Continuing a study of the Gospels:
(Matthew 3:1) In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea.
Here "those days" refers to the time of Christ. Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, wrote that there had not been a prophet since Malachi, some 400 years earlier than the time of Christ. Indeed, Malachi, in Malachi 3:1, had prophesied the coming of John the Baptist in the days of Jesus: "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me, and the Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in; behold, He shall come, says the LORD of hosts." Now in Matthew 3:1, here came John the Baptist, preaching:
(2) And saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
John's message was to repent; the original Greek word used was "metanoeo", meaning "to think differently, reconsider (morally to feel compunction)". The state of the Jews at that time was very corrupt. Many were righteous in their own eyes and felt they needed no repentance, but here John called all to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand. This kingdom of heaven was not that glorious kingdom of God in another world, heaven, but the kingdom of the Messiah was here. God was about to erect His kingdom on earth as prophesied by Daniel in Daniel 2:44, "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." It was not really a physical kingdom on earth, but rather a spiritual kingdom coming to earth. The covenant of grace, the opening of the kingdom of heaven to all believers, by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, had come to earth through the birth of Jesus. This was to be a kingdom of which Christ was sovereign, and all must be the willing, loyal subjects of it, by repentance.
(3) For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.'"
Matthew explained that this John the Baptist was the one who had been prophesied by Isaiah in Isaiah 40:3, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'" It was said of John before he was born that he was to prepare the way for the Lord, preparing the people for the coming of their Messiah.
(4) And the same John had his clothing of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Matthew went on to describe John the Baptist. He wore clothing of camel's hair, which was surely an undressed camel skin with hair, as later we are told in scripture that he did not wear soft clothing, camel hair that had been softened and dressed or spun into soft wool. Matthew Henry commented on John's "garb", "The garb in which he appeared, the figure he made, and the manner of his life. They, who expected the Messiah as a temporal prince, would think that his forerunner must come in great pomp and splendour, that his equipage should be very magnificent and gay; but it proves quite contrary; he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, but mean in the eyes of the world..." Just as 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 told us, "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are." I think the significance of his diet was to suggest it was plain and was what was available to him in the wilderness. Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, took it a step further and declared that, "Among the Greeks the vilest of the people used to eat them (locusts); and the fact that John made his food of them is significant of his great poverty and humble life." It would also add to the notion that God used the base things and things that are despised.
(5) Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him.
Great multitudes of people from Jerusalem, all parts of Judea, and from all the region around the Jordan River went out to see John the Baptist, and to hear the message he preached.
(6) And were baptized of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
Not only did all these people go out to see and hear him, but they confessed their sins, desiring to repent as John had called them to do, and were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
(7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said to them, "O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"
The Pharisees were a sect of Jews who derived their name from "parash" meaning "to separate". They separated themselves from the rest of their countrymen, and devoted themselves to a strict interpretation of the law that they felt made them justified in their self-righteousness, and they looked down upon the common people. The Sadducees took their name from Sadok, who was just as legalistic, but apparently not believing in any future reward or resurrection, just following God's law. They were deists and materialists who believed there was no spiritual influence of God on His people, and they endeavored to secure worldly rewards, wealth and high office. When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to John's baptism, it is interesting that he did not greet them with the same offering as the other people to come, repent, and be baptized. He called them by the same name that Jesus would later use, a generation of vipers, the serpent's seed of their father the devil. Though they thought themselves to be holy and above reproach, John called out their true character. Being they were so self-righteous, John asked them who or what could have persuaded them to seek escape from the wrath to come, divine punishment.
(8) “Therefore bring forth fruits worthy of repentance."
John told the Pharisees and Sadducees to show the evidence that they were sincere in their desire to repent.
(9) “And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."
Furthermore, John warned them not to think just because they were descendants of Abraham, that made them righteous. That was of small matter in the eyes of God; He could raise up stones to be more worthy descendants of Abraham than those self-righteous, hypocritical descendants.
(10) "And now also the axe is laid to the root of the trees; therefore every tree which does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire."
He told them the axe was laid to the root of the trees, meaning they were about to be cut down; the time was very near. Every person who did not bring forth the fruit of true repentance would be cut down and cast into an eternal fire, not being good for fruit, but only for fuel.
(11) “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
John admitted that he baptized people in water upon their repentance, but the One he was preparing the way for, Who would come after him, was mightier than he was. John said He was so great that he was not worthy to even carry His shoes. It was He who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. It was only through Him that real baptism of souls could take place, pouring the Holy Spirit upon His people. John's baptism with water was only an outward sign that people had repented and desired Christ. It was through Christ alone and His sending of the Holy Spirit that the souls of people were truly baptized and then led by the Holy Spirit to become anew.
(12) "Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the granary, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Continuing a description of the One who would come after him, John described Him as having a fan, or more precisely, a winnowing fork used to throw or fan the grain in the air to separate the chaff from the grain. He would thoroughly clean His threshing floor, His floor being the world He came to save. He would gather His people into safety and everlasting life, but the chaff, those who would reject Him, He would burn with an unquenchable fire, one that could never be extinguished by man.
(13) Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.
After John had spent some time preaching repentance and baptizing people, Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan River, seeking to be baptized by him.
(14) But John forbade Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and You come to me?”
One can only imagine John's surprise at this. He had stated He was not even worthy enough to carry Jesus's shoes, yet Jesus came to him for baptism. He opposed this, saying he was in need to be baptized by Jesus, and it didn't make sense to him that Jesus would come to him.
(15) And Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
Jesus, who had no need for repentance or baptism, told John to let it be that way for that moment in time. Christ was at that time in a state of humiliation; He had emptied Himself and made Himself of no reputation (Philippians 2:7), made in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3). He would be baptized by John, as if He needed to be washed, and He was made sin for us, though He knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus said it was fitting that they should fulfill all God's righteous laws, or perhaps He meant it was proper at that time because the time had not yet come that He baptize with the Holy Spirit. This reason satisfied John and he baptized Jesus.
(16) And Jesus, when he was baptized, came up immediately out of the water; and lo, the heavens were opened to Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him.
When Jesus was baptized and had come up out of the water, immediately the heavens opened, a visible sign seen by John and upon Jesus, and John saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove and light on Jesus. Luke 3:22 says that the Holy Spirit descended in bodily shape like a dove. Whether it was actually a dove or not, it was certainly a visible likeness and motion as of a dove that John could see land on Jesus.
(17) And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
At the moment the Holy Spirit lit on Jesus, a voice came from heaven, God declaring that this Jesus was His beloved Son, in Whom He was well pleased. God had been displeased with His people who all sinned and fell short (Romans 3:23). God was very pleased with His son of man, in whom His plan of salvation for His people would be fulfilled. At this moment in time, there was evidence of all three forms of God simultaneously--God the Father in heaven speaking, God the Holy Spirit descending in a visible bodily form, and God the Son, God in human form born of woman.
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