Matthew Session 2: “The Introduction of the King”

Matthew 3:1-17

We are back again with our second session in the book of Matthew. Last week we looked at
Matthew’s birth narrative and the story of the wise men. For the rest of ch 2, we finish out
what we know about Jesus’ childhood. You remember that the Magi were warned in a dream
not to return they way they came, so they went home and did not return to Herod.

Mary and Joseph find out from an angel in a dream that Herod was after them, so they escape
and go to Egypt until Herod dies. Meanwhile, Herod is so furious that the wise men outwitted
him he has all little boys who could possibly have been born around the time of Jesus in
Bethlehem killed. Gives us a glimpse of just how ruthless and evil Herod was as a ruler.

Today we pick up in chapter 3, and we are fast forwarding in a big way because we go straight
from infant/toddler Jesus to grown man Jesus. We know very little about Jesus’ life in between.
There is the one story in Luke about him teaching in the temple as a child and getting left
behind by his parents, but that’s it. What do you think he was doing all that time? I suppose
he grew up obeying his parents, and then learned the trade of being a carpenter from his
father.

But we’re at the point now that Jesus is ready to begin his earthly ministry, fulltime. But before
we get there, we are introduced to his cousin, John. This is Jesus’ cousin, but that whole story
is from Luke, we don’t get those details of his somewhat-miraculous birth here. He is out
baptizing in the desert, and Jesus comes also to be baptized. Just as our country has a new
leader stepping into the spotlight with an inauguration soon, this scene can be seen as Jesus’
inauguration as king.

Before we read the text, I encourage you to think about your own baptism – what was it like?
Have a funny or significant story? How did you feel? Let’s read:

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of
through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘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.
So John is not exactly a normal guy it seems. I mean, we know his family, he had a normal
upbringing, probably had some playdates with Jesus, but now this is how he spends his time.
He hangs out in the wilderness, and there’s really two options for his appearance. Either he
was an ascetic who purposefully deprived himself of important things in order to more fully
focus on God, or he may have just been living off what was available out in the wilderness.

The wilderness was a place that is similar to how we might think of rural, undeveloped areas
today. It was a place to get away from the city, from the hustle and bustle. It was also to
Matthew’s Jewish readers familiar because it was a common Old Testament theme. Abraham
and Moses met God in the desert, the Israelites wandered in the desert, the wilderness. It’s a
place of spiritual refinement, a place where people come to get away, or in the Israelites’ case a
place they were forced to spend a few decades, and get their act together.

So that’s where John is, and he has his own followers. They have come to him in the desert
looking for something more than what a “normal” life could give them. Some people thought
that he was the Messiah, but we see in the book of John that he emphatically denies it and
instead points to Jesus.

In Verse 2, we see John’s message summed up. What is his message? Repent, for the kingdom
of Heaven is near. 1. Repent: turn away, stop doing this and start doing that. More than just
heart, requires action. Or more accurately, if your heart truly repents then so will the rest of
your life. Then “the kingdom of heaven is near” kingdom of heaven = kingdom of God. Some
think he was just trying to not use God’s name as was common in Jewish culture. But the point
is, it’s near. What does that mean to you?

To say that God’s kingdom is near, is to say that his rule is at hand, it’s imminent, Jesus’ kingship
is happening now. And then of course, Matthew wants to remind us that God has ordained this
moment, and he quotes Isaiah, saying that it is John’s purpose to prepare the way for Jesus, to
get people ready for his coming. Isaiah 40:3 is quoted in all 4 Gospels about John, which is not
something that happens a lot. Matthew, Mark & Luke all have many similarities, but John is
much different than the other three, and yet they all saw it as important to include this verse
that is so clearly about John.

So he is getting people ready for the coming Messiah, and he is baptizing them. Now baptism
was a practice in Judaism in those days that someone might partake in in much the same way
we would today. It was a physical sign of inward repentance. It demonstrated death to an old
way of doing things, and rising again, looking different, and now taking a new path in life. John
is baptizing people getting them ready for a Messiah who would one day die on their behalf.

Ok let’s read on and see what happens next:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was
7 

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 comes one who is more
powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and 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.”

So maybe we can now see why John, if he wanted to preach, was not allowed to have the pulpit
in the synagogue, or really anywhere in the city. He does not have the kindest of things to say
to the religious leaders who come out. We are given no indication of why they came out? Do
you think they too wanted to come out to be baptized? Maybe just check out the scene that
was getting a lot of talk in the city? Did they travel all the way out there in order to argue or
debate?

It may have been a mixture of all those reasons, And it should be noted, Pharisees and
Saducees don’t actually like each other, so it does give credence to the idea that they were
there for a fight. They have a common enemy to unite against. It’s like when Baptists and
Methodists come together to unite against Pesbyterian heresy – no no just kidding. Whatever
their reasons though, John does not believe for a second that they are coming with repentant
hearts ready to turn their lives around. He calls them a “brood of vipers” not the nicest name
ever, implies they are there to attack.

And what is his charge against them? They don’t produce any fruit. They are all about
participating in religious activities, going through the religious motions, religious check boxes,
which make them look good in front of other people, but John is attacking them for exactly
that. Repentance is not true repentance if there’s no fruit to go with it. Further, they thought
they could rely on their status as the Jewish people to save them, which was a common mistake
made throughout Israel’s history.

John says, if God wants to raise up descendants of Abraham out of these stones he can do it, he
doesn’t want people who rely on their title or their position, he wants people with changed
hearts who follow after him, and whose lives actually demonstrate who they are. It’s all about
producing fruit, John says, and for the person who truly has turned away from their old life and
has repented and is going in the way God wants them to, it just comes naturally. There’s no
pretending. An apple tree doesn’t have to try really hard to produce an apple, it just does so
naturally. An apple tree can’t just magically grow oranges, no it’s an apple tree.

And John says for any tree that doesn’t produce fruit, the ax is ready. Which makes sense, if
you have an apple tree that doesn’t grow apples, then it might as well be used for firewood.
Which leads John into his next part, where he introduces Jesus’ part in all this. He emphasizes
here that he is not the Messiah as some were claiming, but someone else is coming that will
baptize with Holy Spirit and fire. He continues with this theme of judgment and extends it to
Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is planning to separate the wheat from the chaff. They would do this by
often standing on a high point somewhere, usually where there was a good breeze, and
through the harvested crop into the air. The wheat was heavier so it would land right there,
and the chaff was lighter so it would blow away. That’s what Jesus is doing with his winnowing
fork, separating the pretenders from the contenders, the real thing from the fake. And we see
that in Jesus’ ministry, he continually encounters the Pharisees, the religious elites, and they
come away from Jesus very differently than the sinners who turn to him for repentance.

So let’s see what happens in our final section of the story:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to
13 

deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all

15 

righteousness.” Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven
16 

was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on
him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased.”

So Jesus has been living his life in Nazareth, as we said, not exactly sure what he was doing, but
Nazareth was in Galilee up north, and John was out by the Jordan in Judea, in the south. Jesus
had to travel about 60 miles to be baptized by John.

And John, understandably so, is very confused. He says, Jesus, I am baptizing people so they
can repent and turn to God, I am making the way for people to hear your message that you are
bringing. But you don’t have anything to repent of, you are already following God and your life
bears that fruit. John says, I am the one who needs to be baptized by you!

But Jesus refuses and says, no, this needs to be done to fulfill all righteousness. What do you
think he meant by that? The term ‘righteousness’ occurs 7 times throughout Matthew – it is
the goal of discipleship to Jesus. Being right, being made right with God, becoming “right”,
fixed as a person, no longer broken.

It might have been that Jesus was performing this at as a way of identifying with sinful
humanity. It also might have been that this baptism is a marker on his own life of his own
personal transformation and commitment. He was leaving his former, private life behind,
where he had been comfortable and secure in Nazareth, and was now publicly committing to
ministry. And he knew where that would lead: there was danger ahead, rejection ahead, and
ultimately death awaited him.

Beyond the personal meaning it had for Jesus, it should also be noted that Jewish kings, much
like other kings of that day, had to be anointed in a ceremony before they could act as king.
They would often go through a ritualistic baptism of purification, and then they would be
anointed with oil as king. Here Jesus is baptized, an then he is anointed with the Holy Spirit. It
seems that the Trinity is on full display here, the Father speaks, the son listens, the spirit
descends.

So Jesus, to be seen here by the Jewish people as a righteous king, is baptized, is anointed, and
is publicly proclaimed as God’s royal son. It seems the inauguration of the king has arrived.

So what is baptism ultimately? Why, if someone asked you, should a person be baptized?

The word here is baptize, immerse, dunk, what would you say to someone who comes from
another tradition where they were sprinkled as an infant?

What are the implications for us today in light of this story?

Well in many ways our job is simply to be John the Baptist, preparing the way for Jesus’
ministry. We are not fully responsible for all of God’s work in the world, bringing salvation to all
people, but we do have a part to play. Matthew says that John fulfilled Isaiah’s words to be a
voice in the wilderness, preparing the way, making paths straight. In the Roman Empire, if
Caesar was going to be travelling somewhere, crew would go out ahead and work on the dirt
roads – leveling them, flattening them out, making his road easier. We can do the same,
working to open up people’s hearts to God’s message.

Is your life, is our common life as the Church, making straight paths for Jesus to enter our
world? O sometimes, do Christian’s actions make it much more difficult, do we sometimes go
out and make the roads worse by our actions and our words? How might we be people who go
out and prepare the way for his message of love, grace and forgiveness?

I asked at the beginning for all of us to think about your own baptism – what does it mean for
you to die to your old life and live in God’s kingdom here and now? The king has been
inaugurated, his ministry is happening on earth right now, how might we be a part of it?

And then of course, if anyone ever wants to talk about baptism I’d love to do that as well.

Let’s pray.
 Jesus: King or Concierge, A Study in the Gospel of Matthew
Session 2: The Introduction of the King
Matthew 3:1-17

John 3:1-6

 Jesus is now an adult and ready to begin fulltime ministry, and his cousin John is there to
prepare the way for him. John is out in the desert, telling people to Repent because
God’s kingdom is near. Isaiah 40:3 is about John, and is quoted in all 4 Gospels
 Repent: stop what you’re doing, turn and go another way.
 Baptism: an outward sign of inward repentance

John 3:7-12

 Pharisees and Sadducees come out to see John, though they are not known for being
friends with each other. John senses their intentions immediately, charges them with
being fruitless.
 These religious leaders knew how to act religious, but their lives did not demonstrate the
kind of values that God looks for.
 Jesus is coming with the same mission as John: calling people to repentance, separating
the wheat from the chaff

John 3:13-17

 Jesus arrives to see John. He had to travel around 60 miles to get there. He requests
baptism, and John is understandably confused. Jesus has nothing to repent of, but he
says it must be done this way.
 For Jesus, this is both a personally meaningful moment for him as he begins his fulltime
earthly ministry, and it can also be seen as a king’s inauguration.
 Before they could act as kings, Jewish kings would undergo baptism and then be
anointed with oil. Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River, and then anointed with the Holy
Spirit. God affirms Jesus as his son.

Questions for Reflection:

 How can we be like John today – preparing the way for Jesus each and every day? (hint:
you do not need to wear camel hair and eat bugs… I don’t think)
 Does the church make it easy for people to come to God, or do we sometimes make it
more difficult?
 Think back on your baptism. What was it like? What were your reasons for wanting to
be baptized? Thank God for that marker on your life
John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of
through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his
4 

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.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was
7 

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 comes one who is more
powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and 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.”

The Baptism of Jesus

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to
13 

deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all

15 

righteousness.” Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven
16 

was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on
him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased.”