Strathalbyn Church of Christ

Matthew 3:1-12 Theme: Baptism. Sermon by Pastor David Williams.

Strathalbyn Church of Christ. 18 Sept 2022.

1. Prophet 1-5

One of the odd things about the English is they love queuing. Yet even for the English the queue to see the Queen’s coffin broke all records – the maximum wait at one point was 24 hours.[1] These crowds give us some sense of the intense interest generated by an odd fellow in the Judean desert 2000 years ago. Those crowds were huge.

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him …

Why this interest? What were they looking for? Three things came together: the place, the prophet and the prophecies.

The place - John was in the wilderness. In the wilderness their ancestors had been led by God’s Spirit, for 40 years. The Jews were given God’s manna and his law there. It was in the wilderness that Moses and David met God. The prophet Elijah lived there too (1 Ki 17:5).

Rivers also were significant. Israel escaped from Egypt when God led them through the Red Sea as on dry ground. Similar miracles happened with the Jordan. The Jordan was the place where Israel first entered the Promised Land. The Jordan later dried up again so that Elijah could cross (2 Ki 2:8). So if you were hoping for some miracle, heading to the wilderness, and to the Jordan River, was a great place to start.

The prophet - So why now? Why so much expectation? In their history, God spoke through his prophets. The problem was that Malachi was their last prophet and he was 400 years ago. For 400 years, the voice of God had not been heard. John – this strange fellow in the wilderness really looked and sounded the part of a prophet. Could it be that after this long wait, God was again speaking? Was something really big about to happen?

The prophecies - So what did they make of John. Who was he? He was nothing less than that great prophet Elijah! Malachi prophesied:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes”, Mal 4:5.

The Jews were looking for Elijah to come. But Elijah had been dead for over 800 years. What was going on? They didn’t believe in reincarnation. Rather, here was a new Elijah. But why identify John as that new Elijah? Both lived in the wilderness, and like John, Elijah

“wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist”, 2 Ki 1:8.

But it wasn’t just a new Elijah that had the Jews excited. There was someone even better to come. Again, we need to back track. Israel were hoping for a Saviour to set them free. Moses led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt – in a way, the entire nation was baptised as they came out of slavery, out through the Red Sea, towards the Promised Land. Centuries later, the hated Romans came to rule and oppress the Jews. So, they looked for a new prophet – like Moses, a Saviour who would set them free.

And that was the message that this new Elijah was bringing. For Malachi said,

Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple… Mal 3:1.

John was the messenger of the Lord. He was sent to prepare his way. This also picks up the prophecy of Isaiah – which was how John described himself

A voice cries:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God… (Isa 40:3).

But look at what Isaiah said would happen next!

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together…” Isa 40:5.

What a grand vision! Can you see why John attracted so much attention? Everything lined up – the wilderness, the Jordan, the Elijah designer garb and the promise of a Saviour who would come to set Israel free. However, what John said and did next stopped them in their tracks.

2. Baptism - 6-10

Baptism was practised at the time, but under John, it took on a completely different character. It had been used for converts to Judaism. Gentiles were so unclean that Jews would not talk or mix with them, yet some converted to Judaism. Baptism washed away their Gentile impurity. Baptism made unclean Gentiles into Jews, so that God might accept them.

Can you imagine the shock at hearing that they – Jews, not unclean Gentiles - they needed baptism? The Jews were as unclean before God as these Gentiles. Yet it gets worse. You see, in the crowd were the prosperous Jews. Clearly, they had been blessed by God. Then there were Pharisees and Sadducees from the ruling council, the Sanhedrin. They were teachers of God’s law and responsible for implementing it. They were not like the ordinary lazy Jews with a nominal faith. No, they knew God’s word backwards. They led the prayers in the synagogues. You can imagine their conversations:

Who is this wild upstart? He’s certainly not from our best Jewish schools. Yet these ignorant crowds love him. How can we stop this getting out of hand?

Others were saying,

You know dear, it is all very quaint. Taking a little dip would certainly show those Joneses how religious we are! Perhaps we could have a selfie with that prophet fellow for the mantlepiece?

John crashes through this chatter with a thunderbolt,

7 You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Those same words are used for the Pharisees by Jesus, twice (Mt 12:34; 22:34). It was not good enough to rely on Jewish heritage, or religious practices, or family connections. These would get noone into God’s kingdom. They counted for nothing:

9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

You might have been going to church for 60 years. You might pray every day. You might give half your wealth to charities. None of this will get you into God’s kingdom. Friends, how then may we be saved? John’s message was simple – indeed Jesus also began with the same message (Mt 4:17):

2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

What then is repentance? It is turning away, turning your back on your past life, and turning to God in faith for forgiveness. Repentance is the other side of the coin to forgiveness. You can’t separate them. John’s commission in Isaiah began with these words:

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her …

that her iniquity is pardoned, Isa 40:2.

Your iniquity is pardoned. God will always forgive those who repent. There is no sin – no sin – that is beyond his power or willingness to forgive. Do not buy the lie that you are unforgiveable. Yes, you may say what about the unforgiveable sin against the Spirit (Mt 12:30; 1 Jn 5:16:)? When you work out what it is, you can let me know. But I know Peter who denied his Lord three times was forgiven. I know that Saul who sent Christians to their death was forgiven. Hear God’s promise:

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Ps 86:5.

Repentance - What it is not.

Repentance is not feeling sorry for yourself. Many a drunk repents in that shallow way with the hangover in the morning. Many a gossip repents in that self-centred way when they are caught out. Think of the trite apologies that celebrities offer when they are caught with drugs or affairs. Repentance is not feeling sorry for yourself.

Repentance is not just changing one set of bad attitudes for another. It is not giving up smoking to have more to spend on cake. It is a turning away from everything you rely on and turning to God. Completely. Without reservation.

The song goes, I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back, no turning back. Repentance is a life-long attitude. Not a flash in the pan like a new year’s resolution. It is life changing. A changed life can be clearly seen. As Jesus said,

the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? Mt 12:33.

And John said, 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance…

Friends, have you truly repented. And have you gone on repenting. Daily, I need to repent of my wrong thoughts, words and deeds. I need to repent - but not so that I may be saved. He has forgiven me already. I need to repent so that I may follow Jesus better. Are there things you need to put right in your life?

Maybe you have never known God’s forgiveness? Please consider, have you truly repented. Have you truly turned away from your former life to follow Jesus? Yes you will stumble again and again. But turn to Jesus for he will never turn you away.

No turning back. As the Proverb says_, The dog returns to its vomit_, Prov 26:11. We might love our old sins and look back. Like the Hebrews who left Egypt. Yes, they left slavery but they had meat there. They had a home. Some pined to return to slavery.

Is that you? Have you repented and found salvation, but do you pine for the old life again? To live in slavery – for that is what it is. The gods we have left behind are treacherous. To turn to idols is to submit to them. Geoffrey Bingham wrote a book called “Dear, Darling Idols”. We might imagine that we can indulge a little, play with them, keep them on a safe leash. But idols will end up controlling us, ruining our faith and our lives.

3. Judge 10-12

The first part of John’s message was threatening – baptism for repentance was essential for entry into God’s kingdom. The second part is equally challenging. For the coming Saviour was not coming to conveniently wipe out the Romans and install the Jews instead. He was coming to deal with a far more oppressive enemy – defeating death itself and his reign would extend over all humanity forever. But for anyone who does not repent, Jew or Gentile, a fearsome fate awaits them. For the Saviour of all is also Judge of all.

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?… Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire… 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

I do not like it, but both John and Jesus are explicit about hell. Many theologians, even some fine evangelicals, have tried to water down hell or explain it away. But the plain meaning throughout the NT is that hell is real, eternal and terrifying. Bonhoeffer spoke of cheap grace. Enjoying grace and forgiveness without repentance. Something of the weakness of our churches may be due to our failure to warn of hell’s reality.

In the UK, the Churches of Christ began with the Welsh mining revivals. Closer to home, we have had revivals in Bordertown and Wudinna following missions led by Deane Meatheringham and Geoffrey Bingham. In both settings, the full gospel was proclaimed, including the wrath of God. Miners and farmers who had never set foot in a church broke down in tears of repentance and forgiveness at hearing the gospel proclaimed.

We have heard of John the Prophet, his Baptism, and the Judge he proclaimed. Before wrapping up, let me give a footnote about baptism. There are four unhelpful notions we have:

a. Should we sprinkle or immerse?

b. Should we do adults only or children too?

On all sides, there are good persuasive arguments from the Bible. If I wanted to, I could convince most of you that we should only immerse adults, or alternatively, convince you that we can sprinkle children too. It has sadly divided churches. To stop fellowship with a brother or sister on matters of opinion is wrong. No-one is saved by their opinion on child baptism.

c. Is baptism essential? Clearly it is not, for the thief on the cross was promised paradise. But should we practice it? – most certainly!

d. Let us not fall into the trap of confusing the sign for the reality. The act of Baptism in water is merely a sign. But the reality of sins washed away is an act of God’s grace – achieved on the cross and experienced as we repent and receive his forgiveness. Let not anyone think that because they were once baptised, they are in God’s kingdom. If they have not produced fruit in keeping with repentance, it is doubtful their hearts were ever truly baptised.

Let us pray. Thankyou Lord, our Saviour and our Judge. Thank you that you came to defeat death and set us free from slavery to sin. Thank you that you enable us to turn to you in true repentance and faith, and find full, perfect, complete forgiveness for all our sins. Lord Jesus, we turn again to you now, forsaking all that is past, and trusting you to empower us by your Spirit to lead a new life, bearing fruit for your kingdom. Amen.

Sources:

- Green M. (2020). The message of Matthew : the kingdom of heaven (Revised). InterVarsity Press USA.

- Carson, D.A. (1984). “Matthew”. In Gaebelein, Frank E. (ed.). Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queue accessed 8.27am 18 Sept 2022.

Series: Matthew

Topics: #Matthew , #Baptism , #Repentance