingdom near

 

As a herald, John commanded repentance "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The word can be variously translated but seems to mean that the kingdom has drawn near. It had not necessarily arrived in its fullest expression but it had drawn near. Much debate has centered in Matthew's use of "the kingdom of heaven" as opposed to his seldom use of "the kingdom of God" as the other Evangelists. Broadus and others suggest that since he had a Jewish audience, and since they would have been cautious to even utter the divine name, that he softened it by calling it the kingdom of heaven. D. A. Carson agrees that this has merit, but thinks that there was a more important reason for this, that Matthew wanted to remind his hearers that the kingdom of God covers heaven and earth-there is nothing that is not under the rule of the King [EBC, 100-101]. Both "kingdom of heaven" and kingdom of God are synonymous terms rather than indicating various types of kingdoms.

 

But what is meant by "kingdom"? That is the critical issue. Was he referring to something with geographical boundaries? If so, then how could it be "at hand"? The New Testament usage refers to the "reign" of the King rather than a territorial realm. God's kingdom is the exercise of His sovereign rule over our lives and over all creation. It is not a stagnant declaration of sovereignty but an active exercise of God ruling through His infinite wisdom, power, and justice. Leon Morris explains, "The expression is dynamic: it points us to God as doing something, as actively ruling, rather than to an area or a group of people over whom he is sovereign. The kingdom is something that happens rather than something that exists" [The Gospel According to Matthew, 53].

 

So John came to announce that the kingdom was happening at that very moment. The living Lord was exercising His prerogatives as King, and demanding that all men everywhere repent (Acts 17:30-31). With the coming of Messiah, the kingdom had arrived and would continue to unfold in its fullest expression. In this sense, the kingdom has both present and future dimensions. The kingdom is now! And we must never lose sight of this. But the kingdom also has future (eschatological) dimensions that await fulfillment at the consummation of the ages. The point, though, is quite clear. The kingdom is happening right now, so therefore, I must repent and believe in the King, Jesus Christ. Have you repented and trusted the King?

 

3. Confession

 

Matthew explained that as John preached, the crowds came into the wilderness to hear him, "and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins." John said of himself, "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance." It is well noted that Jews had the practice of proselyte baptism, restricted only to non-Jews who were publicly aligning themselves with Judaism. Some of the more zealous practiced regular ritual washings that were repeated over and over in attempts to wash away sin.

 

But John's baptism was unlike anything the Jews had witnessed. In the first place, John was baptizing Jews, and that was unheard of-even offensive for a Jew to associate him with baptism like a Gentile. Another thing about John's baptism is that it was not mere ceremony like much baptism in our own day. When the Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to be baptized, he refused them, adding that before they could be baptized there had to be evidence of repentance. So we see that John's baptism was unto repentance or in light of repentance.

 

Those being baptized "confessed their sins." It was a frank, open admission of personal sinfulness, and the need for God's mercy to be shown. The baptism was linked as an open confession for all to see. That is why we continue the practice of baptizing publicly those who admit their need for Christ due to their sin, and who confess that He is now Savior and Lord of their lives.

 

The baptism "in the Jordan River" was clearly the practice of immersion. The word means "'dip, plunge' and in the passive 'be drowned'" [Morris, 55]. Morris points out that unless we see baptism as immersion, we will miss "the significance of this violent imagery. Baptism signifies death to a whole way of life" [56]. A line was drawn in the lives of those coming for baptism, which is precisely why John refused to baptize the Pharisees and Sadducees, for they had not drawn the line in their lives of dying to their whole way of life, and turning to God through the promised Messiah.

 

Have you confessed your faith in Christ publicly since you believed, through the act of baptism? This is the New Testament way of professing your faith-following Christ by public baptism after repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus.

 

II. Contemporary warning: worthy fruit

 

I doubt that any among us would argue that there have been far too many baptisms that were meaningless. As a young boy, I remember very well that getting baptized when you were 8 or 9 was just the thing to do in my hometown. It was not a matter of understanding the gospel and truly confessing your faith in Christ, but it was just the "right" thing to do. Consequently, many have gone through the waters of baptism without first repenting of their sins and anchoring their faith in Jesus Christ. That sort of baptism is meaningless, yet the unfortunate thing is that multitudes cling to this outward ceremony of baptism as their hope against the wrath of God. I suggest to you that this was really no different from the planned baptism of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

1. Against shallow repentance

 

As John baptized (and the Greek implies that John himself was doing the baptizing rather than self-baptism as some want to think, v. 6 "baptized by him" utilizes hup autou to show that it was under John's hand that they were baptized), he saw the large group of Pharisees and Sadducees coming. Pharisees emerged during the Intertestamental period from a group known as the "Hasidim." They were strict legalists in following the Mosaic Law and felt that they represented the true people of God due to their obedience. The Sadducees were almost the opposite, being the most liberal group in Judaism. They claimed heritage from Zadok, the high priest during David's time, and maintained ties to the priestly family. They were aristocrats that had little use for the common people, except for what they could get out of them. Matthew tells us they were "coming for baptism" just like others. Evidently, the appearance of being baptize appealed to them.

 

John railed against them! "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" "Brood of vipers" was not a customary name for the religious leaders of Israel! Literally, he called them offspring or children of poisonous snakes, or as I heard one man tongue-in-cheek say, "We're glad to have this distinguished group of snakes with us today!" John was stunned to see them and did not mind expressing his displeasure (so much for church growth theories with John). He pressed them with a question about fleeing, just like a snake does in a brush fire, "the wrath to come." Literally, he points to wrath that was about to be. "Wrath" refers to God's settled displeasure and judgment aimed at sinners. It is not a divine temper-tantrum, but a just, measured application of judgment that is due to sinners. John understood that with the kingdom also came judgment. And we must see that as well.

 

He would not baptize them just because they wanted to be baptized. John took seriously the act of baptism as a solemn, though joyful, profession of death to self and sin, and loyal love to Christ. So he refused them unless they gave evidence of first having repented. "Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance" or fruit worthy of repentance. They feigned repentance, so John refused baptism.

 

Should we not be just as serious as John about baptism in our own day? Should we not be just as concerned about genuine fruit in the person desiring baptism, as was John? John's warning serves as a rebuke to the shallow repentance of our own day that amounts to nothing more than lip service without corresponding change of heart and mind toward sin and toward God.

 

2. Against presumption

 

Maybe John could hear the muttering under their breath, "We have Abraham as our father," and he stands at the gates of Gehenna and keeps any good Jew from entering. "Do not suppose" or consider or think, that you can say such a thing, John tells them. The rabbinic legend held that father Abraham waited at the gates of hell to pluck any children of Israel who might have mistakenly headed that way. But that was presumption! It was pure folly to think that their family pedigree would serve to deliver them from divine judgment. Yet many people presume that they will go to heaven because of family or church or nationality or religious deeds or a thousand other things. But if there is no evidence of genuine repentance and faith in Christ, there is no reason to suppose that you will be in heaven.

 

John was striking at the heart of their nationalistic pride as he declared, "For I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham." In other words, it is not your lineage that pleases God but repentance and faith toward His Son.

 

3. Against naivety

 

Quite likely, the Pharisees and Sadducees were ready to brush John off, to give no more thought to his warning. So he persists in his message of warning them of the wrath to come, and of the necessity of genuine repentance and faith. "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." The imagery pictures those who are satisfied with their religious practice but who have never known the saving grace of God in their lives. Judgment stands ready-"the axe is already laid at the root of the trees" as though waiting the severing blow at any moment. John's sharp language is really a merciful warning against being na�ve in thinking that a person has all the time in the world to deal with his sin and get honest with God. Jesus explained the same thing, "He who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18). Judgment is not just in the future, it is right now. The only hope of avoiding it is found in casting yourself in repentance and faith upon Jesus Christ, the only Redeemer of sinners.

 

Conclusion

 

The kingdom is still at hand. The King is exercising His sovereign reign. He calls for repentance, a thorough turning from sin and turning to Him. Have you repented and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you been baptized since you believed? Baptism is the Christian confession of faith. It is never to be treated lightly or of no value. Though we are not saved by our baptism, we do publicly identify with Christ and testify to the world that we have died to our old life, and have been made alive through Jesus Christ our Lord in the waters of baptism.

            Let me offer one word of urgency to those among us who have fallen prey to shallow repentance or presumption in relationship to God. Do not be so na�ve as to think that you are an exception to the teaching of God's Word. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That invitation to come to Christ remains open to you. Will you repent and turn to Christ?

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