Matthew Chapter 3
John the Baptist had a message that he wanted the people to hear, and that message was that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven was available to them And since the kingdom of heaven was at hand it was imperative that people make some changes in their life to prepare. He called for people to repent, which meant that they needed to not only be sorry for their sin but to take action and to change, to go in the opposite direction.
“Jesus was the coming Messiah and King, and John the Baptist was the one crying in the wilderness, and through his message of repentance, he worked to prepare the way of the LORD. We often fail to appreciate how important the preparing work of the LORD is. Any great work of God begins with great preparation.” [Guzik]
Let's Reflect
1. John seemed like a peculiar man as he went about declaring that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. What did he wear that was peculiar?
2. God was doing an incredible work through the willingness of John. As you read verse 6 what sense of numbers do you get, in the number of people that were baptized by John?
3. The water baptism that John offered was a ceremonial washing that demonstrated a need for man to be cleansed of his sin and a call to repentance. People needed to be made aware of their sinful state. This kind of awareness of sin is the foundation for great revivals and awakenings. For the first time in a very long time the Jewish people were serious about getting right with God. John baptized with water, but he explained that he (Jesus) would baptize them with what? See verse 11.
4. The Pharisees and Sadducees came to see what was happening with these baptism ceremonies. And John really let them have it. He told them that their religious regulations and pious beliefs about themselves was not going to stand when Jesus comes. What does verse 12 tell us about how the truth will be brought forth by the work of Jesus? False religions will come to an end, and all will know that Jesus is King.
5. Then one of the most incredible accounts in all of scripture took place – Jesus came to the waters and asked John to baptize Him. John knew this request was out of order, he was not worthy to even carry the sandals of Jesus. Jesus was holy, He was not a sinner. But this was one more step that Jesus was willing to take to identify with sinners. This is exactly what He did in His birth, His upbringing as a child, and His death – He identified with sinners. What did Jesus tell John that helped John see the heart of Jesus in this request?
6. The most beautiful account of the presence of the trinity occurs at this moment when Jesus the Son of God is lifted up out of the water. How is it described?
Devotionals
