Barry Metz 01/14/18

John the Baptist Prepares the WayMatthew 3

If you have your Bible, turn with me to Matthew 3…..Matthew 3. We’ll begin in verse 1. Matthew 3:1

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.’ ”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 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? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

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John the Baptist’s ministry has always been an anomaly for me. He’s such a different bird! Wouldn’t you agree? He comes on the scene, does his thing, and then he’s gone. There just ain’t nobody like him!

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And his entrance into the gospel story raises all kinds of questions for me. Perhaps you’re the same way…

{Why did Jesus need a forerunner to go before him anyway? Why was John the Baptist’s role so important? And if his role was important then, why isn’t it needed now? Why haven’t there been more forerunners-- messengers who ‘make strait the way of the Lord’? Why aren’t there more people sent by God today who challenge us to ‘clear the obstacles out of our lives that (get in the way) of receiving the Lord’1? Why did John draw such a crowd? Verse 5 says they came from everywhere! And why did John baptize? (We’ll find out today that John’s baptism was quite an innovation.) And with that in mind, what did John’s baptism accomplish? And how is John’s baptism different from what we would call Christian baptism? And finally, why in the world did Jesus feel the need to be baptized by John? What does it mean to fulfill all righteousness? }

Well let’s dive into the passage. I think we’ll find answers to at least some of our questions. Look at verse 1…. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea.

With the phrase in those days2, Matthew jumps from Jesus’ infancy to the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry; in other words more than 25 years have elapsed from the time Joseph took his family to Nazareth at the end of chapter 23 to our story today.

What do we know about John the Baptist? Well we know from the book of Luke that His godly, righteous parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, were both from the priestly line of Aaron. Luke also tells us that Elizabeth was barren and that both she and Zechariah were advanced in years when John was born.4 So we know John’s birth was a miraculous birth. Luke also tells us that Elizabeth was a female relative5 --a cousin or aunt--of Mary. We can’t be more specific than that but that means that John the Baptist was somehow related to Jesus.

But it’s pretty clear that even though they were related that they had limited contact with each other. How do we know that? Because the gospel writer John tells us that John the Baptist didn’t know Jesus.6 {And it is true that Jesus grew up in the north of Israel (Nazareth) and that John the Baptist grew up in the south of Israel (in Judea).}

In those days John came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Now where is the ‘wilderness of Judea’?

1 Wilkins, page 1322 Chouinard, Matthew “…in those days draws from an OT precedent designed to draw the readers to a period of historical interest” cf Gen. 38:1; Ex. 20:11; Jer. 3:16, 18; 50:4; Dan. 10:2; Joel 3:1; Zech. 8:233 Wilkins, page 130 Luke 3:23 says that Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his ministry4 Luke 1:75 Luke 1:366 John 1:31,33

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Probably the barren desert area in the lower Jordan River valley and the hills to the west of the Dead Sea.7

Why did John appear in the wilderness? Well he was an outsider and would have more freedom there. But there are probably other reasons. God gave the law to the nation of Israel in the wilderness. The wilderness was the place where many met God. Moses, David and many of the nation’s great leaders had spent much time in the wilderness. And further, Israel’s prophets had predicted a new exodus in the wilderness.8 Finally, Elijah, whose ministry John the Baptist echoes, made the wilderness’ ‘burning sands his home, periodically emerging to challenge King Ahab to repentance.’9 (That’s 1 Kings) So the wilderness had important historical meaning.

Well what did John preach? Verse 2 tells us that his message was ‘Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near.’ Now Jesus preaches the same thing one chapter over in Matthew 4:17. And when Jesus sent out his disciples to preach in Matthew 10 and Mark 6:12 the message was identical. {I’ve always thought wrongly that John’s message was unique but it wasn’t}.

The call to repent was a call for people to get right with God. It was a call that was intended to change the direction of one’s life.10 “The call to repent echoes the Old Testament prophets’ frequent summons to Israel to return to God, to abandon their rebellion and come into covenant obedience.”11 John was calling for a ‘once-for-all’ turning from the old way of life to the new.12

John calls for repentance because the kingdom of heaven is at hand---the kingdom of heaven “has drawn near and it remains near.”13

7 Wilkins, page 1308 Hosea 2:14-15; Is. 40:39 Green, page 7710 Wilkins, page 13111 France, page 9012 Keener13 Chouinard, Matthew. It’s a perfect tense verb and translated ‘is near’

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Why does Matthew use the phrase ‘kingdom of heaven’ instead of the phrase ‘kingdom of God’ like the other gospel writers? {And he uses it some 33 times in his book.} The Jews in Jesus’ time, out of reverence and a desire to not blaspheme the name of God, had gotten to the place where they wouldn’t say the name of God.14 And the word “heaven” was one of the usual substitutions that the Jews made for the name of God.15 So many students of scripture suggest that Matthew has his readers in mind. {But that doesn’t explain why 5 different times in the book, Matthew uses kingdom of God in the book instead of kingdom of heaven?}. One author suggested that Matthew’s motives were different--he wanted his readers to keep open the reality that the kingdom extends beyond this earth.16 I like that. It sure fits with Jesus’ words in the Lord’s prayer…”Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

I’ve summarized some of what I’ve said on the next slide….

That’s the bottom line…. The kingdom of heaven = the kingdom of God.

Well in verse 3 Matthew connects John the Baptist with one who Isaiah predicted would come….

3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.’ ”

Now Matthew is quoting Isaiah 40:3. And in Isaiah 40-- Isaiah 40 is a glorious chapter, it’s a turning point chapter in Isaiah-- God writes to comfort his people after their Babylonian captivity….Listen to Isaiah 40:1,2… Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her hardship17 is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

14 Wilkins, page 13215 Wilkins, page 132 e.g. 1 Macc 3:18-19; 4:10; 12:15; m’ Abot 1:3, 1116 Morris17 ESV note

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And then look at the next verse in Isaiah 40, Isaiah 40:3 on the screen…

In Isaiah 40:3, the first verse on the slide, who does Isaiah say will bring the comfort? The LORD….Yahweh…. God the father!

Well who is coming to bring comfort in Matthew 3? Given the context it’s clear we’re talking about Jesus. Jesus, the one coming after John, is the one who will comfort God’s people.

Matthew doesn’t have any problem asserting that Jesus is God in the flesh. Isaiah said ‘Prepare the way of Yahweh’. Matthew says ‘Prepare the way for Messiah Jesus! Jesus is God!’

“As a road must be cleared of obstacles before an appearance of a king, John is calling for the people to clear the obstacles out of their lives that might hinder the reception of the Lord.”18

“Just as roads were often repaired in the ancient world in preparation for royalty traveling on them, so John calls his listeners to rebuild highways of holiness--that is to return to moral living in preparation for God’s coming in Jesus.”19

John is calling people to get themselves ready….

John is calling people to prepare their heart and life….

How much of that is important for you and I today? Are there habits in your life that are killing your appetite for God’s word? Are there obstacles that might hinder the reception of the Lord in our lives?

Why was John the Baptist’s message so popular with the people? The Jews had had their fill of other rulers and kingdoms dominating them. They wanted a return to the glories of the

18 Wilkins, page 13219 Blomberg, page 75

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kingdom under David. They were thirsty for independence from the Romans. So John the Baptist’s message ignited hope:20 The kingdom of heaven was at hand!

But what kind of kingdom did they expect? We’re going to find out that it was very different from what God was going to deliver.

In verse 4, we learn about John’s dress and diet. His appearance clearly connected him with Elijah, the prophet in I Kings.21 And it probably silently visualized the repentance to which he called the people.22

Well verses 5-6 tell us that John’s message captured the interest of all kinds of people--then Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him. And it wasn’t an easy matter to travel into the desert. It would take some planning and preparation. But that didn’t seem to deter the many who came to him. They came to him and confessed their sins and were baptized.

And we should make the point that John’s baptism was an innovation of sorts.23 At the time there were two other baptisms that the people knew about. There were the repeated ritual washings at the monastic center in Qumran the monastic community near the Dead Sea where the Dead Sea scrolls were found…which were self-administered. And there was the baptism that a Gentile convert to Judaism underwent which was also self-administered.

But John’s baptism was for Jews! That’s an innovation! And secondly, John’s baptism was administered by someone else--“if you were to be fit for the kingdom you could not make

yourself so. You had to receive baptism at the hand of another.”24 That’s an innovation! And finally John’s baptism had the end of time in view. In contrast to the other baptisms it

looked for deliverance from the coming wrath of God. And That’s an innovation!

In verse 7, the Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees, make their first appearance in the book of Matthew. And at this point in Matthew we should see them as curious and not malevolent. Let me take a moment to sketch a brief portrait of them. And we can add to our portrait as our study in Matthew moves along.

20 These ideas from Wilkins, page 13321 2 Kings 1:822 Wilkins, page 133 {Camel hair (or goat’s hair) was often woven into a thick, rough, dark cloth, which was used by nomadic desert dwellers. The garment was so dense that it was water proof. It was the garment for the poor. “Moreover, garments of woven hair were sometimes worn as a protest against luxury and as a symbol of distress or affliction.” (Wilkins page 133) Locusts (or migratory grasshoppers) and wild honey were not an unusual diet for people living in the desert. Locusts were permissible for the people of Israel to eat. (Lev. 11:20-23) And, as a good source of protein, they were often dried or ground into flour. (Wilkins page 133) John’s diet stands out as one who had rejected the luxuries of life. His diet and clothing combine with his message to cast a powerful demand for repentance in the light of the nearness of the kingdom.23 France uses this term24 Green, page 78

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The Pharisees probably derived their name from a Hebrew/Aramaic word ‘perusim’ (the separated ones).25 They liked to suggest that they were separated from others. You remember the gospel stories where they were flabbergasted that Jesus would eat with sinners.

They were:

- a laymen’s fellowship popular with the common people.26

-concerned with ritual purity (Mark 7:1-4). Some suggest that they “sought to extend priestly purity regulations to all Israel.”27

-the scholarly class who had close connections with the scribes (the experts of the law).

-they were committed to the notion of a two-fold law: the written law (primarily the first five books of the Old Testament) and the oral law (the traditions handed down through many generations of rabbis)28. So the written law said ‘Don’t work on Sunday’. The oral law went to great extent to define what was work.

On the other hand, the Sadducees were:

- a small group with aristocratic and priestly influence who derived their authority from the temple.29 They controlled the worship life of the temple.30

- they were generally removed from the people.31

In this story they looked unified but they were very, very different.

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Well look what Matthew says in verse 6, they were coming to his baptism. I don’t think they were coming for baptism. I think they were curious, they were coming to validate or investigate what was going on.

25 Wilkins, page 13526 ESV Study Bible27 Chouinard, Matthew28 Baker Encyclopedia29 Wilkins, page 13530 Chouinard, Matthew31 ESV Study Bible

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John has some harsh words for them, doesn’t he? He calls them a ‘brood of vipers’-- “a clear reference to the dozen of small, dangerous snakes that can emerge from a mother snake.”32 They were subtle and they were dangerous.

“Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” John asks the religious leaders. His question is full of sarcasm. The religious leaders have no fear of the wrath to come. Why not? Because they’re offspring of Abraham and children of the covenant. They are eternally secure, they think, because they have Abraham as their father.

‘This is Matthew’s only use of the term wrath. Isn’t that interesting? But it is an important New Testament concept. It stands for the settled opposition of God’s holy nature to everything that is evil. God’s not just disappointed with sin; he hates it. And it’s the consistent teaching of scripture that God’s wrath will be manifested in all its vigor at the end of the age, when evil will finally be punished.’33

Well verse 8 trumpets the only acceptable response to the arrival of the kingdom and the wrath that is to come… his listeners need to bear fruit in keeping with repentance, and verse 9, not presume that their connection to Abraham will keep them from God’s wrath.

Even now, verse 10, the axe is laid to the root of trees…don’t miss the note of urgency in John’s address…three present tense verbs… and think about the image of the axe being laid at the root of trees. “Normally you cut a tree down a little distance up from the ground, don’t you? But here the ax is down at the roots. Well the root is that from which the tree draws its sustenance. Therefore the picture suggests that not only will the tree be overthrown, but its source of nourishment will be taken away. Said as directly as we could… There is no hope for such a tree.”34

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

So what is John proclaiming? People must come to God in repentance. One’s religious heritage doesn’t give them entrance into the kingdom. One’s pedigree doesn’t give them entrance into the kingdom. One’s religious activity doesn’t give them entrance into the kingdom. One’s godly home doesn’t give them entrance into the kingdom. Every individual must repent to enter the kingdom. Everyone must bear fruit in keeping with repentance to enter the kingdom.

And the repentance must be real. And how do we know that repentance is real? There is good fruit. Look at Verse 8: Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Look at Verse 10: Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

32 Wilkins, page 13533 Morris34 Morris

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I’m reminded of the little ditty of the reformers. … We’re saved by faith alone but saving faith is never alone!

It’s not enough to talk the talk. “The evidence of a real inner spiritual life is always the fruit of a changed external life. The arrival of the kingdom will bring with it real spiritual life that produces change from the inside out. The decisive identifying mark of a living tree is the fruit that it bears.

The decisive identifying mark of the kingdom of God is a life that has repented from sin and bears the fruit of repentance.”35 Can’t get around it. Can’t go over it. Can’t go under it. Got to go through it.

In verses 11-12 we get to the heart of John’s ministry--his ministry is a pointing ministry. He points to someone who is coming. “He points ahead and beyond himself to another person.”36 John realizes that he’s only the warm-up act. And that the main event will be the appearance of the one who will come after him and actually inaugurate God’s kingdom on earth.

The one who is coming, John says, is mightier than him; he’s more powerful than him. John goes on to say that he doesn’t even deserve to carry his sandals. Only slaves dealt with their master’s feet; servants didn’t. Servants drew a bye when it came to their master’s feet. So John is saying, “I don’t deserve to be the coming one’s slave.” And beyond that, John says, our baptisms are different. I baptized with (or in) water for repentance; but the One who comes, John says, will baptize with (or in) the Holy Spirit and fire. John is well aware that his baptism has a shelf life. He is well aware that his baptism will be superseded by the baptism of the Coming One. So John’s baptism foreshadows Christian baptism.

What does John mean in saying that the Coming one will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire? Is there one baptism or two?37 Some suggest that John the Baptist sees two baptisms coming down the pike: “The coming one will baptize the repentant --those who are prepared to receive him-- with the blessing of the Holy Spirit. But the unrepentant --those who are not receptive to the Coming one--He will baptize with the judgment of eternal fire.”38 Yet the grammar in the original language suggests that verse 11 ‘refers to only one baptism, that which combines the

35 Each of these statements come for Wilkins, page 136-13736 Wilkins, page 13737 Chouinard, Matthew: “It would appear that the two nouns “Spirit” and “Fire” are governed by the single proposition ‘en’ (in/with/by) thus most naturally indicating one baptism composed by two elements.38 Wilkins, page 138

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Holy Spirit and fire. So for believers this would most likely refer to the Holy Spirit’s purifying and refining activity.’39 One baptism, two aspects.

In verse 12, John tells his audience that the Coming one already has the winnowing fork in his hand. The harvest is already underway.

When the harvest began, the grain was reaped. It was then taken to the threshing floor where it was threshed. And finally it was winnowed which is shown in the picture.

“At the end of the harvest season, the farmer brought the harvested wheat onto the threshing floor, a stone or hard packed earth surface. He then took a pitchfork, a winnowing fork and tossed the wheat into the air, where the wind blew the lighter chaff away, leaving only the wheat kernels on the threshing floor. The wheat was then stored in the granary for later grinding into flour to make bread, but the chaff was raked into piles and burned.”40

John has drawn a line in the desert sand hasn’t he? “What will it be for you?” we can imagine John crying out to his audience. “Will it be repentance and baptism to await the coming one? or will it be the wrath of God and judgment?

Verse 13 surprises us… Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.

Up to this point John had prepared us for a powerful one coming with the might of the Holy Spirit and the judgment of fire.

“We might have expected the coming One to arrive in Jerusalem with a powerful entourage, reclaiming the throne of David. Or perhaps he would come out of the desert as a military conqueror, like the ancient warrior David, or a powerful prophet like Elijah. Instead Matthew simply says, Then Jesus came from Galilee….He comes as a solitary figure from the insignificant agricultural back water region of Galilee.”41

39 Blomberg, page 8040 Wilkins, page 13841 Wilkins, page 139

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And then the surprise of all surprises--Jesus desires to be baptized by John. ‘Why does the expected Messiah want to be baptized by his forerunner?’42

Does Jesus need a baptism associated with repentance? No. And John realizes that when he says, verse 14, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?

Only at Jesus’ insistence, verse 15, let it be so now, does John consent to baptize Jesus. And what reason does Jesus give to drive home that it’s the right thing to do? …”for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Now what does the phrase “for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” mean?

Does it mean that there was a command in the Old Testament that all should submit to John’s baptism? No. There’s no command like that. So submitting to John’s baptism can’t be thought of as an act of righteousness. Well what does it mean then?

“The expression is undoubtedly difficult.”43 I think there are two good ways to understand it.

The first way has to do with understanding that there is a salvation story line running through the Old Testament. And John is part of that story line. Malachi predicted a forerunner and John fulfills that role. And then Jesus shows up on the scene and there could be questions, ‘How does Jesus fit into this salvation story line?’ “So the public baptism provides…historical continuity between John’s and Jesus’ ministries. As Jesus identifies himself with John in baptism, he endorses John’s ministry and his cause is linked to John’s cause. And the story line of John and Jesus are connected.” 44

We could think of it this way. Imagine that there is a relay race is going on throughout the Old Testament and we call it the “salvation story” relay race. And John the Baptist who is in the race has arrived at the place where he’s ready to hand off the baton. And Jesus shows up. He hasn’t been in the race yet…and yet he’s the next runner….how does Jesus communicate that he’s part of that same race, how does he validate that he’s part of God’s righteous historical salvation plan? Well he goes into the water and receives John’s baptism and identifies with his people in their need…and we could imagine him coming out of the water with the baton. It’s fitting that he would fulfill God’s righteous plan.

Leon Morris says this…

42 Wilkins, page 13943 Morris44 Wilkins, page 140

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‘Jesus might well have been up there in front standing with John and calling on sinners to repent. Instead he was down there with the sinners, affirming his solidarity with them, making himself one with them in the process of salvation that he would in due course accomplish.’45

Well I think there’s a second way for us to understand Jesus’ words to John. And this way ties into Justin’s sermon from last week in the last ten verses of chapter 2. Justin made the point that Jesus’ life recapitulates the history of the nation of Israel.46 Israel the nation was called the Son of God. Jesus was called the son of God. In other words things happened in Jesus’ life that happened to the nation of Israel. Just as the nation of Israel experienced an exodus, so Jesus experienced an exodus--he came out of Egypt. Just as the nation of Israel experienced an exile to Babylon, so Jesus experienced an exile from Israel. And just as the nation of Israel experienced a return from exile, so Jesus experienced a return to Nazareth. Jesus’ life in many respects recapitulated the history of the nation of Israel.47 Well let’s keep that thought going, “Jesus himself had no need of repentance, but (the nation of) Israel certainly did.”48 So Jesus, pointing to the nation of Israel’s need of repentance, stepped into the waters of the Jordan to be baptized by John. In this way he fulfilled all righteousness. In being baptized he was still recapitulating the story of the nation of Israel.

When Jesus came up from the water, verses 16-17 say three surprising things happened. Matthew’s ‘behold’ draws attention to the first of those and makes it more vivid49… behold the heavens were opened to him. What are we to make of this? It would appear that God is about to reveal something momentous50….it’s as if he, for a moment in time, has opened up a connection between heaven and earth so there could be communication51….

Second… (Jesus) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;

Was there a real dove that landed on Jesus? Some think so.52 What we can say is that somehow there was a visible manifestation of the Spirit53 which descended and came to rest on him…. the phrase descending like a dove seems to communicate the gentle and peaceful way that the Spirit came.54

45 Morris as quoted by Wilkins, page 14146 From Langley’s sermon this is a Don Carson thought47 Morris agrees: “There may also be something of the Israel typology here”48 Morris49 Morris50 Wilkins, page 14151 Morris52 Morris says this, “This apparently means that wha looked like a dove alighted on Jesus and the Spirit of God now rested on him.”53 Blomberg uses these words, page 81, ‘First the Holy Spirit descends ‘like’ a dove which suggests that no actual bird appeared but that some visible manifestation of the Spirit led observers to recognize that God was revealing himself through those attributes normally associated with a dove.’54 Wilkins, page 142

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Is the descent of the Spirit here the anointing of the Suffering servant in Isaiah 42:1?

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

Is the descent of the Spirit here the anointing of the Davidic branch in Isa. 11:2?

2  And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

“The One who is to baptize with the Spirit (Matt. 3:11), (the one ) who will be guided and empowered by the Spirit (Matt. 4:1), (the one) who will inaugurate the messianic age of salvation through the Spirit (Matt. 12:18-21; Is. 42:1-4; 61:1), is now anointed by the Spirit for his public messianic ministry.”55

Was this the moment Jesus received the Spirit for the first time? No, he was conceived through the Holy Spirit which probably meant that he was filled with the Spirit even in the womb. No, the descent of the Spirit was a formal anointing that inaugurated Jesus’ public ministry.

Well finally there was a voice of affirmation and love that came from heaven, verse 17… This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.

Wonderful words from the Father to the Son!Wonderful words from any father to any son!

55 Wilkins, page 142

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The word ‘Son’ is a Messianic title56 and so God is saying ‘This one before you, this son before you, is the Messiah’…He’s the messianic king.

Listen to Psalm 2:7

7  I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have begotten you. And then the next verse….Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession.

And the words well pleased seem to echo words said about the suffering servant. Isaiah has 4 servant song passages. Isaiah 42 is the first and Isaiah 53, the best known of the servant songs, is the last. But again the words well pleased echo words used to describe the suffering servant.

42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

So God’s words out of heaven identify and introduce Jesus as the divine son, the triumphant Messianic king57, Psalm 2 and the Suffering servant from Isaiah 42.

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As we close, let me reemphasize three things…

1. Let’s talk about our mind-boggling Jesus

As we’ve been moving through Matthew verse by verse I’m struck at the incredible portrait of Jesus that Matthew is painting one brilliant brush stroke at a time.

In Matthew 1:1-17, Jesus is shown to have a messianic pedigree.58 He’s the singular descendent of Abraham through whom all the families of the earth will be blessed. And he’s the singular descendent of David who will reign on David’s throne forever and ever and ever.

In Matthew 1:18-25, Jesus is shown to be the divinely conceived Son of God. As the creeds say, fully God and fully man, conceived by the Spirit but born of the Virgin Mary.

56 Morris57 Wilkins, page 14358 Wilkins, page 147

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In Matthew 2:1-12, Jesus is shown by birth to be the rightful heir to David’s throne. And Gentiles lead the way in showing us his worth.

In Matthew 2:13-23, Jesus is shown to be the Son of God in whom the story of the nation of Israel is recapitulated. He is the national Son of God, the eternal Son of God, the royal Son of God, and the human Son of God.59

And then in our passage this morning, God’s words out of heaven identify and introduce Jesus as the divine son and the triumphant Messianic king60 from Psalm 2 and the Suffering servant from Isaiah 42.

Let’s talk about our mind-boggling Jesus. Let’s not just talk about him, let’s worship him.

2. Let’s talk about repentance

From our passage this morning, Matthew makes it clear that without repentance there is no way in which a person can respond to the good news and become a member of the kingdom of heaven. Repentance is the “inescapable beginning”61 of a journey with God.

I believe that--repentance is the ‘inescapable beginning’ of a journey with God--but I found myself wondering and thinking how much we talk about repentance. And then I reflected on the verses that we would typically use to help one make a decision to put their faith in Christ.

We quote Acts 15:31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (The word repent is not in that verse!) Or John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (The word repent is not in that verse!) Or John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life (The word repent is not in the verse!) The emphasis is on believing/trusting.

If repentance is the inescapable beginning of a journey with God, I found myself wondering why we don’t use the term more often in our evangelism. We should, don’t you think? But then I was reminded that faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin.

This diagram is from Grudem’s systematic theology…

59 Langley sermon60 Wilkins, page 14361 Green, page 75

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That “when we turn to Christ for salvation from our sins, we are simultaneously turning away from the sins that we are asking Christ to save us from.”62 And that was a good reminder for me.

But there is another aspect of repentance we should talk about. Yes, it is a once-for-all turning from sin that opens the door into the kingdom of heaven. But it is also to be a daily practice--all of life is repentance. And if repentance at a minimum is to ‘change one’s mind’ then we should regularly be challenging our thinking about certain topics. This week, when I would have a thought like, “God doesn’t care about this” or an impure thought, I repented, I changed my mind on that issue. Maybe we should do regular mind audits as we seek to make repentance a way of life.

Finally

Let’s talk about the kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is central to the story line of the Bible. With the coming of Jesus the kingdom of God has come to earth. The kingdom is found wherever God rules over his people in his place.

And so those of us who have trusted Christ have been ushered into his kingdom in its preliminary spiritual form. The kingdom is “already but not yet.” When Jesus comes again, the kingdom will take on a more visual, more physical aspect.

One student of scripture suggests that the phrase ‘kingdom of God’ is dynamic: it points us to God as doing something, as actively ruling. The kingdom is something, he argues, that happens rather than something that exists.63

But there are kingdom realities that we can experience now. We can experience a relationship with king Jesus now. We can experience a new kind of community now--relationships governed

62 Grudem, page 71363 Morris

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and guided by God’s kingdom truths. And in the present form of the kingdom we believe that real change is possible and we have hope that one day we will be completely liberated from corruption.64

Let us pray.

64 Blomgerg, page 74

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