Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Reading

[Congregational Acceptance]

If you receive this word that has been read in your hearing, and accept it as the word of God and not the word of men, will you voice that acceptance in faith by saying together "Amen”?

[Prayer]

INTRODUCTION

The value or importance of something is often determined by the extent of the preparation that was made for it.

The fact that a pilot has a detailed checklist to work through in preparation for a flight, speaks to the value and importance of the cargo and the personnel on that plane for that flight.

That a doctor prepares for many years to learn medicine, speaks to the value of the human being that doctor cares for.

The value of retirement savings is directly proportional to the preparation that was made over years of investing in that savings.

The more invested, the more preparation, the higher value of that portfolio.

A handcrafted piece of art is far more valuable than a machine-made reproduction because the handcrafted piece required more preparation and labor which translates into more value and importance.

The birth of a baby is the result of months of growth where that baby is developed and prepared to live outside of the womb.

That life has value and importance, and that is shown because of the preparation process God has designed for that baby and for that mother.

Anything that is truly valuable necessitates some form of preparation, and the things of God are no different!

We must be prepared to encounter the living God!

God commands that a preparation be made by His people for His kingdom.

That preparation is given to us in the word preached both by John and by Jesus - Repent!

The reason God’s people are commanded to repent, is because the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Meaning, the kingdom of heaven is no longer distant or beyond reach, but the kingdom of heaven has come near.

The kingdom of heaven is presented as something that is extremely valuable, and worthy of preparing for.

Any time the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God is spoken of, it is talking about the rule of God.

The leadership of God over all things.

The will of God being done.

As Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “They kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Preparation for God’s kingdom begins with repentance.

What is repentance?

What does it mean for someone to repent?

What is a person to repent from?

Is repentance optional?

Does repentance have anything to do with me and my life, even as a Christian?

These are questions that God answers in Matthew chapter three!

God teaches about repentance because God wants all people everywhere to repent, and to be prepared for His coming kingdom.

Hear these words from Acts 17:30-31:

The times of ignorance have passed.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ calls for a preparation of repentance today.

I. John prepares the way for Jesus.

Matthew chapter three begins with a man named John, the Baptist.

His name is John, and he is called “the Baptist” because he is a baptizer.

He baptizes people in water.

That word “baptize” in the Greek language is [βαπτίζω].

It is a transliterated word (which means it sounds the same in English as it does in the Greek).

βαπτίζω was a very common word that literally means “to put or go under water,” even conveying the idea of “to soak.”

(see BDAG).

It was a plunging, or dipping into water.

It was a washing, and for John’s ministry, it was a sign of preparation through repentance.

Now, John was a baptizer but he was also a preacher.

Verse one tells us John came “preaching in the wilderness of Judea.”

Notice that the baptisms of John were connected to the preaching of John.

The word informed his work.

To have word without works may lead to hypocrisy and dead faith.

To have works without word may represent a form of legalism, or being aimless and ungrounded.

John is neither of these.

John’s words were connected with his works.

What was the word John preached?

This is a one-sentence sermon!

Only one command is given (one point of application), [that is, to Repent!], and a reason for that command.

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

The kingdom of heaven - something valuable, something that has been anticipated for a very long time, has come, and is coming near.

The weight of that statement is lost on us unless we consider that these are the first words preached to God’s people in over 400 years!

What is the last book in the English Old Testament, the book immediately preceeding Matthew? - Malachi.

Malachi was a prophet of God, meaning he spoke God’s word to the people.

Malachi prophesied somewhere between the years 440-420 B.C. - that is, over 400 years before Christ!

When the page is turned from Malachi to Matthew, time is fast-forwarded over 400 years!

And during those 400 years, there is no recorded word from God!

There is nothing new recorded from heaven!

Only silence!

And waiting…!

Turn back a few pages to Malachi chapter four.

The last words of Malachi are worth hearing:

The word from God through Malachi for the people was that a prophet will come, before the Lord comes.

(That means, a prophet will come to prepare the way of the Lord).

And that prophet will turn (that’s the Hebrews word שׁוב , the Old Testament word for “repent”) - Simply put, that prophet will call the people to prepare for the great and awesome day of the LORD by turning - by repenting - lest there be utter destruction.

Lest there be judgment.

And that is the last word preached to the people of God in the Old Testament.

Then, over 400 years later, the voice of John the Baptist is heard preaching: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

John is a prophet who Jesus will say in Matthew 17:12 is the Elijah spoken of by Malachi (Matthew 17:12).

Turn forward to Matthew 3:3, which further clarifies the person and the purpose of John the Baptist:

This is a reference from Isaiah 40.

Listen to all of Isaiah 40:3-5:

This is what John the Baptist is doing.

God is making a way through John for all people to come to Jesus, and to see the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ!

No valley, or mountain, or hill, or crooked path, or rough place will stand in the way of God fulfilling his promises in Jesus the Christ.

The glory of the LORD shall be revealed through Him!

The way to Jesus is being prepared for!

It is easy to travel.

And Jesus IS coming, and indeed John says — he is already here!

This verse tells us that John’s clothes and diet were that of a man who lived in the desert- the wilderness.

This confirms Isaiah’s prophecy about the person of John.

I’ve had people come up to me and prophesy over me.

They will say things like “The Lord says this and this....” I’ve learned to say “Thank you.

May the Lord confirm His Word.”

Because the Lord will confirm the Word He has spoken, if it is His Word!

If it is from Him.

God confirms the prophecy of Isaiah about the person John.

He is the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” and God confirms the purpose of John, who is preparing the way of the Lord Jesus.

For the Jewish people who saw John, they would have been reminded of the prophet Elijah. 2 Kings tells of a Samaritan king named Ahaziah who asked his messengers to describe a man they had met in the way (the man was Elijah).

John is described with the same appearance as Elijah.

The people who heard John recognized John as a prophetic voice.

They responded to his preaching, and his call to repentance, by being baptized in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.

John’s preaching of repentance, is now connected with his baptism, and confessing sins.