“Matthew 3:1-12”

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

“Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!”’ Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham for our father”; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’”

---End of Scripture Verses---

I love the beautiful imagery of John preparing the way for Jesus to arrive. The fuller details are described in Isaiah chapter 40. “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken’” (Isaiah 40:3-5).

There is a sense of urgency and determination in these words. Level off the surface of the earth, fill in all the fissures of the ground, and clear the pathway of all rubble: The King is coming! John’s mission was to prepare the way for Jesus to come and fulfill His mission. John preached repentance of sins and his mission field was the obstinate hearts of God’s chosen people (Luke 1:17), the descendants of Abraham (verse 9).

John preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand (verse 2). The kingdom was so near that the signs were visible and should have been obvious to anyone who had a good understanding of Old Testament prophecies. The kingdom was so close at hand that, indeed, the King was already walking among them (verse 13). The time had come for God’s chosen people to live like they were God’s chosen people. The time had come to turn from their sins and turn to their King.

The King had come to save His people. But just being physical descendants of Abraham did not qualify them as such (verse 9). Jesus was coming to save, but also to separate. A person’s reception or rejection of Jesus and His teaching would determine whether they were good grain or worthless debris (verse 12). From the way the story played out, it seems obvious that there was much more chaff than wheat. But then again, the pathway is very narrow, and the gate is small, and only relatively few find their way into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:13-14).

Please make sure you are one of the few.

Please read Matthew 3:13-17 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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