John the Baptist and Jesus' Baptism / Matthew 3:1-17

The Difference Between Regret and Repentance

My bride, Chris, and I have been married now for twenty-three years. We celebrated this last July, and that is just something to get excited about. We had a breakthrough, I would say, about five years into our marriage where we realized that we hadn’t really learned yet how to apologize appropriately.

For example, at that time in our lives, if she was to say to me, “Last night, when I was trying to pour out my heart to you, you zoned out on ESPN, and that really hurt,” I would attempt to apologize. I would usually say something like, “I’m sorry?” And she would just say, “Man, it doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel like you’re really sorry.”

To which I would respond with something like, “Well, I’m sorry! I mean, what do you want me to say? I’ve said it already. I don’t know what else I can say.”

You see, the missing ingredient in that sort of fake apology is that there was really no repentance. There was no acknowledgment on my part that I had really done anything wrong. In some ways, I was almost putting it back on her, saying, “I’m sorry that you’re so easily offended.” I wasn’t owning what I had done to put that hurt and that pain into our relationship.

Learning how to apologize in a more effective way meant I would eventually learn to respond with something more like, “I devalued you. I disrespected you when I tuned you out while you were trying to share with me. It was wrong.” And then I would ask, “Will you forgive me?”

When heartfelt, that is a completely different type of response, which leads to a completely different result in the marriage relationship. The point of learning how to apologize effectively was so that we would draw closer together in our connection, that our intimacy would be deeper, and that our trust would grow stronger.

In a similar way, God calls His people to repentance for the purpose of restoration with Him—for the purpose of connection. He asks us to acknowledge that our sin has deeply offended Him, a holy God, so that we can then walk in a deeper trust and a deeper intimacy with Him.

Tonight, we’re continuing in our series in the Gospel of Matthew, and we’re going to be in chapter three. We’re going to see this call to repentance that God has, which is a way to prepare our hearts to draw closer and be more open to Jesus. We’ve seen the miraculous virgin conception and birth of Jesus in chapter one. We saw how the Magi came from the East, supernaturally led by the star to worship Jesus, and how Herod tried to murder Him while God sovereignly spared His life in chapter two. Now, as we come to chapter three, we fast-forward thirty years. Jesus is an adult, and He is about to publicly declare and start His Messianic ministry.

But before Jesus appears, somebody else comes preparing the way for Him. His name is John the Baptist. He is the herald who declares Jesus as King and Messiah to all who will listen.

The Voice Crying in the Wilderness

Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt about his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem was going out to him and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan, and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Matthew 3:1-6 (NASB)

Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, ’THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’’ Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

Since the closing of the Old Testament canon with the book of Malachi, Israel has gone over four hundred years without hearing from one of God’s prophets. But now, John the Baptist appears. He looks and sounds like Elijah, and repentance and revival come with him.

We don’t know a whole lot about John’s early life. The only information we have is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter one. We know that John was the son of godly parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah was a priest; Elizabeth was a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus. So, John is often referred to as the cousin of Jesus. This couple was advanced in years and they were unable to have children, but God supernaturally allowed Elizabeth to conceive.

Luke tells us that John grew strong in spirit and grew up out in the wilderness before he began his ministry. He comes out of that wilderness preaching this baptism of repentance, and he has this crazy diet. He’s eating locusts and wild honey. Even though it sounds really weird to us, locusts were actually permissible by the Levitical dietary laws. You could eat locusts and grasshoppers, so he was kosher. And when you think about the wild honey, in some ways, he was a man ahead of his time. He was organic before organic was cool! We pay big money for wild honey now, and he’s just like, “Dude, I’m just going to eat it.”

This diet was fairly typical for the ascetics who lived in the wilderness. There were other groups, like the Qumran community off the northwest shore of the Dead Sea—a group called the Essenes. They were a monastic, end-times focused splinter group of Judaism. They lived in caves and copied a lot of Scripture. If you’ve heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we owe those to the Essenes, and they ate a diet very similar to John’s. Some have even theorized that John was connected to this group at some point.

But what is most important about John is that he is the prophet foretold in the Old Testament. Matthew quotes Isaiah here, saying John would be the one to make people ready for the way of the Lord.

Isaiah 40:3 (NASB)

A voice is calling, ’Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

He was also prophesied in the very last verses of the Old Testament, in Malachi chapter four, as the one who comes to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah.

Malachi 4:5-6 (NASB)

’Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. ‘He will restore the hearts of the fathers to [their] children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.’

John is the herald. In ancient times, it was common for a herald to go before a king to make sure the way was safe and the paths were smoothed out. They were literally looking for holes in the ground to fill them up, removing rocks, and clearing trash so the pathway was smooth. It was a little bit like Caltrans. That’s what John does here, but he does more than just prepare the road; he proclaims the coming of the King. If the President were coming to our city, we’d know because we’d see the motorcades and the Secret Service. John’s job is to proclaim that this King is coming.

Interestingly, he does this out in the wilderness. He doesn’t come to the temple, which is where you might expect him to be. By having John in the wilderness, God is making a statement. He isn’t endorsing the old, stale, corrupt, and dead religious system that Judaism had become. He’s saying there is a fresh message from God. Just as Israel once came out of the wilderness to the Promised Land, John now comes out of the wilderness to proclaim the Promised Messiah. And people come by the thousands, confessing their sins and being baptized.

A Warning to the Religious Elite

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. The ax is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Matthew 3:7-10 (NASB)

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ’You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ’Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ’The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

The King is coming, and Israel isn’t really prepared. Their hearts have turned away from God, and John boldly confronts this. He isn’t afraid to call out the top religious dogs of the day. The Pharisees and Sadducees had spiritual authority, but they also had political authority in a way we can’t quite equate with our modern culture. They were the most important men in the eyes of the people.

Usually, these two groups were opposed to each other—two opposite ends of the spectrum. The Pharisees were conservative traditionalists and more of the working class. The Sadducees were much more liberal, loved Roman culture, and didn’t even believe in the resurrection. They came from the wealthier, aristocratic classes. But here they are together, checking John out because he’s upsetting the religious status quo.

John just puts them in one group. He says, “You’re a brood of vipers.” He looks the most important men of his culture in the eye and says, “You’re the children of snakes. You’re the offspring of slithery, poisonous vipers.” Jesus would use these same words later. John is likely referring to a poisonous desert viper he would have been familiar with. They would sometimes lay still and look like a harmless piece of wood, and people would pick them up to their own regret. John is saying, “Your religious hypocrisy might appear harmless, but it’s deadly.”

He uses the imagery of them fleeing from the wrath of God because when there were fires in the wilderness, vipers would flee in numbers across the sand. He tells them, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” The Greek word for repent is metanoia, and it means to turn around, to change your mind. The idea is that you change your mind and your will, and then you act on that change.

This is more than just feeling bad about sin. Sometimes we have regret because of the consequences we face, but this is a sense of sorrow before a holy God. John is saying that true repentance involves a change of mind that leads to a change of actions. As God begins that change from the inside out, there will eventually be a passion to pursue righteousness with the same fervor you once used to pursue sin.

He is also clear that their ethnic identity won’t save them. He tells them God can raise up descendants of Abraham from stones. He likens Israel to trees with an ax at the root. In ancient times, farmers would cut down unfruitful trees so they wouldn’t suck up nutrients from the fruitful ones, and then they’d burn them. John is saying, “If you repent and embrace the Messiah, He will establish His kingdom in you. But if you reject Him, judgment is coming.”

This would have shattered their arrogance. Many Israelites thought they were automatically “in” the Kingdom because they were descendants of Abraham. John says, “No. Everyone has to repent. Israel has to repent just like the Gentiles to be right with God.”

The Greater Baptism

As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Matthew 3:11-12 (NASB)

’As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ‘His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’

John’s baptism was a one-time mark of repentance, symbolizing a coming into the people of God. But John is clear that he is not the Messiah. He says, “I shouldn’t even undo this guy’s sandals.” In those days, people walked on dirt roads filled with animal dung and no sewage system. Feet were filthy. Taking off sandals and washing feet was a dirty, lowly job for a servant. John says, “I’m not even worthy to do that for Him.”

He says the Messiah will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to those who trust Him.

John 14:16-18 (NASB)

’I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; [that is] the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, [but] you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. ’I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

The Holy Spirit comes to live within us, changing our desires to align with God and empowering us to live for His glory. But John also mentions fire. Fire is a frequent biblical symbol for divine judgment. It consumed Sodom and Gomorrah, it consumed those who rebelled against Moses, and God is described in Ezekiel as a consuming fire.

Genesis 19 (NASB)

1. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw [them], he rose to meet them and bowed down [with his] face to the ground. 2. And he said, ‘Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.’ They said however, ‘No, but we shall spend the night in the square.’ 3. Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4. Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 5. and they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.’ 6. But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7. and said, ’Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8. ‘Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.’ 9. But they said, ‘Stand aside.’ Furthermore, they said, ‘This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.’ So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. 10. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11. They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied [themselves trying] to find the doorway. 12. Then the [two] men said to Lot, ‘Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring [them] out of the place; 13. for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.’ 14. Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, ‘Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city.’ But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15. When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.’ 16. But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD [was] upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. 17. When they had brought them outside, one said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.’ 18. But Lot said to them, ’Oh no, my lords! 19. ‘Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20. now behold, this town is near [enough] to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.’ 21. He said to him, ’Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22. ‘Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.’ Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar. 23. The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, 25. and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26. But his wife, from behind him, looked [back], and she became a pillar of salt. 27. Now Abraham arose early in the morning [and went] to the place where he had stood before the LORD; 28. and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace. 29. Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived. 30. Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31. Then the firstborn said to the younger, ’Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. 32. ‘Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father.’ 33. So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34. On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, ‘Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father.’ 35. So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37. The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38. As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.

Numbers 16 (NASB)

1. Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took [action], 2. and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3. They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?’ 4. When Moses heard [this], he fell on his face; 5. and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, ’Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is His, and who is holy, and will bring [him] near to Himself; even the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6. ‘Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and all your company, 7. and put fire in them, and lay incense upon them in the presence of the LORD tomorrow; and the man whom the LORD chooses [shall be] the one who is holy. You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!’ 8. Then Moses said to Korah, ’Hear now, you sons of Levi, 9. is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the [rest of] the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10. and that He has brought you near, [Korah], and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also? 11. ‘Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD; but as for Aaron, who is he that you grumble against him?’ 12. Then Moses sent a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, ’We will not come up. 13. ’Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us? 14. ‘Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!’ 15. Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, ‘Do not regard their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.’ 16. Moses said to Korah, ’You and all your company be present before the LORD tomorrow, both you and they along with Aaron. 17. ‘Each of you take his firepan and put incense on it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty firepans; also you and Aaron [shall] each [bring] his firepan.’ 18. So they each took his [own] censer and put fire on it, and laid incense on it; and they stood at the doorway of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19. Thus Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation. 20. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21. ‘Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.’ 22. But they fell on their faces and said, ‘O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?’ 23. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24. ’Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’’ 25. Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26. and he spoke to the congregation, saying, ‘Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin.’ 27. So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out [and] stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones. 28. Moses said, ’By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing. 29. ’If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, [then] the LORD has not sent me. 30. ‘But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD.’ 31. As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32. and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with [their] possessions. 33. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34. All Israel who [were] around them fled at their outcry, for they said, ‘The earth may swallow us up!’ 35. Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. 36. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 37. ’Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall take up the censers out of the midst of the blaze, for they are holy; and you scatter the burning coals abroad. 38. ‘As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered sheets for a plating of the altar, since they did present them before the LORD and they are holy; and they shall be for a sign to the sons of Israel.’ 39. So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as a plating for the altar, 40. as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the LORD; so that he will not become like Korah and his company– just as the LORD had spoken to him through Moses. 41. But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD’S people.’ 42. It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43. Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44. and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45. ‘Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.’ Then they fell on their faces. 46. Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense [on it]; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun!’ 47. Then Aaron took [it] as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put [on] the incense and made atonement for the people. 48. He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. 49. But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah. 50. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

Ezekiel 24 (NASB)

1. And the word of the LORD came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying, 2. ’Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3. ’Speak a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, ’Thus says the Lord GOD, ’Put on the pot, put [it] on and also pour water in it; 4. Put in it the pieces, Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; Fill [it] with choice bones. 5. ‘Take the choicest of the flock, And also pile wood under the pot. Make it boil vigorously. Also seethe its bones in it.’ 6. ’Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, ’Woe to the bloody city, To the pot in which there is rust And whose rust has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, Without making a choice. 7. ’For her blood is in her midst; She placed it on the bare rock; She did not pour it on the ground To cover it with dust. 8. ‘That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, That it may not be covered.’ 9. ’Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, ’Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. 10. ’Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, Boil the flesh well And mix in the spices, And let the bones be burned. 11. ’Then set it empty on its coals So that it may be hot And its bronze may glow And its filthiness may be melted in it, Its rust consumed. 12. ’She has wearied [Me] with toil, Yet her great rust has not gone from her; [Let] her rust [be] in the fire! 13. ’In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I [would] have cleansed you, Yet you are not clean, You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again Until I have spent My wrath on you. 14. ‘I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not pity and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you,’ declares the Lord GOD.‘’ 15. And the word of the LORD came to me saying, 16. ’Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. 17. ‘Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover [your] mustache and do not eat the bread of men.’ 18. So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. 19. The people said to me, ‘Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?’ 20. Then I said to them, ’The word of the LORD came to me saying, 21. ’Speak to the house of Israel, ’Thus says the Lord GOD, ’Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22. ’You will do as I have done; you will not cover [your] mustache and you will not eat the bread of men. 23. ’Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep, but you will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan to one another. 24. ‘Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done you will do; when it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’’ 25. ’As for you, son of man, will [it] not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their pride, the desire of their eyes and their heart’s delight, their sons and their daughters, 26. that on that day he who escapes will come to you with information for [your] ears? 27. ‘On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.’’

Malachi 4:1 (NASB)

‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.’

There is a promise of the Holy Spirit for those who receive the Messiah, and a baptism of judgment for those who reject Him. John uses the analogy of the wheat and the chaff. A farmer would throw grain into the air on a threshing floor; the breeze would blow the light chaff away, and the heavy, useful grain would fall back down. John is saying there will be a day when the wicked and the righteous are separated.

But lest we become prideful, let’s remember that we are only righteous because of the work of Jesus Christ. It is His power, not ours.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)

He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The Coronation of the King

Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted him.

Matthew 3:13-15 (NASB)

Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan [coming] to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’ But Jesus answering said to him, ‘Permit [it] at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he permitted Him.

Jesus arrives, and John is stunned. He says, “I can’t even wash your feet, how can I baptize you?” But Jesus insists. Why? He says it is to “fulfill all righteousness.” Baptism is about identification. The word baptizo originally meant to dip or immerse, like dyeing a cloth. If you dip a cloth in purple dye, it comes out identified as purple.

Jesus is identifying Himself. He is affirming John’s message. He isn’t repenting of sin—He is sinless—but He is identifying with the people who are repenting. He is identifying with you and me. He is setting an example for us and foreshadowing His own death and resurrection as He goes under the water and comes back up.

After being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and coming upon him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17 (NASB)

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove [and] lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’

This is the coronation of Jesus as King. It is a public declaration. The Holy Spirit anoints Him. In the Old Testament, kings were anointed with oil as a symbol of the Spirit. Here, Jesus is literally anointed by the Spirit. In His divinity, He needs nothing, but in His humanity, He receives the empowerment of the Spirit for His mission.

The Father’s voice echoes several Old Testament passages. He quotes Psalm 2, announcing the Messiah’s divine sonship.

Psalms 2:6-7 (NASB)

‘But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.’ ’I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ’You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

He echoes Isaiah 42, speaking of the faithful servant who would suffer for our sins.

Isaiah 42:1 (NASB)

’Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one [in whom] My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.

And there is the typology of Genesis 22. Just as Abraham was willing to offer his son Isaac, whom he loved, the Father is now declaring His willingness to offer His beloved Son as a sacrifice for His people.

Genesis 22 (NASB)

1. Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 2. He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’ 3. So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5. Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.’ 6. Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ 8. Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together. 9. Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 12. He said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’ 13. Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind [him] a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.’ 15. Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16. and said, ’By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17. indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18. ‘In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.’ 19. So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba. 20. Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, ‘Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21. Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram 22. and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.’ 23. Bethuel became the father of Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.

Our Response: Repent and Depend

Two thousand years ago, John was calling people to repentance. Today, God is still calling us to the same thing.

Acts 3:19 (NASB)

’Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

I have two simple takeaways for us today. First: Repent and be baptized. Turn to Jesus and publicly declare your faith. If you have never come to faith in God by turning to Jesus, you can do that today. Escaping the judgment John spoke of starts with a relationship with Jesus Christ—believing He is God in the flesh, that He died as a substitute for you to absorb the wrath of God, and that He was raised to life. In spite of what you have done, He loves you, and forgiveness is a free gift.

And if you have already turned to Him, He calls you to publicly declare it. I remember when I experienced true repentance at nineteen years old. Several months later, I realized I needed to be baptized. It just so happened that my future bride, Chris, was getting baptized the same day—that was a “baptism bonus,” I guess!

Baptism is like my wedding ring. This ring doesn’t make me married; it declares that I am married. Baptism doesn’t make us children of God, but it declares that we belong to Jesus.

Romans 6:3-5 (NASB)

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [in the likeness] of His resurrection,

If you’ve trusted Christ but haven’t been baptized, do what He commands. We actually have the baptismal tub out tonight. Our pastoral resident, Eric, is ready. He’s already got his flip-flops on in faith! We believe God is calling some of you to get in that water in just a few moments.

The second takeaway is for those who have walked with Jesus for a while: Depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to bear fruit. Real life change doesn’t happen by our power; it happens by God’s power. Entering the Kingdom is easy because it’s Christ’s work, but living as a citizen of the Kingdom is very difficult. Resisting temptation, growing in love, joy, and patience—that is hard.

Thank God He doesn’t expect us to do it in our own strength. We need to recognize that living the life God called us to is actually impossible apart from the Holy Spirit. We must turn to Him in dependency every single day. We will stumble, but the Holy Spirit convicts us and leads us back home.

God’s Spirit doesn’t just change us; He affirms us.

Romans 8:15 (NASB)

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’

We have the privilege of calling Him “Abba,” which is like saying “Dad.” We are part of the family because of the deep love the Father has for us. Sometimes people apologize for posting too many photos of their kids on social media, but I tell them, “Don’t be ashamed of that! It’s a good thing to delight in your children.”

As intense as our earthly love is, it’s just a drop in the ocean compared to the love God has for His adopted sons and daughters. Because the Father finds no imperfection in His Son, when you are in Christ, He finds no imperfection in you. He looks at you and says, “This is my beloved son. This is my beloved daughter.”

That is comforting because our place at the table is secure. But it’s also challenging because everywhere we go, we have a family name to represent. We have a King to represent, and His name is Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You. We thank You that John came to prepare hearts for Jesus and that even today, You are calling us to do the same. Lord, if there is someone here who has not yet trusted in You, I pray they would do that right now. Right where they are sitting, may they tell You they believe, that they are sorry for their sin, and that they receive the gift of Jesus’ life and resurrection.

And Lord, for those who have put their faith in You but haven’t yet declared it, give them the courage to get up during these next few songs and be baptized. Some of them are thinking about their dinner plans, but Lord, they can still go to dinner—they’ll just be a little wet! Give them the courage to be the first one to step out.

For the rest of us, remind us that it’s not about our righteousness, but Christ’s. Keep us humble and secure as Your adopted children. We pray this in the name of the King, Jesus. Amen.