Understanding the Gospel of Matthew and Why it Matters - Part 8

Matthew 3:1-3
The Preaching of John the Baptist

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

3 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.'"

John the Baptist (v.1)

John the Baptist was the cousin of Jesus, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The first chapter of Luke tells us that the angel Gabriel appeared to the elderly Zechariah in the Temple, and told him that he and Elizabeth were going to have a baby. The baby's name was to be John, and he would "be great before the Lord", turning "many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God." Zechariah doubted that he would be able to have a child at his age, and asked Gabriel for a sign that what had been promised would come true. Gabriel responded, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." Sure enough, Zechariah came out of the temple unable to speak, and remained mute for the entire nine months that Elizabeth was pregnant.

Not long after this, Mary was found to be pregnant with the baby Jesus. She came to stay with Elizabeth for a while, and when she greeted Elizabeth upon her arrival, Elizabeth said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy."

Luke goes on to record that after John the Baptist was born, Elizabeth declared that his name would be John. But all her family and neighbors questioned her, because there was no one else in her family named John. They went to Zechariah, and he motioned for a tablet, and on the tablet he wrote, "His name is John". Immediately Zechariah was able to speak again.

It had been told to Zechariah by the angel Gabriel that his son was to be the one who would "make ready for the Lord a people prepared." It seems reasonable to believe that this was revealed to John by his parents at some point during his childhood, because by the time that we encounter John as an adult, he is incredibly sure of his special identity as the Messiah's forerunner.

Sometime before age thirty, it appears that his parents both died, and John went to live out in the wilderness. There he took on the lifestyle for which he is known, wearing a garment of camel hair and eating locusts and honey. John also began preaching, and people came from all around to hear this gifted and unique orator emerge from his solitude in the wilderness to prophesy to the people of Israel.

John became particularly known for doing something that no other teacher had done in Israel, namely, baptize Jews. Centuries before, if a Gentile had wanted to become a Jew and thus be included among God's people, there were several things that had to take place: First, if it was a man, he had to be circumcised. Second, the proselyte had to come into the Temple and perform his first duty as a Jew, which was to offer a sacrifice. Before he could offer the sacrifice, however, he had to be cleansed by going to the river and "immersing" himself. (The word baptizo, from which we get the word "baptize", means "to immerse".) Once the temple was destroyed, there was no longer any place to offer a sacrifice, and so the baptism became the focal point of the ceremony. Thus, Gentiles became citizens of Israel by being baptized.

You can see why John became known as "the Baptizer". He was unique in that he initiated the revolutionary practice of baptizing Jews. You may wonder why a Jew would need to be baptized, since they were already citizens of Israel. We'll answer that question a little later.

"Repent!" (v.2a)

It is extremely important to notice that the first time we see John open his mouth to preach, his first word is "Repent." Similarly, in Matthew 4:17, we are told that "Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent?'" John and Jesus both began their public ministries with the same word: repent.

Many people try to paint Jesus as a man who came preaching a message of tolerance. That is simply untrue. Jesus' primary message was one of intolerance. His message was that all people are sinners, that God will not tolerate our rebellion against Him.