Matthew 3:1-11 New International Version
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him."
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.
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 axe 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.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him."
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.
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 axe 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.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Reflection
So, I know that we have really looked at the birth stories of Jesus and John the Baptist in the gospels of Matthew and Luke over the past couple of weeks. Some of it maybe is boring stuff, some of it stuff you already knew, maybe facts no one really cares about, speculation that may or may not be true – when all we really want to do – well, is get on with the story.
All I can say is we are getting there, slowly. I know the lectionary likes to condense things, you know after Christmas should come the baptism because many Christians believe in infant baptism but Jesus was circumcised and given a name on the eighth day after his birth and not baptized until he was in his thirties by John
in the Jordan River.
Back to John because there are accounts of John in all four gospels, John is important, critical even, to the message and ministry of Jesus.
Although John is primarily seen and announced as preparing the way for Jesus, he is important enough to be understood as having his own mission and message apart from Jesus.
We know some things about John, that he lived in the desert, that he ate honey and locusts, that he did not drink wine, that he wore animal skins – it all points to someone who lived a very simple life away from the cities. There is some academic thought that he spent time in the Essene community near the Dead Sea.
And John had a message that the people of Israel responded to “Repent! Get ready! because the Kingdom of God was coming.” We know that John preached on the banks of the Jordan River near Bethany, he didn’t go wandering from town to town, he didn’t go into Galilee, he didn’t go to Jerusalem, he didn’t wander around Judea. We know because the Pharisees and Sadducees; the teachers and the high priests came out from Jerusalem to see him, Jesus came from Galilee to see him. We assume that people came from all over to see John.
We, also, know that he didn’t just baptize anyone who came along. We know not everyone was accepted or acceptable to be immersed in the cleansing water of purification found in the Jordan. The Jordan was the river that had to be crossed for Israel to enter into the Promised Land of milk and honey, the river that Yahweh forbade Moses to cross. Baptism in this water after repentance had the special significance of a re-entering into the land of Israel purified – ready to receive the promised Messiah.
So John’s mission was getting Israel ready, John’s baptism had to do with repentance—it was a symbolic representation of changing one’s mind and going a new direction. “Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” (Matthew 3:6) Being baptized by John demonstrated a recognition of one’s need for repentance, a desire for spiritual cleansing, and a commitment to follow God’s law in anticipation of the Messiah’s arrival.
We have become used to the scripture passage reading “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” or maybe even “Turn away from your sins because the Kingdom of heaven is coming" but I like the Message version; it is plain and clear and it speaks to us today: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”
Did we ever even imagine that John’s message was for us? or did we always just think “such a great story from the first century and the time of Jesus” Can we even imagine someone saying that to us today and we take it seriously?
Maybe, perhaps, we have a little bit more in common with the Pharisees and Sadducees, who came out to have a look at what was going, wanting to hear exactly what John was saying and wanting to assess the crowds that were coming to see John.
I am sure, they didn’t have the slightest idea that John would be talking to them – Rabbis- teachers – model interpreters of Yahweh’s law – high priests – judges.
I’m pretty sure they didn’t see themselves as being in need of repentance and purification, and if they even entertained the notion, (just in case the Kingdom really was coming and Yahweh really did want them to do this), they probably thought it would be a slam dunk, pop into the water and out, back on their way to Jerusalem.
And what does John do when he sees them, well surprise, he can see what they are up to a mile away:
“Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing, slithering down here to the river?
Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference?
It’s your life that must change, not your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green
and flourishing? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.”
(Matthew 3:7-10 – The Message version)
John doesn’t mince his words, does he? Well, his mission is to get people ready for the coming of the Kingdom of God, his job is to get everyone ready; because John’s vision of the Kingdom is apocalyptic, it’s the end times which herald a new beginning, it’s judgement day! Get ready for the Messiah, who will bring about this seismic change, is coming! This is important, if a faithful people are to be saved, if Israel is to survive, if Yahweh is to be honoured; they have to be ready.
And, John the Baptist, understands his role in all of this. If he is important, it is only so that people are ready for the Messiah, the Christos, the one who will bring about the Kingdom, the one who will baptize not with water but with the Holy Spirit and fire. The gospel of John puts it this way: “6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” (John 1:6-8)
I, myself, like to think that John was a little light that shone in its own way, just like we all do, little lights shining wherever we are.
I know John the Baptist wasn’t the brilliant light that the Gospel of John claims for Jesus. But still, our world has a need for light. And for a strange man in strange clothes, who comes out of the desert, working by himself, on the banks of a river, calling for people to repent and announcing the imminent arrival of the Messiah and Kingdom of God – he made an enormous impact on the people who came and listened, repented and were baptized.
When asked about who he was by the priests and rabbis, John quotes from Isaiah 40:3-5
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
(Luke 3:4-6)
John did what he came to do, getting people ready for the Kingdom, getting them ready for the Messiah and getting the Messiah ready for his own mission and ministry.
Amen
So, I know that we have really looked at the birth stories of Jesus and John the Baptist in the gospels of Matthew and Luke over the past couple of weeks. Some of it maybe is boring stuff, some of it stuff you already knew, maybe facts no one really cares about, speculation that may or may not be true – when all we really want to do – well, is get on with the story.
All I can say is we are getting there, slowly. I know the lectionary likes to condense things, you know after Christmas should come the baptism because many Christians believe in infant baptism but Jesus was circumcised and given a name on the eighth day after his birth and not baptized until he was in his thirties by John
in the Jordan River.
Back to John because there are accounts of John in all four gospels, John is important, critical even, to the message and ministry of Jesus.
Although John is primarily seen and announced as preparing the way for Jesus, he is important enough to be understood as having his own mission and message apart from Jesus.
We know some things about John, that he lived in the desert, that he ate honey and locusts, that he did not drink wine, that he wore animal skins – it all points to someone who lived a very simple life away from the cities. There is some academic thought that he spent time in the Essene community near the Dead Sea.
And John had a message that the people of Israel responded to “Repent! Get ready! because the Kingdom of God was coming.” We know that John preached on the banks of the Jordan River near Bethany, he didn’t go wandering from town to town, he didn’t go into Galilee, he didn’t go to Jerusalem, he didn’t wander around Judea. We know because the Pharisees and Sadducees; the teachers and the high priests came out from Jerusalem to see him, Jesus came from Galilee to see him. We assume that people came from all over to see John.
We, also, know that he didn’t just baptize anyone who came along. We know not everyone was accepted or acceptable to be immersed in the cleansing water of purification found in the Jordan. The Jordan was the river that had to be crossed for Israel to enter into the Promised Land of milk and honey, the river that Yahweh forbade Moses to cross. Baptism in this water after repentance had the special significance of a re-entering into the land of Israel purified – ready to receive the promised Messiah.
So John’s mission was getting Israel ready, John’s baptism had to do with repentance—it was a symbolic representation of changing one’s mind and going a new direction. “Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” (Matthew 3:6) Being baptized by John demonstrated a recognition of one’s need for repentance, a desire for spiritual cleansing, and a commitment to follow God’s law in anticipation of the Messiah’s arrival.
We have become used to the scripture passage reading “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” or maybe even “Turn away from your sins because the Kingdom of heaven is coming" but I like the Message version; it is plain and clear and it speaks to us today: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”
Did we ever even imagine that John’s message was for us? or did we always just think “such a great story from the first century and the time of Jesus” Can we even imagine someone saying that to us today and we take it seriously?
Maybe, perhaps, we have a little bit more in common with the Pharisees and Sadducees, who came out to have a look at what was going, wanting to hear exactly what John was saying and wanting to assess the crowds that were coming to see John.
I am sure, they didn’t have the slightest idea that John would be talking to them – Rabbis- teachers – model interpreters of Yahweh’s law – high priests – judges.
I’m pretty sure they didn’t see themselves as being in need of repentance and purification, and if they even entertained the notion, (just in case the Kingdom really was coming and Yahweh really did want them to do this), they probably thought it would be a slam dunk, pop into the water and out, back on their way to Jerusalem.
And what does John do when he sees them, well surprise, he can see what they are up to a mile away:
“Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing, slithering down here to the river?
Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference?
It’s your life that must change, not your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green
and flourishing? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.”
(Matthew 3:7-10 – The Message version)
John doesn’t mince his words, does he? Well, his mission is to get people ready for the coming of the Kingdom of God, his job is to get everyone ready; because John’s vision of the Kingdom is apocalyptic, it’s the end times which herald a new beginning, it’s judgement day! Get ready for the Messiah, who will bring about this seismic change, is coming! This is important, if a faithful people are to be saved, if Israel is to survive, if Yahweh is to be honoured; they have to be ready.
And, John the Baptist, understands his role in all of this. If he is important, it is only so that people are ready for the Messiah, the Christos, the one who will bring about the Kingdom, the one who will baptize not with water but with the Holy Spirit and fire. The gospel of John puts it this way: “6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” (John 1:6-8)
I, myself, like to think that John was a little light that shone in its own way, just like we all do, little lights shining wherever we are.
I know John the Baptist wasn’t the brilliant light that the Gospel of John claims for Jesus. But still, our world has a need for light. And for a strange man in strange clothes, who comes out of the desert, working by himself, on the banks of a river, calling for people to repent and announcing the imminent arrival of the Messiah and Kingdom of God – he made an enormous impact on the people who came and listened, repented and were baptized.
When asked about who he was by the priests and rabbis, John quotes from Isaiah 40:3-5
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
(Luke 3:4-6)
John did what he came to do, getting people ready for the Kingdom, getting them ready for the Messiah and getting the Messiah ready for his own mission and ministry.
Amen
