Jesus Center Stage

Matthew 3

Introduction

So far we've seen Jesus the King proclaimed by:

His pedigree (on his father's side)
An angel (in a dream)
His father (by not divorcing Mary)
The Scripture
Foreign dignitaries

The King also gave notice to the political ruler of the day - Herod.

Now we will see Him proclaimed by a prophet, by the creation, and by God Himself

And he will give notice, through that prophet, to the religious leaders - the Pharisees.

In our outline of the book we have moved through the introduction of the king - and into the proclamation of the king - then we'll go on to the power of the King.

28-30 years have elapsed since Joseph took Mary and the young Jesus out of Egypt and back to Israel.

John The Baptist

Matt 3:1
3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea

Who was John the Baptist? Well, he was a 2nd cousin of Jesus (born of Elizabeth, Mary's cousin). They likely knew of each other, but John no doubt knew nothing of Jesus as the Messiah until the events of this chapter.

John came preaching - which means to "proclaim" in the deserts west of the Dead Sea. It's a rugged area and very desolate.

2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

John was a prophet - and his message was like the prophets - REPENT! But this time the kingdom really was near.

This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

"A voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.'"

John quotes Isaiah 40:3.

4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

John's clothes would have reminded people of Elijah the prophet.

2 Kings 1:8
8 They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist."

John as basically outfitted for survival in the wilderness. His diet was also unusual - some have tried to say he ate something like a carob pod instead of real locusts - but people apparently did eat locusts - by roasting them - but it was the diet of a very poor man. John had given up everything for this ministry.

John was an unusual man with an unusual message - a message not everyone liked.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

1. People were really excited about John - the first prophet in 400 (?) years. They were excited about his message that the Messiah was coming. But what they were not excited about was what it meant to them for Jesus the King to come into their lives. It meant repentance, a change of attitude and a change of ways and a change of loyalty.

What does it mean to you when Jesus comes into your life and says "I want to make some changes here." Do you get excited at first but when it really starts to hurt or change something that is dear to you do you shun Him and shut Him out?

2. John the Baptist was weird - he dressed weird and said weird things. Today we see people go to extremes of dress and mannerisms to show their loyalty. (Sports fans, for example). The question is, what should we as Christians adopt to set us apart - what are our emblems? Is it hair, dress, the way we speak? More important - our lives should speak loudly in the way we love and care, not our attire.

John 13:35
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."


The Baptism

John was unlike other prophets through the idea of baptism - and its meaning.

11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

It is interesting to note - this would be significant to any Jew who witnessed this scene. The Jews were used to ceremonial washings - but this full immersion was reserved only for pagans who were converting to Judaism. Thus John treats the Jews as if they need a full conversion - as they did.

Repentance was also a familiar concept to the Jews. But here to tell a Jew to "repent and be baptized" would be offensive to their view of salvation. Jews believed that as long as they were born into a Jewish family and didn't reject God they would be saved. John is telling them they have to come to God just like non-Jews.

For us - you cannot be born by blood into God's family. He doesn't have any grandchildren. Just because your parents were Christians doesn't mean you get salvation through inheritance of some special gene. The opposite is true. Each of us must come to God personally, no matter what our background. I went to church my whole younger life but I wasn't saved - and neither are you unless you "repent" and are "baptized" into Christ's death by letting His substitutionary death on your behalf "wash" you of all sins.

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

Why was Jesus baptized?

Jesus was not baptized to be saved, for he did not need salvation. The text suggests several purposes for his baptism:
o To identify with John's proclamation of his coming
o To show John that he was in fact the Messiah (John 1:33)
o To signal the beginning of his messianic ministry
o To identify himself as a priest of Israel (Lev 8:6-wash priests w/water)
o To provide an example for believers to follow
o To demonstrate the involvement and approval of the other persons of the Trinity in his ministry. In fact, the baptism of Jesus gives one of the clearest illustrations of the doctrine of the Trinity with:
o The Father speaking from heaven (3:17)
o The Son coming out of the water (3:16)
o The Holy Spirit descending from heaven (3:16)

The Signs

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

This is truly an amazing scene - imagine you are there - now apparently only Jesus could see heaven opened, but everyone saw the dove and heard the voice.

God wanted to leave no doubt that the Messiah had really come. It's unique in several important ways.

1. The Tearing of Heaven


Symbolizes the coming of a new kingdom.

Isa 64:1
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!

2. The Dove

Symbolized the workings of God in the world. In Genesis the Spirit hovered over the waters, after the flood a dove symbolized the new world.

3. The Voice

This represented God's acceptance and declaration of Jesus as the Messiah.

The words echo 2 Old Testament sections - Psalm 2:7 "You are my Son" which was a messianic psalm about the coronation of Christ as the eternal king

And Isaiah 42:1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight." Which is a description of the Servant-Messiah who would atone for the sin of humanity.

So in one phrase God declares both the Kingship and suffering ministry of Jesus.

The Trinity

Also amazing is that this section provides one of the most convincing proofs of the trinity - that God is three persons in one.

Notice you have the Father speaking, The Spirit descending, and the Son coming up from the water.

Conclusion

What can we draw from this chapter for our lives?

1. Fruit is more important than appearance

John didn't look real put together - in fact he was rather repulsive. But what he said was right - so we need to look beyond the appearance to the fruit of what is said - turning people to God. Sometimes God's message comes in a plain paper bag.

2. Interest doesn't equate to repentance

The Pharisees and Sadducees appeared like they were interested but they were really there to make sure John wasn't a threat. Just because someone hangs out with Christians doesn't make them one. Repentance is the key to look for - not religious piety or membership in a church.

3. We need to know who's boss

John had a pretty good ministry going there. He could have perceived Jesus as a threat - but John recognized his real mission was to pave the way and point the way to Jesus. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we're doing that we start putting the focus on us instead of Christ.

For John, the coming of Jesus meant he became less - are we willing to become less if it means Jesus becomes more in people's lives?

4. A real leader comes as a servant

Jesus - the King of Kings was revealed how - by trumpets and fanfare and robes and palaces? No, in a river - getting baptized. It's a presentation of humbleness and repentance. Not that Jesus had anything to repent for - but it is a pattern for us to follow. As we lead, and walk in His footsteps, remember that it is a path of humility.