Matthew 3

The Ministry of John the Baptist


Matthew is showing us here that John is the fullfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, "The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.'" He is refering to a verse in Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries out, In the wilderness, clear a way for the LORD; construct in the desert a road for our God. Matthew is giving the reader a clear picture of what John's message was all about. John was announcing the coming of the Lord. He was saying, you guys need to get your lives in order. Stop sinning against God. Quit serving other gods and serve the one true God. Quit serving yourselves and serve God instead.

Here we can see a glimpse of Israel's past. Wandering around in the wilderness, being constantly reminded to love God and obey his commands. All the while, serving other gods and being disobedient to the one true God. God was once again giving an exhortation to his people, this time through John the Baptist. God was exhorting them, just as he did in the wilderness prior to the crossing of the Jordan River, REPENT - turn from your wicked ways. I am about to heal your land. This sets the stage for Jesus to come onto the scene and become Israel in person. To do what Israel had failed to do. To be a light to the nations.

Next we see the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the Jordan River. I don't know if these men were just coming to spectate or to truly repent and participate in the baptism. Based on John's reference to them being an offspring of vipers fleeing from the coming wrath, I suspect John recognized their lack of desire to truly repent. John told them to produce fruit that proves your repentance. What does that mean? How does one produce fruit that proves repentance? Take a look at this passage of scripture. John 15:1 The key to understanding this question is to know what the fruit represents. I believe the fruit, John the Baptist is refering to in Matthew 3, is Love. Love that leads to obedience. You see, the Pharisees and Sadducees were not too interested in doing much other that helping themselves. Read what Jesus had to say about them here. To be continued. Let me know what you think so far.