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"Preparing the Way for the King" Matthew 3:1-12 (Delivered Sunday, March 28, 2004 at Bethany Bible Church. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is taken from the New King James Version, unles.) INTRODUCTIONAs we continue our study from the Gospel of Matthew - the Gospel of the King - we today begin a new section. So far, chapters 1 and 2 have been concerned with the infancy of King Jesus. In chapter 1, we learned about the human genealogy of the King - that He was born into the world in the lineage of King David (1:1-17); and also about the divine nature of the King - that He was born into the world as the Son of God incarnate (1:18-25). Our Redeemer has come into this world as the God/Man, who is destined to die on the cross for the sins of men, and then rule over the world as King of kings and Lord of lords. And in our last time together, we looked at chapter 2 and saw how God preserved this infant Redeemer for us - protecting Him from the efforts of the devil to destroy Him and prevent Him from dying on the cross for us. All of this is vital for us to know and understand about our Redeemer. And now, Matthew takes us twenty-eight years ahead in the story into Jesus' adulthood. We're told nothing further about Jesus' childhood years. Luke tells us some additional things in his Gospel (Luke 2:41-52); but except for that, this is all that the Holy Spirit has seen fit to tell us about Jesus' youth. More important to us is Jesus' public ministry as an adult; and so, Matthew now takes us up to the things that immediately proceeded the beginning of His earthly ministry. This new section of Matthew's Gospel begins at 3:1 and ends at 4:11; and there is much in it that sets the tone for all that will follow in Matthew's testimony of the earthly ministry of our Savior. And it begins with an introduction of the one who served as the great 'herald' of King Jesus; that is, John the Baptist - the one who pointed Him out to all as "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). * * * * * * * * * *As I read this morning's passage to you, please listen closely and see if you can detect the theme of John's preaching. You'll find this theme repeated several times in what he himself says. Matthew writes; In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: Did you notice the great theme in his preaching? You might have said that it was "baptism" - and of course, he mentions baptism frequently. But his ministry of baptizing people was only the outward, visible expression his real theme. Or you might have said that it was Jesus Himself. But the coming of Jesus on to the scene was the reason why John's great theme was being declared. The great theme of John's message was "repentance". He mentions it explicitly three times in this passage. It's the summation of his message: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (v. 3). He warned the Pharisees and Sadducees, ". . . Bear fruits worthy of repentance" (v. 8). He even described the purpose of his baptism in this way; "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance . . ." (v. 11). And what's more, his theme of repentance is stated by implication often in this passage. John is described as the one mentioned in prophecy who would cry out to sinners, "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight" (v. 3). We're told that people came to him from everywhere to be baptized by him, "confessing their sins" (v. 6). We're told that he rebuked those who came to him hypocritically, saying, "Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (v. 7). In other words, John is presented to us as the one who immediately proceeded Jesus' earthly ministry - serving as the herald of the coming King, calling people to "prepare the way", and to "make His paths straight". And crucial to that preparation was "repentance". We will not be able to appreciate the things that the Holy Spirit is seeking to teach us from the Gospel of Matthew, nor will we gain the benefit of His instruction to us concerning King Jesus, if we don't grasp this important theme of "repentance". * * * * * * * * * *"Repentance" is one of those words that requires explanation. In our day, it has a negative connotation. It conjures up an image of a sour looking man walking up and down the street, dressed in sackcloth and holding up a hand-painted sign. Just say, "Repent!", and people will almost immediately turn you off. But I'd like to make the case that the idea of "repentance" is actually a good and wonderful thing. The Greek word that's translated "repentance" is made out of the combination of two different words. The first is "metá" - which means "after" (and which suggests the idea of change), and the second is "nous" - which means "the mind" (that is, the seat of our thoughts and moral reflections). And so, "metánoia" means 'a change of mind'. Our English word came from the Latin word "paenitere", which means 'to regret' or 'to feel sorrow'; and so, to "re-pent" meant to think again upon a sin or a past action, and to feel sorrow for it. "Repentance" certainly involves a change in the way we think and feel. But it also involves a change in action. I believe that one of the most vivid descriptions in the Scriptures of genuine repentance is found in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11. Paul wrote to a group of Christians who had repented of sin in a particular matter; and he told them that "godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted". He then described their genuine repentance in these very active and practical terms: For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved to be clear in this matter (2 Corinthians 7:11). Not all sorrow can be called "godly", of course. Sometimes, people can regret only that they suffered the consequences of their sins, or regret that they got caught; but still experience no real "change of mind". They may experience real regret; but inwardly, they would still commit the same sin if they thought they could avoid the consequences. Such regret is a merely human thing. But true "godly sorrow" that produces "repentance" - the kind that leads to a genuine change in our thinking about our sin - is a gift of God's grace. Paul once wrote to Timothy and said, . . . A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses, and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will (2 Timothy 2:24-26). * * * * * * * * * *John the Baptist came into the world as the forerunner of our Savior; and he came preaching repentance. He was sent by God to announce the Savior to the world; and he called people to prepare the way for Him. In the flesh, he was Jesus' relative; and before he proceeded the Savior in birth - before John was even conceived in the womb of his mother - his ministry was announced by the angel in these words; that . . . many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of th just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:14-17). And here, in this morning's passage from Matthew's Gospel, we're being shown that repentance is an absolutely essential part of welcoming King Jesus into His proper place in our lives. Let's look closer at this passage, and first consider . . . 1. THE NECESSITY OF THIS PREPARATION (vv. 1-6).Matthew tells us, "In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea . . . (v. 1). The phrase "In those days", as we know, take us up to the time of Jesus' adulthood. It was a specific time in real history; because Luke tells us that it was "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Ciaphas were high priests . . ." (Luke 3:1-2). It was in those days that John was preaching in the wilderness of Judea - far away from the cities and towns and crowds. People had to journey some distance to go out to him. And go out they did! They came from Jerusalem, and from all Judea, and from the region around the Jordan River. They all went out to find a bold prophet who was clothed in camel's hair as a sign of his prophetic ministry (see Zech. 13:4); and who ate locusts and wild honey - the foods of the wilderness - as a sign of his humble lifestyle. As Jesus said, they didn't come out to see "a man clothed in soft garments", as those "who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury" and who live "in king's courts" (Luke 7:25). They came out, instead, to see a man who lived in the humble, self-denying manner that matched the radical demands of his message! And consider his message! "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" Did you know that this was the very message the Lord Jesus Himself took up, once John was thrown into prison? Matthew 4:17 marks the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry with these words, "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The call for repentance is essential to the message of the gospel. Someone has even called it "the first word of the gospel". Someone else has said that there is no Good News without repentance. Peter made it primary in his preaching; saying to his fellow Jews, "Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins . . ." (Acts 2:38). On another occasion, he summed-up his sermon with these words: "Repent therefore and be converted . . ." (3:18). Paul also preached that God, in the past, has overlooked the times of ignorance, "but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). He affirmed that God commissioned him to preach to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout the regions of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, "that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance" (Acts 26:20). He described his preaching by saying that he testified "to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). The message of "repentance" is the Lord's own message, who the Bible tells us is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Repentance is essential to having a relationship with Jesus Christ because He is the Savior from sin. Many people seek to come to Jesus and cling to their sins at the same time; but this isn't possible. We have to "change our mind" about our sin. We have to call our sin what it is. We have to confess it and submit to the forgiveness that Christ purchased for us at the cross. We have to actively turn away from sin in repentance. Now, it's important that we understand that this doesn't mean that we must become sinlessly perfect before we can have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Praise God that it doesn't mean that; because then, none of us would ever have a relationship with Him! But what it does mean is that we must confess our sin, recognize that our sin made the death of our Savior on the cross necessary, and cease clinging to our sin - changing our mind about it, and turning from it. Because it's impossible to cling to both the Savior from sin AND to our sins at the same time. * * * * * * * * * *Matthew let's us know that God appointed John for the preaching of the message of repentance. He says that John is the very one that the prophet Isaiah spoke of in Isaiah 40:3-5; The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken" (Isaiah 40:3-5). Isaiah was speaking prophetically of how God was going to, one day, cause His exiled people - the Jews - to return to their land. God was going to come and deliver them; and He calls His people to prepare the way - to make the road straight; to fill in the potholes as it were, and straighten out the rough places. It's a picture of a people cleaning up their act - preparing their hearts and lives for God's grace to be poured out on them. And here, Matthew tells us that John was that voice in the wilderness! He came crying out to people that their Redeemer was coming; and that they should "prepare the way" by repenting of their sins. This was why they all went out to him to be baptized by him in the Jordan River - "confessing their sins." * * * * * * * * * *I have to ask; have you made this sort of heart preparation? Have you personally sought to "prepare the way" in your life for Jesus to occupy His rightful place in it? Many people claim Jesus as their own; but the fact is that they have never really made the necessary "preparation" by repenting of their sin. Many people who claim Jesus as their Lord actually deny His Lordship over their lives by the fact that they continue to embrace the very sins that He died to save them from! John himself encountered some to were not making that necessary preparation of repentance. This leads us, next, to consider . . . 2. THE HINDRANCES TO THIS PREPARATION (vv. 7-10).We're told that, as John was baptizing those who were coming to him to confess their sins, he saw that many of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to be baptized too. These were the religions leaders of the day. They were the ones who taught and defended the Scriptures before the people. They were the ones who were very careful about their outward religious practices. But plainly, they had not made the proper heart preparation; because John shockingly scolds them as phonies: "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (v. 7). What was wrong? John's comments to them suggest three hindrances to their hearts being truly prepared for the coming of the Lord. First, they were seeking to come with what we might call "a repentance without fruit". John told them, "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance" (v. 8). The Pharisees and the Sadducees were willing to make a public show of repentance, in that they were willing to come out to the desert region where John was and be baptized by him. But this was just an "outward" show. There wasn't a genuine willingness in them to live differently. Their "outward" demonstration of repentance was merely a cover for the "inward" corruption of sin in their hearts that they continued to embrace. Jesus, who knew the truth, later said of them, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matthew 23:27-28). Many people trust in an outward show of religiosity - going to church, praying, giving, serving, and even being baptized - but all without a genuine turning away from the sin in their hearts in an active, practical way. There may be the outward show of repentance; but there's not the genuine fruit of it. And a repentance without fruit stands in the way of someone being genuinely prepared for the Lord to abide in them. * * * * * * * * * *Another hindrance is suggested in John's words n verse 9; ". . . And do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." Here, they were thinking to substitute genuine repentance with what we might call "a misplaced confidence in religious privilege". They believed that, since they were Jewish - that is, those who claim Abraham as their "father" - they had an edge on everyone else. They believed that any sin in their lives was outweighed by the fact that they had a unique relationship with God as His chosen people, and were uniquely blessed by Him - not realizing that God could just as easily make children for Abraham out of the stones that were around their feet if He so wished. The apostle Paul - himself a Jew - wrote of this very thing. He wrote in the Book of Romans; Indeed you are called a Jew and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourselves are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, "Do not commit adultery," do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," as it is written (Romans 2:17-24). This is a trap that many people fall into. Someone can be involved in ministry, or busy and active members of a church, or have grown up in a Christian family. Someone can have gone to seminary or Bible college, and be educated in the faith - even to the point of teaching others in such a way as to be greatly appreciated. And such a person can grow to have an undue sense of confidence in the privileges God has given them - thinking themselves to be 'a cut above the rest' spiritually; God's 'special child' - and the whole time never having made the heart preparation of genuine repentance that is necessary for a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. * * * * * * * * * *A third hindrance is suggested in John's word to the Pharisees and Sadducees: "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (v. 10). They had sin in their hearts; but they were not moved with a sense of urgency about their situation - never realizing that the ax of God's judgment for their sin was even at that very moment laid - not at the trunk of the tree, somewhere above the roots - but at the very roots themselves; in what was about to be an immediate and fatal swing. They didn't realize the desperate situation that they were in even right then. They were hindered in making a proper heart preparation by what we might call "an over-confidence in time." Some people recognize that they have to turn away from their sin eventually, are even willing to do so one day; but in all frankness, they love their sin too much to let it go until they feel they absolutely have to. Many such people, who have not made the preparation of the heart that's necessary to be rightly related to the Son of God, put off doing so for some other future day - never realizing that they may not have a future day at all! Such people are in a similar danger to that of the rich fool in Jesus' parable - the man who said to his soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink and be merry"; but to whom God said, "Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?" (Luke 12:19-20). Jesus taught this parable to warn against covetousness; but it also teaches us the foolishness of thinking that we can bank on having 'lots of time' to repent later in life. * * * * * * * * * *We've seen the absolute necessity of this heart preparation of repentance; and we've also seen the sorts of things that might hinder someone from making it. Finally, let's see . . . 3. THE REASON FOR THIS PREPARATION (vv. 11-12).In expressing this, John points to the righteous King Himself, for whom he is serving as the herald. John says, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance . . ." That word "unto" can be understood to mean "with a view to . . ." In other words, John baptized people with a view to their repentance. They came to Him confessing their sins in anticipation of the soon coming King; and they did so in order to prepare their hearts for Him through genuine repentance. And as an outward sign of this, he baptized them in water. This was similar to a practice they were already familiar with; because such a ceremonial "washing" was performed on proselytes who converted to Judaism. But here, we see Jews being "washed" as an outward sign of their repentance from sin in preparation for the coming King. But John confesses that this "washing" - this "baptism" - was not final; because he affirms the superiority of this coming King and says, ". . . But He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry." And then, John testifies to the greatness of His superiority by saying, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (v. 11). When Jesus "baptizes" someone with the Holy Spirit, this marks and seals that person as belonging to Himself. The Holy Spirit is, as the Scriptures tell us, "the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession" (Eph. 1:14). And when He then baptizes them in "fire", this then purifies the one He has sealed. As Paul has said, Now if anyone builds upon this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work, which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:12-14). This fact alone ought to move each of us who are believers to make the heart-preparation of genuine repentance! What genuine believer would want to enter heaven with nothing but a pile of ashes to show for the life they lived for the Savior? But there's another 'burning' yet to come. John also speaks of this coming King as if He were a thresher of wheat. He pictures Him as using a winnowing fork to throw the stocks of grain up into the air; allowing the good grain to fall onto the threshing floor, while the useless chaff - which is much lighter than the grain - is blown off to the said, separate from the grain and ready to be piled up and burned. John says, "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (v. 12). This speaks of the ultimate and final judgment of the unrepentant wicked. And we're told that this coming King will be thorough in His threshing. Just as He will leave none of His grain on the threshing floor, neither will He leave any of the chaff unburned. This too is reason for each man and woman to search their hearts and make sure that they have prepared the way for inwardly abiding Christ through genuine repentance - and are themselves genuine "grain", and not "chaff". * * * * * * * * * *Let me close with what I believe is a wonderful example of what it means to prepare one's heart for the Savior through true repentance. Jesus was once passing through the city of Jerico; and there was a man who was eager to get a glimpse of Him as He passed by. His name was Zacchaeus. He was a tax-collector, who gathered taxes from his own people for the Roman government. He was a hated and despised man - utterly unworthy to be in the presence of King Jesus. But he nevertheless wanted to see Him; and being a short man, he climbed a tree to watch as Jesus came buy. No doubt you know the story. Jesus came to a stop by the tree and stood under where Zacchaeus was, and looking up to him He said, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house" (Luke 19:5). And think of it! Zacchaeus didn't have to try to clean up his act before Jesus would show such grace to Him. Jesus Himself initiated the relationship. He said, "Today I must stay at your house." That's a picture of Jesus' grace to an unworthy sinner. Zacchaeus didn't run home and try to clean up his house of all the sinful elements that were in it to prepare for Jesus' stay. Jesus came to Him just as he was - and He also comes to us just as we are. And at a certain point, right there in front of Jesus and in response to His grace, Zacchaeus stood up and said, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold" (v. 8). Wouldn't you agree that Zacchaeus truly repented of sin? Wouldn't you say that he thus properly "prepared the way" for Jesus to take up full residence in him? We can know for sure that he did; because Jesus then said, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (vv. 9-10). This same Jesus desires a deep relationship with you and me today. This relationship is ours by grace - we don't have to earn it. He desires to abide in us. But we must "prepare the way" for Him by a willing and active repentance from sin. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Missed a message? Check the Archives! Copyright © 2004 Bethany Bible Church, All Rights Reserved Printable Version |
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