John the...

ENGAGE

(Capture attention and establish relevance)

Opening Illustration / Image / Question: Imagine hearing from a friend for the first time in several years. What would you do? Meet up? Grab lunch or a coffee? Get the families together? We would spend time trying to catch up.

Why This Matters Now: Now imagine hearing from God for the first time in a long time. Israel had gone through periods where it seemed God was absent, but now God had sent a prophet by the name of John the Baptist.

Bottom Line Introduced: John came to prepare the way for Jesus!

TENSION

(Name the problem the text addresses)

The Struggle: It has been 400 years since the Lord had provided a prophet and spoke to His people. We call this time in between Malachi and Matthew the 400 Years of Silence. The first prophet God sends isn’t quite what we would expect from out of touch people. He was a gruff, rough around the edges, wild man who called for repentance.

Why This Is a Real Issue Today: For many today, when we think about someone going around preaching we imagine someone with neat hair, nice suit, saying “Jesus loves you” and giving you a pat on the back. We don’t want to hear repent, we want to hear “you’re doing great.”

What’s at Stake: When we ignore repentance, we ignore the standard that the Lord has placed for us. When we ignore repentance, we fall into the same line as the Pharisees and Sadducees. When we ignore repentance we ignore the Lord

Transition to the Text: So why was John preaching repentance in the first place?

TRUTH

(Resolve the tension through the biblical text)

Text

Matthew 3:1–6 ESV

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. 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.

John The Preacher

Matthew 3:1–2 ESV

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Exegesis: John came with a purpose, and his purpose was to preach. In Luke 1, we see the birth of John was foretold to his father, Zechariah. Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, had no children because she was barren. Zechariah would then see an angel and receive this news Luke 1:13-17

Luke 1:13–17 ESV

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

This John would come preaching in the world, redirecting minds and hearts towards God. He does this by specifically calling for repentance. In fact, three times in verses 1-11, John calls for repentance. Repent from their idolatry, their disobedience, their injustice, their hypocrisy, and their traditions. This is necessary because the kingdom is coming. What John was doing was cultivating minds for what is coming after him.

Application: Repentance is necessary because it prepares us. It prepares our minds and our hearts for the truth of the gospel. What we tend to think is repentance means “I’m sorry.” What repentance means is to change your mind. You have recognized your state between you and God and no longer want it. You want a right relationship with God. You want to be found faithful in His sight. You want to be found justified in His sight. You then change your actions to meet the life that God has for us. This is what John was calling for the people of Israel to do.

Big Idea: Repentance prepares hearts to receive the King and His Kingdom.

John the Prophet

Matthew 3:3–4 ESV

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.

Exegesis: Not only was John a preacher, but he was a prophet. We know prophets proclaimed the word and will of God and that’s exactly what John did. His job specifically was to prepare things for the coming messiah. Matthew cites Isaiah 40:3 to show that John was not just some regular guy who showed up. He was purposed long before the people really knew what was truly planned.

Now John was not just your regular run of the mill prophet, he was a prophet like Elijah. We read that in Luke 1, but it’s not just in words that he is like Elijah. First was his purpose. Just like Elijah, John’s purpose was to call people to repentance. Elijah called Israel, King Ahab, and Queen Jezebel to repentance. He also called people back to the covenant made with God. This is what John was doing. He called Israel to repentance, even calling the Pharisees and Sadducees to repentance.

John also looked like Elijah. Elijah is described as a hairy man with a leather belt in 2 Kings 1:8. John is described as wearing camel’s hair and wore a leather belt. Most importantly, Elijah was prophesied to come in Malachi 4:5 and John fulfilled that.

Malachi 4:5 ESV

5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

Big Idea: God prepares His people long before He reveals His messiah.

John the Immerser

Matthew 3:5–6 ESV

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.

Exegesis: John had made a big show during his 3 year ministry. During this time, people would leave the cities in droves to go see and hear him. When they get out their, they obviously were convicted by his word because it says they were baptized by him and confessing their sins. Now this baptism wasn’t some random thing he decided to do, it was part of his proclaiming as a prophet. Mark 1:4

Mark 1:4 ESV

4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

John wasn’t just making this up. He wasn’t thinking this sounds like a good idea. What he was doing was cultivating minds, hearts, and actions so the Lord’s work could be done. Just as a farmer tills the ground, so was John preparing the was for the Lord. What he was preaching struck their hearts that they obeyed the word of God, was baptized, and even confessed their sins. They recognized the gravity of the situation they were in.

Application: A people who are truly convicted by the Lord will respond appropriately. John came preaching repentance and baptism and what did the people do? Repented and were baptized. The same thing today. When Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and the men interrupted Peter what did they say? “What must we do?” Peter responds simply, “Repent and be baptized.” What delays us?

Big Idea: True repentance always moves us to obedient action.

Conclusion

Restate the Bottom Line: John came to prepare the way for Jesus!

Final Illustration / Challenge: After four hundred years of silence, God didn’t send a choir, a king, or a comforter. He sent a preacher who said, “Repent.”

Why? Because before Jesus could rule their lives, something had to change inside their lives.

Roads in the ancient world weren’t paved. Before a king arrived, people filled in holes, removed obstacles, and straightened paths. John says the same thing spiritually:

“If the King is coming, the road must be ready.”

And the hard truth is this: Jesus has never entered a life that refused to repent. Not because He is unwilling—but because repentance is the road He travels.

Call to Action: If John were preaching today, he wouldn’t change his message. He would still say: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

So here’s the question: What needs to be moved out of the way in your heart?

Is it unconfessed sin?

Is it pride that refuses correction?

Is it delay—knowing what God asks, but not obeying?

If you’ve never obeyed the gospel, the call is the same as it was at the Jordan and at Pentecost: Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. Don’t wait for a better moment—the kingdom is at hand.

And if you belong to Christ but have drifted, repentance is still the doorway back to faithfulness.

John came to prepare the way for Jesus. Tonight, the question is simple: Is your heart prepared for the King?