Preparation for the King
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Good morning, Gateway Chapel!
If we haven’t met before...
We are a church on mission...
Why sing “It is Finished” when the service has barely started?
On Sundays we celebrate that God has done all the work.
Our job, is to sing Amen!
Our weary hearts rejoice that there was no failure this week that could threaten God’s love, no success that could make him love us more.
And so this morning we’re just going to add to that refrain by singing and hearing from God’s word to remind ourselves that God’s done it. We just get to respond and count on Jesus as the one who can save us.
And so the goal this morning is to embrace more and more that that song we just sang is true.
Prayer
Intro - Prepare the way!
If I think back far enough, I remember when I used to drive my car.
My commute used to be from Sumner to Bellevue 5 days a week, or 300 miles. I think I might have driven 300 miles in all of 2022. My commute is still dangerous because I have to move Isabelle’s blankets as I go up the stairs.
Some of you are still road warriors.
I remember back when I was in my car, sometimes you’d see those wide load trucks on the freeway. You know these? Someone is transporting a house, or some massive part of machinery, and it’s on the bed of this insanely huge truck, and it’s so wide it almost takes up two lanes.
But what always accompanies this huge truck? Two trucks, one in front and one behind with flashing lights and a sign that says “Wide Load or Oversized Load.” And the purpose of those trucks is to alert drivers that “Hey something is here, it’s not normal, and you need to pay attention!” Those trucks are there to prepare the way for the big oversized load.
This morning we’re in Matthew 3, and we’re introduced to the character of John the Baptist. John prepares the way for the King. And as I thought about the picture of John preparing the way, I had the image of those wide load trucks.
John is saying to those around him, “Hey, something is here! It’s not normal, it’s actually really good news to those who listen, and you need to pay attention!” John is getting people ready to experience God in a way they didn’t know was possible.
Have you ever wondered, how do I experience more of Jesus in my life?
In Matthew 3, John is preparing the way for the King, and we see three different responses to his message. And as we read this passage we can ask ourselves, how do we prepare the way for the king in our own lives today? How do we experience more of Jesus?
Let’s walk through this passage together.
Prayer
We are preaching through Matthew in 2023, and we’ve said before that Matthew is one story, made up in three parts, which make one point and that point is: Jesus is the King.
He’s the Christ, the Messiah, the one God has sent to restore our broken world. He’s the most important person in the world.
In his book, Jesus through the Centuries, Jaroslav Pelikan writes,
“Regardless of what anyone may personally think or believe about him, Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries.”
What other name is sang as he is worshiped, and screamed by people who don’t worship him but stub their toes?
Matthew says, Jesus is the Christ.
And we see that in the structure of the book...
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
And, as we arrive here in Matthew 3, we are introduced to a significant character in Matthew’s story and that is John the Baptist.
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’ ”
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Who is John the Baptist?
He’s not Presbyterian, he is THE Baptist.
Bad joke.
Other than Jesus, J the B is possibly the most important character in Matthew.
Possibly the most significant character in all the gospels.
He’s a prophet.
He’s talked about in every gospel.
In Mark, he’s there in verse 2. He’s mentioned 17 times.
In Luke, we learn he’s the miraculous son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, and the cousin of Jesus. He’s bosom buddies with Jesus because when Jesus in the womb of Mary approaches Elizabeth who is carrying John, John jumps! He’s in love with Jesus before he’s even born.
In John, he is a significant part of the story, too.
Matthew uses John to prove his point that Jesus is the king in 2 ways.
John legitimizes Jesus’ ministry.
Let’s say you have a favorite restaurant, and it’s everyone’s favorite restaurant. But your friend says, “I know you love that place, but you gotta check this new one out. And you say, “There’s no way your place is as legit as mine.” But the friend says, “Actually the chef who runs your place is the same chef you runs mine.” It legitimizes the restaurant.
I think it’s the same kind of thing with John. No one disputed that John the Baptist was a prophet from God.
26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
But Matthew is saying…Jesus and John were a part of the same movement of God, preparing the way for the king and his kingdom.
Jesus and John were ministry twins.
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,
Jesus relates himself to John
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
Second way...
John is the prophet before the Messiah.
And Jews knew that before the king, the Messiah came, Elijah the prophet would have to come first.
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
How do we know John is Elijah? Matthew makes this observation in verse 4 about his clothes.
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
What did Elijah wear?
8 They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
High in protein, zinc, and iron, locusts can be pan-fried, deep-fried, or even covered in chocolate, as noted in BBC. Locusts are said to have a sort of shrimpy, nutty flavor. They were even renamed "sky prawns" during an Australian swarm, according to Bugsfeed. - Eating locusts
Here in Matthew 3, we read that John fulfills in Scripture found in Isaiah 40:3
3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
John is a part of the fulfillment of Scripture and God’s promise to come and save his people.
And, as we learn later, like Jesus, John will be murdered for speaking out against evil.
John the Baptist is a mountain of a man…he’s the second most important character in the gospels and yet he says later in the chapter, I’m not even worthy to tie Jesus’ shoes.
Do we think of Jesus the same way? Do I pray to Jesus and say, “Who am I to even talk with you? You who know every galaxy by name?”
It also says John is in the wilderness of Judea.
When we hear wilderness, don’t think cool rustic cabin vibes with a hard to book AirBnB. Think unbearably hot, dry, barren, desert. Who would want to go there? There’s nothing happening there. It’s quiet and lonely and dangerous.
And the wilderness, the void, the wild and waste areas of the world, it’s often where God starts doing a new thing.
Where does Genesis start in creation? The wild and waste of darkness…passages like Jer 2 and Hos 2 show that the wilderness is undesirable place where God starts preparing the way for a new thing.
What did John preach?
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Eugene Peterson in his message translation puts it “Matt 3:2
“Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”
Does he say, “Repent, or you won’t go to heaven when you die!”
Does he say, “Repent! The kingdom of heaven now exists!”
The Kingdom of Heaven is Matthew’s way of saying, “The Kingdom of God.” He’s a Jew and doesn’t like writing out God’s name so it was a synonym for the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of Heaven was a deeply Old Testament picture.
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Dallas Willard illustration
John the Baptist is saying the same thing, “Change your life, you now have access to God! Access to eternal power NOW that you never could have on your own.”
To repent, according to one source I found is
…turning away from anything which hinders one’s wholehearted trust in God. - Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
What do you need to turn from to trust that you have access to God right now?
John is the wide load truck, flashing and yelling preparing the way for the King.
How do people respond to this message?
5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
They
Hear his message
Go out to the wilderness
They’re baptized in the River, confessing their sins
Again, John is preparing the way for Jesus through a significant revival.
I recently started a book called Titan, an autobiography about John D Rockefeller…and he was baptized in a church that began out of a revival in 1851 which lasted 150 nights in a row. Can you imagine?
Similarly, something is happening here.
Who are these people?
In Luke’s account we read that it’s the crowds, the tax collectors, and soldiers. Broken people from all corners of society are responding to the good news that they can have access to God NOW.
The second response to John is the Pharisees and Sadduccees
Pharisees (v7-12)
Pharisees (v7-12)
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Who are the Pharisees and Sadduccees?
In general, they’re the good guys.
The Pharisees worked tooth and nail to obey every law in the Mosaic law and they loved law so much they added their own.
The word Pharisees means, “to seperate.”
Don’t worry about asking them if they’re caught up on the Bachelor. They’re not watching that stuff.
They’re the good guys!
The Sadduccees we know less about, but like the Pharisees, they LOVED their Bibles they know more way than you do.
These are the good guys.
Why are they there in the first place?
In John’s gospel, it says
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
So maybe they’re there to observe John and figure out if he is the promised King.
Matthew is unclear, but I think it’s clear that they’re not there for genuine trust in God.
Why? Look at how hard John comes down on them.
You brood of vipers!…Every tree that does not bear fruit is thrown into the fire.
Again, John, as a prophet is that wide load truck flashing his lights saying, “Good news, God is here! Come and enjoy his presence! And if you don’t, it’s not going to go well for you.”
And he says to these good guys…change your life. Don’t just SAY you repent, but live in out in how you treat others and in your heart.
How many times have I said I’ll make a change in my life, but that change doesn’t ever take place? What matters is the heart change, the action, not just our empty promises.
Then John says...
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier 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 and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
John says, I’m not the main event. Something more is coming. Who is that person?
Drumroll please
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Imagine John's confusion seeing Jesus.
Here is the Christ! The King! The one I’m made to announce…and he wants to be baptized by me?
That’s like Tiger Woods coming to me asking for some putting tips.
John is rightly confused.
Jesus gives him his answer...
15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
There’s that word, “Fulfill.”
I think this is how Matthew would describe Jesus’ whole life.
Jesus, you can’t die! Let is be so now. To fulfill the Scriptures.
Jesus, why aren’t you speaking up even though they’re wrongly convicting you of crime? Let it be so now, to full the Scriptures.
Jesus is preparing the way for his own mission to save sinners.
Just as Israel went through the water of the Red Sea and came out the other side the new people of God, so Jesus is fulfilling Scripture as the true Israelite who will redeem the people of God once more.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
What does it look like to have the heavens opened?
If you’ve read Ezekiel, he has a vision of the heavens being opened and it says it stunned him and he was speechless and laid on the ground for 7 days.
What I love about this moment, is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is marked by God loving his son.
At this point, what has Jesus accomplished?
Nothing. How does God the Father feel about His Son?
This is my BELOVED SON. With whom I am well pleased.
I just think about holding Isabelle when she was born way back in February of 2020 and the love we had for her, before she ever did any of the amazing things we’ve seen her do.
God feels that way about Jesus, and he loves as like he loves his son.
What in tarnation does this have to do with us?
What in tarnation does this have to do with us?
John prepared the way for the king in a unique time in history.
It had been hundreds of years since Israel had a prophet.
God didn’t seem to be speaking. They were literally in the wilderness. But it was a moment right before God did something amazing.
I think similarly, we are in a unique time in history.
It feels like we’re in a wilderness. Western culture is pushing God to the margins and we’re left with the symptoms of a society that needs healing but doesn’t want it.
The Catholic Church in Seattle, the Seattle Archdiocese is rolling out a plan to respond to rapid decline in attendance and 2/3 of their churches operating in a financial deficit, where they plan to consolidate church communities starting in 2024. They have 136 parishes in the region with 80 priests to serve them, and they expect to have 65 in the coming years.
One quote said, “The status quo is just not working, she said. “I hope this is like a wake-up call.”
We are not in Kansas anymore.
And yet the good news remains the same…Change your life! God has come and wants to be with you NOW. Not just in heaven when you die but right now you can have an eternal kind of life.
And people are saying, “Meh.”
Are you someone who wants more of Jesus in your life?
Like John, how do we prepare the way for Jesus in our lives today?
I think Matthew 3 gives us a guide towards preparing the way for the kingdom in our daily lives.
Three steps...
Run to the wilderness
Run to the wilderness
There was a group in the third to fifth centuries called the Desert Fathers, who lived in a time like us when the church had grown shallow and indistinct from culture.
And they’re response was to literally move away and devote themselves to nothing more than being with God.
Going to a quiet place to here him and receive the good news of God’s kingdom.
Now, the desert fathers did not have mortgages to pay.
I don’t recommend you peace out from your family and live in the woods of Greenwater, although you may want to do that.
What would it look like for you to prioritize regular rhythms of being quiet with God to prepare the way for his work in your life?
Maybe you have the resources to take a retreat. Go for a weekend, and be quiet. If you do, buy Gene Poppino coffee and ask him how to do that well. Some of you guys love the woods and that’s important. Awesome.
Maybe that’s not feasible for time, money, resources…what are moments in your day when you can just exhale…and be still.
What if you turned off your phone? Took a sabbath from news or podcasts, and just listened to God?
God does new things in the wilderness. Places no one wants to Go but he’s there waiting to speak to us and proclaim the good news that he wants to be with us.
Reflect on what is hindering your trust in God
Reflect on what is hindering your trust in God
John prepared the way for Jesus by proclaiming, Repent! Change your life, and turn from anything that is keeping you from total trust in God.
Ask yourself this, “What kingdom am I attending to?”
Am I attending to my own kingdom…my money, desires, pleasure (often the answer is yes)
Or am I preparing the way for God’s presence in my life to move and shape who I become?
Is the content you’re consuming helping or hurting your trust in God?
Are the people you’re investing in helping or hurting your trust in God?
Is your self-talk helping or hurting your trust in God?
Often for me, this means being honest with God about my fear. “God, this is really bugging me. And I’m afraid.” And sometimes I sense him saying, “Chris, what’s the threat?” And usually I remember that it’s not God’s kingdom that’s threatened, but my own, and that calms me down.
In Matthew 3, there was legitimate spiritual revival happening because people were going out into the wilderness to hear from God and they responded by turning towards God.
What might be keeping you from wholehearted trust in God?
Remember God’s deep love for you
Remember God’s deep love for you
I remember a time when I was able to go out and be quiet for a while, and I desperately asked God to say something. And I sat there for a while, and after a long wait, I just got a sense of God saying, “Chris, I love you.”
At Jesus’ baptism, God speaks his love over his son before he did anything.
We don’t have to have quiet time to receive God’s love. But as we take time to be still, honestly reflect on what is keeping us from trust in God, we remember and experience more of Jesus and God’s love in our lives.
Jesus’ life proved the kingdom was at hand, his death crushed the powers of other kingdoms which keep us from trust in him, and his resurrection made the kingdom available to all people, no matter who you are or what you’ve done.
What practices help remind you of God’s love for you? Is it journaling? Memorizing Scripture? Going for walks? Singing worship songs? Serving others?
So much changes when we regularly take time to reflect on the good news that God loves us apart from what we do. And that Jesus died to invite us into an eternal kind of life right now.
This rhythm of running to the wilderness, reflecting, and remembering, it can take three days, it could take 30 seconds.
“Woof. Oh Lord, there I go again. I’m afraid. I’m worried I’ll fail and everything will fall apart.
I’m angry at my coworker again and wish they’d just leave.
I’m worried about finances and thinking there isn’t enough money to go around.
Help me trust that you’re close and you’ve got me and you’ve got this.
Thank you that you love me.”
John the Baptist was like a truck paving the way for the big oversized load on I-5, he prepared the way for the king. How could you also prepare the way for God’s work in your life today?
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.