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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 3 as we continue our study of Matthew's gospel 
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew chapter 3, the ministry 
of John the Baptist, the herald of the king, the one who was 
sent as a forerunner in accordance with Isaiah the prophet to prepare 
the way of Yahweh, specifically Jesus Christ, as he came to save 
his people from their sins. I'll just pick up reading in 
Matthew chapter 3, beginning in 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? 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 from 
heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for the written word. We pray for the Spirit of God 
to be upon us now. We pray, Father, that we would 
see the Christ to whom the Baptist pointed, that we would worship 
him, that we would bow before him, that, Father, we would take 
seriously this man's message concerning repentance, because 
the kingdom of God is at hand. We just ask now that you would 
cleanse us afresh in the blood of Jesus. We pray for any and 
all who have come here that have not repented, that have not believed 
the gospel. We pray that you would visit 
them in a special and a powerful way and do that work which is 
impossible with men. And we ask this in the name and 
for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, after Jesus 
settled in Nazareth with Joseph and Mary, life was pretty normal 
for him. Sometimes you'll hear people 
say, well, why isn't there anything about that period of time that 
the Bible is silent concerning? Because it was probably very 
normal Probably Joseph died somewhere along the line prior to Jesus' 
public ministry. It's interesting in one place 
they say that Jesus is the son of the carpenter. In Mark 6 3 
he's identified as the carpenter. Remember that at the cross Jesus 
entrusts his mother to the care of John the Apostle and likewise 
encourages John to look after his mother. It was an ordinary 
sort of regular life. But about the 30th year of Jesus' 
life, he embarked on his public ministry. And there are three 
preparatory events recorded by Matthew. The first, as we've 
read here, is the ministry of John the Baptist. Secondly, the 
baptism of Jesus himself. And then thirdly, in chapter 
four, the temptation of Jesus. These are all preparatory prior 
to his work of ministry, his life, and then ultimately his 
death and resurrection. So we're going to take up this 
section concerning John the Baptist this morning. There's quite a 
lot of material. Hopefully we'll be able to get 
through chapter three, verse twelve. There are two main sections 
here. Verses one to six takes up the 
manifestation of John the Baptist or the ministry. of John the 
Baptist, and then the latter half, specifically verses seven 
to twelve, concerns the message of John the Baptist. Now, there 
is a summary statement given in verse two to be sure, but 
it's filled out and amplified in verses seven to twelve. So 
those are the two broad categories in chapter three, verses one 
to twelve, the manifestation of John the Baptist and secondly, 
the message of John the Baptist. So, we'll take up first the manifestation 
or the ministry of John the Baptist. Notice the setting. It says, 
in those days. This does not directly connect 
us to the previous verses. Again, Jesus was a young child 
at the time the family settled in Nazareth. It is not highlighting 
that this is when John the Baptist came on the scene. Rather, it 
isn't It's strictly chronological, but rather it highlights the 
reality that here has come John the Baptist. In Luke chapter 
1 at verse 80, it says with reference to John the Baptist, the child 
grew and became strong in spirit and was in the deserts till the 
day of his manifestation to Israel. So I call it the manifestation 
of John the Baptist. Here he has come. Here it is 
his time. Here the forerunner has come 
to announce the coming of the great king. And then with reference 
to Jesus, Luke records in chapter three, verse 23, that Jesus began 
his ministry at about 30 years of age. And then we notice the 
preacher himself. He is called John the Baptist. 
He's not called John the Presbyterian. He's not called John the Methodist. 
I'm just kidding. Just to make sure everybody's 
awake. Everybody's with me. This is why we're Baptist. That's 
not the reason he's called the Baptist, because he baptizes 
people. He baptizes with water, as it 
makes clear in the following narrative. This is, of course, 
the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, Elizabeth being a relative to 
Mary. There's that instance that I 
love when both of the ladies are pregnant and they come together 
and Elizabeth makes that statement. She says something to the effect 
of, how is it that the mother of my Lord has come to see me? Christ is in the womb, and Elizabeth 
confesses Him as Lord. What a great statement concerning 
the deity of our Lord Jesus. John is referred to seven times 
by Matthew as the Baptist, and he is differentiated from John 
the brother of James, the son of Zebedee. Just so we know who 
we're dealing with. This is not John the Apostle. This is not the author of the 
fourth gospel. That's John, the brother of James, 
the sons of Zebedee. Now, we notice as well the location. He is in the wilderness of Judea. Remember that I said as we go 
along the Gospel of Matthew, hopefully if we're paying attention, 
we'll learn something about the Old Testament. I think his reference 
here to in the wilderness isn't simply geographical, though it 
is that. John was a desert prophet. John 
was in the wilderness preaching. But as well, the wilderness, 
theologically, in the Old Testament, was the place where the nation 
was born. Remember, after the Exodus, it 
was in the wilderness that God formed His beloved people. It was in the wilderness that 
the people of God began their existence after the Exodus. Several of the Old Testament 
prophets hoped of a new Exodus, and they would speak of the wilderness 
as the place of new beginnings. The Prophet Jeremiah, the Prophet 
Hosea, as well the Prophet Isaiah, very often refers to this wilderness 
theme. And again, I don't think it's 
a stretch to imagine here that at the announcement of the arrival 
of the Lord Jesus, this new Moses that would engage in a new exodus, 
it is fitting that the wilderness be that place where the forerunner 
comes onto the scene, where he is preaching, where he is seeking 
to point the finger to the Lord of glory. So we've seen the setting. Notice the summary. Here's what 
typify. Here's what pictures. Here's 
what summarizes John's message in verse two. Repent, for the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand. He came preaching. Yes, he baptized 
people, but he came preaching. He was a Kairos. The emphasis 
of the stress falls upon the fact that it was official in 
nature. This wasn't some self-appointed 
man. This is the one who fulfilled 
the prophets. This was the man who broke the 
400-year silence of God himself. Remember that intertestamental 
period. God had not spoken to Israel. 
And with the arrival of John now, the voice of God is heard 
again. And the voice of God centers 
in upon the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the 
message that John brings is consistent with the Old Testament prophets. 
Repent. The idea is to return. This statement 
is made several times in the prophet Jeremiah chapters two 
and three. The prophet, or God through the 
prophet, highlights the gross iniquity and the wickedness of 
Israel. And five times in the space of 
a chapter, God says, yet return unto me, says the Lord. It's 
very interesting. I think there's commentary here 
on the situation, the religious situation, in Israel at the time. You know, it's not as if Jesus 
comes after everything's already been good and holy and righteous. Jesus comes to make things good 
and holy and righteous. Return was the prophet's statement. Repent, come back to the Lord. The prophet Zechariah starts 
out that very same way. The people of God have come back 
from exile, but it's not enough just to have come out of Babylon. 
You need to return to me, says the Lord, and I will return unto 
you. This is the cross. This is the 
issue. This is what the Baptist is calling 
men to do, is to return unto the Lord. Now, the word repent 
primarily means to change one's thinking, to turn about or to 
return. It's interesting in what Pastor 
Cam read this morning. Jesus likens himself to a shepherd 
who leaves the 99 and he seeks out that one. He lays that sheep 
upon his shoulders and takes him back home. And then he says 
the angels in heaven celebrate over the repentance of the sinner. He's returned unto the Lord. It is first and foremost mental, 
but as we follow the narrative, that mental must give birth to 
fruit. It must give birth to activity. It's not just the thought up 
here, but it produces works consistent with or worthy of repentance. I wonder if all of us are on 
board with this whole idea. See, we don't come to God holding 
on to our sin. We don't believe the gospel clutching 
with a death grip upon our sin. Now, I admit and I confess and 
I realize the reality of remaining corruption in the life of the 
believer. I believe Paul illustrates that in Romans 7 and Galatians 
5. I believe that Paul illustrates that the flesh lusteth against 
the spirit and the spirit lusteth against the flesh. But that struggle 
that he declares in Romans 7 and Galatians 5 is not the same as 
a man, a woman, a boy or a girl who is clutching on to their 
sin, who is holding on for dear life, who will not part with 
it, who will not let it go, who will not abandon it. That is 
not biblical repentance. Repentance means a change of 
mind that flushes itself out, that parts with particular sins, 
that gets rid of particular things, that deals the death blow to 
them. I think Westminster's Shorter 
Catechism illustrates it well. What is repentance unto life? 
Repentance unto 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, 
Don't forget that. Repentance doesn't just see, 
oh, what a wretch I am. It sees what a Savior Jesus is. Right? Doesn't just bemoan or 
lament the reality and existence of sin. Any pagan can do that. 
Oh, I'm a pretty bad guy. I'm a pretty wretched man. It's 
the Christian who says, I'm a pretty bad guy. I'm a wretched man. 
But oh, Jesus, what a wonderful Savior. That's what repentance 
is all about. Again, it's a change of mind. 
It is to leave the hog pen and go back to the Lord of glory. 
It is to return unto God. It is by His grace He draws us 
sovereignly. The confession goes on to say, 
an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ does, with grief 
and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God with full purpose 
of and endeavor after new obedience. This summarizes John the Baptist's 
preaching. Repent. Have a change of mind. Forsake your ungodly thoughts. Remember, we saw that in the 
prophet Isaiah chapter 55. Let the wicked man forsake his 
thoughts. Let the wicked man forsake his 
ways. Why? For my thoughts are not 
your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. God 
is not declaring there the fact that we cannot understand him. 
God is saying you need to think like me. You need to conduct 
yourself like me. There needs to be a radical, 
thoroughgoing change in your life. You don't come to Christ 
with the heart of sin. You don't marry the Savior while 
you're clutching on to wickedness. Again, what's in view here? It's 
not remaining corruption in the struggle with sin. It is that 
wholesale abandonment to sin with no willingness to give it 
up. Respond to the John's message. You repented. You had a change 
of mind. Can you say, yes, I want the 
Lord of glory. Well, praise the Lord of Glory, 
because by His Spirit He produced that in you. Is there sin that 
you value and prize more than Christ? I mean, again, it's a 
shame to admit there is that remaining corruption and that 
struggle, but the man who agonizes over it is far different than 
the man who makes excuses or the man who tries to justify 
it or the man who tries to hide it or the man who tries to entertain 
it in private. The man who entertains Jesus 
in the parlor and Satan in the basement. It is a different approach. John says, repent. Stop thinking 
the way you're thinking. Stop living the way you're living. 
It is a ritual that God is seeking. It is renewal. It is repentance. It is thoroughgoing. It is complete. It is whole. The body, the mind, 
the soul, everything has been affected by sin. And thus in 
repentance, the body, the mind, the soul. is made whole again, 
is made new again, is renewed in the knowledge of Christ, is 
renewed in His image, is renewed in holiness. Brethren, have you, 
in fact, repented? It's an amazing thing that John's 
message here is so contrary to what we find in much of evangelical 
and Reformed preaching. John didn't come here in the 
wilderness of Judea to say, God has a wonderful plan for your 
life. It's just the opposite. This man is a preacher of judgment. 
Look at the imagery and the metaphor that he uses. The axe is laid 
at the root. Why do you do that? You don't 
prune that way. You prune the branches, as Jesus 
mentions in John 15. When you take the axe to the 
root of the tree, you are seeking to destroy it. It's pretty strong 
and pretty powerful, isn't it? When he says that they're a brood 
of vipers, the language suggests that they're like snakes that 
are scurrying away from the fire. When he mentions that Jesus has 
his winnowing fan and he throws the grain up into the air so 
that the chaff is blown away, he gathers the grain, he puts 
it in his granary, but that chaff is burned up with unquenchable 
fire. See, John would not have been 
down with this approach that says God loves you and has a 
wonderful plan for your life. You needn't change, you needn't 
repent, you needn't anything. No, he said repent. Repent, change 
your mind, change your life, change the way that you function. 
This is the other side of the coin of faith. You cannot believe 
without repentance. You cannot repent without faith 
in the living Lord. There's a lot of men out there 
that might stop a particular practice. That doesn't mean they've 
repented. They've had no change of mind 
concerning God. The man says, I'm not going to 
murder anybody anymore, but he has no regard for God whatsoever. 
It's not repentance. It's moral reform and a reform 
we can be thankful for. I'd much rather men make that 
decision not to murder people than to continue to murder people. 
But don't stand back and say, wow, that's repentance. No, it 
isn't. The mind has not gone Christward. The mind has not gone back to 
the Lord. The actions aren't following 
suit. That's not repentance. You see, 
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ necessarily involves repentance. 
When we believe on the Lord Jesus, our mind has changed concerning 
sin, concerning ourselves, concerning those things which attracted 
us at one time. Kids, it's not real hard. Repentance 
means you're walking one way and you do an about face and 
turn the other way by God's grace, believing the gospel. This was 
the thrust of John's message. Repent. And notice his reason, 
he says, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's a great statement. Repent, why? Because the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand. Now, kingdom in the Bible isn't 
necessarily location. Kingdom in the Bible, the stress 
falls upon reign, it falls upon rule, it falls upon God's sovereignty. D.A. Carson reminds us that throughout 
the Old Testament, there was a rising expectation of a divine 
visitation that would establish justice, crush opposition and 
renew the very universe. John says that kingdom is at 
hand. Some have seen a difference in 
the way Matthew uses kingdom of heaven and the other other 
synoptics, right? Kingdom of God, they're synonymous. 
The kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven is that rule and reign 
and authority and sovereignty of God most high. You see what 
he's saying? Repent. You're not ready for 
that. This is such an indictment upon 
the religious nature of Israel at the time. What does he say? 
Be baptized for the remission of your sins. They were not ready 
for the rule, the reign, and the sovereignty of God Most High. 
And as we trace through the Gospel of Matthew, we'll see that this 
nearness of the kingdom of which John spoke was not two thousand 
years from the time that he spoke it. It came, it was inaugurated, 
it began in the arrival of the one that John was preaching. Notice over in Matthew 12 at 
verse 28, Jesus says, If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, 
surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Well, most certainly 
Jesus did cast out demons. Most certainly did the kingdom 
of God come upon them. We're not waiting for the arrival 
of this kingdom. The king is in. He is stationed 
and enthroned at the right hand of God most high. It is the messianic 
age. It is the messianic reign. It 
is what the prophets foretold. When Jesus rose, he ascended 
on high, he sat down upon David's throne, and his kingdom will 
have no end. The time of God's effective sovereignty 
has arrived, and now is the time for decisive action in response. That's the point of John the 
Baptist. God's Kingdom is upon us. God 
is in the midst of His rule and His reign. Jesus Christ orchestrates 
the affairs of the universe from the right hand of His Father. 
Have you repented? Are you ready for that Kingdom? 
Are you admitted to that Kingdom by grace alone, through faith 
alone in Jesus Christ alone? You see, John is saying with 
the arrival of this kingdom, you need to come. You need to 
forsake. You need to put down your sin. 
You need to repent of your wickedness. You need to close with Christ. 
And I would submit, along with John, now and since this kingdom 
has been in operation, now that God's effective rule and sovereignty 
is being carried out. Have you repented? Have you believed? Have you entered in? Do you know 
what it is to call Jesus Lord and Savior? Do you know what 
it is to have the forgiveness of sin? Or do you know what it 
is to be engaged in sin constantly and continually and perpetually? See, John will have none of that. 
John says, repent. John says, believe. John says, 
come to this one alone who can save you from your sins. This 
kingdom isn't going away either. Right now, there's uprising in 
northern Africa. There's uprising all throughout 
the earth. You know that wicked and lawless regimes can be deposed. Righteous and good regimes can 
be deposed. Good kings, bad kings can all 
be taken out of their rule and reign. Good presidents, bad presidents. Good prime ministers, bad prime 
ministers. The Lord raises them up. The Lord sets them down. 
But mark you, there is one kingdom that isn't going away. Daniel, 
the prophet, had a vision of this. It starts off as a small 
stone. What happens? That small stone, in the language 
of John Jasper, just keeps rolling and rolling and rolling and rolling. And it grows to be this great 
big mountain. It was the small stone that crushed 
the image of those heathen king. And that small stone just keeps 
moving forward. It is a great mountain. The birds 
of the air come and find their refuge there. This kingdom isn't 
going away. You see, you cannot lie to yourself 
this morning and say, well, I don't need to repent, I don't need 
to believe, because you know, ultimately Jesus and his kingdom 
is going to be gone. No, it isn't. This is the one 
king to whom all men will give an account. This is the one king 
we will all look eyeball to eyeball with on the day of judgment. 
Later on in Matthew 7, he'll say, not everyone who says to 
me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. It's Jesus 
that admits men. It's Jesus that forbids men. 
It's Jesus that takes the chaff and throws it into unquenchable 
fire. It's Jesus who lays the axe to 
the root of the tree. It's Jesus who in his sovereignty, 
in saving sinners, also damned sinners. You can come to grips 
with this. I know we hear this a lot. I 
know we hear this, you know, Sunday in and Sunday out. But 
we need to think through it. I don't care how old you are 
or how young you are. Have you repented? Have you believed? 
Can you say Jesus is mine and I am his? Can you say I'm ready 
for this kingdom? Lord Jesus, bring it in all of 
its consummate glory. Can you actually say with John 
the Apostle at the very end of the book of Revelation, even 
so come Lord Jesus. I love what Paul says in 2 Timothy 
4. He says, finally, there is a crown laid up for me. He says, 
but not only for me, but to all who have loved His appearing. Do you love the fact that He 
appeared in the incarnation? That He lived, that He died, 
that He rose again, and that He will appear again in consummate 
glory? You know, you cannot Let your 
parents make this decision for you. Cannot let your wives or 
your husbands make this decision for you. You have got to stand 
before this God naked, broken, and say with pure conscience, 
I am yours and you are mine. Everything else is nothing. We 
get so caught up on so many things, don't we? I have this illustration 
going throughout the week. Yeah, I think to myself a lot. 
I sometimes talk to myself, too. So if you ever see that, you 
can report me, but I got precedence in the Bible. The psalmist said, 
why art thou this quiet, O my soul? There's a biblical doctrine 
of talking to oneself. But I thought to myself, what 
if I sold fire alarms? And I was knocking on people's 
doors, and I was saying, man, you need a fire alarm. You put 
that fire alarm up in your kitchen, so that if there's a grease fire, 
or you're sleeping in bed at night, and there's a fire, that 
alarm will ring, and you're awakened, and then you can flee the issue, 
the problem. Imagine, if every house I knock 
on, oh, no, I don't want a fire alarm. Nah, fire alarms are useless. 
Fire alarms don't matter. There's never going to be a fire 
in our house. We don't cook with grease. We don't have faulty 
electrical systems. We don't have wayward children 
that sometimes play with matches. We'll never get struck by a fire. 
Imagine every single door you knock on, everybody says no to 
your fire alarms. After a while, I'm sure the fire 
alarm salesman would get a bit discouraged. It's an amazing 
thing. You preach the gospel. Preach 
it to sinners. Preach it to people who have 
need. Yeah, just not interested. You see it in the church. He 
formed an evangelical church. This is not interesting. Paul 
says we're to retain the standard of sound words. Yeah, that's 
a big deal. Truth doesn't matter anymore. 
Pragmatism, that's what matters. Not will it build us up in our 
holy faith, but will it build our churches? Had an interesting 
thing happen this past week. Was asked to speak in Abbotsford 
at the Right to Life. The lady said she sent out 171 
invitations. Guess how many pastors showed 
up? 200, because they all brought 
friends, right? 250, because it's such an important 
message. 300, because babies are dying 
every single day at the hands of lawless and godless men. 12. 
12 pastors. Now, I realize 12 men turned 
the world upside down in the first century. God isn't constrained 
by numbers. As we'll see with the Baptists 
here, God can raise up those stones to sing the praises of 
His holy name. But you know, it can be a bit 
discouraging. Especially when the best-selling 
Christian books are how to have a better life, how to make more 
money, how to be more blessed. The best-selling conferences 
are those on how to build your church. Probably the most of 
those people had legitimate reasons. I don't want to judge motives. 
I don't want to judge hearts, but it is an interesting phenomenon. 
We'll show up for things that we really care about. We'll engage 
in things that we'll really care about. I meet people all the 
time and say, oh, I believe the gospel. I've repented of my sin 
and yet no Bible, no prayer, no theology, no concern, no regard, 
no interest. I just don't think that squares 
with the Baptist message. You see, repent means repent. 
It means forsake that garbage and pursue the things of God. 
That's what the prophet Isaiah meant in chapter 55 as well. So where are you at? Have you 
repented? Listen to the Baptist message. 
May there be fruits consistent with that repentance. Oh yeah, 
we can all profess. We can all say. We can all scream 
that we're Christians. There's no Bible in your life. 
There's no prayer in your life. There's no love for the Lord 
in your life. There's no desire for the Lord. And again, I'm 
not saying perfectly, man. I'm not saying that you need 
to be some pietistic guy that fits a particular mold. And there 
must be some spiritual life there. There must be some evidence. This is the thrust of the Baptist 
message. Repent. Why? The kingdom of God is at 
hand. You don't want to be caught up 
short. You don't be standing there scratching your head when 
the cane is starting to part the nations as a shepherd separates 
the sheep from the goats. You don't be standing there saying, 
wait a minute, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Lord, I'm just not ready 
for this. See, the Baptist was a faithful 
man. The Baptist was a good man. The 
Baptist told you what you needed to hear. Now, he didn't candy 
coat it. He wasn't up to school that things 
go down better with a spoonful of sugar. If you were a brood 
of vipers, he would tell you you're a brood of vipers. But 
instead of going away saying, oh, that's harsh language, why 
don't we say, man, the guy's right. I'm an unrepentant, unbelieving, 
wretch of a sinner that loves me. I should listen to him and repent, 
because the kingdom of God is at hand. I don't want to be caught 
up short. Notice the fulfillment of Isaiah 
40, verse 3. Pastor Cam read that at the outset. 
40 to 66. Yes, it's punctuated with some 
judgment, but the bulk is consolation. Specifically, Isaiah 40, God 
is telling and announcing to the exiles, they will leave Babylon 
and they'll come back to Judah. Way or make a prepare the way 
of Yahweh. Make his path straight. God's 
people would be returning back to their land. God's people would 
be returning back to the promise of blessing. Well, this is what 
Matthew says. This is he who was spoken of 
by the prophet saying the voice of one crying in the wilderness. 
Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his path straight. There's 
a bigger journey that the prophet. foresaw. There's a greater journey 
than between Babylon and Judah. There's a journey between this 
earth and heaven itself. And notice that John is the voice 
of one crying in the wilderness. He's the one who's raising up 
a standard. He is preaching. He is proclaiming. And he says to prepare the way 
specifically of Yahweh. It's an amazing reality what 
Matthew is doing here. He is giving this a Christological 
emphasis that John is announcing the coming of Jesus. He equates 
him with Yahweh of Israel. It's telling us that this Jehovah 
has come. This God has come. Emmanuel is 
the real deal. He is, in fact, God with us. One commentator says there is 
a remarkable crystal crystallogical claim involved in applying Isaiah's 
depiction of God's forerunner to the man who prepared the way 
for the coming of Jesus. Don't miss that. John is saying 
what was prophesied in Isaiah 40 has come to fruition here 
in the person and in the work of Jesus Christ. God has come. God is with us. God has visited. God is a part of his people's 
lives. And then after the fulfillment, 
notice the description of John. You get here and you got a smile, 
right? He looked like a televangelist, 
didn't he? I saw a televangelist one time boasting about the money 
that he made and the shoes that he needed to buy. I have to have 
$2,000 shoes because my footsies or my tootsies are delicate and 
I need these expensive shoes. That's not John. Or the other televangelist, his 
congregation bought him a Rolls Royce. What was his response? Send it back. I want a different 
color. That's not the Baptist. Look 
at him. John himself was clothed in camel's 
hair with a leather belt around his waist. This is the attire 
of a prophet. The prophet Zechariah, chapter 
13, he foretells a day when the false prophets will no longer 
put on camel hair to deceive the people. But even more so, 
Matthew is introducing us to something Jesus will make explicit 
later. Look at Matthew 11 for just a 
moment. Matthew, chapter 11, verse seven, 
as they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning 
John, this is the Baptist. What did you go out into the 
wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But 
what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing 
are in king's houses. But what did you go out to see? 
Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet, for this is he of 
whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, 
who will prepare your way before you. Assuredly, I say to you, 
among those born of women, there is not risen one greater than 
John the Baptist, but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven 
is greater than he. And from the days of John the 
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and 
the violent take it by force. For all the prophets in the law 
prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive 
it, he is Elijah, who is to come. He who has ears to hear. Remember, 
along the way. We can learn something about 
the Old Testament. There was a king in Israel, his name was 
Isaiah. He fell ill and he sent some 
messengers to go and call upon Baal. God sends Elijah, he intercepts 
the messengers, sends them back to Ahaziah and says, don't call 
upon Baal. When Ahaziah said, what does 
prophet look like? So they, the messengers, answered 
him, a hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist. And he said, it is Elijah, the 
Tishbite. Matthew's preparing us. So when 
we get to Matthew 11, we don't know what he means Elijah. Of 
course, he's Elijah. Or Matthew 17. There is something 
so powerful in Christology in Matthew 17. Remember, it's the 
Mount of Transfiguration. Who appears on that Mount of 
Transfiguration? Moses and Elijah. The disciples witnessed Jesus 
in his burning glory. They reflect upon the fact that 
the prophet Malachi foretold this. And then they got a bit 
of a conundrum. They said, wait a minute, Lord, 
what's happening here? In Malachi's scheme, Elijah comes 
first and then the Lord of the Covenant. But what we've seen 
is the Lord of the Covenant and then Elijah. You see the perplexity. Malachi messed up in the order. 
Malachi missed something in the order. We've seen the Lord of 
the Covenant and then Elijah appears. But the prophet Malachi 
said it's first Elijah who will prepare the way for the Lord 
of the Covenant. But it seems to be inverted. What's Jesus 
say in Matthew 17? It is John the Baptist who is 
Elijah. No inversion. Perfectly consistent. The Prophet Malachi foretold 
John the Baptist as the Elijah to come announcing the Lord of 
the Covenant, which had in fact transpired. So when you read 
Matthew three, verse four, you're not to come away from this as 
a catalog of what prophets wore. You know, we can be really weird. 
Oh, that means we ought to wear camel hair shirts and go wear 
belts. I personally don't like belts. 
Does that mean I'm not a John the Baptist kind of guy? That's 
not the point. Matthew wants you to think Elijah. 
This is God's fulfillment. This is God's promise. God is 
faithful. He has sent the Baptist here 
in the spirit and power of Elijah. He's a wilderness prophet. He 
eats locusts and wild honey. He's not a dainty man. He's not an effeminate man. He's 
a hardcore. He's the real deal. In fact, 
if you compare the arrival of Elijah the Tishbite and you compare 
the arrival of John the Baptist, it's similar. All this wickedness 
in 1 Kings 16, all these wicked things, and then, boom, Elijah 
the Tishbite. We're not prepared with, oh, 
and he was born here, and his mother Mary liked to do this, 
and his father was a tender. No. Here's Elijah. What's the 
implication? When wickedness abounds, God 
sends his man. You don't need all his background. 
You don't need all of his biography. You don't need to know everything 
there is about Elijah the Tishbite. Same thing with John the Baptist. 
The biblical authors don't present themselves. They present Jesus. 
There's one hero throughout the scripture, and it's Jesus. John 
is Elijah. Notice the act, well, locusts 
and wild honey. Locusts are the only insect that 
is permissible to eat. according to Leviticus 11, 20-23. 
They're still eaten by those in whose lands they flourish. 
That's the whole thing about them. They're almost like shrimp 
scampi. You can soak them in salt water. You can fry them up. However, 
it's a real deal. And one commentator says, some 
people have tried to evade this by saying it was the locust tree 
and it wasn't really the bug. And he says, John was an ascetic, 
but he wasn't a vegetarian. He was eating locusts. He was 
eating wild honey. He wasn't the prim and proper 
kind of guy. He was a manly man. He preached. He confronted. He said repent. He called people bags of snakes. 
He told them to flee the wrath of God. He didn't candy coat 
his words. He said the axe is laid at the 
root of the trees. He says there is an unquenchable 
fire that men have to deal with. He was an austere man. He was 
a wilderness prophet in a tradition of wilderness prophets. He was 
just like the prophet Elijah in the Old Testament. This is 
what Matthew wants you to get. And then notice, finally, the 
activity, the activity of verse five. Then Jerusalem, all Judea 
and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. It's 
interesting, the historian Josephus dedicates several lines to John 
the Baptist and notes his popularity. And Antipas, the king of Piraeus 
at the time, noted his popularity and feared an uprising. He saw 
that all the multitudes were coming out to John the Baptist. 
He didn't like that. Josephus, the Jewish historian, 
records the popularity of John. But of course, he doesn't show 
what Christians know. John was promoting Jesus. John was testifying concerning 
Christ. He was a popular voice crying 
in the wilderness. And we see that men from various 
regions, Jerusalem, all Judea and all the region around the 
Jordan went out to him. And this is probably not exhaustive 
in the gospel of John. Men from Galilee are there. And 
this was something to see. Again, 400 years of prophetic 
silence is now broken. The one of whom Isaiah the prophet 
spoke is here. He's out in the wilderness. He's 
preaching. You can hear the people. You need to come hear this man. 
You need to come and listen to what he's got to say. Well, we 
don't like what he has to say. There'll be some of those, of 
course. Well, come anyway. And then notice his activity. 
They were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their 
sins. Isn't it interesting? He doesn't 
say, here's what baptism is, here's what it signifies. He's 
not developing a Protestant doctrine of baptism. He doesn't even treat 
the question or the issue, is John's baptism Christian baptism? That's an argument that needs 
to be waged on other grounds, which we will not do here. These 
things you need to notice. He is baptizing them in connection 
with the confession of sin. What is clear is that John's 
inherent critique of contemporary Jewish society is that it no 
longer truly constitutes the holy people of God. You need 
to be baptized. You need to be washed. You need 
to confess your sins. We're preparing the way of Jesus. We're preparing the way for the 
Redeemer. We're preparing the way for Most 
High God. You can't continue in your sin. 
This is what the people did. They were baptized by Him in 
the Jordan, and they were confessing their sins. His baptism was associated 
with repentance from sin. You see why some would want to 
discount that that would be a prelude to Christian baptism. There's more similarities between 
John and Christian baptism than men care to elaborate on. The 
issue is clear. They confess their sins. The 
remedy or the efficacy is not tied into the water here. Even 
Josephus admits this. Josephus says it wasn't the baptism 
that remitted them from their sin. It was a remission of sins 
evidenced by going into the waters of baptism. It's an amazing thing 
that in the history of the Christian church there are those who teach 
that we need to be baptized for the remission of sin. We are remitted of our sins by 
virtue of Christ's doing and dying. Believe on the Lord Jesus 
and you will be saved. Baptism is the evidence or the 
testimony of that inward change that has gone on. Well, I think 
we'll stop there. We'll pick up the message of 
the Baptist, God willing, next Sunday. Let's just draw out a 
couple of concluding thoughts. Before we close, the first is 
we need to recognize that he is an Old Testament prophet extraordinaire. He was a wilderness prophet. 
He was the Elijah prophesied to come. He broke 400 years of 
silence. And what Jesus says concerning 
him is absolutely amazing. He says he who is least in the 
kingdom of heaven. I'm sorry. Assuredly, I say to 
you, among those born of women, there is not risen one greater 
than John the Baptist. But he who is least in the kingdom 
of heaven is greater than he. John fulfills a prophesied role. John is the forerunner. John 
is the herald. John is the one who comes to 
declare repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. John takes 
his position up. John carries out his task. And 
it's very interesting as you compare, as we'll compare next 
week. The message of John the Baptist is exactly what Jesus 
preached. It's exactly what Jesus preached. 
Who else had a penchant for calling people bags of snakes? You see, 
if you complain about John, be very careful. Think he's a little 
too hardcore for you? Be careful. Think he focuses 
on judgment too much? Be careful. John preaches repentance. What's Jesus' opening statement 
in Matthew 4, 17? It's the same. Repent, for the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand. We like Jesus because he's just 
full of love. But, you know, this John, he's 
kind of harsh and nasty and mean. Be careful. John preaches the kingdom of 
heaven. Jesus preaches the kingdom of 
heaven. John calls people specifically 
to hear the leaders. We're not to read the Pharisees 
and scribes there necessarily as coming to be baptized. They 
come to see the baptism. Some wonder, why is it that Pharisees 
and Sadducees are even together? They were enemies. Well, they 
made up one Sanhedrin. The Sadducees were generally 
the priests and the political ones. The Pharisees were a self-conscious 
group of law-abiding people. More than likely, it was a delegation, 
sort of a cross-party delegation. The Sanhedrin, the religious 
council in Jerusalem, heard the noise that there was this man 
making a ruckus out in the wilderness. Go check this out. Go see what's 
going on. We don't have to read it that 
these men were being baptized by John. But he calls them brood 
of vipers. Jesus does the same thing in 
Matthew 12 and in Matthew 23. That's strong. There's two words used for snake, 
or two Greek words for snake. Jesus uses the weaker one in 
Matthew 10. You need to be what? You need 
to be wise as what? Snakes. Serpents. Harmless as 
doves. Those were the non-poisonous 
types of snakes. Just like we are used to today. 
I mean, you find a snake out in your garden, more than likely 
it's going to bite you and kill you. You go tripping through 
the Mojave Desert and you see a rabbit and he bites you, you're 
going to die. Right? He uses the one for poisonous 
with reference to the Pharisees and the Sadducees. That's strong. What's he saying? Their doctrine 
is deadly. You see, it wasn't typically 
John's or Jesus' way to approach the multitudes and say, Brood 
of vipers! But for the religious leaders 
that led men astray, that twisted the Word of God, that added to 
it and took away from it? Brood of vipers. You're poisonous. You're going to affect men. You're 
going to kill men. You're going to destroy men. 
By implication, we see the necessity of sound doctrine. When the people, 
perpetrators, are supposed to be the preachers of God's Word, 
are distorting it. Brood of vipers. That's what 
John and Jesus says. John emphasizes fruit. You say 
you've repented. Where's the fruit? Remember the 
old Lindy slogan? Where's the meat? Well, for John 
and Jesus, it's where's the fruit? In Luke's parallel account, he 
gives two concrete applications. Tax collectors come up to John 
the Baptist and say, what does repentance look like for us? 
Don't extort people's money. I think a lot of us need to hear 
that today. What's it look like to repent? Don't be wicked in 
dealing with money. The soldiers come up to John 
the Baptist. What does it look like for us to repent? John wasn't 
a pacifist. He didn't say, you know, just 
get out of the service. He says, be content with the 
wages you have and serve your master well. See, there's fruit 
consistent. You can say you repent. You can 
say you believe. The proof is in the pudding, 
as they say. This is what James deals with at great length in 
his epistle. John emphasizes or shows them 
that they are not, in fact, the children of Abraham. Don't think 
just because you've descended by race, you necessarily possess 
grace. You cannot boast of your pedigree. 
Jesus does the same thing in Matthew 8. Jesus says, I say 
to you, many will be excluded from the kingdom while men from 
the east and the west come and sit down with Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob in the kingdom of God. Trees cut down and thrown into 
the fire. John says this. Jesus says this 
judgment by fire. John says this. Jesus says this 
in many, many, many places. I've heard it said I haven't 
actually done the research, but I've heard it said Jesus spoke 
more on hell than he had on heaven in the gospel accounts. Proportionately, 
Jesus spoke more on hell than Jonathan Edwards. He's most associated 
with that famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. 
People are crying out while he's preaching. I mean, it's a heavy 
sermon. There are innumerable ways of 
wicked men going out of the world. He uses graphic word pictures 
that God has you the way a man has a spider over an open flame. I mean, just powerful. Edwards 
was a lightweight compared to Jesus. We talk about unquenchable 
fire. It's in the mouth of the Lord 
more than it is in his servants. And then as well, the grain and 
the greenery. John and Jesus. So we need to remember that John's 
heavy on the judgment, as is Jesus, but we need to make sure 
that we don't let that eclipse the message that he comes to 
save his people from their sins. Right. We can come away from 
a passage like this. Oh, man. Remember Matthew 121, for it 
is he who will save his people from their sins. R.T. France 
makes this statement, and I think it's brilliant. 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 both John and Jesus highlight 
that fact, though he takes that winnowing fork and he throws 
it up in the air and the chaff is driven away and blows into 
the unquenchable fire. He takes the grain that falls 
and he puts it in his granary. He tends to it. He cares for 
us. He defends us. He protects us. It's not just 
judgment that the Baptist is preaching, preaching salvation 
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And that's 
what I want you to get. Yes, there's judgment to come. 
Yes, the axe is laid at the root of the trees. But right now there 
is forgiveness in Jesus Christ. You believe on him and you will 
be saved. You repent from your sins. Not 
this shallow, I'm going to repent just to get my parents off my 
back sort of a thing, but a thoroughgoing, a mind engaged repentance. Again, France, I think, defines 
it well. He says true repentance is not 
a matter of words and ritual, but a real change of life. When 
we expect that, you say, I've repented. Well, yeah, it should 
look like something, right? Son, I've repented in order for 
God to reward me with salvation. No, God by His grace causes us 
to believe and repent. This is the fruit. This is the 
evidence. This is the demonstration that God is at work in our lives. 
Brethren, we need to take this statement concerning John's ministry. We need to think through it. 
We need to pray through it. And we need to realize that it's 
Jesus alone who can save us. from the judgment that is promised 
by the Baptist in so many places in this brief section of Holy 
Scripture. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word and we thank you for the preparation 
for the king, for the fact that you sent John the Baptist to 
herald his arrival. And God, I pray that we would 
think through these things, that we would realize that John preached 
repentance, that he preached the fact of your kingdom. that 
he preached the fact that there is wrath coming on those who 
do not believe the gospel. God, all these things, we confess, 
are so contrary to much of what we hear and think about in our 
own day. Father, I just pray, forgive me for my sin and my 
imbalance. Forgive me for not being more 
clear with the gospel like this man. I pray that you would go 
with us now, and I pray that all of us would take these things 
to heart, that we would spend time today with Matthew 3, that 
we would spend time today in the presence of our God, that 
we would take that searchlight of Holy Scripture and examine 
our hearts and ask the hard question, do we know what repentance is 
all about? Go with us now, Lord God, grant us peace, grant us 
grace, and for any and all who have not repented, give them 
that saving grace, Lord God. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.