Matthew 3 Questions
1. How many years do you think lapsed between the end of Matthew 2 and Matthew 3:1? What is recorded in Scriptures about Jesus between his infancy and his baptism? ( Luke 2:40-52 )
- Between 25 - 28 years
- Grew and became strong
- Filled with wisdom
- Grace of God was on him
- At age 12 he went to Jerusalem with Joseph and Mary for the Feast of the Passover
- After the feast was over, Mary & Joseph headed home thinking Jesus was with the group but he had stayed behind. That night they discovered he was not with them so went back. It took them 3 days to find him - he was in the Temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and answers.
- Jesus was surprised that they had been searching for him for didn't they know that he had to be in his Father's house.
- He went back to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them
- Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men
2. What do you know from Scripture about John the Baptist? (Read also Matthew 3, Luke 1:13-17; 57-80; Matthew 11:11; Mark 6:17-20)
- Preached in the Desert of Judea 3:1
- He confronted a wicked, evil nation to get them right for the arrival of the King. 3:7-12
- He fulfilled prophecy. 3:3
- Sermon theme "Repent (of your sins and turn to God) for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3:2
- His clothes were made of camel's hair, had a leather belt around his waist 2:4
- He ate locusts and wild honey 3:4
- He baptized people who confessed their sins in the Jordan River - baptized with water for repentance 3:6, 11 (could call him John the Baptizer)
- He was not a people pleaser - called the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers - told them to produce fruit that showed they had repented 3:7-10
- John baptized Jesus reluctantly because he felt unworthy to do so and that he should be baptized by Jesus. He consented in order to fulfill all righteousness (do all that God required). 3:13-15
- He was a prophet - In Luke 1:76-77 this is what Zacharias said about his little baby after his birth: "And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.
- This is what the angel said to Zacharias about John before he was conceived: "Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly." Luke 1:13-17
- Jesus said of John: I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Matthew 11:11
- His father Zacharias was a priest. His mother's name was Elizabeth.( Luke 1:57-60)
- Lord's hand was with him. Luke 1:66
- As a child he grew and became strong in spirit Luke 1:80
- He lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel. Luke 1:80
- Cousin to Jesus Luke 1:26, 36
- He got himself into prison for confronting King Herod about marrying his brother's wife and was beheaded. Mark 6:17-20
- John means Jehovah graciously gave, or God's gracious gift
3. The angel messenger said to Zechariah that John would be great and Jesus said John was the greatest person to ever live. What made him so great? (Read also Luke 1:15, 17; John 1:29-31; 35; John 3:30)
- He was obedient to God's Word. From the very beginning of his life, he obeyed.
- He was filled & controlled with the Spirit. Luke 1:15 says he "was filled with the Spirit from the time of his mother's womb."
- He was self-controlled. Luke 1:15 says he, "drank neither wine nor strong drink." Matthew 3 says that, "His clothes were only what was necessary, and his food the same." The man had brought his body into subjection. He didn't overdo anything.
- He was humble. In John 3:30, John says "He (Jesus) must increase, and I must decrease. I'm not even worthy to carry His sandals." (lowest task for a slave to do)
- He proclaimed God's Word. "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29-31,35) "Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Matt 3:2
- He brought people to repentance. "He shall turn many of the hearts of the people to righteousness." Luke 1:17 And he did.
In Matthew 11:11 Jesus says, "there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." We're greater than John in terms of privilege and opportunity. We have resources that they didn't have. We have the Holy Spirit in our lives, and Christ is interceding for us and empowering us. If we were also to also adopt into our own lives the things that made John great, we could become greater than John
4. Read Matthew 3:1-2; 8 - 12. What was John the Baptist's message? Why would that message have surprized the Jewish people he was talking to?
- Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. That was the twofold message that John preached. Before the kingdom could be received, repentance had to occur. Before they could ever enter into the place of blessing and be a part of what God had planned, the kingdom, they had to come to a place of conversion, transformation, away from their sin, a fundamental change in their relationship to God and the way they were living their lives.
- Jesus preached the same sermon later - Matthew 4:17
- The other sermon John preached is in vs 8 -12 "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." 11 "I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
- The Jewish people would have been surprised at the message because they thought they were already righteous. They were the seed of Abraham. They were the people of God. They were ones in the covenant. They were the chosen; but John says, "You have to repent."
5. What does repent mean?
- To change the mind, to turn from sin to God
- It means to turn around. It means to be converted. It means a change of opinion. A change of purpose. A change of direction. A change of mind. A change of will. A change from sin to holiness.
- Repentance is a threefold action. In the understanding, it means knowledge of sin. In the feelings, it means pain and grief. And in the will, it means a change of mind
- Repentance begins when there is a knowledge & recognition of sin. So John, like any good preacher of repentance, confronted the people with their sinfulness. There had to be an understanding of sin involving a sense of personal guilt, a sense of personal defilement, a sense of personal helplessness. But that is not enough.
- Repentance happens when there is pain over the violation of a holy God, not over the consequences. It's got to be a sorrow directed toward God. Sorrow that is merely a sense of shame because everybody found out or sorrow that is really fear of the consequences is selfishness. And that is selfward. True emotional guilt, true sorrow in the heart is because God has been violated and that's what real repentance is. There are a lot who are sorry they got caught, who are sorry they lost their reputation, who are sorry they got some consequences; that's different. True repentance doesn't think of consequences, it doesn't think of other people's opinion and it doesn't think of excuses; it does think of transgressing God, it does think of being personally guilty. And when there is genuine repentance, there will be this deep sense of sorrow directed toward a holy God who has been offended.
- For repentance to occur there has to be a change. The will has to be activated. Once repentance occurs, there will be an immediate response. Eg. Thief on cross, David Ps 51. This is what we find in Matthew 3:8, the fruits of repentance. When this really, honest, legitimate, intellectual, emotional, volitional (with your will) turnaround and transformation occurs under the power of God as a gift from God, when God does this miracle in a life, there will be fruit, there will be results. All true repentance will bear fruit.
6. Why should they repent?
- Because they were sinful, and they had to be converted. That would have been a shocker to his Jewish audience.
- It meant that the children of Abraham, sons of the covenant, sons of the promises, circumcised, people of the King had absolutely no right to enter the Kingdom. No more right than a Gentile. For the Jew, he felt that salvation was for him and him alone and a few proselytes who got in on it. And then when the Messiah would come, He'd just kill all the Gentiles; and all the Jews would automatically go into the Kingdom.
7. What is the significance of the phrase "Kingdom of heaven"?
- Kingdom of heaven means kingdom of God - The kingdom of God is God's rule in the human heart. When we repent of our sins and allow the Lord to be master of our lives we enter the Kingdom of God
- The Jewish people never used the Hebrew word for "God" - Yahweh so because Matthew is talking to a Jewish audience unlike the other Gospels, he replaces "God" with "heaven.".
- Kingdom indicates there is a King - the reign of God in and through Christ.
- The kingdom of heaven is near - so The King is coming soon.
8. What is the significance of John the Baptist being in the wilderness?
- John was calling people away from the system, from their luxury, from their religious hypocrisy and their phony temple worship so they could focus on the qualities of their own sinful hearts.
9. What was John the Baptist's mission?
- calling out (shouting) in the desert for people to prepare the way for the Lord, making straight paths for him. (Being the herald of the King, announcing the King's arrival and making sure the people made the preparations so that the path was smooth.) John wasn't asking them to make a dirt road. He was asking them to prepare the road into their hearts, that the King might enter there. That was his purpose.
- to signal the official start of Jesus' ministry (Acts 10:37-38)
- confronting people & commanding them to repent
- Baptizing people who had repented
- His object was to help the people escape from the wrath to come
10. How did people respond to John the Baptist?
- People went out to him from Jerusalem, and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.
- Sounds like many confessed their sins & were baptized by John in the Jordan River
- Even the Pharisees and Sadducees came to hear John and get in on the new movement
- John had an amazing impact. He called the society to attention. In Matthew 21:26, it says, "For all men held John as a prophet." It was common belief John was a prophet from God. Even though or maybe because John had a very strong message people came, and they were baptized, and they confessed their sin.
11. Who were the Pharisees? Who were the Sadducees? What can we learn about them from Matthew 23?
- Pharisee means separatist. They saw themselves as the most devout people for they were so pious and super spiritual and separated.
- It was all an external, phony deal to set themselves above everybody else as the real super spiritual people. They were, literally, fanatics at self-righteousness.
- They were nothing but shameful hypocrites. They had an influence that they no longer deserved and which they harmfully abused, lording it over the people. And Jesus really attacked them. Jesus doesn't condemn people; He condemns sin in the Gospels. There was only one person or one group of people that He really condemned with scathing words and they were the religious phonies of His day.
- The high priests at the time of Jesus were Sadducees. They were compromisers. They didn't believe in any resurrection so they didn't have to worry about how they lived because there weren't any consequences.
- They did everything they could politically to make sure they got out of Rome all they could get and they played the political game to get into the seats of power. They were few in number, extremely wealthy, and they were a priestly party.
- Their big thing was to make money and they had big business in the temple exchanging money of pilgrims from other countries, to make sacrifices. Of course, they charged an exorbitant exchange rate to change the money. That's why Jesus went into the Temple with a whip and cleaned them out which ticked off the Sadducees who finally got Him to the cross
- They did not practice what they preached
- Their laws were like heavy loads on people but they don't lift a finger to help
- Everything they did was for men to see, they loved the places of honor, the most important seats in the synagogues, and loved to be called Rabbi
- Shut the Kingdom of heaven in men's faces - you don't enter and won't let others either
- Bind guides, making up silly rules about swearing with the right wording and which one means something and which ones mean nothing.
- Give a tenth of spices but neglect justice, mercy and faithfulness
- They clean the outside of the cup but inside are full of greed and self-indulgence
- Like whitewashed tombs - look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. Outside they appear righteous but inside are full of hypocrisy and wickedness
- Were descendants of those who murdered the prophets
- Jesus called them snakes, brook of vipers. He said they would kill and crucify some prophets, others they would flog in the synagogues, and pursue them from town to town. Jesus was going to put on them all the blood that has been shed on the earth from Abel to Zechariah that they murdered between the temple and the altar.
- All throughout the history of the Pharisees and Sadducees, they never had anything in common except their mutual hate of Jesus Christ.
- They did agree that by their own works, they had to earn whatever they're going to get. For the Sadducee it's all here and now so get out there and get it any way you can get it. For the Pharisee, it's all in the afterlife, but the way you get it there is to work like mad here with self-effort. So you got the Sadducees working like crazy to get it now and you got the Pharisees working like crazy to get it later.
12.a) Why do you think the Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to where John was baptizing?
- The answer isn't given but perhaps they were curious, maybe they wanted to find out if John was really a prophet as the people were saying he was, maybe to get in on the movement so they wouldn't be left behind and stay in leadership in the community.
- If any of those were the reason, you can see they were all the wrong reasons.
- John sure didn't think there was any real repentance, no real confession of sin. They were so smug and self-righteous, they believed that they would be the great exalted ones and didn't need to repent. There wasn't any conversion, no transformation. They were just deceitful hypocrites.
- I'm not sure what they were expecting but I'm sure they hadn't expected the mouthful they got from John.
b) How did John respond to the Pharisees and Sadducees when they came to him in the desert?
- Called them a brood of vipers (offspring of vipers). A viper is a small poisonous snake that is very deceptive - it will look like a branch or a stick and then when a person picks it up, it gives a fatal bite. They were deadly hypocrites, poisoning a whole nation with their fatal deception just like a viper does. They were passing themselves off as if they were harmless and they were venomous.
- Laid it into them asking who had warned them about the coming wrath and what made them come. He knew it wasn't repentance. They needed to prove from the way they lived that they had repented.
- He knocked down their thinking that they didn't need to worry about God's wrath (they were safe) for Abraham was their father. That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. You better not depend upon your descent from Abraham or your self-righteous hypocrisy either.
- He preached to them a judgment message: He told them that the ax is already ready to cut down every tree that does not produce good fruit (fruit of repentance) and throw it into the fire. He's saying if you keep going the way you're going, you're going to burn in Hell. That's the consequence. And there's no way to put that fire out.
- He continued by saying that he was baptizing with water those who had repented of their sins and turned to God but after him would come someone more powerful, whose sandals he wasn't even fit to carry and He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He has a winnowing fork in his hand, ready to separate the wheat from the chaff, gathering the wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable(never-ending) fire.
c) When John the Baptist talks to the Pharisees and Sadducees in front of everyone else, what is he really telling them?
- You're all about the outside, but it's what's inside that matters. In Matthew 23:23. "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness.http://biblia.com/bible/niv2011/Mt23.23 - footnote1 You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." 25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Matt 23:25-26
13. What are the fruits of repentance? (Read Luke 3:11, 13, 14; Isaiah 1:16-17)
- a transformed life.
- Luke 3:11 "Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same."
- Tax collectors - Luke 3:13 Don't collect any more than you are required
- Soldiers - Luke 3:14 Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely-be content with your pay.
- A change in your lifestyle. Stop doing what you used to do. Do righteous things, not unrighteous things. Be loving and sharing and kind.
- God evaluates repentance by our works, our fruit. Isaiah 1:16-17, were the nine norms of repentance. "Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."
14. Who is Matthew referring to in chapter 3:11 & 12?
- Matthew is referring to Jesus
What does he mean when he says: that He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire? He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire?
- This is a picture of ultimate judgment. So at the second coming of Jesus Christ, He's going to come in judgment and He's going to separate. The good grain goes to the granary/barn. Heaven's the granary/barn. And the chaff goes into the fire. The fire is Hell. The godly who show the fruit of repentance, they are the good grain. The true children of the kingdom, they are the good grain and the rest is chaff.
- Jesus came as a Savior or a Judge, to offer Heaven or Hell, blessing or cursing. And you are either wheat to be gathered to the granary (Heaven) or you are chaff to be burned with unquenchable fire (Hell). A person makes that decision by virtue of whether or not fruits of repentance can be seen
15. Three baptisms are mentioned in Matthew 3:11. What are they and when did or will these baptisms happen?
- John's baptism of repentance - was in preparation for Christ's coming. You got to get right with God before you can enter the kingdom. Before you can receive the King, there needs to be preparation. They were going through baptism as a symbol of an inward cleansing as they confessed their sins and they got right with God so they'd be ready when the Messiah arrived.
- The baptism with the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ. Christ came, established His church, baptized the church in the Holy Spirit. Jesus said I can't send you the Holy Spirit until I go back to Heaven, but when I go to Heaven, I'll send the Spirit. And He did. (John 14) The Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost and Christ literally baptized those believers with the Holy Spirit, placing them in the body of Christ. I Corinthians 12:13 says "For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body..." The baptism of the Holy Spirit takes the believer and places him in Christ and fuses them with every other believer. It's the unifying thing. He will submerge you in His power and fill you with the Holy Spirit.
- The baptism with fire - will be the result of His return. He's coming to purify the nations with fire all the proud, arrogant and every evildoer. Malachi 4:1-3 Matthew picks up on this and says, He's coming and He's coming for salvation and He's coming to baptize you with the Spirit, but if you say no to Him, He'll come with the baptism of fire and send you to Hell.
16. Why did Jesus come to John to be baptized?
- The word baptized means to be dipped, immerse into water - can also mean to wash.
- Before 1311 all people were baptized by immersion - even Catholics. After 1311, sprinkling was allowed by the Council of Ravenna. After 1400 Catholics started sprinkling.
- Not because he sinned - If He didn't have any sin, and He didn't need any confession, and He was already God, and His mother and His brothers didn't tell Him, and He had nothing to repent of, and He didn't need a conversion, and He didn't need a transformation, and He didn't need to change His life or change His heart, then why is Jesus getting baptized?
- John had the same problem. In Matthew 2:14. He kept trying to deter Jesus saying I need to be baptized by you, "What are you doing coming to me?" This is all backwards. "You can't be baptized with my baptism, because mine is a baptism for sinners and you're not a sinner." On the other hand "I need to be baptized by You because I am a sinner. "
- How opposite John's treatment of Jesus is compared to the way he treated the Pharisees and the Sadducees. John refused to baptize the Pharisees and Sadducees because they weren't repentant, but here, he refuses to baptize Jesus because He is sinless and has nothing to repent of.
- Jesus says, "There's a special reason, John, and permit it to be so now." I know it's unusual, but let it go this time. Allow it now. Yield to Me this time. It's unusual, but it's necessary."
- Why? "It is proper for us to do this to do this - to fulfill all righteousness." "This is okay, John. This is the right thing to do, even though I have no sin, and even though you're a sinner, even though it is a baptism of sinners, it is a baptism of repentance. We've got to do it." We both have a part. You must do this to Me, and I must have it done." Why? "To fulfill all righteousness." To carry out and do all that God required.
- Then John agrees to baptize Jesus
- Another reason for being baptized might be because Jesus came into the world to identify with sinners. The first thing Jesus did when He stepped out of obscurity, and He stepped into the limelight, was declare the very primary reason for which He came, and that was to identify Himself with sinners...He who had no sin took His place among those who had no righteousness. He who was without sin went down into a baptism that was only for sinners, and He was saying as loud and clear as ever He could say, "I take My place with sinners." And let it be clear from the start that this Jesus is the friend of sinners. Even in His birth, He identified with sinners. He was the Child of Mary, who was a sinner. In His death, He identified with sinners. Two, one on each side, and He bore the sins of every sinner who ever lived.
- This may also have been a preview of His death and His resurrection.
17. In Matthew 3:13-17 it is like a commissioning on the beginning of Jesus' ministry. What are the three aspects to the commissioning of Jesus Christ?
- The baptism of the Son - By baptism, He identifies with sinners and pictures His death.
- The heavens opening and the anointing of the Spirit - The spirit of God descended like a dove and settled on Jesus. This was indicating that the power and presence of God was upon him. By being anointed with the Spirit, He is empowered to minister a ministry that ultimately will make Him a sacrifice. He was also being granted strength in His humanness.
- the Word of the Father - A voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." The term "well pleased" is in the past tense. In other words, God says, "I've examined my son for the past 30 years. He is without spot, and I am well pleased."
What an introduction. What a beginning to his ministry!
- Notice that all the Trinity is involved. The baptism of the Son, the anointing of the Spirit, and the Word of the Father.
- Can you think of another time when the heavens were opened? Eg. When Stephen was being stoned to death Heaven opened to him and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, Acts 7:56; and you find it in Revelation 4, where Heaven opens, and you get a vision of the throne of God; Paul experienced in 2 Corinthians 12 when he was caught up to the third Heaven. He saw things too wonderful to be uttered; but God opened Heaven.
18. What is the purpose of baptism now? What is it a picture of? ( Romans 6:1-4)
- Done on the confession of your faith - after repentance (Acts 2:38-39)
- We are baptized into Christ, therefore we are also baptized into his death
- We are buried with him through baptism into death
- Then just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too are raised to live a new life
19. Matthew has presented Jesus as King in Chapter 1 & 2. How does Matthew present the Lord Jesus Christ as King in chapter 3?
- In Matthew 1:1-17, we saw the ancestry of the King.
- In Matthew 1:18-25, we saw the arrival of the King, His birth.
- In Matthew 2:1-12, we saw the adoration of the King, the worship given to Him by the magi.
- In Matthew 2:13-23, we saw the affirmation that Jesus is a King by the fulfillment of specific prophecies
- In Matthew 3:1-12, John the Baptist is seen as a herald or an announcer, preparing the way for a king. (in this case, not road conditions but our hearts have been cleaned of sin so we can accept and worship the King)
- In Matthew 3:13-17 the arrival of the King and the anointing of the King. This was His coronation, His commissioning, the beginning of His ministry. Jesus began His ministry when He was 30 years of age. (Luke 3:23)
20. Matthew likes to let his readers know when an Old Testament prophesy has been fulfilled. What prophesy was fulfilled in Matthew 3?
- Isaiah 40:3 prophesied that there would be a voice calling out (shouting) in the desert for people to prepare the way for the Lord, making straight paths for him.
- Certainly sounds like John the Baptist
1. Would you have been attracted to a man like John the Baptist? Why or why not? What kind of preacher are you attracted to?
2. Have you ever had one of your parents brag about you to others and say how much they love you and are proud of you? How does it feel to have someone do that about you? Do you do that about your children? Have you ever commissioned a child to a ministry? (eg. Teaching Sunday School, or VBS, etc)
3. Have you repented from your sins and turned to God or are you trusting in your works and self-righteousness to save you?
4. Have you been baptized? If so, why did you get baptized? If not, why not or do you think you need to do so?
5. We are told we could become greater than John. Do you believe this? Are you experiencing this? .
Considering what made John the Baptist great, do you think God considers you great?
6. We found out what John the Baptist's mission in life was. Has God given you a mission? If so, what is it? Do you ever get distracted from your mission or discouraged? Do you think John the Baptist was ever discouraged when people didn't repent or show fruits of repentance?
7. Do you ever find yourself in any way being like a Pharisee or Sadducee? If so, what does a person need to do?
8. What has been meaningful to you from your study of Matthew 3? What specifically could you apply to your life?