Anticipation is Making Me Wait
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Please turn, in your Bible to .
I remember as a kid a commercial for Heinz Ketchup in which they used Carly Simons’ song about anticipation. It highlighted how slow it was to get Heinz Ketchup out of a glass bottle. The commercial made you feel like Ketchup that came out fast was not worth eating. Boy, how times have changed!
Anticipation is one of the most important aspects of life. We anticipate the important events of our lives. High School and College graduation. Proms. Weddings. The birth of our children.
We’ve been anticipating the adoption of little Luke, and tomorrow that will come to fruition. We are so excited!
Sometimes our anticipations produce expectations that may be incomplete or flat out wrong. Then when the event we have anticipated comes to fruition we may find ourselves disappointed that things did not work out as we had expected. The other day as I was making my lunch I noticed a box of crackers on the counter, and next it was a can of what looked to be some type of Cheese Wiz. So I grabbed a cracker and the can, intending to enjoy an appetizer before lunch. It wasn’t Cheese Wiz. It was furniture polish! Yuck!
Today’s Scripture readings have focused on the anticipation of the coming of Messiah. The passage in Isaiah anticipated a better, more peaceful time. The passage from the psalms anticipated a Messiah who would be a righteous judge. And the N.T. passages we read refer to how we can prepare for the long anticipated coming of Christ, by being found in a right relationship with Jesus, and as an outflow of that relationship we should love one another as Christ loved us.
Though Jesus came as Messiah, He did not present Himself as the people of Israel had expected. And I have to believe that led many to be disappointed or even disillusioned.
As we go through our text this morning we will focus on the necessity of being in a right relationship with God, which only comes about through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we will also note the judgment that awaits those who will not be found to be in such a relationship with God.
Let’s read our text together.
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’ ”
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. Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’ ”
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.
Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan;
and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;
and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Today’s message as probably with all the messages of this Advent season will be more thematic in nature, and not fully expository. Which means that I will not attempt to explain everything that is in our text (not that I ever really do since if I did we would never get past about one paragraph a year…)
Let’s look first at:
A Necessary Relationship
A Necessary Relationship
Throughout the history of the nation of Israel God had frequently raised up prophets to bring direct revelation from Him to His covenant people. Sometimes the message was intended to bring comfort to a persecuted people. Other times it was intended to bring a rebuke for God’s people who had strayed from their covenant with Him. Most of the prophetic writing had a healthy portion of both rebuke and words of comfort. Much of the words of comfort was focused on a better time and a better place, such as what we read in Isaiah this morning. Such writings looked ahead to when David’s greater Son would sit on His “father’s” throne, and rule the nations with a rod of iron, which would bring an extended time of peace and prosperity to the nation of Israel.
But there had been nearly four hundred years of silence — a time when there was no prophetic message. And then John the Baptist came on the scene and the whole nation was stirred with hope and intrigue. Matthew doesn’t focus on the miraculous events surrounding John’s birth, he simply begins with John’s public ministry.
The first thing that we see is that John was a herald
Look at verse 1.
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
The term translated “preach” is [kay.roos.so]. It simply means to proclaim or herald a message passed down from a higher up. In other words, just as with the OT prophets before him, John did not make up the message he declared himself. Rather he was driven by the Holy Spirit to speak the message from God. Peter informed us of the process:
for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
John’s message emphasized the necessity of being in a right relationship with God. Look at his simple message in verse 2.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Repentance has to do with a change in mind which leads to a change in behavior. Stuart Weber wrote:
Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew A. The King’s Forerunner (3:1–12)
The people of Israel had been thinking wrongly about God, themselves, their sin their righteousness, and the nature of the kingdom.
An accurate view of who God is leads to an accurate view of who we are
An accurate view of who God is includes the following:
An accurate view of who God is includes the following:
His majesty and glory
His unlimited power, knowledge, and presence
His holiness
His complete sovereignty
An accurate view of ourselves includes:
An accurate view of ourselves includes:
Understanding where we come from
For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
Understanding our corruption
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
Understanding our need of a Savior
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
There is a necessary relationship for those who are followers of Christ. That relationship begins with a right view of God, which leads to a right view of ourselves, which leads to confession and repentance, which is produced by faith in the message of the gospel of Christ.
Let’s now consider:
Matthew’s Narrative Description
Matthew’s Narrative Description
Look at verses 3-6.
For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’ ”
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. Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’ ”
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.
Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan;
and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
Note the following:
John fulfilled OT prophesies
He was called to make things ready for the coming of Messiah
John’s clothing:
Camel’s hair clothing indicated that he was a common man, not one of the religious elite
This makes the fact that he was of priestly descent all the more interesting
John’s food supply
Again, indicating that he was poor and ate whatever the land freely provided (that was ceremonially clean)
John’s audience
Notice how John railed on the religious leadership of Israel.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;
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?
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.
Note that:
Every form of legalism comes from the devil
Legalism has been defined as making something essential which the Bible does not make essential. Though there are various forms of legalism, at the core they all seek to measure spirituality by some sort of man-made list of rules and or regulations.
Look at verse 8.
Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;
Note next that:
True believers produce fruit
Weber pointed out:
Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew A. The King’s Forerunner (3:1–12)
Just as “faith” without works is not faith at all, so “repentance” without its fruit is not authentic.
Let’s turn our attention now to:
A Necessary Baptism
A Necessary Baptism
Note that:
Jewish baptism was scandalous
The rite was for Gentile converts
Comparable to Naaman the leper
John’s baptism was a symbol of repentance
And repentance was in anticipation of the coming of Messiah
John recognized the limitation of his water baptism. Look at verse 11.
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
As important as water baptism is in the life of a Christian, it does not bring salvation. I do not want to minimize the importance of water baptism because it signifies that one is a follower of Jesus. It is the first step in obedience to Christ. It identifies the believer with Christ’s death and resurrection. It is extremely important and not to be minimized at all. But it does not bring salvation.
However, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a part of the regenerating of the Holy Spirit. Every believer is baptised by the Holy Spirit at the moment of their conversion.
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Thus far we have looked at a necessary relationship to God which is directly tied to the necessary baptism of the Holy Spirit. There is yet one more necessity mentioned in our text:
A Necessary Judgment
A Necessary Judgment
Some commentators see three baptisms mentioned in
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
The baptism of John
The baptism of the Holy Spirit
The baptism of Fire
In this view the baptism of fire is a baptism of judgment. This certainly is in keep with the tone set in verse 12.
His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
In His first advent Jesus Messiah did bring judgment, but it wasn’t on the oppressive Gentile nations who were afflicting Israel. Rather it was on sin and death!
When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, death, is your victory?
Where, death, is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Sadly most people reject Christ’s judgment on sin because of fear of exposure. Jesus said:
He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
Though His first advent as Savior from sin was not anticipated by the first century Jewish leadership, there awaits yet His second coming when He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
In anticipation of that day those who are at this point in time considered to be chaff have need of being born again as wheat. I’m not talking about reincarnation, I’m talking about spiritual birth. Such a one needs to recognize and acknowledge God for who He truly is. Recognize and acknowledge themselves as a sinner in need of saving. And cling to the cross of Christ, and the empty tomb for their salvation.
Let’s pray.
Closing Song: #8
Come, Thou Almighty King