Part 13: A Kingdom At Hand

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

Matthew 3:1–12 (LSB)

Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of the Lord,

Make His paths straight!’”

Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan;

and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

“Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

“And 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.

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Commentary

As the prophetic forerunner to the Davidic king, John and his message must be understood from the Old Testament perspective

John’s message is thoroughly saturated with OT prophetic motifs and themes

John’s message is apocalyptic, as his esoteric lifestyle would suggest - “The end is nigh!”

John’s message is directed to the nation of Israel, calling them to repentance (returning) in anticipation of the imminent arrival (“at hand”) of the prophesied kingdom, and the preceding time of wrath and judgement (the day of Yahweh)

Repent

Return - shuv

Malachi 3:7 (“Return to me… I will return to you”); Cf Zech 1:3

Joel 2:13 (“tear your heart and not your garments…. return to Yahweh… for He is gracious”)

Deuteronomy 30:1-10 (“when… you return to Yahweh… then Yahweh your God will return you from captivity and return his compassion on you…”)

Kingdom of Heaven

Psalm 103:19 (“Yahweh has established His throne in the heavens”)

Daniel 2:44 (“the God of heaven will cause a kingdom to rise up which will never be destroyed”)

Kingdom of Heaven vs Kingdom of God - 3 main theories

Kingdom of Heaven is distinguished from Kingdom of God

Unlikely due to parallel passages in the Gospels

No clear distinction or definition is given in the Gospels, so such a distinction is deductive at best and usually speculative

Kingdom of Heaven is a circumlocution for “Kingdom of God”

Possible, given Matthew’s very heavy Jewish style and the known tendency of devout Jews to avoid speaking/writing the name of God

However, Matthew does not exclusively use KoH - e.g, Matt 12:28, 19:24, 21:31 - it’s also doubtful that he would have accommodated a superstitious concern

Kingdom of Heaven/Kingdom of God are interchangeable terms, both used by Christ - Matthew chose to emphasize these usages, for theological/thematic purposes

Seems to best explain the actual usage of both terms in Matthew’s gospel.

“of Heaven” - preposition indicates the source of the Kingdom, not its location - the KoH “comes from Heaven” (just as KoG “comes from God”, and is not located “in God”).

At hand

ἤγγικεν (eggizō) - “come near”, “be near”

Speaks of nearness, imminency - but not arrival.

Often has an eschatological referent in the New Testament

E.g, Romans 13:12, James 5:8, 1 Peter 4:7;

Isaiah the Prophet

Isaiah 40:1-5

Comfort to the people (vs 1-2)

Iniquity has been removed (vs 2)

Voice calling (vs3-4)

All flesh will see Yahweh’s glory (vs 5)

Wrath to come

(cf Luke 3:7 - addressed to the crowd):

Psalm 2:12 (“kiss the son… for his wrath may soon be kindled”)

Isaiah 66:15 (“Yahweh will come in fire… to return his anger with wrath”)

Amos 5:18-20 (“woe to you who are longing for the Day of Yahweh”)

Joel 2:28-32 (“deliverance in the Day of Yahweh”)

Bear fruit in keeping with repentance

Jeremiah 24:1-8 (“good figs… rotten figs…”)

Axe is already laid at the root of the trees

Isaiah 10:33-34 (“those high in stature will be cut in pieces… he will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe”)

Baptize you with the holy Spirit

Isaiah 32:15 (“until the Spirit is poured out upon us”)

Isaiah 44:3 (“I will pour out My Spirit on your seed”)

Ezekiel 36:25-27 (“I will put My Spirit within you”)

Ezekiel 39:29 (“I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel”)

Joel 2:28 (“I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind”)

And fire

Isaiah 66:15 (“Yahweh will come in fire…his rebuke with flames of fire”)

Amos 5:6 (“Seek Yahweh… lest he come mightily like a fire”)

Malachi 3:2 (“who can endure the day of his coming… he is like a smelters fire”); Malachi 3:6; Malachi 4:1

Clear his threshing floor

Is 27:12 (“Yahweh will start his threshing”)

Micah 4:12 (“like sheaves to the threshing floor”)

Gather the wheat

Is 27:12 (“you will be gathered up one by one”)

Isaiah 40:11 (“he will gather the lambs”)

Isaiah 54:7 (“with great compassion I will gather you”)

Jeremiah 31:10 (“he who dispersed Israel will gather him”)

Ezekiel 36:24 (“gather you from all the lands”)

Burn up the chaff

Isaiah 41:2 (“makes them like chaff”)

Daniel 2:35 (“became like chaff”)

Malachi 4:1 (“every worker of wickedness will be chaff”)

Fit to Fulfill All Righteousness

Matthew 3:13–17 LSB

Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. And after being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him, and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Commentary

Anointing of the King

Kings in Israel were commissioned and (typically) anointed by a forerunner prophet

E.g 1 Samuel 15:1 (Samuel/Saul), 1 Samuel 16:13 (Samuel/David), 1 Kings 1:34 (Nathan/Solomon), 1 Kings 11:29-30 (Ahijah/Jeroboam)

Fulfill all righteousness

Kingdom righteousness in the Old Testament is connected with the idea of God’s righteousness being placed on the people

E.g Isa 61:2-3, Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:15-16 (“she will be called ‘Yahweh our righteousness’), 51:10 (“Yahweh has brought about our righteousness”)

John recognized his own sinfulness - “I have need to be baptized”

Jesus’ statement to John indicated that they both had a part to play in what was about to happen - “it is fitting for us”

In baptizing the Messiah, the unrighteous (John) baptized the righteous (Jesus) - cf 1 Peter 3:18 - foreshadowing the means in which kingdom righteousness was to be fulfilled

In submitting to being baptized by God’s prophet, Jesus both identified with the Jewish repenters whom John had already baptized, and embraced his prophesied role as the “Servant” of Isaiah 42, 49, 52-53

Spirit Descending like a Dove

Isaiah 61:1 (“The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me”)

Dove - possibly a symbol of tenderness, affection, love (cf Genesis 8:9; Songs 1:15, 2:14, 4:1; also Isaiah 42:3)

This is My beloved Son

Psalm 2:7 (“You are my Son”)

Isaiah 42:1 (“My chosen one in whom My soul is well-pleased”)

1st of three recorded instances where a voice spoke from Heaven to/about Jesus

2nd: Mark 9:7 (“My beloved Son… listen to Him!”)

3rd: John 12:28 (“I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again”)

These heavenly “outbursts” are made when the identity and mission of Christ as the “Suffering Servant” is in view

These are moments of fatherly pride - paternal validation

Trinity: Son’s anointing - Spirit’s descent - Father’s proclamation

Temptation of the King

Matthew 4:1–11 LSB

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Commentary

In this supernatural battle of wits, Satan and Jesus clashed over the Messianic mission and Christ’s kingly destiny

Jesus began with a handicap -after 40 days of total fasting, he was physically drained and vulnerable

Each of Satan’s temptations were calculated to break Jesus’ commitment to his Suffering Servant ministry

Jesus fended off each attempt by precise appeals to Scripture

The climactic temptation (in Matthew’s account) is the offer by Satan to abdicate his station as the (usurping) ruler of the world, offering Jesus the opportunity to cease the reigns of power and take what he was destined to have, but on Satan’s terms. The crown without the cross.

It is important to note that this offer by Satan was clearly legitimate (Luke 4:6 - “it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish… if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours”; cf 1 John 5:19 (“whole world lies in the power”); 2 Corinthians 4:4 (“god of this age”))

Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, Jesus was offered the opportunity to claim the good things (which God had purposed to give Him, cf Daniel 7:14, Colossians 1:20a), but not in God’s timing or in God’s way. Satan offered Jesus “everything” (from his perspective that He could have wanted, and all without the horror of the rejection and the Cross that lay before Him).

Jesus rebuffed the Devil’s final attempt with a cuttingly terse Scripture citation: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only”.

With this stark and effective rebuttal, Jesus both dismissed Satan’s offer while simultaneously affirming his intention to fulfill the role of the Suffering Servant, as His Father had willed (and as Isaiah had prophesied centuries prior).

The Gospel of the Kingdom

Matthew 4:12–17 LSB

Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He departed into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Commentary

There is a significant time gap between 4:11 and 4:12 (the arrest of John) - during this time many of Christ’s miracles and conversations, recorded elsewhere in the Gospels, took place (including the conversation with Nicodemus)

Following John’s arrest, Jesus moved his center of ministry North, into the region of Galilee, as predicted in Isaiah 9:1, beginning his own proclamation of the same message his persecuted cousin had preached in the Jordan wilderness - the kingdom of heaven is still “at hand”

What would this kingdom look like? Neither John nor Jesus ever defined the “kingdom” in their announcements. Nor did they need to; the kingdom had already been defined - e.g, Isaiah 9:7

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.

The literal, Messianic kingdom, ruled by the seed of David, headquartered in Jerusalem in the Promised Land of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob, anticipated by the prophets, is the only kingdom in view at this time

The “Gospel of the Kingdom” (Matt 4:23) describes this message of the imminence of the kingdom of God; it was accompanied by miracles of healing and exorcism; it was rooted in the Old Testament expectation of coming judgement, wrath, as well as restoration and renewal; it demanded repentance of the people.