Sermon Tone Analysis

Chapter 3

The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew and his Study guide.

Additional material taken from sources listed at the end

Read and summarize

RC Sproul

After two thousand years of redemptive history, recorded for us in the prophecies of the Old Testament, the voice of God became silent, and there was not a single word from God in prophetic utterance for a period of four hundred years.

The last prophecy in the Old Testament is found in the book of Malachi: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Mal.

4:5–6).

Here at the end of the Old Testament God is saying that instead of bringing a curse upon the world, He is going to bring back the voice of Elijah the prophet.

Four hundred years later that prophecy was fulfilled, according to Jesus, in the person of John the Baptist.

Our Lord declared that John came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17).

The Greatest Man ( 3:1-6 )

Q: If someone where to ask you what makes a man great, what would you say?

Would Jesus or John the Baptist reach your standard?

— We recognize “great” men of this world who

— Are wealthy and accomplished in business

— have exceptional athletic or artistic ability

— Academic greatness

— Or born famous and are socially influential

— Jesus had none of these; born into a poor family

— Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

(Matt 8:20 )

— John the Baptist had even less, yet Jesus said he was the greatest man to have lived until that time ( Matt 11:11 )

The Man ( 3:1 )

Q: What is the meaning of the name John?

What does “the Baptist” mean ( 3:1 ) ?

How is John the Baptist described in Matthew’s gospel?

( 3:1-2 ) In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Hendricksen

In chapters 1 and 2 Matthew has revealed to us the greatness of Christ, the true Son of David, the One to whom even wise men from the east rendered homage.

It is proper that a king, especially such a king, having a herald to proclaim his approach.

This herald was John the Baptist

— John is the Greek form of the Hebrew Johanan ( 2 Ki 25:23; Jer 40:8 )

— Means Jehovah or Yahweh is gracious

— Baptist was attached to his name because it was an important part of his ministry

( 3:2 ) Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

— John announces that the kingdom of God is upon us

— Jesus would begin His ministry with the exact same proclamation ( 4:17 )

— God’s reign was about to assert itself in the hearts and minds of His people as never before

— His blessings were in store for all those who, by sovereign grace, would confess and forsake their sins and would begin to live to God’s glory

— When a new King or authority takes over you have to cut your ties with the old Kingdom

— Chinese proverb: ( 腳踏兩船 ) You cannot straddle between two boats

Repent and be baptized

RC Sproul

John was sent to Israel, and he called upon them to repent and be baptized.

His message would have scandalized the Jews, because the only people baptized prior to this time were those converting from paganism to Judaism.

These converts, Gentiles, were considered unclean, so they were required to participate in a symbolic washing of their filth so as to become worthy to join the community of Israel.

The convert baptized himself, as if he were taking a bath before he could join the community of Israel.

Going Deeper

— Elizabeth was beyond normal childbearing age ( Lk 1:6-7; cf.

Gen 17:17 )

— John was filled with the Holy Spirit while still in the womb ( Lk 1:15-16 )

— His conception was miraculous, he was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born, he was great in the sight of God, and he was to be the herald of the Messiah.

This great man was a sovereignly designed and chosen herald for the great King

— The coming of the herald signified the coming of the King

— The beginning of John’s ministry was the beginning of Jesus’ ministry ( Acts 10:37-38 )

Repent

— Repent is probably not the best translation

— W. D. Chamberlain says, it is a rendering that “does not do justice to the original, since it gives undue prominence to the emotional element”

— A. T. Robertson says that it is “a hopeless translation” and J. A. Brodus goes as far as to say it is “the worst translation in the New Testament”

Hendriksen on Repentance

“ The idea of repentance is definitely included in the the Baptist’s terse admonition.

Genuine sorrow for sin and an earnest resolution to break with the evil past is event emphasized (see Matthew 3:6 and Luke 3:13, 14 ).

But repentance , though basic, is only one side of the picture.

It might be the negative aspect.

The positive is fruit-bearing ( Matt 3:8, 10 ).

The word used in the original looks forward as well as backward.

Therefore the rendering 'be converted' is probably better than 'repent.’

Conversion, moreover, affects not only the emotions but also the mind and the will.

In the original the word used by the Baptist indicates a radical change of mind and heart that leads to a complete turnabout of life

McGee

— His message was exclusively to the Jews, God’s chosen people

— He preached repentance in preparation for the coming of the King (Messiah)

— Gospel or not the Gospel?

— Repentance is primarily for God’s people in any age

— This is the message to the seven churches in Rev 2 and 3

Note: Unsaved man is told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, which is in effect repenting

— The expression "kingdom of heaven" means the rule of the heavens over the earth.

The Lord Jesus is the King

— You can't have a kingdom without a king; neither can you have a king without a kingdom

— A king must have a kingdom.

So what did John the Baptist mean by "the kingdom of heaven is at hand"?

He meant that the Kingdom of Heaven is present in the Person of the King

Q: John was a New Testament character.

True or False? ( cf.

Matt 11:11 )

( 3:3 ) For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’

”

— We saw the OT prophet Isaiah refer to this prophecy of John the Baptist ( Isa 40:3-4 )— His crying was a cry of urgency for men to repent and turn from sin

— Just as trumpeters would blow their trumpets to announce the visitation of the king, so the purpose of John the Baptist was to cry in the wilderness to prepare the way of the king

Hendricksen

— They must make His paths straight implying they must provide the Lord with ready access into their hearts and lives

— They must make straight whatever was crooked, not in line with God’s holy will

— They must clear away all the obstacles which they have thrown into his path; such obstructions as self-righteousness and smug complacency (“We have Abraham as our father,” 3:9), greed, cruelty, slander (Lk 3:13, 14 )

Going Deeper

— A call for repentance was the same way Jesus and the disciples began the ministry

— Jesus said, “Repent and believe in the gospel” ( Mark 1:15; cf.

Matt 3:2; 4:17; Lk 5:32 )

— The disciples “went out and preached that men should repent.”

( Mk 6:12 )

The Manner ( 3:4 )

Q: What king of message did John’s food and clothing bring ( 3:4 )?