Matthew 3:1-12, The King’s Herald

Introduction

Good morning! As we turn together to worship through the reading and preaching of God’s Word I invite you to open your Bible with me to Matthew 3. As we continue our study through Matthew’s Gospel together this morning, we will be looking at Matthew 3:1-12. As is our custom, we will first read the passage. Then, we will pray and ask the LORD to bless our time together in His Word. So, please follow along with me as I read Matthew 3:1-12 for us.

READ Matthew 3:1-12

PRAY

Have you ever had a sense of urgency? The sense you get when you realize that time is of the essence. There is something that must get done, or something that must be communicated, and it must get done with urgency because the time to get it done is quickly disappearing. It is in those waning moments that you gain an increased focus. Your pace gets a little quicker. Distractions become less potent at deterring your resolve to get done what’s necessary.

Our farmers certainly know what I mean. Especially when it comes to planting and harvest. There’s a certain time you need to have everything planted. Then, when harvest comes, you know that winter is coming and every moment you have to run the combine is precious. Time is fleeting and you're up against the clock. Our teachers get it in the sense that there’s deadlines for submitting final grades. Or perhaps you’ve had a health scare that required immediate attention. Further delay meant a worsening prognosis.

This can apply also to communication or messaging. Wives, you know your husband is about to leave work and head home and you need him to grab something from the store that is essential to dinner that evening. If you don’t get a hold of him before he leaves or passes the grocery store, you’ll miss the opportunity. Or imagine there is an imminent catastrophe awaiting someone you love. You warning them could save their life. No doubt, if you were in that situation, you would move heaven and earth as quickly as possible to warn them of the danger.

My aim for us this morning is to create in all of us a sense of urgency. Only, I’m not talking about urgency on a work deadline or the need to get something from the store. I’m talking about the kind of urgency that comes in matters of life and death. In this case an urgency that carries the stakes of eternal life and death. Loved ones, do you believe that we have a message that is urgent? So urgent that eternal souls are at stake. A message so consequential that what you do with it––ignore or obey––affects your eternal destiny?

We see that message presented very clearly in the passage before us this morning as we encounter the life and ministry of John the Baptist. A message we must believe and proclaim.

MAIN POINT––Believe and proclaim King Jesus' urgent message for all people.

The King’s Herald

When we left off last week, Jesus was living in relative obscurity in the small city of Nazareth––a place despised by the people. Nothing significant about it. This was after Joseph and Mary fled with him to Egypt as a young child to escape the vengeful wrath of Herod the Great who wanted him dead. These circumstances came on suddenly, it seems, amidst a season of great joy and anticipation given all that had been revealed about this child named Jesus.

Just put yourself in Joseph and Mary’s shoes. They had been told that the child Mary was carrying was conceived by the Holy Spirit. His name was to be Jesus, because (meaning) he will save his people from their sins. The fulfillment of the one long ago prophesied about, who would be called Immanuel, which means God with us. The messianic hope and anticipation has very much been applied to this child. Certainly this must have evoked in Mary and Joseph not just joy, but visions of grandeur for this child to some extent.

But now, they’ve fled from a murderous tyrant. Even after that tyrant died, they still couldn’t fully return to Judea and were relegated to life in obscurity in a despised and overlooked little village called Nazareth. And that was their life. For years. Upwards of about thirty years to be exact. Matthew skips over the details of that portion of Jesus’ life. Not because it's unimportant, but because his purpose lies elsewhere. Matthew is on a particular mission in his writing––to make clearly known to us that Jesus is the long awaited Savior-King.

Here, Matthew is giving us another piece of evidence that demonstrates this glorious reality about who Jesus is. That evidence relates to the ministry of another person. A person who would pave the way and prepare people for the coming Savior-King. He was the King’s Herald. A herald, in ancient times, was an official messenger who brought news on behalf of another, especially the king. Sort of like an emissary or ambassador. That message often entailed that something big was about to happen.

Maybe the king he represented was on his way to bring judgment against the people of that city for crimes committed against the king. Maybe it was a prelude to war and the king coming to conquer if they did not pledge allegiance to him. Here we see that this was the very purpose of the one they called John the Baptist.

The Herald’s Mission (v. 1-6)

After many years of Jesus living in Nazareth, we’re told that John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. This would be the wider region that encompassed Jerusalem. And the message that he preached was an urgent message for the people to hear––“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We’ll come back to that message in a bit. I first want to make sure we grasp John’s mission.

In verse 3, Matthew makes all the more clear who John was and what His mission was. We see this with his reference to Isaiah 40:3. Matthew wants us to know that John is the “preparer of the way” that precedes the coming of God. John is the forerunner, the herald, who goes before the One He represents. He prepares the people for the coming of the LORD Jesus Christ.

Now if you went back to Isaiah there is a lot of judgment brought against Israel. In fact in Isaiah 39, Isaiah told Hezekiah that after his days are over the people will be exiled to Babylon. Then, Isaiah 40 is where God announces comfort to Israel, promising they will be brought back out of exile from Babylon. The language of Isaiah 40:3 was that of calling the people to repentance to prepare for God’s coming to deliver them from exile. Additionally, this return from exile, as we’ve considered before, is a type of exodus in which God is delivering His people.

So, Matthew wants us to see John the Baptist as the forerunner to the coming of the LORD Jesus Christ. Isaiah says to Israel, “God is coming.” Matthew applies it to say, “Jesus [the LORD] is coming.” And He’s coming for an even greater exodus––one from slavery to sin and death. I love how a pastor friend of mine put it––where Isaiah proclaimed, “God is going to take you out of Babylon,” John the Baptist proclaimed, “God is now going to take Babylon out of you.”

Even Matthew’s description of John’s appearance and diet are aimed at helping us identify John's role in God’s plans. They’re not arbitrary facts. Matthew wants us to understand something. He wants us to see John as the anticipated prophet like Elijah who would come as the precursor to the coming of the Messiah. His clothing described here is reminiscent of Elijah’s very own appearance we see described in 2 Kings 1:8.

Elijah was well known for such an appearance. He had just told King Ahaziah’s men that the king would die. When they returned to the King and he asked why they had returned they told him what was prophesied about his death. The king asked them to describe the man, to which they said––“He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And immediately the king knew exactly who they were talking about––Elijah.

Later, in Matthew 11, we’ll see Jesus make this explicitly clear that John the Baptist was the prophet like Elijah who was to come. The one whom the prophet Malachi spoke of in Malachi 4:5-6:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

It seems that John’s contemporaries, not just Matthew’s readers, understood this as well. We see in verse 5 that Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him. He was drawing quite the crowds. These were exciting times. There he was baptizing them as they came to him confessing their sins.

The practice of baptism, though rare under the Old Covenant, was not new in and of itself. It was used for Gentiles who converted, desiring to follow Yahweh. As they were immersed in water they were purifying themselves and publicly renouncing their old ways to follow the one true and living God. But here with John it begins taking on a wider application. Now Jewish people are going out to John in keeping with repentance and preparing for the LORD’s coming.

The Herald’s Message (v. 7-12)

Now, understanding who John was as forerunner to the Messiah, we must understand the message he proclaimed. Because it was an urgent message that must also be heard and proclaimed today. John was in the wilderness proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

First, what does it mean to repent? The word literally refers to “a change of mind.” But we need to understand that this went beyond an intellectual change. It carried with it the Hebrew Old Testament understanding of “repent” which meant “to turn.” It was a call for people, in true sorrow for sin, to consciously turn away from evil and to God––abandoning their rebellion and returning to covenant obedience. It was a call to total transformation of your way of thinking and living. A complete 180 degree turn away from the world and to God.

As your mind was changed––your thoughts now agreeing with God’s thoughts as revealed in His Word––there was to be a corresponding change in how you lived. Your ways now increasingly aligning with God’s ways. We see this as Paul urged the people of Lystra to “turn from these vain things to a living God” (Acts 14:15). Also in how he describes the gospel fruit among the church in Thessalonica––that they had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

This is all the more evident even in our passage this morning. Beginning with verse 7 there is a tense interaction between John and the religious leaders. We see that the Pharisees and Sadducees––two distinct groups among the Jewish religious leaders––were going out to see what all the fuss was about in the wilderness. Typically, these two groups did not get along. But here, they have a common enemy in John––whose ministry was very disruptive to their status quo. They didn’t like what was happening.

This is all the more apparent in the way he addressed them. He knew they weren’t out there to repent and be baptized. Look at how he addressed them in verse 7––“You brood of vipers!” Apparently, John was not familiar with the latest and greatest ideas of the church growth movement! He is literally calling them the offspring of snakes. Jesus also would denounce them with the same exact phrase (Matthew 12:34). In John 8, we see Jesus tell them they are of their father, the devil (John 8:44). They are of the seed of the serpent in direct rebellion against God.

Then, in verse 8 we get a clear sense that John’s understanding of repentance goes beyond the classical Greek understanding of a mere intellectual change of mind. He tells them to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” John the Baptist’s teaching here accords well with what we see in regards to repentance all throughout the Bible. Biblical repentance is outwardly observable. Even Jesus in the sermon on the mount would speak of knowing people by their fruits (Matt. 7:16-20).

James, the brother of Jesus, likewise warned against a faith that is mere intellectual assent, or acknowledgment of the facts about Jesus. Warning against a kind of faith that bears no outward fruit he reminded his readers that even the demons believe, and shudder (James 2:19)! Loved ones, Satan and his demons know very well who Jesus is and what He accomplished. Their intellectual knowledge of the Bible and theology would put many a Christian to shame. Yet, for all their knowledge, they hate the LORD of glory, refusing to bow the knee and live for Him.

A life of repentance is the outward visible fruit produced by true saving faith. It is evidenced in true godly sorrow for sin that pursues change. Paul speaks of this godly sorrow that leads to repentance in 2 Corinthians 7:10. There is a genuine sorrow and contrition, not for the consequences of sin, but for having offended a holy and righteous God. A person truly grieved in this way cries out like David in Psalm 51––“Have mercy on me, O God!”––where David is grieved that he has sinned against God.

Biblical repentance is also outwardly seen in the confession of sin. That’s what we see in verse 6 with those who were going out to John to be baptized. They went out confessing their sins. And to be clear, this was not the kind of confession that just says, “yea, I did it (did this). Sorry (with an eye roll or smirk or shrug of the shoulders). I mean come on, nobody’s perfect, right?”

Nor is it the kind of confession that admits fault only to quickly blame the other person for causing you to sin or to remind them how sinful they are. It’s the kind of confession that repudiates and hates the sin. You want to be rid of it, not coddle it or minimize it. Not excuse it or blame shift or accuse the other person.

The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith so wonderfully summarizes biblical repentance in this way:

This saving repentance is a gospel grace in which those who are made aware by the Holy Spirit of the many evils of their sin, by faith in Christ humble themselves for it with godly sorrow, hatred of it, and self-loathing.

That’s very important. It is a work of God’s grace, produced by the Holy Spirit of God. Moreover, we must understand that biblical repentance is a lifelong endeavor. Though you repent of specific sins, it is also a way of life this side of eternity for the believer as you wage war against indwelling sin. Again, the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith goes on to say:

They [repentant believers} pray for pardon and strength of grace and determine and endeavor by provisions from the Spirit to live before God in a well-pleasing way in everything.

We see this in our text in John’s words about Jesus and the baptism He would bring there in verse 11. Look there with me––

“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.”

John’s water baptism for repentance was a prelude to the greater baptism of Jesus. What does he mean concerning baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire? First, we must note that this does not abrogate the need for water baptism in the church today. Jesus commands us to make disciples and baptize them. It is also commanded and carried out by the apostles in Acts. Water baptism is the outward sign of the spiritual reality accomplished in Christ’s baptism that John is describing here.

Where John’s baptism anticipated the greater baptism of Jesus, it now pictures the spiritual reality accomplished by Jesus’ baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. So, back to the question, what is this baptism that Jesus would bring? It is not, as some have tried to say, a special baptism reserved for elite Christians who can speak in tongues and do other miraculous things. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is what happens at the moment of your conversion.

It is the work of regeneration, the new birth. That moment when the Spirit convicts a person of their sin and guilt, makes them alive in Christ, and enables them to repent (turn from their sin) and trust in Christ by faith alone for the forgiveness of their sins. If you are here today as a follower of the LORD Jesus Christ, you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit. It happened when you were converted. That moment you believed, by God’s grace, in His provision for you in Christ.

This is the very thing the prophets spoke of in telling of the New Covenant. Just consider Ezekiel 36:25-27:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

You say, okay Jarred, I’m with you. Tell me about this fire he’s talking about then. What’s that all about? Biblically speaking, fire most often referred to one of two things––purification or judgment. When John speaks of Jesus' baptism of fire in reference to the believer, he is most certainly speaking of purification. Jesus' baptism will purify your life. That moment of your conversion you are set apart, cleansed, washed for the forgiveness of your sins.

And that purifying work will continue all the days of your life as you are being sanctified. The Spirit indwells you and begins to refine you to make you more and more like the LORD Jesus Christ. So that, over the entire course of your life this side of eternity, your life will be less and less characterized by the sinful flesh and come to increasingly resemble Christ and the fruit of His Spirit at work in you. Growing in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. All by God’s grace and by the power of His Spirit at work in you.

Loved ones, let me ask you before we go any further, does this describe you? Have you repented of your sins? Are you living a life that is characterized by repentance? Would those closest to you who know you best say that about you? That there is a sorrow over indwelling sin and even a hatred for it that strives to put it to death and pursue righteousness. Don’t be put off by that concept of striving. Paul tells us in Philippians to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God at work in you for His own good pleasure.

When you become aware of sin in your life, does it provoke in you an eagerness to turn from it? Or are you quick to excuse it; perhaps even justify it? When someone confronts you in your sin, do you respond with humility and confession? Or do you get defensive and lash out at them. “You think I’m so bad, let me remind you of all the terrible things you’ve said and done. Who are you to judge me?” The people of God in Christ, loved ones, are characterized by repentance. Growing in grace and displaying the very likeness of Christ in thought, word, and deed.

Here’s another question for you. When you seek to share the gospel with others, does it include a call to repentance? To change their way of life. To turn away from their sin and living for themselves and to God to live for Him and His glory according to His ways? Loved ones, repentance is not an optional add-on. It is essential to true saving faith as a response to the gospel message. You must repent. This is what we must press upon the consciences of all people as we plead with them to be reconciled to God in Christ.

This call to repentance was not unique to John’s message. Jesus commanded people to repent. The apostles and early church called people to repent. After preaching at Pentecost, when the crowds asked him what they must do to be saved, Peter responded, “repent and be baptized.” And so too we must call people to repent when we share the gospel. To be clear, this is not a neglect of belief or faith. Faith and repentance go hand in hand. They are two sides of the same coin. Where there is true faith, there will be repentance. They are inseparable gospel graces.

That brings to mind the need to encourage and warn you. Calling people to repent is going to make your evangelism more effective. That is both an encouragement and a warning. Encouraging, obviously, because people will truly be saved! But, how in the world could more effective evangelism serve as a warning? Because effective evangelism separates people. The gospel rightly preached causes a divide. A divide between those who respond in repentance and faith and those who respond with rejection. Sometimes very angry hurtful rejection.

When you are faithful to proclaim the gospel and call people to repent, you will draw the disdain of some. People don’t like to be told to change. We naturally don’t like anything that isn’t affirming of who we already are. If you faithfully call people to repent it will bring about negative responses. And that doesn’t mean you failed.

It will bring rejection by some. But even in that rejection, even harsh rejection, there is still something to rejoice about. Jesus experienced this same reaction. So too the apostles and early church. Therefore, you can rejoice that you were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. He says you are blessed when others persecute you and revile you and utter all kinds of evil against you. It is cause to rejoice when you share in the sufferings of Jesus.

Now, there’s another thing we need to understand and it's the necessity of repentance. Why is it urgent and necessary that we heed this command to repent? Look again at verse 2––repent, for (or because) the kingdom of heaven is at hand (or has come near). This is synonymous with what the other gospel writers refer to as “the kingdom of God.” Thus, John’s preaching here is referring to the establishment of God’s rightful and sovereign rule in judgment and salvation that would begin with the coming of the Messiah.

In saying the kingdom is at hand or has come near he does not mean that it is close to dawning. The verb is in the perfect tense. It means that it is here. The dawning has come with the coming of Jesus. It is already beginning and as a consequence demands an urgent and immediate response––repentance. John elaborates more on the urgency and necessity again in his admonishment of the religious leaders.

In verse 9 John continued admonishing the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were known to pride themselves on being descendants of Abraham and boasting of it as the means of God’s blessing upon them. But John wanted them to know clearly that God is not limited to those who are merely flesh and blood descendants of Abraham. God is able to raise up children for Abraham from little stones.

Here in Matthew’s gospel is the first hint of what makes someone meaningfully and savingly a descendant of Abraham. It is those who have Abraham’s faith that are heirs according to the promise. Jesus, while commending a centurion’s faith in Matthew 8, will speak of this. Paul also later teaches this clearly in Romans 9:6-8. These religious leaders need to repent of their prideful self-righteousness and cast themselves wholly upon the mercy of God in Christ. Why? Because judgment is coming.

Look at what John tells them recorded in verse 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.” The metaphor John uses here in verse 10 is the same metaphor Jesus will use recorded in Matthew 7:19. And this fire is not a purifying fire. It is a fire of judgment that will fall on all who do not repent. No matter how good you might look on the outside, like the Pharisees and Sadducees. No matter what your family heritage and lineage is.

Then, in verse 12, we’re told that Jesus––the One who would baptize his people with the Holy Spirit and fire––is going to be the One who executes judgment against those who do not repent. John says there, “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.” Some of you are probably familiar with the imagery here if you’ve dealt with grain at all.

The picture is of a farmer who, in those days, would use a winnowing fork, or shovel, to toss the grain and chaff in the air. Since the grain was heavier it would fall to the ground while the wind would blow the chaff to the side. The farmer would then keep the grain, sweep all the chaff together, and throw it into the fire. Matthew wants us to know John’s message about Jesus. He wants us to know this is exactly what Jesus is going to do on the day of judgment.

That day will be a wonderful day of salvation and great joy for all who repent and believe in Him. They will be like the grain that will be gathered up for life and joy in the kingdom under God’s saving reign for all eternity. But for all who do not repent, they will be like chaff that the wind drives away. They will be swept up together and thrown into the unquenchable fire for all eternity. If that sounds terrifying, it’s supposed to.

Like John the Baptist before Him, Jesus preached a lot about the coming judgment. It is a reality that is coming. Because it is coming and because there is a way to escape it through repentance and faith in Christ, we must tell people about it and warn them of its coming––calling and pleading with them to repent. To do so is loving.

Conclusion

If we really believe these words about the coming judgment and how terrible it will be, how can we keep silent? Loved ones, do you see how urgent a message we have? People’s eternal souls are at stake. This mission and message are still relevant today. It didn’t change with Jesus, nor after Jesus. The command to repent still stands. We also are to continue calling people to repent.

If you are here today and have not repented and turned to Jesus, the Savior–King, please hear me. There is a day of judgment coming. It may be many years from now. But it could come at any moment. Jesus stands ready to forgive you of your sins. He suffered and died on the cross so that all who repent and believe in Him will escape this coming judgment. You can experience this forgiveness and pardon if you will simply repent. Turn away, flee, from living for yourself and the things of this world. Turn to Christ. Look to Him and live!

Do not boast in anything else or anyone else. Not your church attendance. Not your family lineage––like parents who raised you in church and read the Bible to you. No one can repent and believe for you. Hear Jesus calling you to repent and do it today. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! And join in proclaiming this urgent, saving message to a lost and dying world around us.

Loved ones––Believe and proclaim King Jesus' urgent message for all people.