The King Who Brings Fire and Spirit

Sermon Title: The King Who Brings Fire and Spirit

Scripture: Matthew 3:5-12

Occasion: The Lord’s Day

Date: October 5, 2025

PRAY

Father in heaven,

What we know not, teach us.

What we are not, make us.

What we have not, give us.

As we open Your Word, let us hear the voice of John the Baptist rightly—not just a cry in the wilderness long ago, but Your call to us today.

Expose false securities, awaken real repentance, and lift our eyes to Christ, the One who baptizes with the Spirit and with fire.

We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, our Judge and our Savior.

Amen.

Introduction

On August 24th, 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted with sudden and terrifying force, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum under volcanic ash.

Archaeologists tell us the people of Pompeii were not unaware of danger—rumblings had been felt, smoke had risen—but when the eruption came, most were unprepared.

Some tried to flee, others froze, and some clung desperately to treasures that could not save them.

In 2007, Jess and I actually walked those ancient streets.

In fact—fun fact—I even proposed to her there.

But standing in Pompeii, seeing with my own eyes the plaster casts of people frozen in their final moments, I was struck by this sobering truth: when judgment comes, your response reveals where your hope truly lies.

In Matthew 3, John the Baptist erupts onto the scene like that volcano—sudden, fiery, unavoidable.

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

The kingdom has drawn near in the Messiah, and every man and woman must respond.

This morning we come to our seventh sermon in the series The Kingdom Come, and the title of today’s sermon is:

“The King Who Brings Fire and Spirit.”

The main idea of our passage is this:

To be ready for the King, you must repent and show it by your life, because Christ alone will either baptize you with the Spirit FOR LIFE or with fire FOR JUDGEMENT.

And here’s the question I want you to carry with you as we walk through this text:

When the King looks at your life, will He find real repentance and change—or only empty religion and false security?

Last week we looked at the startling beginning of John’s ministry—John clothed in camel’s hair, preaching in the wilderness, calling Israel to repentance.

We traced the wilderness theme through Israel’s history and saw how God often does His greatest work in barren places.

But we only reached verses 1–4.

Today we pick up where we left off.

Matthew now shows us the massive response: crowds streaming out to John, confessing sins and submitting to baptism in the Jordan (vv. 5–6).

Then he records the shocking rebuke: Pharisees and Sadducees—Israel’s religious leaders—approaching, only to be unmasked as a brood of vipers (vv. 7–10).

Finally, John declares the promise: One far greater is coming—He will baptize not with water, but with the Holy Spirit and fire (vv. 11–12).

This morning we will see three movements:

The Wilderness Response—Repentance, Confession, and Baptism (vv. 5–6)

The Wilderness Rebuke—False Security Exposed (vv. 7–10)

The Wilderness Promise—The Spirit-Baptizer Has Come (vv. 11–12)

And this is where Matthew is taking us today.

Transition: If last week we paused at the edge of the wilderness, hearing the voice of John thunder out, today we step further in and witness how the people responded.

His message was not ignored; it shook cities and stirred hearts.

Men and women left their homes, their routines, and their securities behind and went out to the Jordan.

And what did they do when they arrived?

They confessed their sins, and they were baptized.

So let’s begin there, where we left off last week—with the Wilderness Response: repentance, confession, and baptism.

Point 1: The Wilderness Response—Repentance, Confession, and Baptism (vv. 5–6)

Matthew 3:5–6 ESV

Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

The Astonishing Response

Matthew describes the effect of John’s ministry with sweeping language:

“Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him.”

Matthew’s “then” (τότε) ties this response directly to John’s fiery preaching (v. 2).

The wilderness preacher’s call was not ignored; it reverberated through city streets and countryside villages.

Matthew even reshapes Mark’s wording here.

Where Mark says “all the Judean countryside,” Matthew personifies the holy city itself—“Jerusalem.”

As if to say, “Yes, even Jerusalem came out” (cf. Matt. 2:3; 21:23–27).

There is irony here:

The same city that would later reject Jesus now appears outwardly receptive to His forerunner.

Josephus, the Jewish historian, confirms the historical impact: John’s preaching stirred multitudes (Antiquities 18.116–19).

This was no small revival—it was a movement.

People left their routines, walked into the wilderness, and sought renewal in the Jordan.

Application:

When God stirs hearts, people move.

Repentance is never convenient.

It requires leaving behind comfort, habits, and familiar paths.

Just as Israel left Egypt to meet God in the desert, so here the people leave their cities to meet Him by the river.

Revival has always involved people breaking from old patterns to seek God in new obedience.

Confession of Sin

Verse 6 adds the heart of their response:

Matthew 3:6 ESV

and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

The verb “confessing” (ἐξομολογούμενοι) is a participle that emphasizes continual action—people were repeatedly, openly acknowledging their sins.

This wasn’t vague regret or generic guilt.

It was naming sin before God, agreeing with His judgment, accusing oneself rather than excusing oneself.

This confession connects directly with John’s opening call: “Repent” (v. 2).

Repentance is incomplete without confession.

It is not enough to feel sorry—we must name our sins, bring them into the light, and forsake them.

Scripture is consistent here:

Leviticus 5:5 – “When he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed…”

Proverbs 28:13 – “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

In Other words, confession is the doorway to mercy.

1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Illustration:

Think of confession like exposing mold to sunlight.

Left in the dark, it spreads and poisons.

Brought into the light, it can be cleansed.

Some of you have carried secrets for years—addictions, failures, wounds covered with shame.

Hear the good news:

Christ is not repelled by your confession; He is glorified in it.

The blood of Jesus is strong enough to cover what you’ve been hiding.

Baptism in the Jordan

John baptized them “in the river Jordan.”

This location is not incidental.

The Jordan was where Israel crossed under Joshua into the Promised Land (Josh. 3:14–17).

By calling Israel back to the Jordan, John was symbolically saying:

“You need a new beginning.

You must cross again.

You must become the true Israel prepared for the Messiah.”

But notice how startling this was.

Normally, baptism was for Gentile converts—outsiders being washed before joining God’s people.

Yet here, it is Jews themselves (Abrahams descendents) lining up in the Jordan.

By submitting to John’s baptism, they were confessing:

“We are as unclean as the nations.

Our heritage is not enough.

We need mercy.”

That is the most radical part of it all in this account!

Scholars point out the difference of baptisms here:

Jewish ritual washings were repeated, self-administered, and concerned mostly with outward purity.

But John’s baptism was unique—it was once-for-all, administered by another, and tied directly to repentance of sin, not just ritual impurity.

And here’s the typology:

As Israel once crossed the Red Sea under Moses and the Jordan under Joshua, now God calls His people to another crossing—a greater exodus under a greater Joshua, Jesus Himself.

John’s baptism anticipates Christian baptism, where Christ’s death and resurrection become the true crossing into life.

As Paul says in Romans 6:3–4, we are buried with Christ in death and raised with Him to walk in newness of life.

This is why every week, when we confess together the Nicene Creed and say,

“We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins,”

We are not saying the act of baptism magically washes away guilt.

We are confessing that Christian baptism points us to Christ (It’s a sign), and it points us to the only One whose death and resurrection truly cleanse sin from our hearts.

Baptism is the outward sign; Christ Himself is the inward washing.

Application:

Outward rituals cannot save you.

Church attendance, baptism, communion—even sound theology—cannot cleanse your heart unless Christ Himself washes you.

John could immerse in water, but only Jesus immerses in grace.

As John himself says in verse 11:

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me… he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

You can remember simply this way:

John’s baptism was preparation — pointing you toward your need.

But Jesus’ baptism is salvation — actually giving you new life by His Spirit.

A People on the Move

Don’t miss this:

The people left their cities (v.6).

They walked away from familiarity, security, and routine.

They stepped into the wilderness because they sensed God was at work.

This is a picture of revival:

When God awakens hearts, people are willing to move, to be inconvenienced, to seek Him no matter the cost.

True preparation for the King disrupts comfort and demands change—and I believe we’re seeing glimpses of that even in our own day, with what some are calling the “Charlie Kirk effect,” as thousands are moving back into churches, hungry for truth and searching for God.

But it must go further—it must lead to repentance and the confession of sin.

Illustration:

Imagine if today, thousands left Orlando, walked into the wilderness of Ocala, and lined up at the rivers to confess sins and be baptized.

That’s the kind of disruption John caused.

Revival is never tidy.

It always costs us something.

Transition to Point 2

But not everyone came with sincerity.

Matthew tells us in verse 7 that “many of the Pharisees and Sadducees” came to John’s baptism.

These were Israel’s religious elites—the Bible teachers and temple authorities.

If anyone looked like they didn’t need repentance, it was them.

Yet John’s words to them are the harshest:

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

So if Point 1 shows us the Wilderness Response of repentance, Point 2 confronts us with the Wilderness Rebuke—a warning against false security.

Point 2: The Wilderness Rebuke—False Security Exposed (vv. 7–10)

Matthew 3:7–10 ESV

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? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 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. 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.

The Shock of Religious Leaders in Line

Matthew moves us from the eager crowds to the powerful elites: “many of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Pharisees:

Their very name means “separatists.”

They arose from the Hasidim in the Maccabean period, committed to building “a fence around the law.”

They were zealous for purity, tithing even herbs (even from the smallest of garden crops), yet often missed the heart of God’s law (Matt. 23:23).

Matthew 23:23 ESV

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Sadducees:

Aristocratic priests, urbane and influential, many denying the resurrection and angels (Matt. 22:23).

They controlled the temple hierarchy.

Usually they were bitter enemies of the Pharisees, but here they are strangely united—likely as a Sanhedrin delegation sent to investigate John.

Imagine the scene:

Camel-hair prophet, barefoot crowds, peasants and soldiers confessing sins—and then the religious elites arrive in fine robes.

Normally such men would be honored.

John calls them “brood of vipers.”

“You Brood of Vipers”

The Greek phrase (γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν) literally means “offspring of poisonous snakes.”

It evokes Isaiah’s language of wicked rulers as serpents (Isa. 14:29) and recalls the serpent of Eden.

John is saying:

“You are not children of Abraham—you are children of the serpent.”

This is shocking!

In Jewish thought, Gentiles were “unclean dogs,” but Pharisees and Sadducees were the religious guardians.

Yet John unmasks them as venomous frauds.

Matthew Henry writes:

“He speaks as one that came not to preach before them, but to preach to them—directly to their consciences.”

Application:

The greatest danger to God’s people is not always “out there” in culture but within—false religion, empty ritual, hypocrisy.

As Peter later warns:

“Judgment begins with the household of God” (1 Pet. 4:17).

1 Corinthians 5:12–13 ESV

For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Wrath to Come

John asks, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (v.7)

This is not irritability in God but His holy, settled opposition to sin—(the Wrath of God is..) the love of God colliding with injustice.

Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, fire (used 3 times, vv. 10, 11, 12) is the image of judgment (3:10, 12; 5:22; 13:42, 50; 25:41).

Modern preaching often avoids wrath.

But if there is no wrath, there is no need for salvation.

The gospel loses urgency when judgment is removed.

As a commentator I read this week said:

“Where grace manifests itself, wrath is also shown to the ungrateful.”

Illustration:

Think of a cancer doctor.

His passion against the tumor is precisely because of his love for the patient.

So with God—His wrath is not contrary to His love but the proof of it.

Fruit in Keeping with Repentance

John does not deny that repentance is needed.

He denies that their presence in line proves repentance.

He commands: “Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” (V.8)

In other words, if you are really repentant, show it with your life!

Repentance (μετάνοια): More than regret—it is a change of mind that results in a change of life. (It’s a spirit work, not mans’s work)

Fruit (καρπός): Visible evidence of inward reality.

Jesus will echo this in Matthew 7:17–19:

“Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”

A commentator put it this way:

“Israel is called to turn to God and away from sin, to arise in moral earnestness from a sinful slumber.”

Application:

Friend, your profession of faith must be accompanied by fruit.

A prayer prayed once, a baptism long ago, church attendance today—none of these are substitutes for Spirit-wrought transformation.

The grace that saves is the grace that sanctifies.

The grace that saves us sanctifies us to make us more like Jesus.

Are you bearing the fruit of the spirit?

Galatians 5:22–25 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

And let’s be clear:

Profession does not always mean possession.

You can profess Christ with your lips and yet not possess Him in your heart.

But when there is true possession of faith—when Christ truly dwells within—fruit will always follow.

It’s not optional.

It is the downstream evidence of a living root in Christ.

False Security in Heritage

Verse 9:

“Do not presume to say, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’”

Many Jews believed Abraham’s merit covered their sins (cf. John 8:39).

John strips that security away.

God is not bound to ethnic Israel.

He can raise children from stones.

Matthew 3:9 ESV

....for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

In Aramaic, “children” (benayyā’) and “stones” (ʿabnayyā’) sound alike—a wordplay John may have used.

Isaiah 51:1–2 portrays Abraham as a rock from which Israel was carved out of.

But John says:

God can make new children of Abraham—even from barren rocks.

Paul will later echo this:

“Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Rom. 9:6).

Think of it like a gardener who takes what looks like a dead, dry stick, pushes it into the soil, and to everyone’s surprise it buds and bears fruit.

That’s what God does—He brings life where no life seems possible.

God is able to raise up living stones out of dead stones.

1 Peter 2:4–5 ESV

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Application:

And the point is this:

Heritage cannot save you—whether Jewish ancestry, Baptist upbringing, Reformed theology, or Christian family.

God has no grandchildren.

You must be born again.

John 3:3 ESV

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:5–7 ESV

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

The Axe at the Root

Verse 10: “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.”

“Even now” (ἤδη): urgency—judgment is not distant but imminent.

At the root: not pruning, not trimming, but total devastation.

Here John draws on vivid biblical imagery:

Psalm 74 describes the destruction of the temple as the felling of a forest.

Isaiah 10:15–19 pictures Assyria as Yahweh’s axe, cutting down Israel in judgment.

Now John says:

The axe is already at the root.

Another Gentile power—Rome—stands ready to devastate Israel.

The temple, the very center of their national identity, will be torn down.

Judgment is not “one day”—it is HERE!

Israel has become Egypt, and only through a new exodus—a baptism of repentance—can there be life beyond the coming catastrophe.

And yet John also knows he is only the beginning.

Another is coming who will baptize with the Spirit and with fire (vv. 11–12).

Those who repent will be vindicated on the far side of judgment; those who refuse will be burned like chaff into unquenchable fire (v.12).

Matthew 3:10 ESV

…Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Application:

The most dangerous assumption is that we have more time.

John says the axe is already raised.

Some of you are clinging to empty religion, assuming tomorrow is guaranteed.

Friend, judgment is not someday—it is already at the root.

The only safe place is in Christ.

Pastoral Reflection

At this point, we must let John’s rebuke do its work.

The Spirit intends us not to point fingers at Pharisees but to examine our own hearts.

Where do we trust in heritage, traditions, or self-righteousness?

Where is our repentance superficial?

The Reformer Martin Luther began his 95 Theses with these words:

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ he willed that the entire life of believers be one of repentance.”

Repentance is not a doorway we once walked through; it is the hallway in which we live until glory.

Transition to Point 3 So far, we’ve seen two groups:

The crowds responding with confession and baptism, and the leaders rebuked for hypocrisy.

But John does not end here.

He lifts our eyes from himself to Another—One mightier, One whose sandals he is unworthy to carry.

If John can only plunge people into water, this coming King will plunge them into the Spirit or into fire.

And that brings us to Point 3: The Wilderness Promise—The Spirit-Baptizer Has Come (vv. 11–12).

Point 3: The Wilderness Promise—The Spirit-Baptizer Has Come (vv. 11–12)

Matthew 3:11–12 ESV

“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. 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.”

The Humility of John, the Supremacy of Christ

John, the fiery prophet, draws the line of his ministry clearly:

Matthew 3:11 ESV

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I…

John is the greatest born of women (Matt. 11:11), yet he declares himself unworthy even to carry the sandals of Jesus.

In rabbinic culture, disciples might perform many tasks for their teachers, but handling dirty sandals was considered too degrading.

John takes the lowest imaginable position and says he is not even worthy of that.

Matthew 5:3 ESV

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:5 ESV

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

This is more than humility; it’s Christ-exaltation.

John’s whole ministry is transitional.

He is the forerunner.

His role is to prepare, not to fulfill.

Application:

True gospel ministry always diminishes self and magnifies Christ.

As John will later say: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Two Baptisms: Holy Spirit and Fire John contrasts his baptism with Christ’s:

“I baptize with water for repentance… he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

The Greek makes clear that Christ’s baptizing is the same action (βαπτίσει) but with two radically different effects depending on the recipient:

The Holy Spirit:

For the repentant, Christ immerses in the cleansing, regenerating work of the Spirit (Ezek. 36:25–27; Acts 2:38).

This is Pentecost power, the new birth, the indwelling presence that empowers fruit-bearing.

Fire:

For the unrepentant, Christ immerses in judgment.

Fire in Matthew always signals destruction (3:10, 12; 13:42, 50; 25:41).

A commentator said it well:

“Everyone is either baptized with Spirit, or burned with fire: there is no third lot.”

Typology:

Matthew wants us to think of Sinai—fire and smoke, terror and holiness.

He wants us to think of Exodus—Israel shielded by the blood of the lamb, Egyptians consumed in the sea.

Christ’s baptism divides humanity as decisively as the Red Sea:

Spirit or fire, life or judgment.

Application:

Neutrality with Jesus is impossible.

To encounter Him is to be baptized—either into the Spirit’s life or into fire’s judgment.

Which baptism will be yours?

The Winnowing Fork and the Threshing Floor

Verse 12 intensifies the image:

Matthew 3:12 ESV

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor …”

The winnowing fork was used to toss threshed grain into the air.

The heavy wheat fell and was gathered; the useless chaff blew away and was burned.

The threshing floor was an outdoor flat area, often made of stone or hard-packed dirt, where farmers separated grain from the stalks after harvest.

John pictures Jesus standing in the barn at the threshing floor (the world under God’s Soveriegn examination-His judgment), shovel in hand, ready to separate true from false, wheat from chaff.

This is the same imagery Jesus will use in Matthew 13 with the parables of wheat and tares, good fish and bad fish.

Notice the verbs:

“He will clear” (διακαθαριεῖ) – complete, thorough cleansing.

“Gather his wheat” – personal ownership, tender care, eternal security.

“Burn with unquenchable fire” – finality, irreversible judgment.

Application:

The church today is a mixed field—wheat and chaff together.

Outwardly, both may look similar.

But Christ knows His own, and He will separate them on the day of judgment.

Chaff may look plentiful, but it cannot endure.

Wheat may look small and hidden, but it will be gathered into His barn.

Looks can certainly be deceiving in the Church.

Sadly, we have seen that to be true in my lifetime alone.

That is only what I can see on the surface.

And this is exactly the tension Hebrews 12:28–29 picks up:

Hebrews 12:28–29 ESV

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

John warns us, Jesus assures us—the King gives us an unshakable kingdom, but He does so as the holy Judge whose fire purifies His people and consumes His enemies.

The only safe place is in Christ.

From Law to Gospel

Here the flow of the text is important:

Verses 7–10 are law—exposing sin, stripping false security, warning of wrath.

Verses 11–12 are gospel—lifting eyes to Christ, promising the Spirit, but still warning of fire.

The Reformers often said:

Lex semper accusat—“the law always accuses.”

John stands as a symbol of the Law.

He convicts, he rebukes, he condemns.

His voice exposes sin but cannot remove it.

But the law is never the end.

The law is a tutor, a guide, meant to drive us to Christ—the One who alone can give what the law demands.

That’s why John is sent first and Jesus comes second:

John prepares by exposing guilt, but Jesus fulfills by bringing grace.

John plunges people into water, but Christ plunges His people into the Spirit.

Martin Luther wrote:

“John was to accuse them all and convince them that they were sinners in order that they might be prepared to receive grace from the Lord.”

Augustine captures the same movement in a single sentence:

“The law was given that grace might be sought, and grace was given that the law might be fulfilled.”

In other words, John’s ministry drives us to seek grace; Jesus’ ministry supplies it—and by His Spirit, He writes the law on our hearts so that what the law demanded, grace now enables.

The law exposes, but only Christ heals.

The law convicts, but only Christ gives the Spirit who produces the obedience the law required.

Application:

If all you hear in this sermon is law—“repent more, do better”—you’ve missed it.

John points beyond himself.

Christ alone baptizes with the Spirit.

Christ alone can make you wheat instead of chaff.

The Fulfillment in Christ

But Matthew beautifully show us, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, how John’s words anticipate Jesus’ whole ministry:

At Pentecost, He poured out the Spirit (Acts 2).

At the cross, He bore the fire of judgment for all who repent and believe.

At His return, He will finally separate wheat from chaff, sheep from goats, righteous from unrighteous.

But the point is simple for John and He doesnt want us to miss it:

The One mightier than John has come, and He is Jesus.

Jesus has died, risen, and reigns.

The question for us is:

Will you be gathered into His barn—into His Kingdom—or burned as chaff in the eternal judgment of Christ?

Scripture is clear:

“Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead” (1 Tim. 4:1), will not only separate the wheat from the chaff, but He alone is both Judge and Savior.

That’s why we sang together this morning:

Call now, O sinner, on your coming Judge To be here even now as your Savior. Fall now, O sinner, on the mercy and grace Of Jesus, our Judge and our Savior.

The song captured John’s message perfectly.

The One who will sift the wheat and the tares is the same One who stretched out His hands in mercy.

Jesus, our Judge, has already come as Savior.

The only question left is this:

Will you call upon Him now as Savior, or will you face Him then as Judge?

Conclusion

John’s cry still echoes today:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”(V. 1)

John’s message left no room for spectators.

The crowds confessed.

The Pharisees resisted and were exposed.

And Christ was proclaimed as the One who comes with Spirit or with fire.

There is no neutral ground:

You will either be wheat or chaff, baptized with the Spirit for Life or consumed by fire for judgement.

But here is the wonder of the gospel:

Before Christ comes in fire, He came in mercy.

Before He stands with the winnowing fork in His hand, He stretched out His hands on the cross.

The fire of judgment that should have fallen on us fell on Him.

He was cut down so that you might live.

He was cast out so that you might be gathered in.

He was baptized in God’s Holy wrath so that you might be baptized in the Spirit.

And that is exactly what the Lord’s Supper proclaims.

Here at this table we remember not a symbol only, but a Savior crucified and risen.

The bread holds before us His body broken under the weight of God’s wrath.

The cup testifies that His blood has been poured out for the remission of sins.

This meal is the visible sermon of the gospel:

Judgment borne, mercy offered, Spirit given.

The only proper response approaching his table is this…

Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.

So come — but come rightly.

Not clinging to heritage.

Not clinging to empty religious practices.

Not clinging to yourself and your own righteousness.

Come confessing.

Come repenting.

Come clinging only to Christ.

Get this:

For here at His table, the wheat are gathered into His barn, and the risen King Himself stoops, condescends, to spiritually feed His people with His very life through faith.

PRAY

Lord Jesus,

You are the Judge who will one day separate wheat from chaff, but You are also the Savior who bore the fire of judgment for us.

As we now come to Your table, fix our eyes on the cross— where wrath was satisfied and mercy was poured out.

Cleanse us afresh, Nourish us spiritually by faith in you, and gather us into Your barn until the day You return.

In Your name we pray, Amen.

___________________

Bibliography

Scripture

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton: Crossway, 2001.

Confessions

The Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2010.

Commentaries

Bengel, Johann Albrecht. Gnomon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1877. Bruner, Frederick Dale. Matthew: A Commentary, Volume 1: The Christbook, Matthew 1–12. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004. Calvin, John. Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Translated by William Pringle. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005. Carson, D. A. Matthew. In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 8. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984. France, R. T. The Gospel of Matthew. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007. Henry, Matthew. Commentary on the Whole Bible. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994. Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.

Theology

Vos, Geerhardus. Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1975.

Church History & Classical Works

Josephus, Flavius. The Antiquities of the Jews. Translated by William Whiston. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987. Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Fortress Press; St. Louis: Concordia, 1955–86.

Hymns & Worship

Sovereign Grace Music. “Jesus, Our Judge and Our Savior.” From Unchanging God: Songs from the Book of Psalms, Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Sovereign Grace Music, 2019