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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 3. Matthew chapter 3, as we take 
up the message of John the Baptist. Last week we considered his ministry, 
verses 1 to 6. And this morning we'll take up 
his message, verses 7 to 12. Just begin reading in chapter 
3 at verse 1. In those days, John the Baptist 
came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent. For the kingdom of heaven is 
at hand. For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, 
saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the 
way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Now John himself was 
clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, 
and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all 
Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and 
were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when 
he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, 
he said to them, Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the 
wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits worthy 
of repentance and do not think to say to yourselves, we have 
Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is 
able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And 
even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, 
every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown 
into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water 
unto 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 
fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing 
floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But he will burn up 
the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then Jesus came from Galilee 
to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent 
him saying, I need to be baptized by you. And are you coming to 
me? But Jesus answered and said to 
him, permit it to be so now. For thus it is fitting for us 
to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed him when he had 
been baptized. Jesus came up immediately from 
the water and behold, the heavens were open to him. He saw the 
spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. 
And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, this is my beloved 
son, in whom I am well pleased. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we come now to consider Holy Scripture and we pray for 
your spirit to be at work in our hearts. We pray that you 
would forgive us afresh for all of our sin and all of our transgression. We thank you that there is forgiveness 
with you that you may be feared. We just pray that you would wash 
us in the blood of the Lamb. We ask God as well for any and 
all who have come here that do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior. 
We pray that by your word and by your spirit, you would open 
the heart. You would cause them to see their 
own sin and to see Jesus as a sufficient savior, as the one who did not 
come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And our 
father, I pray that you would just bless our congregation, 
that you would strengthen us with faith, that you would cause 
us to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. 
And we pray in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, remember from 
last week after Matthew chapter two ends, there is a period of 
silence between the early birth narrative, the early life and 
childhood of the Lord Jesus until about the 30th year of his life 
when he went out to minister. We remember that John the Baptist 
was the one prophesied by Isaiah to be the voice of one crying 
in the wilderness. to call Israel to prepare the 
way of the Lord, to make His path straight. We saw the summary 
of His ministry is in verse 2 of chapter 3. Repent, for the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand. Remember that repentance, first 
and foremost, is mental. It is a change of mind at its 
root meaning. Now, of course, as we'll see 
this morning, there are to be fruits worthy of repentance. In other words, when you change 
your mind about a specific then your body, your thoughts, or 
rather your actions and all those things will follow suit. So John 
the Baptist called the sinners to repent. He gave as the reason 
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We notice that this 
was a fulfillment of Isaiah the prophet. We see his description 
in verse four. This isn't given to us just so 
we can marvel at prophetic attire, but rather it is to remind us 
that John the Baptist was indeed Elijah the prophet, the one foretold 
by Malachi to come and announce the Lord Jesus Christ. So, that's 
why he is described thus. And then in verses 5 and 6, we 
saw the activity. Jerusalem, Judea, and all the 
region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized 
by him in the Jordan, and they were confessing their sins. So, 
the very fact, the very activity of John indicates to us that 
Israel was in a bad place at this particular time. He indicts 
them of their sin, as we'll see more this morning. He calls them 
to repent because they were not in a good place. And so as we 
consider now, we're going to look at his message and we'll 
consider three particulars. First, the leaders are reproved. 
Secondly, the crowd is instructed. And thirdly, his discussion concerning 
the coming one, the one he has come to announce in terms of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. But notice the leaders in verse 
seven. It says when he saw many of the 
Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism. As I mentioned 
last week, these would have been the two parties that made up 
the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council. These men were at odds with one 
another. The Pharisees were a party of 
separate ones who emphasized the law. They were very particular 
in terms of the law. The Sadducees was the politically 
dominant party within the group. and they were the ones from whom 
the priestly and temple hierarchy were drawn. So, it's quite odd 
that they're mentioned here together, but more than likely what's in 
view is that they're sent out to examine what's going on in 
the wilderness. Word got back to the religious 
establishment in Jerusalem, and so they called together delegates 
from the Pharisees, from the Sadducees, and they sent them 
out to survey the scene, to report back to them, to get information 
concerning John and his activity. As well, when we read in verse 
7, when it says, coming to his baptism, doesn't necessarily 
mean they participated in that baptism. They went to witness, 
to view, to see what was going on, and then they would return 
back to headquarters, if you will, and give the report to 
the Sanhedrin concerning this man in the wilderness. Notice 
John's stern address to them. He calls them a brood of vipers, 
and he asks them, who warned you to flee from the wrath to 
come? This isn't the kind of way that 
we normally expect people to address others. In fact, sometimes 
it shocks our delicate sensitivities. We are being conditioned in our 
generation that tolerance is key, that intolerance and bigotry 
and prejudice are all bad things. Well, certainly John the Baptist 
would have made it on CNN in the first century for a politically 
incorrect term. He calls them a bag of snakes. Remember last week I said there's 
two Greek words for snake. There's one that bites and is 
poisonous. There's one that doesn't bite 
and is not poisonous. The difference between a garden 
snake and a rattlesnake or a king cobra. You don't play games with 
that. Well, he uses the term of the 
poisonous one here. Hence the translation, vipers. The idea here is that the Pharisees 
and the Sadducees, by their false doctrine, are poisoning the people. They are influencing Israel in 
a very bad direction. We oftentimes underestimate the 
power of heresy. Tonight, when we consider Galatians, 
we'll see a statement made by the Apostle Paul that likewise 
shocks delicate sensitivities. Paul is so crass as to say that 
those who are troubling you, I wish they would cut themselves 
off. Some of the other translations 
render it even more vividly. I wish that instead of just insisting 
upon circumcision, that they emasculate themselves. We say, 
oh, Paul, heavens no. How could you ever say such an 
offensive thing? Well, first of all, we evidence 
by our shock that we don't value the truth of God. We don't value 
and prize the fact that we hold in our Bibles the very word of 
the living God. When John sees these Pharisees 
and these Sadducees who have distorted and twisted the scripture, 
it is natural for him to say brood of vipers. When he sees 
the power and efficacy of false doctrine and how it has trickled 
down into the synagogues and into the temple and how it has 
affected the covenant community and how they are marked by wickedness 
and evil rather than by righteousness and godliness, he is right to 
say brood of vipers. When he sees what they had degenerated 
into, the Pharisees tithing their mint and their anise and their 
comet. Spending Friday night with their scales out, weighing 
these little seeds and apportioning just enough so that they can 
bring that to the temple and look good before men. And yet 
they have neglected justice, mercy, and faith. It is proper 
and righteous for him to say, brood of vipers, when he sees 
these Sadducees and the fact that they were the theological 
liberals. They denied the supernatural. They denied the spirit. They 
denied a resurrection to come. God didn't say, well, that's 
just another approach to this thing we call biblical religion. 
No, it is to be a brood of vipers. You teach men to deny the supernatural 
and you teach men to pave their way to hell. It is righteous 
with John to say brood of vipers who warns you to come from the 
wrath to come. Jesus Christ does this with the 
same groups of people in Matthew chapter twelve at verse thirty 
four. Matthew twelve at verse thirty 
three will pick up either make the tree good and its fruit good 
or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad for a tree is known 
by its fruit brood of vipers. Careful about indicting John 
for his incorrect speech. Our blessed Savior, who is truth 
incarnate, used the same term to address the same people. Brutal 
vipers. How can you notice being evil, 
speak good things? You know, we say, well, that's 
not loving. It is loving. Men need to see their sin before 
they go after the Savior. You know, when we're untouched 
in our self-righteousness and everything looks good and polished 
and happy, we'll never call out to the Savior. This is loving, 
this is biblical, this is righteous, this is godly. Notice in chapter 
23, at verse 33. Chapter 23, verse 30, we'll pick 
up in verse 31. Therefore, he says, this is after 
pronouncing woes upon the scribes and the Pharisees. This is after 
having called them hypocrites. He says, therefore, you are witnesses 
against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the 
prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of 
your father's guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers. How can you escape the condemnation 
of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you 
prophets, wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and 
crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues 
and persecute from city to city. You see, so John is following, 
in a sense, at least proleptically, the Lord Jesus in his condemnation 
of these Pharisees and these scribes. It is not wicked to 
call to account those who engage in heresy. And I think that these 
leaders here are differentiated from the crowd themselves. And 
that brings us to consider the crowd instructed verses eight 
to ten. Notice, he says in verse eight, 
therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance. Therefore, bear 
fruits worthy of repentance. RT France says true repentance 
is not a matter of words and ritual, but of a real change 
of life. Remember, it starts mentally. 
The Bible also uses mind and heart synonymously. We might 
say the Bible or the repentance begins in the heart, but it's 
fleshed out through our hands, fleshed out through our feet. 
Repentance is a work of God's grace that we need to keep in 
mind. We'll look at that in a bit more later. But remember the 
Westminster Shorter Catechism. What is repentance unto life? Repentance unto life is a saving 
grace. We need to remember this. Because 
you know what? As Christians, we can be proud 
of our repentance. That's how bad we are as Christians. I'm talking about the pagan and 
the heathen. Yeah, I repented, I this, I that, I that, I that, 
I that. As I say, I stumble on to the 
truth and reality that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the 
living God. Remember when Peter makes that announcement, Matthew 
16, what's Jesus say? Good on you, Peter. You've learned 
better than all your contemporaries at Sabbath school. You've understood 
the scriptures better than everybody else. No one says, thou art the 
Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus says, blessed art 
thou. Simon Barjona, flesh and blood 
did not reveal this to you, but my father who is in heaven revealed 
this to you. The same is the case with repentance. 
You repent from your sin, you give glory to God. You repent 
from your sin, you don't take credit for that. You don't pat 
yourself on the back for that. You don't say, aren't I a specimen 
of godly repentance? It is a gift. In Acts 5, 31, 
Peter says Jesus has been stationed at the right hand of the Father 
as the Prince of Israel to give repentance to Israel. Acts 11, 
the same gift-naturedness of repentance is highlighted. 2 
Timothy 2, the bondservant of the Lord must not quarrel. He must be patient, must be able 
to teach, if perhaps God will grant repentance to the opposition 
and turn them from slavery to Satan. We need to keep that in 
mind. We need to remember the fact 
that when we repent of sin, God gets the glory. Because it's 
a saving grace. Repentance on the life is a saving 
grace, whereby a sinner out of a true sense of his sin and apprehension 
of the mercy of God in Christ, does with grief and hatred of 
his sin, turn from it onto God with full purpose of and endeavor 
after new obedience. The change of mind must be evidenced 
by a change in practice. Turn over to Luke's gospel. Luke 
chapter 3 for just a moment. The parallel passage with John 
the Baptist preaching. He's asked specifically what 
repentance looks like in a couple of incidences. And he is able 
to answer them very effectively and I think illustrates for us 
this fact that there are fruits Worthy of repentance. Notice in Luke. Verse our chapter 
three, verse seven, we'll just pick up the whole section. Then 
he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him. 
Brutal Vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. 
Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance and do not begin 
to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I 
say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham 
from these stones. And even now the axe is laid 
to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does 
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So 
the people asked him, saying, what shall we do then? He answered 
and said to them, he who has two tunics, let him give to him 
who has none. And he who has food, let him 
do likewise. You see that? Repentance looks 
like this. We don't hoard our wealth anymore. 
We try to help others. We don't throw it in our vault 
and spin the big door and lock it shut and then just forget 
all about it. No, we share. That's what repentance 
looks like. to the fruits worthy of repentance 
looks like. It's to be there for your brother 
or your sister. It is to share a tunic. It is 
to give food. Notice in verse twelve, then 
tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, teacher, 
what shall we do? What do fruits worthy of repentance 
look like for a tax collector? And he said to them, collect 
no more than what is appointed to you. It's not rocket science. Is it? It's not real hard. Oh, I'm searching for repentance. 
Look, it's pretty simple. If you're a thieving, lying, 
cheating tax collector, fruits worthy of repentance will look 
like this. You'll still do your job, but you won't take extra 
to line your own pockets. You see, it's concrete. The change 
of mind or heart flashes itself out in the way you conduct yourself 
at work. In the way that you crunch numbers, 
in the way that you engage in commerce, in the way that you're 
on time, in the way that you put in a full day's labor, in 
the way that you render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar 
and you render unto God what is God's. Notice in verse 14, 
likewise, the soldiers asked him, saying, and what shall we 
do? John was not a pacifist. This 
would have been the most appropriate time in the world to condemn 
military service. This would have been the perfect 
time for him to say, tender your resignation, go join a monastery, 
go live in a hut, go live on a mountaintop, but don't serve 
in the military. What military is he talking about? He's talking about the Roman 
army. And yet this is his counsel in this particular instance. 
Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely and be content with your 
wages. I laugh because it's so simple. 
So easy. Just do what you're supposed 
to do in the manner in which it's specified, don't cheat, 
don't intimidate, don't lie, don't steal, don't force people 
or coerce people. Rather, you serve in the army 
as on to the Lord. truths worthy of repentance. This characterized the Apostle 
Paul's ministry in Acts 26, verses 19 to 20, as he is testifying 
before Agrippa. He says, I was not disobedient 
to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and 
in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea and then 
to the Gentiles that they should repent, turn to God, and do works 
befitting repentance. See, faith and repentance are 
what we call conversion. It is man's response to God, 
of course, by his grace. He gives us faith. He gives us 
repentance. We return unto God, believing 
his promises of salvation and mercy. And then we go out and 
we do works befitting, works worthy of repentance, works that 
indicate the change of heart that has, in fact, actually transpired. You see, it is a beautiful process. He is not telling us, repent 
and then you'll be saved. God saves and then sends you 
out to engage in works fitting repentance. He goes on in his 
address to the crowd and highlights the folly of relying on pedigree. You'll love this in verse nine 
of chapter three in Matthew. And do not think to say to yourselves, 
we have Abraham as our father. I'm playing the card here. The 
covenant card, the race card, the pedigree card. Oh, what are 
you talking about, John? What do you mean we have to repent? We're the favored ones. We're 
the chosen ones. Everything is cool with us, John. 
You should go to the other side of the Jordan and preach to those 
even. Do you know who we are? Oh yes, he knows exactly who 
they are. They are the physical descendants 
of Abraham and the spiritual descendants of the devil. This 
will come out later in John's Gospel, in Jesus' controversy 
with the religious leaders. What will they insist several 
times in John 8? We have one father and he's Abraham. 
They seem to indict the Lord Jesus. They say, we were not 
born of fornication. Oh really? You're trying to indict 
the Son of God, the Holy and Righteous One of Israel. We have one Father, even God. This culminates in John 8, 44, 
when Jesus says, You are of your father, the devil. What do you 
think they thought when he said that? He's intolerant. He's politically incorrect. He's pointing out the truth. It's an amazing reality, brethren, 
that goes on today. You can be bigoted and prejudicial 
against Christians, but Christians can't open their mouths otherwise. 
The moment we start to condemn something, oh, that's just you 
bigoted Christians. You know what? It isn't fun to 
go out and condemn things, is it? I mean, I think generally 
we all like to be liked. It is the church that is incompetent 
in betraying her calling in the world to try and make everybody 
feel good. You should feel a little bad 
from time to time. James indicts the church and 
says, lament, mourn and weep. And there's seasons of this. 
I know Pastor Cam just exhorted us to smile and be happy. The 
one hand smile and be happy. There's other instances to lament 
and mourn and weep. When you're offending God, or 
I'm offending God, that's a time to lament and mourn and weep. 
Paul defines his ministry in terms of this particular calling. 
They highlight the fact that they have Abraham as their father, 
rather. I'm sorry. The stones that he 
says are probably the rocks lying in the Jordan and on its banks. 
And oh, that's the Gentiles. It's probably the stones that 
are laying right in the bank. You see these stones? You see 
those? The God whom you claim has made 
you sons of Abraham is able to take these rocks and raise them 
up and make them sons of Abraham. So don't boast in your pedigree. 
Don't boast in your position. Don't boast in the race that 
you have. In Luke 19, Jesus says, If you 
silence the crowds, these rocks will cry out in praise to the 
Lord God Almighty. Galatians 329 identifies for 
us the true sons of Abraham. It says that if you are Christ, 
then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. That's what makes the son of 
Abraham believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Gentiles will be sons 
of Abraham and Jews boasting of their pedigree will be cast 
out. They're not trusting in the Lord 
Jesus. This is what Jesus is going to say later on in Matthew 
8. He's going to say many will come from the east and the west 
and they will sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the marriage 
supper of the Lamb. It's an amazing reality. You 
see, John is indicting the religious leaders and he is cutting out 
the ground upon which these people stand by inviting them for relying 
on their pedigree. Notice in verse 10, he highlights 
impending judgment, says the axe is laid to the root of the 
trees. The axe is laid to the root of the trees, therefore 
every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown 
into the fire. This is a frequent image in the 
Old Testament. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel, Daniel, at least for a few places. Remember we noticed 
last week, Jesus or John here is not talking about pruning. 
He's not talking about making them a little better and a little 
bit more fruitful. The axe is laid to the root of the trees. 
Why do you lay an axe to the root of the tree? Because it's 
done. It's over. You're going to take 
it out. It hasn't borne fruit. It hasn't 
done what its purpose to do. It hasn't served you. You're 
not going to allow it to take up dead space. This will be developed 
later on in Matthew's gospel in great detail. Suffice it to 
say, John is announcing impending judgment. And yes, he probably 
has in view the coming great day of judgment, which we call 
the final judgment. But as well, he is speaking specifically 
to Israel on the verge of destruction by the Roman armies. This would 
occur in A.D. 70. The gospel accounts record 
this, Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21. Back in Luke 21, Jesus tells 
the audience, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know 
that her desolation is near. John Gill understood this text 
this particular way, with reference to the ax being laid at the root 
of the tree. He said in a short time, their 
civil polity and church state would both be at an end. Again, this is going to be developed 
in Matthew's gospel. This is going to be one of the 
themes that runs through this particular gospel. There is a 
transfer going on. Jesus defines it later in Matthew 
21. I am taking the kingdom from 
you, ethnic Israel, and I am giving it to a nation that will 
bear fruits. That's the church. That's what's 
going on here. Gil says the Romans, who were 
already among them and over them, would very quickly come upon 
them and cut them off root and branch and utterly destroy their 
temple, city and nation. It's a reality that actually 
happened prophesied by Jesus, carried out by Jesus in AD 70 
recorded by Josephus. You can search the history books. 
This is the reality. This act laid at the root of 
the trees meant that God was done once and for all with this 
people in terms of them being a people by virtue of just being 
Jews. Now, they enter the rank and 
file of every other nation, and if they believe the gospel, they 
will be saved. Romans 11 teaches us that. So 
the leaders are approved. The crowd is instructed. Now, 
notice thirdly, John's testimony to the coming one, verses 11 
and 12. He makes some beautiful things 
here. He speaks of Jesus supremacy. 
Jesus supremacy. Indeed, I baptize you with water 
under repentance, but he who is coming after me is what? He's 
mightier than me. How much contact had John had 
with Jesus over the years of silence? We don't know. But John 
knew his Bible. John knew the messenger of the 
covenant that Malachi wrote about. John knew about the Messiah that 
was revealed throughout the Old Testament. John had enough data, 
had he never run into Jesus before, to know this of a truth. He's 
mightier than me. It doesn't just mean He's more 
physically powerful. I believe it deals with the efficacy 
of His ministry. The powerful influence of His 
task. The mission that is defined in 
terms of Matthew 1.21. John came to announce His arrival. 
It is Jesus who will save His people from their sins. Imagine 
John at this particular moment. He's on the very verge. Redemptive 
history has come. The fullness of time is here 
in John's Gospel, the Apostle John's Gospel. When John the 
Baptist sees Jesus, what does he say? He says, behold, the 
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. I love that 
behold there. We don't take time to ponder 
that. To command. It's look. It's see. John the Baptist is calling his 
contemporaries to stop, to consider, to realize that God is at work. He ascribes supremacy to the 
Lord Jesus here. He uses the language of his day 
to illustrate this. Notice what he says in verse 
11. He says, whose sandals, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. 
That was common in the first century for a disciple to be 
like a slave to his master. A master might be a teacher, 
a religious teacher, he might be a philosopher, and he would 
have disciples that would follow him, disciples that would listen 
to him. And they were to serve essentially 
as slaves to their master. I remember hearing about a brother, 
a friend of mine, he went to Japan to learn karate many, many 
years ago, and he said the relationship of student to the sensei was 
very similar. You were like the guy's servant. 
He wanted a sake, you went and got him a sake. He wanted a board 
to break, you went and got him a board to break. You were essentially 
his slave. Well, the same thing is the case 
here, except in this particular. The disciples didn't have to 
take the master's sandals off. See, the implication here of 
carrying the sandals means that first he took them off. So the 
master-disciple relationship, the disciple was almost a slave 
to the master, except in this particular. He didn't have to 
take the sandals off, didn't have to touch his sandals. That 
was reserved for slaves. What's your job as a slave? It's 
to take the sandals off of people and to carry those sandals. You 
see what John is saying here? He is saying, I am not worthy 
to be his slave. We can learn a lot from John 
the Baptist about humility. I am not worthy, he says, to 
be his slave. I am not worthy to bend down, 
unloose his sandals, take them off of his feet, and carry. I'm 
not even worthy of that task, which was the lowest in the civil 
realm or the social realm in that particular time frame. There 
is one coming after me who is mightier than I. And some have 
seen in this, when he says, one's coming after me, it's a unique 
word that's used. The implication, as commented 
on by some men, means this. Jesus was John's disciple coming 
after him. Don't we see that later on? Jesus 
comes to be baptized by John. So if we take that tact, the 
disciple transcends this master to the point and decree a degree 
where John says, I'm not worthy to be a slave. This one's supreme. This one's great. This one's 
mighty. This is, in fact, the Lamb of 
God who takes away the sin of the world. John can come and 
preach repentance. John can testify about the arrival 
of the kingdom of heaven. But John can't atone for your 
sins. John's not going to go to the cross. John's not going 
to shed his blood for remission. John's not going to affect the 
perfect righteousness that will be given to his people. You see 
what he's saying here. He said, I indeed baptize you 
with water under repentance. But he was coming after me. He's 
mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. If 
you were in this crowd on that day, you should have been saying, 
where is he? Where is this mighty one? If 
you are here this morning and you've not come to this mighty 
one, that's what you should be saying. Where is he? Who is he? How is this one that's so glorious? Where can I find him? He's stationed 
in heaven at the right hand of his father. The Bible says that 
all those who believe will have everlasting life. That is a statement 
concerning this one whom John testifies concerning. Notice 
John highlights something about Jesus baptism in John at the 
end of verse eleven. It says he will baptize you with 
the Holy Spirit and fire. Now, some have taken Holy Spirit 
to mean salvation for the elect and the fire being condemnation 
for those who are dead in their trespasses and sins and remain 
so. The remainder of the context 
seems to imply fire here, having that meaning of burning up the 
sinners. Or John could be referring to 
what we read in Malachi. What's one of Jesus' jobs? He 
not only justifies us, he purifies us. Several places in the prophets, 
this language of fire has the has the idea of the sense of 
purification. You see, John baptizes you. With reference to repentance 
from sense remission of sense. John calls you to enter into 
this water, indicating that there's been a change, that you have 
understood something about your sinful life, about your sinful 
condition, and that you have, by God's grace, appropriated 
the mercies of Christ. He testifies concerning that. 
But not so with Jesus. Jesus baptizes with the Spirit. Jesus baptizes with the Spirit, 
not to symbolize or to signify, but to actualize. Jesus baptizes 
with the Spirit to change you from your dead condition into 
newness of life. Jesus baptizes with the Spirit 
and fire to save you from your sins. John's testimony, John's 
baptism serves to represent what Christ alone does just a couple 
of places in the Old Testament, Zechariah, chapter 13, Zechariah, 
chapter 13, prophesying time of Messiah, prophesying the arrival 
of the Lord Jesus, Zechariah 13, verse seven. A Waco sword 
against my shepherd, against the man who is my companion, 
says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd and the sheep 
will be scattered. Then I will turn my hand against 
the little ones and it shall come to pass in all the land, 
says the Lord. This text, incidentally, will 
be quoted by Matthew later on in the passion narrative. Verse 
eight, it shall come to pass in all the land, says the Lord. 
The two thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one third 
shall be left in it. I will bring the one third through 
the fire. You see, these are the left. 
This is the remnant. This is the saved group. The 
two thirds in it are cut off and die, but one third shall 
be left in it. I will bring the one third through 
the fire will refine them as silver is refined and test them 
as gold is tested. They will call on my name and 
I will answer them. I will say this is my people 
and each one will say the Lord is my God. You see what John 
is saying. Jesus Christ is the one who affects 
this. Jesus Christ is the one who performs 
this. He baptizes with the Spirit and 
with fire. Already we read, Pastor Cam read 
Malachi 3 verse 1, Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare 
the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek, this 
is Jesus, will suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger 
of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, he is coming, says the 
Lord of his hosts. But who can endure the day of 
his coming and who can stand when he appears? For he is like 
a refiner's fire and like launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner 
and a purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi 
and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer to the Lord 
an offering in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and 
Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old, 
as in former years. And I will come near you for 
judgment. I'll be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, 
against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and 
widows and orphans and against those who turn away an alien 
because they do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. So he 
is coming to purify his elect. He is coming to judge those And 
this is the same thrust in John the Baptist's ministry. And then 
thirdly, and finally, with reference to his discourse or his announcement 
concerning the coming one, he highlights this aspect of Malachi's 
prophecy, the judgment aspect. Notice in Matthew 3, 12, his 
winnowing fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly clean 
out his threshing floor and gather his weed into the barn, but he 
will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. So he comes. to baptize 
his people with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He comes to refine 
them. He comes to purify them. He comes 
to deal with them. He not only justifies them, he 
sanctifies them. He provides the Spirit. He has 
promised glorification. Everything that a sinner needs 
to get from this place into heaven, Christ has secured it for him. 
But for those who do not come to Christ, He comes in swift 
judgment against them. That's the thrust of John's message 
here in Matthew 3.12. His winnowing fan is in his hand. 
He will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor. You use 
this fan. You throw the wheat up into the 
air. The wind blows the chaff. The weighty grain falls to the 
ground. It is that you preserve. It is 
that you put into your granary. It is that you protect. The chaff 
is blown away. What happens when stuff gets 
blown away, thrown into the air? Like me, I used to throw up the 
leaves in my lawn and hopefully they'd blow into my neighbor's 
yard so I wouldn't have to mess with them. It's the image he's using. It's 
going to throw you up in the air. The wind's going to blow 
you away. And ultimately that chaff is 
going to be cast into unquenchable fire. Is it powerful imagery, 
again, taken from the Old Testament? Wicked is like water, according 
to the Psalter, Psalm 1. He is like the chaff which the 
wind drives away. Horrible image if you're outside 
of Jesus. It's a wretched image if you're 
outside of Jesus. Christ should take that winnowing 
fan today and throw us up in the air. You're going to fall 
down into his granary and be safe and protected and secured 
and blessed forever. Are you going to be like the 
chaff which the wind blows away? That's what the Baptist is saying. 
That's what he is highlighting. That is what he is teaching on 
here. I notice every few years somebody rises up and denies 
the doctrine of hell. It's going on right now. It's 
the denial of hell. Every few years it seems to happen. 
I'm sure it happens a lot more, but it sort of makes the news 
when men do it every few years. And then some evangelical or 
reform scholars will write a book to re-emphasize the doctrine 
of hell and that sort of thing. And certainly this is one of 
the proof texts. I can psychologically understand 
why people avoid or don't want to think about the doctrine of 
hell. It's hard to wrap your mind around. Theologically and 
philosophically, it makes perfect sense. You offend a thrice holy 
God and he will punish you. That's a simple bottom line fact. 
You live in a moral universe and you live immorally. You break 
his law continually. He will take a winnowing fan, 
he'll throw it up in the air, and that chaff will be driven 
away and cast into unclenchable fire. It's a good question to 
ask yourself this afternoon, or even now. Not, what are we 
having for lunch? Not, is he almost done? Not, 
I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow, or on Wednesday, or 
on Friday. But saying that our lives are 
unimportant with reference to the coming week. That our lives 
are most important with reference to Matthew 3.12. When the Lord 
Christ Almighty takes His winnowing fan and throws us up in the air. 
The man Moses says, we live X amount of years. By virtue of strength, 
we might have this much time. But then we fly away. Where are 
you going to fly away? Are you going to be like the 
chaff, which the wind drives away? Or are you going to be 
like this grain, which this blessed redeemer gathers into his barn? That's something we ought to 
appreciate as well. He not only casts off the chaff, 
but he gathers his wheat into the barn. He gathers up his children. He protects them. I'm not a farmer, 
I don't grow grain, but I'm certain that if I harvested a big load, 
I would put it in my barn, I would lock the door, I would make sure 
that it was safe. That's the image suggested here 
by the metaphor. Jesus takes the grain, and he 
puts it in his granary, and he protects us, and he watches out 
for us. He appreciates us. He loves us. He cares for us. Is there a better 
place to be than chaff that the wind drives away and ultimately 
takes into unquenchable fire? I mean, choose ye this day to 
use the language of Joshua. Who will you serve? Do you want 
to be chaff which the wind drives away? I know sometimes with children, 
young people, adults, anybody, oh, religion, oh, Christianity, This has to do with your never-dying 
soul. Where will you spend eternity? 
You see, in Matthew 3, there's not a third place. John the Baptist 
wasn't Roman Catholic. He didn't speak of limbo. He 
didn't speak of purgatory. You're either chaffed if the 
wind drives away into unpunchable fire, or you're grain-stored 
in the granary of Jesus. Those are two options. The prophet 
Elijah on Mount Carmel challenging the prophets of Baal. How long 
will you falter between two options? Choose ye this day. If God is 
God, serve him. If Baal, then serve him. Fish 
are caught and baked. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. 
His winnowing fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly clean 
out his threshing floor. He will gather his weed into 
the barn. He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. You see, John the Baptist sounds 
exactly like Malachi the prophet 400 years prior. Malachi, the 
prophet, foretold John to announce the coming of the messenger of 
the covenant. John takes that statement, one of salvation and 
one of judgment, and he brings it upon his contemporaries. If 
you're a leader and you're a wicked man, you're a brood of viper. 
You're poisoning the people. If you are one of the people, 
don't listen to them. Don't listen to those men. Flee 
from the wrath to come by seeking solace and protection and refuge 
and forgiveness in the one who comes after me, is what John 
says. John announced the arrival of 
the Kingdom and the Messiah. He preached repentance and coming 
judgment. He called men to bear fruit consistent 
with repentance. In short, he did exactly what 
Jesus Christ does throughout the remainder of the Gospel of 
Matthew. Remember, before we close the 
necessity of repentance, it is a saving grace. It is a gift 
of God. It is absolutely essential. You 
need repentant faith. You need believing repentance. 
They are two sides of the same coin. You don't believe the gospel 
without repentance. You don't repent without believing 
the gospel. God gives these saving graces. You need to repent. You need 
to engage in fruits worthy of repentance. And as well, we need 
to see and appreciate from this section of Scripture the supremacy 
of Jesus Christ. John, the Baptist, in John's 
Gospel, in John 3.30, he says this, and I would hope and pray 
it would be the statement of all of our hearts. He, he's speaking 
about Jesus, he must increase, but I must decrease. What a good 
attitude, isn't it? Isn't humility a blessed choice, 
grace that a man possesses? I don't want to moralize at this 
point, forget all that we've seen concerning redemptive history, 
but if we can just for a moment, take John and look at him and 
say, what is the one thing about that man we want to be more like? 
Well, I want to go downtown and yell at people and call them 
a brood of vipers. Well, do it if you're able to, but do it 
humbly. This is why I think a lot of 
times the world doesn't take us seriously. Because while we're 
saying brood of vipers, we're implying that somehow, some way, 
we're better. We're wretched sinners who are 
not worthy to be slaves of Jesus Christ, that God in his mercy 
has deigned to bless with unspeakable mercies. Maybe if we took our 
statements of condemnation and plunge them into the bath of 
humility, people would take us seriously. John the Baptist models 
that brood of vipers. He doesn't then say, well, Jesus 
saved me because he saw something good in me. Jesus saved me because 
he knew I would be a good servant. Jesus saved me because he knew 
I would say behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of 
the world. Jesus saved me because he's mighty. Jesus saved me because he's mercy. Jesus saved me because he's good 
and he's kind. I'm not worthy to loosen the 
straps on his sandal. Church needs to imitate that. 
A humble, bold proclamation of gospel truth. A humble, bold 
proclamation of gospel truth, not arrogance, not a brazen pride, 
not a masked pride, not an opportunity to parade ourselves, but to say 
with John, he must increase, but I must decrease. In this 
particular section in Matthew three, in the space of 12 verses, 
he uses three metaphors concerning judgment. A brood of vipers fleeing 
the wrath to come. Trees that do not bear good fruit 
that will be thrown into the fire. A winnowing fan in the 
shaft that is burned with unquenchable fire. You see a theme here? You see an emphasis here? There 
is a real God who is really angry with real sinners and his son 
is coming to render real judgment upon those who do not believe 
and repent. Where are you? Where are you? And finally, we 
mustn't forget the mercy of God. I mentioned this statement last 
week, it bears repeating. R.T. France in his commentary 
on Matthew said, the strong emphasis on judgment. Again, three metaphors 
in 12 verses. They said Jonathan Edwards preached 
a lot on the wrath of God. He didn't have anything on John 
the Baptist. He certainly didn't have anything on Jesus Christ. I don't remember reading John 
the Baptist's charity and its fruits. I don't remember reading a lot 
of those things that Edwards emphasized, and in a good sense, 
that we find absent in the teaching and ministry of John the Baptist 
and Jesus Christ. He emphasizes judgment. He emphasizes 
damnation. He emphasizes God's wrath. But 
the strong emphasis on judgment should not cause us to forget 
the positive aspect of John's message that while the chaff 
will be burned up, there will also be grain, a continuing purified 
remnant of the true people of God. So by God's grace, believe 
the gospel by God's grace, repent from your sins and seek refuge 
in Christ. He will take you. Put you in 
his granary and take good care of you from here on out. There 
is no greater joy, no greater place, no greater privilege than 
to be in Christ's granary. Believe on him and you shall 
be saved. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word. We thank you for the teaching 
ministry of John the Baptist, for his message here. God, we 
just pray that you would cause us all to reflect soberly and 
seriously upon these things. I pray, God, that your spirit 
would be at work in our hearts. I pray that the Lord Jesus would 
be glorious in all of our eyes and all of our hearts, that we 
would see him as that supreme one who baptizes with the Holy 
Spirit and with fire, that one who is able to save his people 
from their sins. We just ask that you would watch 
over us now. Do bless all of the various people with various 
needs in our congregation. Again, we just pray that you 
would go with us now and cause your face to shine. And we ask 
in Jesus' name. Amen.