Matthew 3

John the Baptist Prepares the Way (3:1-12)

A. John the Baptist.
1. He was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth.
a. Elizabeth was the cousin of Mary, so John and Jesus were second cousins.
b. He was 6 months older than Jesus, being born on 5 B.C.
2. He was a nazarite (like Samson).
a. A nazarite was one who had been devoted to God since birth. He was not allowed to drink intoxicating drinks nor cut his hair as a
sign of dedication to God.
b. So we could imagine him as one like a hermit, with a long hair, living in the wilderness, eating grasshoppers and honey.
3. He was the forerunner of Jesus Christ.
a. A forerunner is one who prepares the way of the coming king, he do this by clearing the way and even leveling the hills for the
comfort of the king who would journey. In John’s case, he was preparing the people to become righteous for the coming of Jesus
the King.
b. The O.T. closed with the prophecy about the forerunner, so that the Jews were also waiting for him (Mal. 4:4).
4. He was a preacher and a prophet.
a. As we can see from the Bible, John was the last O.T. prophet, resembling Elijah (Matt. 11:9-10).
b. He was a man of integrity and of courage as he rebuked a King Herod Antipas even at the expense of his own life. He was
beheaded by the order of this king of which event we will discuss soon on Mt 14.
B. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
BAPTISM, Turn,
1. Repentance means “the change of the will.”
Change of Status
a. It is part of the five steps of salvation.
b. The illustration on the left would be the best way to REPENTANCE,
explain repentance. Change of Will
2. The kingdom of heaven was the one being awaited by the FAITH, Godly Sorrow,
Jews to come (Dan. 2:44). They literally thought of it as a Change of Heart
physical kingdom like that of David’s kingdom that would
crush the powers of Rome.
a. But the kingdom of heaven is far from that, not physical but spiritual, the church! (Matt. 16:18-19).
b. In God’s kingdom: Christ is our King, the N.T. is our law, and Christians are the subjects and soldiers.
C. John denounced the two sects of the Jews who were present while he was baptizing, the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
1. Pharisees means “separatists.” They sought to separate themselves from sin and sinners and sought to keep pure religion.
2. Sadducees came from “Zadok” the descendants of High Priest. They were the aristocrats and materialists at their time.
3. This people were rebuked by John because they thought that they would be saved by race as if they need not to repent! (vs.8-9) These
sects were soon to become the fiercest enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ.
D. John’s baptism
E. Jesus is the only one who will administer the baptism of the Holy Spirit and
the baptism of fire.
1. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the overwhelming guidance of the Spirit
to work miraculous physical and intellectual powers. This occurred only
twice in human history (Acts 2, 10-11) promised to the penitent people.
2. The baptism of fire is the overwhelming torment of fire in Hell to punish
the disobedient people. This promise would be given to the impenitent
people on the Judgment Day.
a. John used a metaphor to describe the Judgment Day. Jesus is the
farmer who would separate the wheat (just) and the chaff (unjust).
The wheat would be gathered into the barn (heaven) while the chaff
would be burned in fire (hell).

John Baptizes Jesus (3:13-17)

A. The reason why Jesus needed to be baptized is given by Jesus Himself—to fulfill all righteousness. When there is
righteousness there is the fulfillment of the law. Therefore, God made a law for men to be baptized and Jesus, being also a
man, wanted also to fulfill that law.
B. When Jesus was baptized the presence of the Holy Trinity appeared.
1. Trinity means that there is one God composed of three distinct persons the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these
three are co-existent and co-eternal.
a. The Father was the one whose voice was heard to confirm Jesus, as the anointed one.
b. The Son was the subject of baptism to fulfill all righteousness.
c. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove to show that Jesus is the administrator of the baptism of the Holy Spirit..