This Is My Son
Text: Matthew 3:1–17 ESV
“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 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 John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 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? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 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. 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. “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. 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.” Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 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; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:1–17)
TURNING POINTS
We all have turning point moments in our lives. Moments where, in an instant, everything changes. Something new begins and is very different than what was before. Like when you were going into the second grade. I don’t know what that was like for you, but for me, growing up we didn’t have very much money. But I had that new pair of brown suede tennis shoes with the white stripe that we had bought on sale during the summer, set aside, waiting for that first day of class. I also had a new pair of jeans and one of those awesome early-80s t-shirts with the earth-tone stripes across it. They were sitting there in the closet, just waiting for the first day of school. I could look at them, but I couldn’t wear them. And then finally the day came. I got to take them out of the closet and actually wear them. Yes, I had finished first grade earlier that summer, but now, as I put on my backpack and sauntered into the school in my first day of school outfit, I was in second grade. I was no longer in Mrs. Zahm’s class, I was in Mr. Jensen’s class! I was now truly a second grader.
These moments happen in greater to lesser degrees throughout our lives. New schools, going to college, moving into a new house or apartment with friends, new jobs, marriage. One of the most striking ones for me was having kids. Yes, I knew they were there, growing inside of Katie, and occasionally I would feel them kick or see them jab an elbow into her side. But for the most part, my life hadn’t changed yet. I could still tie myshoes without asking for help, and I didn’t feel like I had to pee every 30 seconds, so my life really wasn’t disrupted or changed much. Then, there was that day, that day draped in worry and wonder, hospital smell and nurses moving you around from place to place, when all of a sudden, being a dad was very real. My life changed in an instant. I had a screaming, cute, smelly, wiggly person that was now dependent on me to care for them. My wife had been doing that (internally) for the last 9 months, but now they were very real and very here for me.
Scripture has these moments as well. God with Adam and Eve in the garden and then sending them out. God’s covenant with Abraham. God rescuing his people out of Egypt. God appointing King Saul and King David. There are turning points where everything changes in the storyline—God enters into our world in a distinct way through his creation, his promises, and his appointments.
INTRODUCTION: JOHN THE BAPTIST
We come to one of those moments—a turning point—this morning as we see the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus coming to him to be baptized. Interestingly, more is made of this moment in some ways than the birth of Jesus. While we obviously need the birth of Jesus for him to be here and baptized by John and to die for his people, it is this moment that all the Gospel writers come to as the starting point of Jesus’s ministry. Jesus’ miraculous birth showed him to truly be the Son of God, come to his people, but his ministry is starting here. While Matthew and Luke give the backstory to Jesus’s birth and some of his childhood, John’s Gospel starts with this image of Jesus as the Word of God before all things and creating all things, and then moves straight to John the Baptist and his baptism of Jesus. Mark doesn’t even bother with the birth story, and literally starts his gospel with this account of Jesus and John the Baptist.
A Quick Aside & Small Application
Before we even really start this morning, let me give you one quick point of encouragement. Have you ever felt like God has not really used you yet? Like you are just going through the motions of life but don’t know if God is really going to do anything with your life? There is much to be said about living a completely normal life well as a child of God, that is very purpose filled and God glorying. So much so, that this is exactly what Jesus did. God himself, Jesus Christ, mostly lived a normal life. He lives in relative obscurity for over 90% of his life, simply being a good child, student, son, and friend. Living, playing, working, resting. Jesus can relate to your day-to-day life, and it has much in it that honors and brings glory to God.
This morning in Matthew we are finally at the story of John the Baptist that each Gospel is working toward as the beginning point of Jesus’s ministry and a major turning point in history. Now, I think most Christians at one-time-or-another have thought John the Baptist and the Gospel of John were written by the same person. Spoiler alert—they aren’t. In fact, John the Baptist dies before Jesus is crucified so he couldn’t have written the gospel. John, the gospel writer, also known as John the Evangelist (to distinguish him from John the Baptist), is the beloved disciple of Jesus, who wrote the Gospel of John, three epistles, and the book of Revelation. In fact, before he is Jesus’s disciple, he is John the Baptist’s disciple and leaves John the Baptist to follow Jesus.
This John—John the Baptist—is the child born of Elizabeth and Zachariah. Elizabeth is Mary’s cousin, whose husband was a priest from the tribe of Levi, who is visited by an angel and promised a child but doesn’t believe and is made mute until the child is born. This is the child that Luke tells us leaped in his mother’s womb when Mary came to visit them pregnant with Jesus. John the Baptist undoubtedly knew “of” Jesus. We can be almost certain Elizabeth and Zachariah would have told John about his own amazing conception as well as Jesus’s story. Being family, they may have even traveled to Jerusalem at times for special feasts and as such, may have seen and known one another. This is the John we are talking about when our passage starts here in Matthew 3:1:
“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:1 ESV)
John the Baptist is about the same age as Jesus and, being from the tribe of Levi, is likely serving at times in the temple as a priest when his times come up. But when he isn’t in the temple service, he is out in the wilderness of Judea, teaching and preaching, and Matthew sums up his message as this, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This is an interesting summary. In every Gospel the idea of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of heaven, the Kingdom of the Son—all these phrases can be used interchangeably—is a major theme. It isn’t so much to make us think about the person of the king, but rather the reign of the king. The rule of the king. God is coming and ruling and reigning in a way we haven’t taken note of previously. Not that God hasn’t always been king, but his reign and rule is seen uniquely in Jesus Christ. And John the Baptist in his ministry is proclaiming this kingdom, saying it is near and coming, is saying “Repent.”
Repenting is a very normal Greek word that can even be used for the idea of changing your mind, from bad to good or good to bad. But the way Christianity uses the concept of repenting is entirely unique. No other religion has this same idea that we need to turn away from our life of pursuing sin, self, and idolatry to following our God wholeheartedly as repentance. Turning away from something bad to the ultimate good. Repentance for Christians has a ‘whole life’ context to it. While the Old Testament doesn’t have a word for repentance like the New Testament, there are many examples of how Israel has turned away from God and is called back to relationship with him. (Cf. Numbers 14:43; Ezekiel 18:32)
And Matthew doesn’t want us to miss the imagery occurring here, so he says even more:
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 John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” (Matthew 3:3–4 ESV)
Matthew wants his readers to see the imagery of the Old Testament prophets in general. John the Baptist himself wants us to think this. John is a priest and likely not poor nor needing to wander in the wilderness, but he chooses to dress in camel’s hair with a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey. He depends on the Lord for his sustenance and demonstrated his humility even in his dress. We are meant to immediately picture the prophet Elijah. In 2 Kings when the King of Samaria, Ahaziah, falls and is wanting to consult his gods on whether he will live, God sends Elijah instead to talk to the king’s messengers. When the messengers come back and tell the king he is going to die, here is how they describe Elijah:
“He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”” (2 Kings 1:7–8, ESV)
It is important that John the Baptist is bringing back to mind Elijah, because in Micah 4:5–6 we have a pertinent prophecy about a future Elijah:
““Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”” (Malachi 4:5–6, ESV)
John the Baptist is fulfilling this prophetic role, and he seems to be purposeful to show it. And it is not just Malachi 4 that he is fulfilling. Matthew points us to Isaiah 40 when he quotes about “one crying out in the wilderness.”
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”” (Isaiah 40:1–5, ESV)
What John is doing is meant to bring comfort and be good news for people. God is coming and he will be seen. Even Malachi proclaims this same message of preparation for THE true King:
““Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1, ESV)
John the Baptist is in the wilderness proclaiming that the king is coming and calling people to repentance. This would not have been a foreign idea to his listeners. It was common for an invading king, who was certain to win over a much weaker foe, to send messengers ahead of himself, to let the people know he was coming and to not bother fighting, and instead join him. The people would demonstrate this by going out from their town and joining in his procession as he comes into the city, signifying they are on his side. This is the image we are meant to have in Matthew 20 when scores of people go out and join Jesus and his procession as he is coming into Jerusalem for the last time before his death. This is the image we are meant to have in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 when Paul talks about all believers at the end of time being caught up together with the Lord in the air as he comes back to rule forever. There is a King coming, and we want to be found to be in his procession!
John the Baptist is trying to get people to notice the thundering hoofbeats of the approaching moment. The dust-cloud on the horizon signifying the King’s imminent arrival. John’s message itself is that sign. Yet he tells people the way they prepare is to repent. They don’t need to go anywhere, but they prepare by acknowledging in their hearts who they are.
It is this introduction to John’s ministry that brings us to four short interactions: the baptisms of the people of Israel, John’s refusal to baptize the religious leaders, John’s recognition of the righteousness of Jesus, and Jesus’s baptism and the joy of the Father. This account is meant to help us see and compare and contrast the different interactions: how Jesus’s baptism is contrasted with the baptism of the people, how John’s discussion with the Pharisees and Sadducees contrasts with his discussion with Jesus. We might even talk about them by noting the main points we are meant to see in each: Repentance, Refusal, Righteousness, and Rejoicing.
REPENTANCE
Let’s start with repentance:
“Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:5–6 ESV)
Baptism was a known process to the Jews. In general, they often did ritual cleansing before meals, entering the temple, and other times as prescribed by the law. But this was not a full immersion baptism. The full immersion baptism they did understand was in the process they used to bring Gentiles into the community of Jews. They baptized them to symbolize cleansing them from their past life and entrance into their new community. What would have been scandalous is that John expected Jews to go through this process.
Yet, in proclaiming that the Jews needed to repent, many were ready to believe that. They knew their own sin; they knew they had a problem before God that could never by satisfied by sacrifices that were given again and again. In coming to John for baptism, they were admitting that they had a sin problem. That is why Matthew helpfully notes that they were “confessing their sins.”
Application
This is you and me. We are those in need of repentance—repentance that is coupled with confession. True repentance confesses that we are sinners and remembers it. This is why Jesus says he came for the sinners and the sick and weak, not those who are well. (C.f. Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32) The people of Israel were doing this—they wanted to be ready for God. Years of waiting, finally being back in their land, and they wanted the true King to appear.
In being baptized, both for the people of Israel and you and me, we enter into the great picture of baptism that we have throughout Scripture—God bringing Noah and his family to life out of sin through the flood, God’s people leaving a life of bondage and captivity through the waters of the Red Sea, Joshua bringing the people through raging waters to the promised land, God’s prophet Jonah being interrupted and saved by God’s instrument and brought to his final purposes through the water. We demonstrate in our baptism that we trust in God alone to save us because we are sinners who cannot save ourselves.
Baptism is one of the great ordinances that Jesus calls us to, and it is connected with confession. That is why at Table Rock we only baptize confessing believers. Please come next week and see us baptize Thomas and Amanda—they both have confessed their state as sinners and their desire to trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior and only hope for right relationship with God. If you have questions about baptism, we would love to talk more with you. We are even happy to baptize confessing children—though we admit it takes more conversation and time to talk with them and understand their intentions and heart.
REFUSAL
The baptism of those coming to John is in stark contrast to the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! [Literally snakes from a snake.] Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 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. 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. “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. 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.” (Matthew 3:7–12 ESV)
The core of John’s message is this:
“Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 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.” (Matthew 3:7b–9 ESV)
John sees through the religious leaders. They are coming to be baptized, not because they are repentant and view themselves as needing a savior, but because they want to identify themselves with John’s movement. People are responding to what John is saying and his call, and the leaders of the day want to gain credibility by coming to John themselves. They don’t think they have a problem themselves. They view themselves as “sons of Abraham” and don’t think that this kind of baptism, this type of repentance, applies to them. So, John rightfully calls them out. He tells them if they don’t have the fruit of repentance—confession—then they should not think they will escape the wrath of the coming King.
He reinforces this with two statements about judgement:
“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.” (Matthew 3:10 ESV)
In this first statement, John points out that all those who do not bear fruit, any tree that does not bear the fruit or repentance is being cut down at the roots. There is no turning back from this action. Even worse, it is going to be thrown into the fire.
Similarly he says:
“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. 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.” (Matthew 3:11–12 ESV)
This coming king will bring his Holy Spirit. For those who it falls on in faith and repentance, it is a refining fire, purifying their hearts and growing them to be more in Christ’s image. For those who do not repent and confess, it is more like the chaff of the harvest. When the wheat is gathered and stored, the fire burns up the chaff to remove it permanently. In this case, the image of the “unquenchable fire” reminds us that this is unavoidable.
Application
For us, there are several applications from this imagery. First, the gospel shines bright against the backdrop of future punishment. Or said another way, there is no need to proclaim the good news of Jesus if we also don’t proclaim the righteous judgement of God. John recognizes that without repentance, without confession, people—even the religious leaders—need to know that they stand in the judgement of God. If you are here today and haven’t put your faith in Jesus Christ, one of the most loving things we can do is remind you that you will face judgement. The tree of your life will be felled; your works will be found to be chaff before God, and you will face the unquenchable fire of God’s judgement. Please, turn and put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
That extends even further in our own day. It is still desirous in many circles to try to align with religion. Politicians from all sides, political movements, social justice groups, even businesses still find it can be advantageous to try to partner with Christianity. To hold up signs that “Jesus Saves” while seeking worldly satisfaction—even rioting and rebelling. This will likely get less popular as our culture moves further and further away from Christianity, but there are still those today who want to give an appearance of Godliness while denying the power of God in Jesus Christ (see 2 Timothy 3:5). Jesus did not come to validate any of our political preferences or particularities. Of course, he cares about some of the same issues we may care about. He and the Pharisees and Sadducees agreed that murder and adultery was wrong. But Jesus is bringing his answer in his reign—his kingdom—and only those who come out and are found to be his people through repentance and confession will experience his glory.
When you and I see people and groups trying to co-opt Christianity and Christ as a meaningless mascot, will we be willing to say what John says, “Serpents sprung from a serpent.” Men and women following the ultimate deceiver, Satan, while trying to look like they honor God.
TRANSITION
We are meant to notice in these two stories that John the Baptist’s refusal of the Pharisees means they are not baptized, they do not confess, they do not repent. But even for those who repent, they confess and then walk away, still not encountering the coming king. That all changes in this amazing transition moment: when Jesus is baptized.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.” (Matthew 3:13–15 ESV)
Where John refused to baptize the religious leaders because of their lack of repentance, it is because of the righteousness of Jesus that he wants to refuse Jesus his baptism. He rightly looks at Jesus and realizes that this king is the one who is coming with the Holy Spirit fire he so desperately needs, so desperately wants. It is exactly what he has just reminded the Pharisees and Sadducees is coming. What is central here is Jesus’s argument:
“Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15 ESV)
Jesus implies that, for now, this is how it should be. For him to fulfill what his father has asked him to do—that’s what righteousness is, doing God’s will—he must be baptized. When we ask, “Why would Jesus need to be baptized?”, we see how much of a turning point this moment is.
That’s because Jesus didn’t need to be baptized. He had not sinned, he did not need to confess, he did not need to repent. But he wanted to identify with is people. Look at Isaiah 53:11–12:
“Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:11—12 ESV)
Jesus came to truly bear the iniquities of his people. He came to be numbered with the transgressors. Or as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21
“For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him [Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)
Jesus righteously caring for his people is exactly what provides for the righteousness they become before God. It is here that Jesus does what only God can do and has promised to do—He chooses to identify with sinners that sinners might be saved. This is such the opposite picture of the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were only looking out for themselves. This is the answer to the confession of Israel, the confession of me and you, and how God would make it effective. This is the righteousness of Jesus that you and I might have righteousness.
REJOICING
This truly changes everything. This is a real turning point in Jesus’s selfless act of being the Word of God made flesh, dwelling among us, and identifying with sinners. It truly means that we have a different future. Look at what happens to Jesus:
“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; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:16–17 ESV)
Jesus doesn’t declare sin or confess, rather it is God the father who confesses who Jesus is and declares his joy in Jesus. This truly is the servant of God. As we read earlier during our worship time:
“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. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.” (Isaiah 42:1–4 ESV)
Jesus, as the true firstborn, experiences the outpouring of the Spirit first, and in doing so, makes it possible for all his people to experience the same.
Application
This is the turning point here in Matthew prior to Jesus’s death. The Kingdom of God—his reign—has come to earth in a visible way in the God-man Jesus Christ. In his identification with sinners, he makes it possible for those who repent and confess their sins to experience the same thing he does. In Jesus we find the Holy Spirit of God delighted to rest upon us and in us and to purify us. In Jesus we experience the joy of our God who now looks upon me and you and rejoices saying, “This is my beloved son, this is my beloved daughter, with whom I am well pleased!”
Are you one of those who repent and confess? Will you run to this good king whose reign and rule will be his own glory, and for your good, if you will let him rule over you? This turning point is greater than any outfit, any job, or even any child born in your life. It happened once and for all in Jesus’ life, and it happens in a very real way for each of us in our life. We all have a turning point moment where everything hinges on Jesus Christ. We have a moment where God has been active in our lives, slowly birthing a soft heart and ears that are open to his Gospel message—much like Jesus coming to earth but largely left in anonymity. And then one day we perceive Jesus as King—reigning and ruling supreme over this entire world and in our lives, and we experience this turning point for ourselves. What we were before is no longer anything compared to what we are now in Jesus. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus takes hold, and we are reborn!
This is why we have titled our series, “Seeing and Savoring our Savior.” He is nothing like the Jews expected, and nothing like you would ever imagine. He loves you and has lived a righteous life for you. See him. Know him. Savor your Savior.
BENEDICTION
1 Timothy 1:17 & Colossians 1:15 say, Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God—known rightly in the God man Jesus-Christ, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation—to him be all honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.