The Purpose of the People of God - 3:1-6
The Purpose of the People of God - Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 43:19
0 ratings
· 13 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
The Purpose of the People of God
The Purpose of the People of God
Definition of Insanity - Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
I cannot tell you how many times I have fallen prey to this.
Fishing Example - change your bait and change your tactic
Bible Study Example
1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
3 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!’” 4 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.
5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
Let’s Pray
Where have we been:
1:1-17 - Jesus is the Expected Jewish Messiah
1:18-25 - Jesus is the Son of God
2:1-12 - Gentiles (Magi) Recognize Jesus as King
2:13-23 - Redemption (Second Exodus) has come
I want to zero in on the Old Testament framework that Matthew has purposefully set up before we move forward.
We looked at this in our study of Matthew 2:13-23, but it has been a month since we were there.
In Matthew 2.15 Matthew quotes Hosea 11.1
1 When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
In Hosea, National Israel here is “My son.”
As such, Matthew is associating Jesus, with National Israel
We made a note that this would clearly call to mind the Exodus for those reading this gospel in the first century.
Then in Matthew 2.16, Herod’s plot is revealed to kill all the babies 2 years old an under.
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had carefully determined from the magi.
Once again this parallels Israel’s Egypt account with Pharaoh killing all the Hebrew, male babies in Exodus 1
Matthew is painting Jesus’ return to Israel, to the land of Galilee as the means of a new exodus for them.
Matthew 2.18 quotes Jeremiah 31.15 and your homework was to go home and read Jeremiah 30-31.
In this section Matthew is recognizing the atrocity of what has happened with the murder of the children by Pharaoh, but point to God’s message in the time of exile provided by Jeremiah.
15 Thus says Yahweh, “A voice is heard in Ramah, Wailing and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children Because they are no more.”
16 Thus says Yahweh, “Restrain your voice from weeping And your eyes from tears, For your work will be rewarded,” declares Yahweh, “And they will return from the land of the enemy.
17 “And there is hope for your future,” declares Yahweh, “And your children will return to their own territory.
THIS IS IN THE CONTEXT OF HOPE!!!!!
Matthew 2.20 then associates Jesus with the role of Moses in the Exodus
20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”
He parallels the words God provided to Moses before his own return to Egypt in Exodus 4:19 (those who sought the Child’s life are dead)
So Matthew, has masterfully painted this Exodus framework for the original audience, the early church, Jewish believers.
This brings us up to where we began last week in Matthew 3:1-2
1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
H2RtG - This marks a minor shift in the discourse
δε
Temporal Shift
New Character
Message is continued, but reintroduced
in those days
predominantly used in 2 ways:
First, as a marker of what has happened:
2 in those days as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in Susa,
Women’s Bible Study Upcoming - Ask Lisa how to pronounce the name
Second, as a prophetic marker of what is to come:
16 “It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and fruitful in the land,” declares Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ And it will not come upon the heart, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again.
17 “At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of Yahweh; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
18 “In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
Though this verse isn’t quoted, this is the kingdom perspective of the Jews.
1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
In this case in Matthew, I believe it to be using both
One, a temporal shift as we mentioned before
But also, as a prophetic reminder of Old Testament prophecy
1 Now in those days John the Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
This is emphasized by what is called a “historical present”
Historical Present explanation
Story Example - “He says to the guy”
Fronting the idea
This places some emphasis on JtB “coming”
Matthew is marking this as the beginning of prophetic fulfillment, which we will look at in a couple of verses.
Finally, we must acknowledge the placement of this phrase “in the wilderness.”
Certainly “in the wilderness” is a valid description of where John the Baptist is, but we must remember that Matthew is writing an entire narrative. He is not simply journaling or writing down his memories, his words are purposeful.
Remember, Matthew has been creating this backdrop of the Exodus account of the nation of Israel in this introduction.
What does “in the wilderness” recall to mind for the Jews in the context of the Exodus?
“in the wilderness”
Consequence of Disobedience
33 ‘And your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses come to an end in the wilderness.
The word for suffer here is “bear”
The same word in you shall not bear the name of God in vain (LC Tie)
2. Moses’ interpretation of the Law
This is where the message of Deuteronomy was provided
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab.
45 Then Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them, “Place in your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to be careful to do, even all the words of this law.
47 “For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”
Deuteronomy is given to a people coming into possess the land, their inheritance. As we’ve mentioned before, the land is not synonymous with salvation (justification), but with sanctification, it is an outcome of fellowship with Yahweh.
So the prophetic position of JtB is heralding “in the wilderness”
In the consequence of Israel’s sin
In the place of interpretation of the law for the people of God
On the precipice of possessing the land of promise, or rather: a fulfillment of the covenant.
JtB is preparing the way for Jesus to do exactly this!
Jesus is going to interpret the law to show Israel how to enter/participate in His kingdom!
This is what the Gospel of Matthew is about!
1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
Preaching and Saying
Additional words that don’t add meaning, add emphasis
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Repent
Change
Context tells us what
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Repent! Why?
For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!
Matthew is the only NT author to use this phrase “kingdom of heaven”
Heaven and Earth
What is Matthew asking his audience to change?
What is JtB asking his audience to change?
He is calling them to change their paradigm, change their worldview, their whole understanding of the kingdom.
John the Baptist recognizes that the kingdom perspective needs to be flipped upside down!
Last time I mentioned how this verse is not the call to salvation as many have claimed over the years. Grammatically, that would be difficult to support.
Tense vs Aspect
Repent is in the “imperfective aspect” meaning ongoing action
The author wants you to know this is ongoing, it is repeated.
It’s not focused on the actions start or stop point, nor is it looking at the entirety of the action as a completed one and done thing. It is ongoing or in process.
This command to repent, is not a one and done action.
3 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!’”
1 “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. 2 “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has been fulfilled, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received from the hand of Yahweh Double for all her sins.”
So right off the bat, we should note the setting of this, the end of the consequence of Judah’s/Israel’s sin. This is on the precipice.
3 A voice is calling, “Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
Note that “Prepare the way for the Lord” is literally “Prepare the way for Yahweh”! Matthew is not confused on who Jesus is!
4 “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
This is still the proclamation of the one preparing the way
5 Then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
Not just the proclamation of the King, but the proclamation of the glory of Yahweh! The proclamation that Yahweh is coming! Yahweh is here!
9 Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Raise up your voice powerfully, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Raise it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
10 Behold, Lord Yahweh will come with strength, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him.
Whoa!
What is Isaiah talking about?
His reward is with Him, His recompense (wage, work, deed) before Him.
For me this calls to mind Rev 22.12
12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to his work.
We must be careful with kingdom language in the Old Testament. Though there may have been some who understood more, in general, the kingdom program for them was seen as a single piece. The coming of the King, meant the coming of the kingdom. Though there are verses and theological support for the striations of the times in the Old Testament, they spoke of “the kingdom”, not the millennial kingdom or the eternal kingdom. Nor did they
TB TO REWORD THIS
3 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!’”
First century Jews would not have made a distinction between the arrival of the king and the kingdom, this is why the disciples ask so many questions about it.
Furthermore, though we have verses in the Old Testament that support what we know and believe about the distinction of God’s kingdom program in the Present Kingdom, the Millennial Kingdom, and the New Eternal Kingdom, these are spoken of predominantly as one event in the Old Testament, the coming of Yahweh.
But make no mistake, Matthew is calling all of this expectation and hope of the future into his narrative with the reminder of Isaiah 40.
4 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.
We get a description of John the Baptist
This description parallels descriptions of Elijah in the OT, already introducing the parallel resonance of JtB’s prophetic role.
8 And they said to him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle girded about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
“and a leather belt around his waste” is almost word for word in the LXX
4 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.
Locust and Wild Honey are probably indicative of his lifestyle, set apart, not frivolous
Ties to Essenes
5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan;
Who was going?
Jerusalem
All Judea
All the District
THESE ARE ALL JEWS
It doesn’t make sense for John the Baptist to preach to Gentiles to repent regarding the kingdom, they don’t have that concept of the kingdom.
6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
What was the result of John’s message?
being baptized
The fact that baptism, confession, and repentance all occur in such a small area has only fed deeper into the view that this is what we would call a gospel presentation.
Baptism has always been a marker of identifying with a community. For us it represents the resurrection to new life in Christ that occurs at the moment of faith.
9/7/2025 - CF Baptism Service
This is not what John is doing, he is baptizing literally “into repentance”
11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance
This is not an identification about who Jesus is, His ministry hasn’t even started. These people haven’t heard of Jesus yet, other than He is coming, which they already believe!
This is an identification about the kingdom!
6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
confession of sins
Why were they confessing their sins?
Have you ever gone a little overboard on something? At first it is just fun, and then all of a sudden, you’re all in. I have this tendency with hobbies.
Their worldview has changed and they’ve realized that the kingdom coming isn’t dependent upon their obedience, but their participation in the kingdom is dependent upon their fellowship with the Lord.
Their identity (baptism) and confession is the result of their change.
What do we do with this?
Takeaways:
What do we change (repent)?
Change is repeated
Repeated Change produces Spiritual Fruit
This is discipleship
Is your life one that bears Spiritual Fruit, or are you a barren believer?
We believe the Word of God is transformational. What is being transformed in your life? If you cannot come up with an answer, then I would encourage you to ask why?
Are you not in the Word the way you should be?
Are you participating in the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
Are you resisting God’s transformation because you don’t like change?
Are you participating in God’s kingdom today?
Are you a disciple?
Let’s Pray
