Matthew part 4

Prepare the Way of the Lord

The Voice in the Wilderness

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.”

Matthew 3:1-12

In keeping with his Jewish audience, Matthew ensures to include references to the Messianic prophesies throughout his Gospel. This particular prophecy refers to the harbinger of the Messiah. The Jews believed Elijah would appear before the Messiah to announce his arrival. “The voice of one crying in the wilderness” was the same image as Elijah who roamed Israel causing trouble for her idolatrous rulers. This time Elijah (or the spirit of Elijah as Jesus explained) announced to Israel the Lord was on His way, and the Israelites needed to prepare the way. “Make his paths straight” is essentially the same as how we say “clear the way”.

Now, this brings up an interesting question to think about—what was in the way of the Lord? It’s not as though Jesus could not arrive. We already saw how last week even the most evil of intentions can be used by God to fulfill His purposes. The question is not about whether or not Jesus would be able to come. It is about whether or not the people would recognize him when he did. It is directly reflected in the first verse in which John tells the people to “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” The problem, as it usually is, is sin. The sin of the people, of the governing leaders, and even the religious leaders was going to inhibit them from recognizing when God showed up.

Sin not only separates us from God, but it also inhibits us from being able to see when God is working.

Matthew has already established the cultural climate in Israel. It is run by evil puppet kings of Rome. The religious officials who can cite Scripture fail to even attend the Messianic baby shower. So far, the only ones who have positively responded to the news of the Messiah are pagan Magi from the East and his earthly parents. And now, the sharpest of criticisms is hurled straight to the heart of the problem—the Pharisees and Sadducees.

John uses the image of fruit-bearing to make his case against these religious authorities. This same image will appear again in Jesus’ teachings. The type of fruit the Pharisees and Sadducees are bearing has nothing to do with repentance. Whatever they are accomplishing, it is not in keeping with the things of God. He even asks them who warned them about the wrath that is coming, and this may be rhetorical, but it does help inform the situation even more. Who did tell them about John? Based on the ones who went to John and found repentance, it would appear to be a grassroots type movement. The everyday people heard John speak, heard about John speaking, and followed in repentance. Word evidently got around to the religious authorities, and so they came looking to see the ruckus.

Instead of getting entertained, they are detained by John’s words. He seizes the opportunity to put them in their place. Their defense of “We have Abraham as our father” is no different than the days of Jeremiah when the people said, “This is the Temple of the Lord!” How could they possibly be under God’s wrath when they are of the proper lineage and keep the proper rituals? John says the same as Jeremiah did in his day—they are not bearing the fruit of God!

The evidence of a right relationship with God is found in a person’s lifestyle, not in their life circumstances.

John the Baptist was a nomadic, fur-wearing, locust-eating, honey-sipping, wild-haired hippie evangelist. The Pharisees and Sadducees were educated, well-trimmed, well-to-do, and established authorities. And yet, when the Lord appeared, John was the blessed one and the authorities cursed. Sometimes we forget this fact in today’s world. We still find ourselves looking on the outside wanting to know why God seems to bless the corrupt while the faithful have to forage. But the fact is, God’s blessings are not always material, just like righteousness does not always look flashy. It isn’t about appearance, it’s about heart.

John tells them God could raise children of Abraham from the stones if needed. Every tree, every person, that fails to bear the fruit of repentance, there is an axe at the ready for that tree. These religious authorities are going to be chopped down. In fact, they are chopped down in 70 AD when the Temple is destroyed and Judaism becomes a very different religion. The Pharisees and Sadducees don’t even exist anymore. In contrast, when John says God can raise children from the stones, this is exactly what He does in a sense.

Ezekiel prophesied,

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus about the Spirit creating a new heart within a person. After the Jews reject their Messiah and the Temple is destroyed, they lose everything. They lose their place in God’s Kingdom and their place in society. The Holy Land is eventually taken over by Islamic conquerers and it takes hundreds of years of conflict (which technically is still going on today) before the Jews have any rights to their land again. But for the Gentiles, the myriads of people who had no inheritance under the old covenant, they are being grafted into the family of God bit by bit. Later, John would see how all the nations hear the story of Jesus and turn to Him.

But before all that happens, John gives them this warning. He has come to preach and baptize for repentance, but the Messiah is coming who will bring Holy Spirit and fire. He is already at the ready with a winnowing fork to separate the wheat from the chaff. And when the chaff is burned, it will be sent to an unquenchable fire. Far from being safe from God’s wrath, these religious authorities stand condemned to hell.

A Quick Theological Tangent

Before we read about the appearance of the Messiah, I would like to take a moment to go on a bit of a theological tangent.

One of the benefits of walking through a particular book of the Bible together is that we can see how certain doctrines develop within Scripture. We have already seen this in light of examining how Matthew quotes the Old Testament to demonstrate how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies concerning the Messiah. We see the development of evangelism in how Matthew begins his Gospel and its culmination in the Great Commission. Sometimes a key word in a passage helps underscore a particular doctrine. In this case, the word is “unquenchable.”

John says that Jesus will separate the wheat from the chaff and toss the chaff into an “unquenchable fire.” Now, he could have just said ‘fire’, and his point would be made. But why does he include the adjective ‘unquenchable’? He is reinforcing the point that these religious authorities are not just condemned in this life, but they will face condemnation eternally, as well. They will be sent to hell.

In our day, hell is not a topic that people want to discuss. The truth is there has never been a point in time when people enjoyed the idea of hell—except in cases of mental illness. For the last 2,000 years, many Christians have sought ways around the concept, but the fact remains Jesus is very clear on the concept of hell and its eternal nature.

One particular doctrine that resurfaces periodically is the idea of annihilation. It simply teaches that hell is not forever, but rather when a person is condemned to the fire, they are eventually consumed and cease to exist. When John calls the fire “unquenchable,” some suggest John is echoing the Old Testament use of this phrase. It is argued that where God used an “unquenchable fire” in the Old Testament, that fire is now gone, so the phrase couldn’t mean ‘never-ending fire.’

Unfortunately, while this one particular passage might be viewed in this way, the New Testament has many other places which suggest otherwise. Additionally, the Old Testament does, in fact, suggest the same eternal torment of hell.

One example in the Old Testament that is contested is Isaiah 66 (appropriate considering Matthew quotes from Isaiah).

For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the LORD,
so shall your offspring and your name remain.
From new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the LORD.

And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.

Isaiah 66:22-24

Proponents of annihilation are quick to point out this prophecy finds fulfillment in a fire that consumes large portions of Israel’s opponents, but they fail to consider two parts. One, prophecies in the Old Testament tend to have dual fulfillments which is a common feature of prophecy in Scripture and history. Two, if they back up to verses 22 and 23, they will realize the context of this phrase is in the new creation. The Lord, through Isaiah, is contrasting the eternal life and worship of God’s people with the eternal damnation of those who rebelled against the Lord.

When we flip to Daniel 12, we see the same principle but even more explicitly.

At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Daniel 12:1-2

Daniel leaves little room for argument. At the resurrection, when all of humanity rises from the grave, some will arise to everlasting life and some to “shame and everlasting contempt.” Why would God need to resurrect physical bodies if they are just going to be consumed anyway? And, they arise to ‘everlasting contempt’ meaning ‘forever abhorred or hated’. ‘Shame’ is an internal quality, but ‘contempt’ is external. They will rise in guilt and face eternal contempt which by its nature is a type of torture. Perhaps the image of demons poking them with pitchforks is misguided (which it is), but that does not change the doctrine of eternal torment.

The Old Testament does teach hell is an eternal place of torment.

But perhaps the New Testament does say something different. After all, Jesus spent much of his time clarifying our understanding of Old Testament doctrines. Well, unfortunately, no, He says the same even in Matthew.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” . . . Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. . . .  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus does offer a bit of clarification, but it is only concerning why hell exists in the first place. God established the place of hell for the devil and his angels. Hell was not meant for humans. Humans were created to be part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Earth was to be a physical manifestation of the heavenly realm. Humans were created in the image of God in order to reflect God’s nature in this world. When we were led astray from that purpose, we lost our inheritance in the Kingdom of God. The only place left for us is hell. For those who choose to follow the devil in rebellion, their only place in eternity is the same as the devil’s—hell.

The New Testament reinforces an eternal hell and explains humans are not supposed to be there.

God offers salvation from hell, but human rebellion and sin causes them to choose hell. Again, this is not a doctrine that anyone in their right mind enjoys, but it is still what the Bible teaches. We do not have time to go further into the idea of someone actually choosing to go to hell, but it is a topic that C. S. Lewis pursues in his book, The Great Divorce. I would highly recommend it.

The Messiah Arrives

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 3:13-17

Every once in awhile, someone will ask why Jesus had to be baptized. After all, if He’s the perfect Son of God, what does he need to repent from? The answer lies in what baptism is.

Baptism is much more than a mere ritual. In John’s day, the Jews would baptize to signify the change in their life. It began as a cleansing ritual—roots of it can be found in the Old Testament law. It became a way for Gentiles to convert to Judaism. The Gentile would ‘wash off’ their old life much like the Jews would wash before entering Israel after traveling in Gentile areas. The goal was to remove anything that would make them unclean before the Lord. By the time John is baptizing, it becomes a symbolic ritual of repentance. The Israelites wanted to demonstrate their repentance by washing off their old lifestyle. This part of baptism is still seen today in Christianity. When a candidate is baptized, they are signifying their old life is washed away.

For Jesus, it wasn’t about washing off old sin or Gentile dirt. It was about taking on the mission set before him. Consider Jesus is about 30 years old at this point. He didn’t just appear in a vacuum. He has spent the last 30 years being son to Mary and Joseph, and he certainly would have been working as a carpenter following the pattern of Joseph. It was now time to turn away from this earthly lifestyle and pursue the mission God laid before him.

Jesus was baptized in order to establish the beginning of his earthly ministry as the Son of God.

When Jesus rises from the water, the Holy Spirit descends on Him, and God’s voice is heard from Heaven. The Messiah is on earth, and His mission has begun.

As we close today, I’d like to ask you a question. Have you begun your mission from God? Whenever you surrender to Christ, God has a purpose in mind for you.

There are people that need to hear the Gospel from you.

There are ministries that need support, hands, and feet from you.

There are jobs in the Kingdom of Heaven for you.

For many Christians, Christianity has become more of a spectator sport than a lifestyle. They attend church and watch as others follow Jesus. Sure, they may offer some prayers once in awhile. They may even give money. But they watch from the sidelines as other people do the task of ministry. This is not how Jesus described the Church or his people.

If you have been baptized, your old life is gone. You have taken on new life and new purpose given to you by God Himself. When you are baptized, you are beginning that new mission and life. Unfortunately, a whole generation of Christians were sold on the lie that Christianity is about “accepting Jesus” and getting a ticket to heaven.

Becoming a Christian is about surrendering to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who has created you and gifted you with purpose in His world.

Today, ask God to show you that purpose and then walk in faith that He has already gifted you to fulfill the mission he has set before you.