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Matthew Chapter
Three
Matthew 3
We now begin His actual history. John the Baptist comes
to prepare the way of Jehovah before Him, according to the prophecy of Isaiah;
proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, and calling on the people
to repent. It is by these three things that John's ministry to Israel is
characterised in this Gospel. First the Lord Jehovah Himself was coming. The
Holy Ghost leaves out the words "for our God," at the end of the
verse, because Jesus comes as man in humiliation, although acknowledged at the
same time to be Jehovah, and Israel could not be thus owned as entitled to say
"our." In the second place the kingdom of heaven [1] was at hand-that new dispensation which was
to take the place of the one which, properly speaking, belonged to Sinai, where
the Lord had spoken on the earth. In this new dispensation "the heavens
should reign." They should be the source of, and characterise, God's authority
in His Christ. Thirdly, the people, instead of being blessed in their present
condition, were called to repentance in view of the approach of this kingdom.
John therefore takes his place in the wilderness, departing from the Jews, with
whom he could not associate himself because he came in the way of righteousness
(chap. 21:32). His food is that which he finds in the wilderness (even his
prophetic garments bearing witness to the position which he had taken on the
part of God), himself filled with the Holy Ghost.
Thus was he a prophet, for he came from God, and addressed himself to
the people of God to call them to repentance, and he proclaimed the blessing of
God according to the promises of Jehovah their God; but he was more than a
prophet, for he declared as an immediate thing the introduction of a new
dispensation, long expected, and the advent of the Lord in Person. At the same
time, although coming to Israel, he did not own the people, for they were to be
judged; the threshing-floor of Jehovah was to be cleansed, the trees that did
not bear good fruit to be cut down. It would be a remnant only that Jehovah
would place in the new position in the kingdom that he announced, without its
being yet revealed in what manner it was to be established. He proclaimed the
judgment of the people.
What a fact of immeasurable greatness was the presence of
the Lord God in the midst of His people, in the Person of Him who, although He
was doubtless to be the fulfilment of all the promises, was necessarily, though
rejected, the Judge of all the evil existing among His people!
And the more we give these passages their true
application, that is to say, the more we apply them to Israel, the more we
apprehend their real force. [2]
No doubt repentance is an eternal necessity to every soul
that approaches God; but what a light is thrown upon this truth, when we see
the intervention of the Lord Himself who calls His people to this repentance,
setting aside-on their refusal-the whole system of their relationships with
Him, and establishing a new dispensation-a kingdom which only belongs to those
who hear Him-and causing at length His judgment to break forth against His
people and the city which He had so long cherished! "If thou hadst known,
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!
but now they are hid from thine eyes."
This truth gives room for the exhibition of another and most highly
important one, announced here in connection with the sovereign rights of God
rather than in its consequences, but which already contained in itself all
those consequences. The people from all parts, and as we learn elsewhere
especially the ungodly and despised, went out to be baptised, confessing their
sins. But those who, in their own eyes, held the chief place among the people,
were in the eyes of the prophet who loved the people according to God, the
objects of the judgment he announced. Wrath was impending. Who had warned these
scornful men to flee from it? Let them humble themselves like the rest; let
them take their true place, and prove their change of heart. To boast in the
privileges of their nation, or of their fathers, availed nothing before God. He
required that which His very nature, His truth, demanded. Moreover He was
sovereign; He was able of those stones to raise up children to Abraham. This is
what His sovereign grace has done, through Christ, with regard to the Gentiles.
There was reality needed. The axe was at the root of the trees, and those that
did not bring forth good fruit should be cut down. This is the great moral
principle which the judgment was going to put in force. The blow was not yet
struck, but the axe was already at the root of the trees. John was come to
bring those who received his testimony into a new position, or at least into a
new state in which they were prepared for it. On their repentance he would
distinguish them from the rest by baptism. But He who was coming after John-He
whose shoes John was not worthy to bear-would thoroughly purge His floor, would
separate those that were truly His, morally His, from among His people Israel
(that was His floor), and would execute judgment on the rest. John on his part
opened the door to repentance beforehand; afterwards should come the judgment.
Judgment was not the only work that belonged to Jesus.
Two things are however attributed to Him in John's testimony He baptises with
fire-this is the judgment proclaimed in verse 12, which consumes all that is
evil. But He baptises also with the Holy Ghost-that Spirit which, given to, and
acting in divine energy in man, quickened, redeemed, cleansed in the blood of
Christ, brings him out fromthe influence of all that acts on the flesh, and
sets him in connection and in communion with all that is revealed of God, with
the glory into which He brings His creatures in the life which He imparts,
destroying morally in us the power of all that is contrary to the enjoyment of
these privileges.
Observe here, that the only good fruit recognised by
John, as the way of escape, is the sincere confession, through grace, of sin.
Those only who make this confession escape the axe. There were really no good
trees excepting those which confessed that they were bad.
But what a solemn moment was this for the people beloved
of God! What an event was the presence of Jehovah in the midst of the nation
with whom He stood in relationship!
Observe that John the Baptist does not here present the
Messiah as the Saviour come in grace, but as the Head of the kingdom, as
Jehovah, who would execute judgment if the people did not repent. We shall see
afterwards the position which He took in grace.
In verse 13 Jesus Himself, who until now has been
presented as the Messiah and even as Jehovah, comes to John to be baptised with
the baptism of repentance. We must remember that to come to this baptism was
the only good fruit which a Jew, in his then condition, could produce. The act
proved itself to be the fruit of a work of God-of the effectual work of the
Holy Ghost. He who repents confesses that he has previously walked afar from
God; so that it is a new movement, the fruit of God's word and work in him, the
sign of a new life, of the life of the Spirit in his soul. By the very fact of
John's mission, there was no other fruit, no other admissible proof, of life
from God, in a Jew. We are not to infer from this, that there were none in whom
the Spirit already acted vitally; but, in this condition of the people and
according to the call of God by His servant, that was the proof of this life-of
the turning of the heart to God. These were the true remnant of the people,
those whom God acknowledged as such; and it was thus they were separated from
the mass who were ripening for judgment. These were the true saints-the
excellent of the earth; although the self-abasement of repentance could be
their only true place. It was there they must begin. When God brings in mercy
and justice, they avail themselves thankfully of the former, confessing it to
be their only resource, and they bow their heart before the latter, as the just
consequence of the condition of God's people, but as applying it to themselves.
Now Jesus presents Himself in the midst of those who do
this. Although truly the Lord, Jehovah, the righteous Judge of His people, He
who was to purge His floor, He nevertheless takes His place among the faithful
remnant who humble themselves before this judgment. He takes the place of the
lowest of His people before God; as in Psalm 16 He calls Jehovah His Lord,
saying unto Him, "My goodness extendeth not to Thee"; and says to the
saints, and the excellent in the earth, "all my delight is in them."
Perfect testimony of grace-the Saviour identifying Himself, according to this
grace, with the first movement of the Spirit in the hearts of His own people,
humbling Himself not only in the condescension of grace towards them, but in
taking His place as one of them in their true position before God; not merely
to comfort their hearts by such kindness, but in order to sympathise with all
their sorrows and their difficulties; in order to be the pattern, the source,
and the perfect expression of every sentiment suitable to their position.
With wicked unrepentant Israel He could not associate
Himself, but with the first living effect of the word and Spirit of God in the
poor of the flock, He could and did in grace. He does so now. With the first
right step, one really of God, Christ is found.
But there was yet more. He comes to bring those who
received Him into relation with God, according to the favour which rested on
perfectness like His, and on the love which, by taking up His people's cause,
satisfied the heart of the Lord, and, having perfectly glorified God in all
that He is, made it possible for Him to satisfy Himself with goodness. We know
indeed that in order to do this, the Saviour had to lay down His life, because
the condition of the Jew, as that of every man, required this sacrifice before
either the one or the other could stand in relation with the God of truth. But
even for this the love of Jesus did not fail. Here however He is leading them
on to the enjoyment of the blessing expressed in His Person, which should be
securely founded on that sacrifice-blessing which they must reach by the path
of repentance, into which they entered by John's baptism; which Jesus received
with them, that they might go on together towards the possession of all the
good things which God has prepared for them that loved Him.
John, feeling the dignity and excellency of the Person of
Him who came unto him, opposes the Lord's intention. The Holy Ghost by this
brings out the true character of the Lord's action. As to Himself, it was
righteousness which brought Him there, and not sin-righteousness which He
accomplished in love. He, as well as John the Baptist, fulfilled that which
belonged to the place assigned Him by God. With what condescension He links
Himself at the same time with John-"It becometh us." He is the lowly
and obedient Servant. It was thus He ever behaved Himself on earth. Moreover,
as to His position, grace brought Jesus there, where sin brought us, who came
in by the door the Lord had opened for His sheep. In confessing sin as it is,
in coming before God in the confession of (the opposite of sin morally) our
sin, we find ourselves in company with Jesus. [3] Indeed
it is in us the fruit of His Spirit. This was the case with the poor sinners
who came out to John. Thus it was that Jesus took His place in righteousness
and obedience among men, and more exactly among the repentant Jews. It is in
this position of a man-righteous, obedient, and fulfilling on earth, in perfect
humility, the work for which He had offered Himself in grace, according to Psalm
40, giving Himself up to the accomplishment of all the will of God in complete
renunciation-that God His Father fully acknowledged Him, and sealed Him,
declaring Him on earth to be His well-beloved Son.
Being baptised-the most striking token of the place He
had taken with His people-the heavens are opened unto Him, and He sees the Holy
Ghost descending on Him like a dove; and, lo! a voice from heaven, saying,
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
But these circumstances demand attention.
Never were the heavens opened to the earth, nor to a man
on the earth, before the beloved Son was there. [4] God
had doubtless, in His longsuffering and in the way of providence, blessed all
His creatures; He had also blessed His own people, according to the rules of
His government on earth. Besides this, there were the elect, whom He had
preserved in faithfulness. Nevertheless until now the heavens had not been
opened. A testimony had been sent by God in connection with His government of
the earth; but there was no object on the earth upon which the eye of God could
rest with complacency, until Jesus, sinless and obedient, His beloved Son,
stood there. But what is so precious to us is, that it is as soon as in grace
He takes publicly this place of humiliation with Israel-that is, with the
faithful remnant, presenting Himself thus before God, fulfilling His will-the
heavens open upon an object worthy of their attention. Ever doubtless was He
worthy of their adoration, even before the world was. But now He has just taken
this place in the dealings of God as a man, and the heavens opened unto Jesus,
the object of God's entire affection on the earth. The Holy Ghost descends upon
Him visibly. And He, a man on earth, a man taking His place with the meek of
the people who repented, is acknowledged as the Son of God. He is not only
anointed of God, but, as man, He is conscious of the descent of the Holy Ghost
upon Him-the seal of the Father set upon Him. Here it is evidently not His
divine nature, in the character of the Eternal Son of the Father. The seal
would not even be in conformity with that character; and as to His Person it is
manifested, and His consciousness of it, at twelve years old in Luke's Gospel.
But while He is such, He is also a man, the Son of God on the earth, and is
sealed as a man. As a man He has the consciousness of the immediate presence of
the Holy Ghost with Him. This presence is in connection with the character of
lowliness, meekness, and obedience, in which the Lord appeared down here. It is
"like a dove" that the Holy Ghost descends upon Him; just as it was
in the form of tongues of fire, that He came down upon the heads of the
disciples, for their testimony in power in this world, according to the grace
which addressed each and every one in his own language.
Jesus thus creates in His own position as man the place
into which He introduces us by redemption (John 20:17). But the glory of His
Person is always carefully guarded. There is no object presented to Jesus, as
to Saul for instance, and, in a still more analogous case, to Stephen, who,
being full of the Spirit, sees also the heavens opened, and looks up into them,
and sees Jesus, the Son of man, and is transformed into His image. Jesus has
come; He is Himself the object over whom the heavens open; He has no
transforming object, as Stephen, or as we ourselves in the Spirit; heaven looks
down at Him, the perfect object of delight. It is His relationship with His
Father, already existing, which is sealed. [5]
Neither does the Holy Ghost create His character (except so far as, with
respect to His human nature, He was conceived in the virgin Mary's womb by the
power of the Holy Ghost); He had connected Himself with the poor, in the
perfection of that character, before He was sealed, and then acts according to
the energy and the power of that which He received without measure in His human
life here below (compare Acts 10:38, Matthew 12:28, John 3:34).
We find in the word four memorable occasions on which the
heavens open. Christ is the object of each of these revelations; each has its
especial character. Here the Holy Ghost descends upon Him, and He is
acknowledged the Son of God (compare John 1:33, 34). At the end of the same
chapter of John, He declares Himself to be the Son of man. There it is the
angels of God who ascend and descend upon Him. He is, as Son of man, the object
of their ministry. [6] At the
end of Acts 7 an entirely new scene is opened. The Jews reject the last
testimony that God sends them. Stephen, by whom this testimony is rendered, is
filled with the Holy Ghost, and the heavens are opened to him. The earthly
system was definitely closed by the rejection of the Holy Ghost's testimony to
the glory of the ascended Christ. But this is not merely a testimony. The
Christian is filled with the Spirit, heaven is opened to him, the glory of God
is manifested to him, and the Son of man appears to him, standing at the right
hand of God. This is a different thing from the heavens open over Jesus, the
object of God's delight on earth. It is heaven open to the Christian himself,
his object being there when rejected on earth. He sees there by the Holy Ghost
the heavenly glory of God, and Jesus, the Son of man, the special object of the
testimony he renders, in the glory of God. The difference is as remarkable as
it is interesting to us; and it exhibits, in a most striking manner, the true
position of the Christian as on earth, and the change which the rejection of
Jesus by His earthly people has produced. Only, the church, the union of
believers in one body with the Lord in heaven, was not yet revealed. Afterwards
(Rev. 19) heaven opens, and the Lord Himself comes forth, the King of kings and
Lord of lords.
Thus we see Jesus, the Son of God on earth, the object of
heaven's delight, sealed with the Holy Ghost; Jesus, the Son of man, the object
of the ministry of heaven, angels being His servants; Jesus, on high at the
right hand of God, and the believer, full of the Spirit, and suffering here for
His sake, beholding the glory on high, and the Son of man in the glory; and
Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, coming forth to judge and make war
against the scornful men who dispute His authority and oppress the earth.
To return: the Father Himself acknowledges Jesus, the
obedient man on earth, who enters as the true Shepherd by the door, as His
beloved Son in whom is all His delight. Heaven is opened to Him; He sees the
Holy Ghost come down to seal Him, the infallible strength and support of the
perfection of His human life; and He has the Father's own testimony to the
relationship between them. No object on which His faith was to rest is
presented to Him as it is to us. It is His own relation to heaven and to His
Father which is sealed. His soul enjoys it through the descent of the Holy
Ghost and the voice of His Father.
But this passage in Matthew requires some further notice.
The blessed Lord, or rather what occurred as to Him, gives the place or model
in which He sets believers, be they Jew or Gentile: only of course we are
brought there by redemption. "I go to my Father and your Father, my God
and your God," is His blessed word after His resurrection. But to us
heaven is opened; we are sealed with the Holy Ghost; the Father owns us as
sons. Only the divine dignity of Christ's Person is always carefully guarded
here in humiliation, as in the transfiguration in glory. Moses and Elias are in
the same glory, but disappear when Peter's haste, permitted to be expressed,
would put them on a level. The nearer we are to a divine Person, the more we
adore and recognise what He is.
But another very remarkable fact is found here. For the
first time, when Christ takes this place among men in lowliness, the Trinity is
fully revealed. No doubt the Son and Spirit are mentioned in the Old Testament.
But there the unity of the Godhead is the great revealed point. Here the Son is
owned in man, the Holy Ghost comes down on Him, and the Father owns Him as His
Son. What a wonderful connection with man! what a place for man to be in!
Through Christ's connection with Him the Godhead is revealed in its own
fulness. His being a man draws it out in its display. But He was really a man,
but the Man in whom the counsels of God about man were to be fulfilled.
Hence, as He has realised and displayed the place in
which man is set with God in His own Person, and in the counsels of grace as to
us our relationship with God, so, as we are in conflict with the enemy, He
enters into that side of our position also. We have our relationship with God
and our Father, and now we have to say to Satan also. He overcomes for us, and
shews us how to overcome. Remark too, the relationship with God is first fully
settled and brought out, and then, as in that place, the conflict with Satan
begins, and so with us. But the first question was, Would the second Adam stand
where the first had failed? only, in the wilderness of this world and Satan's
power-instead of the blessings of God-for there we had got.
Another point is to be remarked here, fully to bring out
the place the Lord takes. The law and the prophets were till John. Then the new
thing is announced, the kingdom of heaven. But judgment closes with God's
people. The axe is at the root of the trees, the fan is in the hand of the
coming One, the wheat is gathered into God's garner, the chaff burnt up. That
is, there is a close of the history of God's people in judgment. We come in on
the ground of being lost, anticipating the judgment; but man's history as
responsible was closed. Hence it is said, "now once in the end of the
world he hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." It
has happened externally and literally to Israel; but it is morally true for us:
only we are gathered for heaven, as in result the remnant then, and shall be in
heaven. But, Christ rejected, the history of responsibility is over, and we
come in in grace as already lost. Consequent on the announcement of this as
imminent, Christ comes and, identifying Himself with the remnant who escape on
repentance, makes this new place for man on the earth: only we could not be in
it till redemption was accomplished. Still He revealed the Father's name to
those He had given Him out of it.
[1] This
expression is found only in Matthew, as specially occupied with dispensations,
and the dealings of God with the Jews. "The kingdom of God" is the
generic term. "The kingdom of heaven" is the kingdom of God, but the
kingdom of God as specially taking this character of heavenly government; we
shall find it (farther on) separated into the kingdom of our Father, and the
kingdom of the Son of man.
[2] And
we must remember that, besides the special promises to, and calling, of Israel
as God's earthly people, that people were just man viewed in his responsibility
to God under the fullest culture that God could give him. Up to the flood there
was testimony but no dispensational dealings, or institutions of God. After it,
in the new world, human government, calling and promise in Abraham, law,
Messiah, God come in grace, everything God could do, and that in perfect
patience, was done, and in vain as to good in flesh; and now Israel was being
set aside as in the flesh, and the flesh judged, the fig-tree cursed as
fruitless, and God's man, the second Adam, He in whom blessing was by
redemption, introduced into the world. In the first three Gospels, as we have
seen, we have Christ presented to man to be received; in John, man is set aside
and Israel, and God's sovereign ways in grace and resurrection brought in.
[3] It
is the same thing as to the sense of our nothingness. He made Himself nothing,
and in the consciousness of our nothingness we find ourselves with Him, and at
the same time are filled with His fulness. Even when we fall, it is not until
we are brought to know ourselves as we really are that we find Jesus raising us
up again.
[4] In
the beginning of Ezekiel, it is said indeed that the heavens were opened; but
this was only in vision, as the prophet himself explains. In that instance it
was the manifestation of God in judgment.
[5] This
is true also of us when we are in that relationship by grace.
[6] It
is all a mistake to make Christ the ladder. He, as Jacob was, is the object of
their service and ministry.
── John Darby《Synopsis of Matthew》
Matthew 3
Chapter Contents
John the Baptist, His preaching, manner of life, and
baptism. (1-6) John reproves the Pharisees and Sadducees. (7-12) The baptism of
Jesus. (13-17)
Commentary on Matthew 3:1-6
(Read Matthew 3:1-6)
After Malachi there was no prophet until John the Baptist
came. He appeared first in the wilderness of Judea. This was not an uninhabited
desert, but a part of the country not thickly peopled, nor much enclosed. No
place is so remote as to shut us out from the visits of Divine grace. The
doctrine he preached was repentance; "Repent ye." The word here used,
implies a total alteration in the mind, a change in the judgment, disposition,
and affections, another and a better bias of the soul. Consider your ways,
change your minds: you have thought amiss; think again, and think aright. True
penitents have other thoughts of God and Christ, sin and holiness, of this
world and the other, than they had. The change of the mind produces a change of
the way. That is gospel repentance, which flows from a sight of Christ, from a sense
of his love, and from hopes of pardon and forgiveness through him. It is a
great encouragement to us to repent; repent, for your sins shall be pardoned
upon your repentance. Return to God in a way of duty, and he will, through
Christ, return unto you in the way of mercy. It is still as necessary to repent
and humble ourselves, to prepare the way of the Lord, as it then was. There is
a great deal to be done, to make way for Christ into a soul, and nothing is
more needful than the discovery of sin, and a conviction that we cannot be
saved by our own righteousness. The way of sin and Satan is a crooked way; but
to prepare a way for Christ, the paths must be made straight, Hebrews 12:13. Those whose business it is to
call others to mourn for sin, and to mortify it, ought themselves to live a
serious life, a life of self-denial, and contempt of the world. By giving
others this example, John made way for Christ. Many came to John's baptism, but
few kept to the profession they made. There may be many forward hearers, where
there are few true believers. Curiosity, and love for novelty and variety, may
bring many to attend on good preaching, and to be affected for a while, who
never are subject to the power of it. Those who received John's doctrine,
testified their repentance by confessing their sins. Those only are ready to
receive Jesus Christ as their righteousness, who are brought with sorrow and
shame to own their guilt. The benefits of the kingdom of heaven, now at hand,
were thereupon sealed to them by baptism. John washed them with water, in token
that God would cleanse them from all their iniquities, thereby intimating, that
by nature and practice all were polluted, and could not be admitted among the
people of God, unless washed from their sins in the fountain Christ was to
open, Zechariah 13:1.
Commentary on Matthew 3:7-12
(Read Matthew 3:7-12)
To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the
life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their
chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the
moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them
were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for
iniquity. The Sadducees ran into the opposite extreme, denying the existence of
spirits, and a future state. They were the scornful infidels of that time and
country. There is a wrath to come. It is the great concern of every one to flee
from that wrath. God, who delights not in our ruin, has warned us; he warns by
the written word, by ministers, by conscience. And those are not worthy of the
name of penitents, or their privileges, who say they are sorry for their sins,
yet persist in them. It becomes penitents to be humble and low in their own
eyes, to be thankful for the least mercy, patient under the greatest
affliction, to be watchful against all appearances of sin, to abound in every
duty, and to be charitable in judging others. Here is a word of caution, not to
trust in outward privileges. There is a great deal which carnal hearts are apt
to say within themselves, to put aside the convincing, commanding power of the
word of God. Multitudes, by resting in the honours and mere advantages of their
being members of an outward church, come short of heaven. Here is a word of
terror to the careless and secure. Our corrupt hearts cannot be made to produce
good fruit, unless the regenerating Spirit of Christ graft the good word of God
upon them. And every tree, however high in gifts and honours, however green in
outward professions and performances, if it bring not forth good fruit, the
fruits meet for repentance, is hewn down and cast into the fire of God's wrath,
the fittest place for barren trees: what else are they good for? If not fit for
fruit, they are fit for fuel. John shows the design and intention of Christ's
appearing, which they were now speedily to expect. No outward forms can make us
clean. No ordinances, by whomsoever administered, or after whatever mode, can
supply the want of the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire. The purifying and
cleansing power of the Holy Spirit alone can produce that purity of heart, and
those holy affections, which accompany salvation. It is Christ who baptizes
with the Holy Ghost. This he did in the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit sent
upon the apostles, Acts 2:4. This he does in the graces and
comforts of the Spirit, given to those that ask him, Luke 11:13; John 7:38,39; see Acts 11:16. Observe here, the outward church is
Christ's floor, Isaiah 21:10. True believers are as wheat,
substantial, useful, and valuable; hypocrites are as chaff, light and empty,
useless and worthless, carried about with every wind; these are mixed, good and
bad, in the same outward communion. There is a day coming when the wheat and
chaff shall be separated. The last judgment will be the distinguishing day,
when saints and sinners shall be parted for ever. In heaven the saints are
brought together, and no longer scattered; they are safe, and no longer
exposed; separated from corrupt neighbours without, and corrupt affections
within, and there is no chaff among them. Hell is the unquenchable fire, which
will certainly be the portion and punishment of hypocrites and unbelievers.
Here life and death, good and evil, are set before us: according as we now are
in the field, we shall be then in the floor.
Commentary on Matthew 3:13-17
(Read Matthew 3:13-17)
Christ's gracious condescensions are so surprising, that
even the strongest believers at first can hardly believe them; so deep and
mysterious, that even those who know his mind well, are apt to start objections
against the will of Christ. And those who have much of the Spirit of God while
here, see that they need to apply to Christ for more. Christ does not deny that
John had need to be baptized of him, yet declares he will now be baptized of
John. Christ is now in a state of humiliation. Our Lord Jesus looked upon it as
well becoming him to fulfil all righteousness, to own every Divine institution,
and to show his readiness to comply with all God's righteous precepts. In and
through Christ, the heavens are opened to the children of men. This descent of
the Spirit upon Christ, showed that he was endued with his sacred influences
without measure. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. At Christ's baptism there
was a manifestation of the three Persons in the sacred Trinity. The Father
confirming the Son to be Mediator; the Son solemnly entering upon the work; the
Holy Spirit descending on him, to be through his mediation communicated to his
people. In Him our spiritual sacrifices are acceptable, for He is the altar
that sanctifies every gift, 1 Peter 2:5. Out of Christ, God is a consuming
fire, but in Christ, a reconciled Father. This is the sum of the gospel, which
we must by faith cheerfully embrace.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Matthew》
Matthew 3
Verse 2
[2] And
saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of
God, are but two phrases for the same thing. They mean, not barely a future
happy state, in heaven, but a state to be enjoyed on earth: the proper
disposition for the glory of heaven, rather than the possession of it.
Is at hand — As
if he had said, God is about to erect that kingdom, spoken of by Daniel Daniel 2:44; 7:13,14; the kingdom of the God of heaven. It
properly signifies here, the Gospel dispensation, in which subjects were to be
gathered to God by his Son, and a society to be formed, which was to subsist
first on earth, and afterward with God in glory. In some places of Scripture,
the phrase more particularly denotes the state of it on earth: in ,others, it
signifies only the state of glory: but it generally includes both. The Jews
understood it of a temporal kingdom, the seat of which they supposed would be
Jerusalem; and the expected sovereign of this kingdom they learned from Daniel
to call the Son of man. Both John the Baptist and Christ took up that phrase,
the kingdom of heaven, as they found it, and gradually taught the Jews (though
greatly unwilling to learn) to understand it right. The very demand of
repentance, as previous to it, showed it was a spiritual kingdom, and that no wicked
man, how politic, brave, or learned soever, could possibly be a subject of it.
Verse 3
[3] For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice
of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight.
The way of the Lord — Of
Christ.
Make his paths straight — By removing every thing which might prove a hinderance to his gracious
appearance. Isaiah 40:3.
Verse 4
[4] And
the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his
loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
John had his raiment of camels' hair — Coarse and rough, suiting his character and doctrine.
A leathern girdle —
Like Elijah, in whose spirit and power he came.
His food was locusts and wild honey — Locusts are ranked among clean meats, Leviticus 11:22. But these were not always to be
had. So in default of those, he fed on wild honey.
Verse 6
[6] And
were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
Confessing their sins — Of their own accord; freely and openly. Such prodigious numbers could
hardly be baptized by immerging their whole bodies under water: nor can we think
they were provided with change of raiment for it, which was scarcely
practicable for such vast multitudes. And yet they could not be immerged naked
with modesty, nor in their wearing apparel with safety. It seems, therefore,
that they stood in ranks on the edge of the river, and that John, passing along
before them, cast water on their heads or faces, by which means he might
baptize many thousands in a day. And this way most naturally signified Christ's
baptizing them with the Holy Ghost and with fire, which John spoke of, as
prefigured by his baptizing with water, and which was eminently fulfilled, when
the Holy Ghost sat upon the disciples in the appearance of tongues, or flames
of fire.
Verse 7
[7] But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism,
he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the
wrath to come?
The Pharisees were a very ancient sect among
the Jews. They took their name from a Hebrew word, which signifies to separate,
because they separated themselves from all other men. They were outwardly
strict observers of the law, fasted often, made long prayers, rigorously kept
the Sabbath, and paid all tithe, even of mint, anise, and cummin. Hence they
were in high esteem among the people. But inwardly, they were full of pride and
hypocrisy. The Sadducees were another sect among the Jews, only not so
considerable as the Pharisees. They denied the existence of angels, and the
immortality of the soul, and by consequence the resurrection of the dead.
Ye brood of vipers — In
like manner, the crafty Herod is styled a fox, and persons of insidious,
ravenous, profane, or sensual dispositions, are named respectively by him who
saw their hearts, serpents, dogs, wolves, and swine; terms which are not the
random language of passion, but a judicious designation of the persons meant by
them. For it was fitting such men should be marked out, either for a caution to
others, or a warning to themselves.
Verse 8
[8]
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Repentance is of two sorts; that which is
termed legal, and that which is styled evangelical repentance. The former
(which is the same that is spoken of here) is a thorough conviction of sin. The
latter is a change of heart (and consequently of life) from all sin to all
holiness.
Verse 9
[9] And
think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say
unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
And say not confidently — The word in the original, vulgarly rendered, Think not, seems here, and
in many places, not to diminish, but rather add to the force of the word with
which it is joined.
We have Abraham to our father — It is almost incredible, how great the presumption of the Jews was on
this their relation to Abraham. One of their famous sayings was, "Abraham
sits near the gates of hell, and suffers no Israelite to go down into it."
I say unto you - This preface always denotes the importance of what follows.
Of these stones —
Probably pointing to those which lay before them.
Verse 10
[10] And
now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
But the axe also already lieth — That is, there is no room for such idle pretences. Speedy execution is
determined against all that do not repent. The comparison seems to be taken
from a woodman that has laid down his axe to put off his coat, and then
immediately goes to work to cut down the tree. This refers to the wrath to come
in verse 7, Matthew 3:7.
Is hewn down —
Instantly, without farther delay.
Verse 11
[11] I
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is
mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire — He shall fill you with the Holy Ghost,
inflaming your hearts with that fire of love, which many waters cannot quench.
And this was done, even with a visible appearance as of fire, on the day of
pentecost.
Verse 12
[12]
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his
wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Whose fan —
That is, the word of the Gospel.
His floor —
That is, his Church, which is now covered with a mixture of wheat and chaff.
He will gather the wheat into the garner — Will lay up those who are truly good in heaven.
Verse 13
[13] Then
cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
Verse 15
[15] And
Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us
to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness — It becometh every messenger of God to observe all his righteous
ordinances. But the particular meaning of our Lord seems to be, that it
becometh us to do (me to receive baptism, and you to administer it) in order to
fulfil, that is, that I may fully perform every part of the righteous law of
God, and the commission he hath given me.
Verse 16
[16] And
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove, and lighting upon him:
And Jesus being baptized — Let our Lord's submitting to baptism teach us a holy exactness in the
observance of those institutions which owe their obligation merely to a Divine
command. Surely thus it becometh all his followers to fulfil all righteousness.
Jesus had no sin to wash away. And yet he was baptized. And God owned his
ordinance, so as to make it the season of pouring forth the Holy Spirit upon
him. And where can we expect this sacred effusion, but in an humble attendance
on Divine appointments? Lo, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of
God - St. Luke adds, in a bodily form - Probably in a glorious appearance of
fire, perhaps in the shape of a dove, descending with a hovering motion, till
it rested upon him. This was a visible token of those secret operations of the
blessed Spirit, by which he was anointed in a peculiar manner; and abundantly
fitted for his public work.
Verse 17
[17] And
lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
And lo, a voice — We
have here a glorious manifestation of the ever - blessed Trinity: the Father
speaking from heaven, the Son spoken to, the Holy Ghost descending upon him.
In whom I delight —
What an encomium is this! How poor to this are all other kinds of praise! To he
the pleasure, the delight of God, this is praise indeed: this is true glory:
this is the highest, the brightest light, that virtue can appear in.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on
Matthew》
Chapter
3. John the Baptist
Prepare the Way
of the Lord
Make His Paths
Straight
I. The Ministry
of John the Baptist
1.
John’s Duty
2.
John’s Life
3.
John’s Message
Il. Three Kinds
of Baptism
1.
Cleansing of Water
2.
Fulfillment of Spirit
3.
Judgment of Fire
III. Jesus
Humbles Himself to be Baptized
1.
Testimony of John
2.
Descending of the Holy Spirit
3.
Pleasure of God
── Chih-Hsin Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》
Preparing The Way Of The Lord (3:1-12)
INTRODUCTION
1. Prior to the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, we read of the work of John the Baptist... a. Who preached in the wilderness of Judea - Mt 3:1 b. Who at first had a very successful ministry - Mt 3:5-6 c. Which was later cut short by his imprisonment - Mt 4:12 2. Though John's work was short-lived, it was clearly important... a. Each of the four gospels preface Jesus' ministry with that of John's b. His ministry prepared people for what was to come [If we seek to understand the message and ministry of Jesus Christ, wemust start with the one who was sent to "prepare the way of the Lord".In this study we shall begin by observing what we can regarding...] I. THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
A. HIS MESSAGE... 1. A call to repentance - Mt 3:1-2 a. Lit., "a changing of the mind" b. Which change prompts one to turn from sin and turn to God c. Prompted by sorrow for one's sins, manifested by a zealous desire to do what is right - cf. 2 Co 7:10-11 2. A proclamation of the coming "kingdom of heaven" - Mt 3:2 a. The term "kingdom" in Jewish thought meant "rule, reign" b. The phrase "of heaven" implies the source of such rule; other gospel writers use "of God" - cf. Mk 1:14-15 c. The rule or reign of God was about to be manifested in a special way; it was "at hand" (near) B. HIS PURPOSE... 1. To fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah - Mt 3:3 a. Which was to "prepare the way of the Lord, make His pathsstraight" - Isa 40:3
b. I.e., to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah 2. To fulfill the prophecy of Malachi - Mt 3:4 a. Concerning the sending of Elijah - cf. Mal 4:5-6 b. John came "in the spirit and power of Elijah", not that he actually was Elijah - cf. Jn 1:19-23 (cf. Mt 3:4 with 2 Ki 1:8) -- As the angel told Zacharias, his son John was to "make ready apeople prepared for the Lord" - Lk 1:16-17
C. HIS SUCCESS... 1. People from Jerusalem , all Judea , etc., went to him - Mt 3:5 2. They were baptized by him in the Jordan - Mt 3:6 a. For he preached a baptism of repentance - Mk 1:4a b. A baptism for the remission of sins - Mk 1:4b D. HIS CHALLENGE... 1. When people came to be baptized, he expected to see fruits in keeping with true repentance - Mt 3:7-8 a. He expected compassion for the poor - Lk 3:10-11 b. He expected honest business dealings - Lk 3:12-13 c. He expected fair treatment, contentment with one's wages - Lk 3:14 2. He told them not to trust in their heritage or ancestry - Mt 3:9 a. It was not enough to be Jews, descendants of Abraham b. God could just as easily raise up children to Abraham out of stones 3. He warned them that the time of judgment was near - Mt 3:10 a. The "ax" (God's judgment) was at the root of the trees b. That which did not bear good fruit would be cut off - cf. Ro 11:11-23; Jn 15:1-6 E. HIS PROMISE... 1. One mightier than he is coming - Mt 3:11 a. Yes, John did indeed baptize with water with repentance b. But one (Jesus) was coming to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire! 2. Whose work would be to separate the wheat from the chaff - Mt 3:12 a. Using a "winnowing fan" (the Holy Spirit? cf. Jn 16:7-8,12-13)
b. And burn up the chaff with "unquenchable fire" (the Judgment? cf. Mt 13:30) [We can learn more of the ministry of John the Baptist by studying theother gospels, but what Matthew records is sufficient to make severalobservations about how he was "Preparing The Way Of The Lord"...] II. OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE MINISTRY OF JOHN
A. JOHN PREPARED PEOPLE FOR JESUS' MESSAGE... 1. John preached a call to repent - Mt 3:2,8 a. Jesus did the same during His earthly ministry - Mt 4:17;9:13; 11:20; 12:41
b. Jesus expected the call to repentance to be proclaimed in His name to all nations - Lk 24:46-47 c. And so His apostles proclaimed the need to repent - Ac 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 20:20-21; 26:19-20
-- Unless we heed to the call to repent, we have not begun to understand nor act upon what it means to be true disciples of Jesus Christ! 2. John proclaimed the good news of the kingdom, that it was near - Mt 3:2 a. This was the same message proclaimed by Jesus - Mt 4:17; cf. Mk 1:14-15 b. By His disciples, in the Limited Commission - Mt 10:7 c. The theme of the kingdom was an important part of the gospel following the Great Commission - Ac 8:12; 14:22;19:8; 20:25; 28:23
-- What came to be taught concerning the kingdom, we shall consider in another lesson; but it was "at hand" during Jesus' earthly ministry, and in existence following His ascension to heaven - cf. Co 1:13; 1 Th 2:12; Re 1:9 B. JOHN PREPARED THE PEOPLE FOR JESUS' WORK... 1. He spoke of Jesus as One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit - Mt 3:11 a. This did not rule out Jesus baptizing in water, or that His disciples would 1) Indeed, Jesus did baptize in water, via His disciples - Jn 4:1-2 2) He later commanded water baptism in the Great Commission, which His disciples carried out - Mt 28:19-20; Ac 2:38; 8:35-38; 10:47-48
b. But Jesus would also baptize with the Holy Spirit, as promised - cf. Ac 1:4-5 1) Which occurred at Pentecost - cf. Ac 2:1-21 2) The result of which affects all who are saved - Ti 3:5-7 -- Yes, John "indeed" baptized with water (as would Jesus), but John prepared the people for a work Jesus would do that went far beyond what he was doing! 2. He spoke of Jesus as One who would separate the "wheat" from the "chaff" - Mt 3:12 a. Jesus' work would divide the good from the bad - cf. Mt 13:47-50
b. His work would even cause division within one's family - cf. Mt 10:34-39 -- From what John said, we can expect that the effect of Jesus' work would sometimes cause division, not peace! 3. He spoke of Jesus as administering judgment - Mt 3:12 a Jesus later depicted Himself as judge - Mt 26:31-46 b. He spoke of how His words would judge us in the last day - Jn 12:48 -- It is true that Jesus came the first time to save the world, but He is coming again, this time to judge the world! - 2 Th 1:7-10 CONCLUSION
1. The ministry of John the Baptist was an important one... a. To "prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight" b. This he did by preaching the same themes, letting people know what to expect -- Of course, there was more, as John was to actually identify the Messiah to Israel 2. But when Jesus began preaching, people were more likely to: a. Repent of their sins b. Answer the call to be baptized c. Accept the good news concerning the kingdom ...for John had been preaching such themes in the wilderness of Judea ! 3. In a sense, John's message is still needed today... a. There are many who turn the message of Jesus Christ into some sort of "easy-believism" b. But John reminds us of the need to bear fruits in keeping with true repentance As Jesus would say later, "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and donot do the things which I say?" (Lk 6:46). Are you showing true
acceptance of Jesus as Lord by doing the things He says?
The Baptism Of Jesus (3:13-17)
INTRODUCTION
1. The baptism of Jesus by John served a significant role in both of their ministries... a. It came at the height of John's ministry, after which his began to decline b. It served as the beginning of Jesus' ministry, which soon overtook the ministry of John 2. The baptism of Jesus naturally raises some questions... a. Why was He baptized? b. Does it suggest an explanation of the purpose for Christian baptism? [In this study we shall endeavor to answer these questions, first byreviewing the historical record concerning Jesus' baptism...] I. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
A. JESUS COMES TO JOHN... 1. From Galilee to the Jordan River - Mt 3:13a a. Jesus had been living in Nazareth , a city of Galilee - Mt 2:23 b. John had been baptizing in the Jordan River , where there was much water - Mt 3:5-6; Jn 3:23 2. To be baptized by John - Mt 3:13b B. JOHN SEEKS TO PREVENT JESUS... 1. John tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized - Mt 3:14a 2. He explains why: "I need to be baptized by You, and are Youcoming to Me?" - Mt 3:14b
a. There is a sense of shock in John's words b. While John did not fully comprehend who Jesus was until later (cf. Jn 1:29-33), he evidently knew enough that he was perplexed C. JESUS PERSUADES JOHN... 1. Jesus convinces John to permit His baptism - Mt 3:15a 2. As Jesus explains why: "It is fitting for us to fulfill allrighteousness."
3. And so Jesus is baptized by John - Mt 3:15b D. THE SPIRIT AND THE FATHER ADD THEIR TESTIMONY... 1. The heavens open, and the Spirit of God descends like a dove (in bodily form, Lk 3:22) and lights upon Jesus - Mt 3:16 2. A voice from heaven proclaims: a. "This is My beloved Son" b. "In whom I am well pleased" [Without question, the baptism of Jesus was a significant event! It naturally raises several questions which I will try to answer...] II. QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE BAPTISM OF JESUS
A. WHY WAS JESUS BAPTIZED? 1. Clearly not for the same reason other people were being baptized by John a. Theirs was a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins - cf. Mk 1:4 b. They were confessing their sins - cf. Mk 1:5; Mt 3:6 -- Jesus was without sin - He 4:15 2. Jesus said it was "to fulfill all righteousness" - Mt 3:15 a. It was God's counsel that people be baptized of John - cf. Lk 7:29-30 b. Jesus was willing to set the right example by doing the Father's will, something He delighted to do - Ps 40:7-8;Jn 4:34; 8:29
3. It also served to introduce Him to John and Israel a. John had been proclaiming that He was coming - Mt 3:11 b. John had been told that the Spirit coming upon Jesus would be a sign - Jn 1:29-34 B. DOES JESUS' BAPTISM EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM? 1. Many refer to Jesus' baptism to explain the purpose of Christian baptism a. That our baptism has nothing to do with the remission of sins b. That our baptism is but a public profession of one's faith c. That our baptism is to publicly identify our relation to Christ, just as His baptism publicly introduced Him to Israel 2. However, there is no Biblical connection made between Jesus' baptism and our own a. Christian baptism is for the remission of sins - Ac 2:38;22:16
b. Christian baptism is a union with Christ in His death - Ro 6:3-7 c. Christian baptism was often administered in relative privacy - Ac 8:35-38; 16:25-34 -- No Biblical writer suggests that we are baptized for the same reason Jesus was! C. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SPIRIT DESCENDING AND THEFATHER'S VOICE?
1. They certainly bear testimony as to who Jesus is a. As the Spirit would do later, via the works Jesus did - Mt 12:28 b. As the Father would do later, on another occasion - Mt 17:5 2. They also bear testimony to the nature of the Godhead a. I.e., three distinct persons in One God b. Though One in substance, there is a distinction to be made between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - cf. Mt 28:19 CONCLUSION
1. With the baptism of Jesus... a. He was formerly introduced to John, and by him to Israel 29-34
b. The Father and the Spirit audibly and visually confirmed Him as the Son c. Jesus demonstrated His desire to "fulfill all righteousness" 2. The baptism of Jesus is certainly significant to Christians... a. Not we were baptized for the same reason as He b. But certainly in confirming that He was the Messiah c. And displaying the attitude that should be true of all His disciples ("I have come to do my Father's will...") Jesus did not "need" baptism because He was without sin, but wasbaptized anyway because it was the Father's will for man at that time. Should we who are sinners dare hesitate to do the Father's willregarding baptism today? - Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-16; Ac 2:38
－－《Executable
Outlines》