Too much of a good thing?

For those of you who can't get enough of scripture exposition (and, let's face it, who can get enough of scripture exposition), a friend of mine, Mike, is blogging through the book of Philippians on his blog in a series called Fridays in Philippians. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.

in Christ

Sorry, folks

Good day

I have studied for the next several verses of my exposition of Matthew. However, I have not written the post as of yet. Instead of trying to throw one together to make some sort of self imposed deadline, I've decided to take this week off and get back on my regular weekly schedule this weekend and have my post up by the 23rd (Saturday).

I have been thinking about something for sometime now and I thought I'd post this in the form of a prayer request. Eric over at Hammer and Nail has been posting a series on church reform. I highly recommend it. Anyway, he posted a link to a Southern Baptist church that is using a model called Family Intergrated Church. Basically, instead of seperating families into "age appropriate" classes, all families are together for the entire worship service. The concept, to me, is pretty exciting. Recently, I have become very disenchated with some of the things in the traditional institutional church and the idea of a "back to basics" kind of reformation sounds pretty appealing to me. Anyway, there is no such church in the area. I got to thinking how exciting it would be to start one. However, I don't need to do what Joe wants to do. I need to do what God wants me to do. Please pray for me that I will get a clear sense of direction from the Father.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I will have my next entry in Matthew up by Saturday.

in Christ

Great post on the temptation of our Savior

Alan Knox in his blog The Assembling of the Church (see link on the left) has written a great post reflecting on the temptation of Jesus here. You should check it out if you have the chance.

in Christ

Matthew 4:8-11 The Temptation of Jesus Part V

Probably the clearest picture of the motives of Satan in the Bible is found in Isaiah chapter 14. Ultimately, Satan wants to usurp power, glory, and authority from the Lord. We see him, in this last temptation recorded in Matthew, at his most arrogant. We see our Savoir demonstrate His unwavering devotion to God the Father and find for ourselves an example of the kind of faithfulness that we as followers of Christ are called to in our lives.

We notice that the setting has changed for this last temptation as recorded in Matthew. Satan has conducted Jesus to some “very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory”. The parallel passage in Luke 4 adds that the devil made this presentation in “a moment in time”. The picture that seems to be painted is that the devil showed our Lord all that could be seen from the top of this unnamed precipice and supernaturally showed a vision of the kingdoms of the world. Certainly, this would have been a magnificent sight. Rome was the most recent in a fairly impressive line of ancient civilizations including Babylon, Persia, and Greece. From a purely human standpoint, these societies had produced wonders in art, literature, politics, and architecture. Of course, viewed from the perspective of almighty God they were sinful, petty examples of man at his worst. Measured by purely human standards, however, their glory was unsurpassed.

In the midst of this glory, which was the height of human glory, Satan makes his most bold, presumptuous challenge of the three. He says to our Lord, in verse 9, that he would give Jesus all of the things that he showed Him. There was just one small catch. He said he would give these things to Christ if “You will bow down and worship me”. The creature here demands worship from the Creator. The clay calls for homage from the Potter. There is a reason that scripture teaches that “pride goes before destruction”. Satan, even in his state as a defeated foe, stands arrogantly demanding worship from God Incarnate.

We should remember as we study this that Satan did (and does) have a measure of authority over this earth. In John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11, our Lord calls Satan “the prince of this world”. We read in Daniel how demons sent by Satan interfere in human governments (Daniel 10:13). With this in mind, it is reasonable to assume that he could have given a measure of authority to Christ. Of course, we know that at the end of everything that our Lord will in fact be crowned King over all creation to the glory of God the Father. In this temptation, we see Satan trying to tempt Jesus with a shortcut to the kingdom. In other words, would He remain faithful to the Father and be obedient to the Father’s plan which included suffering or would He worship Satan to obtain the kingdom without the pain and suffering He would face as the Lamb of God.

You and I, of course, are never going to be offered the kingdoms of the world by Satan. However, as we think about our lives and situations that we face, there are times where our devotion to God is questioned in much the same way. Be it at work or at home, we also have to make decisions daily to obey God and choose His way rather than a way that might seem quicker, easier, or less painful. Our Lord, here, provides for us a pattern that we should follow when we come into situations like that.

He responds in verse 10 by saying “Go, Satan! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” In the New King James version, the Lord is quoted as saying “Away with you, Satan.” ** In any case, He had simply, up to this point, quoted holy scripture to refute the tests of the devil. However, in the face of blatant blasphemy, He exercise His divine authority and calls for Satan to leave. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 saying “you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”. The English word “worship” translates a Greek word “proskuneo” which means to prostrate oneself or bow in worship (see Matthew 2:2). This is one kind of worship that we should give to God. The idea of reverently presenting ourselves to God in a manner that shows our hearts are humble is certainly important in worship. Jesus also says that we should “serve” God. The word translated “serve” is “latreuo” which probably comes from the Greek word “latris” which means a servant. This word is translated as “worship” in Romans 12:1. Basically, it means to render spiritual service. Jesus is saying, then, that God is the only one worthy not only of us humbling ourselves before Him but He is also worthy of our acts of service which we perform in His name. No one else in the universe deserves the loyalty that we should have for God, certainly not the prince of this world, Satan.

We see that in verse 11 after having successfully passed these tests and demonstrated His faithfulness to the Father, that the Father did indeed meet His needs. The adversary, Satan, left Him and “angels came and began to minister to Him”. “Diakoneo” is the word rendered “minister” and it means to provide physically for someone’s needs. Jesus waited on the Father and the Father in due time provided what He needed. You and I would do well to remember these lessons we have learned as we have studied about our Lord’s time of testing. The same God the provided for Christ in His time of trial will also provide for us who are His dear children.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

**Note**
If you have been following this blog for any time or if you have gone back and read any of my other posts, you may notice that I have started using a different Bible translation with these past two posts. In case anyone was wondering, I made this change based on personal research I have done regarding New Testament texts. Now, when I say research, I mean what I have read about the subject from various sources I have available to me. I’ve never been to seminary and am neither competent nor qualified to present much of an argument as to which New Testament text is 100% closer to the autographs. I will probably continue to use the New King James as I study because I really like the text footnotes. I’m sure everyone has their own opinions on the subject.

That’s just my two cents for anyone who might have been curious. I know that some Christians are convicted that the Alexandrian text (the one used to translate most Bibles published since the late 1880’s) was produced by people who were trying to corrupt Christian doctrine. If that is the case, then they did a rotten job of it. In the end, there is not one doctrine of Christianity that is weakened regardless of the text the reader chooses.

in Christ

Matthew 4:5-7 The Temptation of Jesus Part IV

Cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormon Church quote scripture frequently to support their points. By simply taking a verse completely out of its context they appear to make it mean something other than it actually does. In essence, they highjack the authority of scripture and twist the substance of it to support their unbiblical beliefs. When Satan confronted Jesus, he did the same thing. As we will see in this section of the Bible, the way Jesus responded to this challenge can serve as an example for us when we are going through a trial or discussing the Bible with someone who is antagonistic to scripture.

Matthew 4:5 records that Satan “took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple”. We notice, first of all, the scene has changed. Satan has led Jesus out of the solitude of the wilderness to the heart of the city of Jerusalem. Very likely, the city was bustling with people going about their daily affairs. However, Satan had a specific reason for the change of venue. Christ had shown that He would be obedient to God and wait on Him to supply His needs in the previous test. Our Lord demonstrated that He would not use divine power to even provide food for Himself even though He was terribly hungry. In my neck of the woods, you might even say He was “hon-gry”. Satan also observed that Jesus was not only obedient to God but used the word of God to thwart his first trial.

Satan, therefore, moved to plan B. He first takes our Lord to a public place and tempts Him to put His trust in God the Father to the test. Actually, the strategy is pretty sound. If Jesus is going to trust the Father to provide and refuse to use supernatural power apart from the will of the Father, Satan places Jesus in a situation where that is exactly what he would expect Jesus to do. He says to our Lord in verse 6 “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You’ and ‘You shall not strike Your foot against a stone’.” The quote is from Psalm 91:11 and 12. Taken at face value, it seems to mean exactly what Satan says it means. Just like a good little guy wearing the white dress shirt, black tie, and riding a bicycle, he seems to have made a valid point. However, let’s investigate this a bit further, shall we?

Psalm 91 is the NASB has the subtitle “Security for the one who trusts in the Lord”. I don’t want to take the whole post discussing the entire Psalm, but there are two things that we really ought to notice. First of all, the devil intentionally leaves out part of the Scripture. In verse 11 of the psalm, the author actually says “He will give His angels charge concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Secondly, in context, the verse takes on the meaning that the person whom this verse talks about is someone who is living for God. Verse 9 of this Psalm says “For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High your dwelling place”. Now someone who would recklessly endanger their own life and put themselves in a position where God would have to act supernaturally to save them is not someone who I would walking in the way that God would have them walk. They would be terribly presumptuous and, in fact, would be demonstrating that they don’t trust God. In essence, they would be demanding proof from God of His love and care for their well being. Therefore, Satan took a scripture that talks about God’s protection and providential care of His saints and twisted it to mean exactly the opposite of what it really meant.
Jesus again quoted scripture to refute Satan. In this case, Satan was tempting the Lord to put His Father’s care to the test. Jesus refused to fall for this snare and told the devil in verse 7 “It is written again, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’”. The Greek word “palin” is translated in English as “again”. However, according to Vincent’s Word Studies, the actual meaning in this instance would be “on the other hand”. Our Lord contrasts Satan’s misuse of scripture with proper application of another scripture. By quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16, He basically tells Satan that to presumptuously require a sign from the Lord is sin. In fact, Deuteronomy 6:16 refers back to an incident in Exodus 17 where the children of Israel were thirsty and demanding a miraculous sign from the Lord to provide for them. Therefore, for Jesus to make a spectacle of Himself by plunging off of the top of the temple would have, in fact, been sin.

Again, we observe our Lord using the word of God to gain victory over His adversary. We also observe that He used scripture to interpret scripture. We should remember that this is a key principle to proper biblical interpretation. Finally, we see how Satan (and others) misquote and misapply scripture for their own ends. As students of the bible, it is paramount for us to be able to respond to challenges such as this not with our own intellect but with the truth of God’s word as it is rightly divided.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Matthew 4:2-4 The Temptation of Jesus Part III

Satan often attacks us where we are weakest and when we are at our weakest. I can think of time after time in my life where Satan provided opportunities for me to give in to my flesh and disobey God. Sometimes I’ve done well and stood firm against those temptations. Other times I’ve looked like a skinny cornerback charged with tackling a 250 pound running back who has made it past the linebackers and I’ve gotten run over. While Christ did not have an inherent sin nature for the devil to appeal to, Christ did face the testing described in this chapter when He was at His weakest. As we read about this encounter, we can be encouraged that we have the same spiritual power available to us to stand strong in the middle of our trials and temptations.

In verse 2 of this chapter, we are introduced to the physical state our Lord was in when the tempter came to test Him. We are told that He had not eaten for 40 days and nights and that “afterward, He was hungry”. Our Lord fasted in order to devote Himself to prayer and communion with God the Father in preparation for the testing He would now face. I can’t even begin to imagine how hungry He must have been. When I was studying music in college, I had a semester where I went from 8 in the morning until 7 or 8 at night with only a 30 minute break on Mondays and Wednesdays. I would leave Jazz Band rehearsal (which ended at 5:30) early sometimes because I had not had time to grab lunch and I was shaking from a blood sugar low. That doesn’t even begin to compare to what our precious Lord endured. It was at this moment of physical weakness that Satan came on the scene.

Verse 3 records the first temptation Satan brought against our Lord. He was hungry and Satan hoped to appeal to His physical desire for food in order to motivate Him to sin. He said, quite simply, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” God had called Jesus “Son” in the previous chapter. Satan now uses that title in his temptation. Basically, I think he was saying “Ok. You’re the Son of God. Why should you suffer from lack of food? I mean, if you’re going to live as a human you’re going to have to eat. You’d only be doing what is normal and necessary. Go ahead. Make yourself some bread.”

This temptation, though, really had nothing to do with food. There is a much bigger picture for us to see here. As Philippians chapter 2 tells us that Jesus, as God the Son, became willingly submissive to God the Father. He did not become less that God. He simply willingly subjected Himself to God the Father. Therefore, He would only do what God the Father directed Him to do (Luke 2:49, John 8:28, John 12:49, John 14:31). If He had changed these stones to bread to satiate His hunger, He would have been operating outside of the direction of God the Father. Of course, this is what Satan wanted Him to do.

Jesus’ response is a marvelous example to believers when we encounter trials. First of all, Jesus used the previously written word of God, not a new revelation. He could have spoken a new truth and it would have been just as true as what He quoted. However, He appealed to scripture that had already been recorded. In verse 4, Jesus said “It is written ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”. As noted in Vincent’s Word Studies, “It is written” is in the Greek perfect tense. In other words, the phrase could be rendered “It has been written and stands written even today.”He then quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3. In that verse, Moses was teaching the people that God allowed His people to hunger and then fed them with manna in the wilderness. There was a spiritual purpose to this physical trial. God wanted to teach them to rely on Him. Instead of feeding them with food as they would have expected, He used supernatural means to provide for them. Therefore, the lesson they should have learned was that no matter what the circumstances, God can and does provide for His people. By quoting this verse, Jesus was saying that He was willing to be obedient and wait on His Father to provide even if He was hungry because God was fatithful and would provide for Him.

As we read the account of Jesus’ first temptation by Satan, we can be encouraged to remain faithful to God and to rely on His word when temptations come.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Matthew 4:1 The Temptation of Jesus Part II

As we begin to examine the temptation of Jesus, there are some important questions we must ask ourselves in order to fully understand the drama as it unfolds in scripture. Rather than proceeding to the next verse this week, I thought it would be a good idea to point some these issues out so that we can keep them in mind as we continue to study this section of Matthew’s gospel account.

First of all, we should realize that Jesus was tempted in Matthew chapter 4 for the same reason that God allows us to go through trials. In 1 Peter 1:6-7 reads” 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In these verses, Peter identifies a kind of temptation that you and I endure. He says that these believers to whom he wrote were experiencing “trails” (Greek-peirasmos). This word is closely related to the word for tempted in Matthew 4:1 (Greek-peirazo). This is not a temptation to sin, but is rather an opportunity for our faith to be proven genuine. Therefore, God was allowing Jesus to demonstrate through His actions that He was in fact the Son of God with whom the Father was “well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Even so, God allows us to go through temptations (trials) on occasion for His glory so that our faith is shown to be true.

In addition, we should note that we have at our disposal the same means to endure the trials we face as our Lord did. We observe in verse 2 of Matthew 4 that our Lord fasted for 40 days and forty nights. While scripture does not record it, we can be sure that He spent that time in prayer, communing with the Father in preparation for the trial He would face. I’m not certain that we must fast to draw close to God, but certainly there are Christians that practice that spiritual discipline. I believe, however, the most important fact for us to notice is that He spent time in prayer to the Father. If Jesus, Who was the Lord of all creation and the eternal Second Person of the Godhead, spent time praying when facing a trial, we should say to ourselves “If it was good enough for my Lord, it’s good enough for me”. Further more, we notice throughout the trial that He made use of God’s word. In the series I wrote on Psalm 1, I made the point that the subject of the Psalm meditates on the word of God day and night. Now, if you and I meditated on the word of God and quoted scripture in the midst of trials rather than complaining under our breath, we would have greater success in facing these trials. Again, let us look to our Lord as our example.

Finally, we should note the difference in the trial that our Lord endured as compared to the temptations that we face. You and I are prone to sin because we have a sin nature that lives within us. Even once we are born again in the spirit, we are still living in corrupted flesh that doesn’t know how to do anything better than to sin. While God does try or test us, the same Greek word can be used to describe a person being tempted to sin. Satan wanted to tempt Christ to sin. However, Christ had no sin nature. Since sin is passed down from father to children (Romans 5) and Christ had no human biological father (Matthew 1) Christ did not have a sin nature for the devil to exploit. As James 1:13-14 reads “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” This does not diminish the victory that Christ had over the devil. We simply need to remember that our sinful temptations are different from the temptation that Christ faced in the wilderness. However, we have victory over sin through His precious blood and His Holy Spirit will conform to His image. Therefore, while we will not have total victory over sin in this life, we can become more like Christ and have greater victory over sin. We also, through the same power that was available to Jesus, can stand firm and demonstrate the genuineness of our faith in our trials just as our Lord did in His trial.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Matthew 4:1 The Temptation of Jesus Part I

Jesus Christ provides the perfect example of faithfulness to God our Father in scripture. It is such an encouragement to read how He faced temptation by Satan and consistently obeyed God’s will. As Christians, we will fail at times when faced with temptation. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit we too can have victory in trials just as Christ did. As we examine this scenario over the next few weeks, I believe God will demonstrate to us through His word how we can have this victory.

First of all, we should observe that this temptation of Jesus was God’s will. Matthew records in verse 1 that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit”. As far as I can tell from having read, this happened immediately after His baptism by John in the Jordan River. He had just publically announced His entry in the His work as the Messiah. Prior to beginning His ministry, God led Him into the wilderness. Notice that Jesus was led by the Spirit. This wasn’t something that He thought up on His own. Christ did not come to do His own will but the will of His Father. God, in His providence, had a plan in mind for this journey. As preparation for the ministry that Christ was about to enter, God wanted to demonstrate that Christ was the faithful Servant who would completely obey Him. In order to demonstrate this, He allowed Satan to tempt Jesus in the wilderness.

We should also note that Jesus was sent alone into a place of solitude. He would have no companions and no comforts. He would demonstrate the truth of His incarnation and His willingness to be obedient to God the Father in a setting which would seem to give His adversary an advantage. This was no vacation or pleasure trip that our Lord entered upon but rather it was a solemn time of reflection and preparation.

The word translated “tempt” is the Greek word “peirazo”. This word can mean to try or to test. When we are tempted as our Lord was tempted we are being tested. Satan would use this time to try to tempt Jesus to sin and disobey God. God was using this time to demonstrate that Jesus was perfectly obedient and submissive. The Devil (Greek diablos-false accuser) would try to motivate Jesus to be unfaithful by tempting His with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. God would allow Jesus to endure these trials to provide for us a guide to follow when we are tempted. While our Lord had no sin nature that He had to overcome, He had victory over His temptations by the same means we can have victory over our temptations-the word of God.

As Jesus was alone in the wilderness facing the wiles of the Devil, He did not use His divine power to sidestep or overcome those temptations. He met each one head on and engaged the enemy using the sword of the Spirit. When we fail (as I do daily), it is not because I don’t have the means to withstand the temptation. More often than not, I chose to ignore the clear warnings of scripture. Satan had a goal in mind for this encounter with Jesus. God allowed Satan to try to tempt Jesus to sin in order that Jesus might prove Himself to be the perfectly obedient Son in order that He might pay for sin on the cross.

Praise God for the obedience of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Psalm 1:4-6 There is a payday someday

I read a bumper sticker one time that said “If you’re living like there is no God, you better be right.” Proclaiming that God is righteous and holy and will judge those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is not a popular message. As the book of Proverbs notes, most people are more than happy to proclaim their own goodness. However, regardless of how unpopular it is for us to proclaim that there is judgment for sin, the Bible is as plain and clear about that truth as it can be. People need to realize that there is a judgment day coming and that they don’t have unlimited time to get ready to face that judgment. There will be no grading on the curve. Punishment will be final and terrible. Those who reject Jesus will find that they are both helpless and hopeless before the righteous fury of a holy God.

First of all, they will find that they are helpless. We noted in the last lesson on Psalm 1 that ultimately a righteous person will prosper because he will have a home in heaven with all the saints. He will enter into the joy of fellowship with God’s people for all eternity. However, Psalm 1 verse 4 says “The wicked are not so”. There is no happy ending for them. As bad as trials may have been in their life, they are in no way prepared for the eternity that awaits them. The verse goes on to describe their helplessness. It describes them as “chaff which the wind drives away”. I am from the Gulf Coast originally. I have seen my share of hurricanes. That’s why I no longer live on the Gulf Coast. When the wind of a hurricane starts blowing, it picks up things and throws them willy-nilly. It uprooted a huge tree in the front yard of one of my aunt’s houses. That is why when people know a hurricane is coming, they tie up lawn furniture and pack up kids toys. There is no way to control where that stuff is going to go. In like manner, the ungodly will be scattered before God’s righteous judgment. They will be utterly helpless on that day.

They will also be hopeless. People who choose to reject Biblical truth and the offer of salvation from God through Jesus Christ are proud people. Basically, they are saying “I can handle this on my own” or “I will not submit to the Lord. I will not have Him as God over me.” However, verse 5 of this Psalm records that these proud, haughty people who think that they will stand up to God and show how powerful they are will in fact “not stand in the judgment”. Their defiance will eventually come to an end. They will not have the strength to face God’s judgment. He will overpower them and overcome them. He will also make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. The wicked will be excluded and will not be found in the “congregation of the righteous”. Obviously, people who believe that everyone will make it to heaven are wrong according to this verse of holy scripture.

Someone reading this might ask “Why? Why is there a difference between the wicked and the righteous?” For all I know, someone reading this blog might have just stumbled on it and not know the reason for the distinction made in the judgment. Notice that verse 6 says that God “knows the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The ungodly perish because God does not “know” their way. The Hebrew word translated “know” is the word “yada” and it means to know in a relational sense. It is not the know of someone who knows that 2 times 2 equals 4. It’s the know of me knowing that spending quality time with my wife is one of the most important ways for her to know that I love her. That isn’t something I learned by reading a textbook. I came to know that because of our relationship. As Jesus said in John chapter 10, His sheep know Him and hear His voice. Because we are His sheep, He knows our way. The end for the ungodly, however, is a terrifying picture of judgement.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Matthew 3:15-17 The Baptism of Jesus Part III

Jesus was capable of a stinging rebuke when it was necessary. He routinely called the Pharisees and Sadducees vipers and children of the devil. Twice in His ministry, He drove people doing business in the temple out with a whip. However, Jesus was also compassionate and caring when dealing with people who were honestly seeking God. His response to John in verse 15 is just such a case.

John had wanted to refuse to baptize Jesus because he did not feel it was appropriate. We noted in the previous lesson why John felt this way. Jesus responded to John by telling him to “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus didn’t demand John’s obedience though He could have done so. He reassured him. He used John’s question to draw a response of faith and obedience from him. Also, He used the opportunity to reveal Himself to John in a supernatural way.

As I read this verse, I struggled for some time over what Jesus meant when He said that the baptism was “fitting to fulfill all righteousness.” We know that baptism does not save. The testimony of scripture is overwhelming that baptism is simply a rite administered to those who profess faith in Jesus Christ and have repented of their sins or, in the case of John’s baptism, the baptism was administered to someone who publically confessed and repented of their sins in preparation of the coming of the Messiah. Therefore, the baptism of Jesus could not have made Him righteous or added to the righteousness that He would impute to believers by His death, burial, and resurrection. We know that Jesus didn’t do anything unless it was the will of God the Father (Luke 2:49, John 8:28, John 12:49, John 14:31). Therefore, the baptism of Jesus did fulfill all righteousness because Jesus was obedient to God’s will. Since Jesus went to John to be baptized, God must have sent Him to do that. Further, if Jesus went to John to be baptized, that would mean that God wanted John to baptize Him. Therefore, they were both being obedient to God the Father. Also, Jesus’ baptism signified His approval of John’s ministry. If the God of the universe was willing to allow John to baptism Him, that meant John’s baptism must have been valid for those who repented and were baptized. In addition, by being baptized by John, Jesus indentified Himself with the other sinners who were baptized and with all sinners who He would save by His precious blood. Finally, this baptism announced the entry of Jesus into public ministry. In much the same way as Moses was commanded to wash Aaron and his sons prior to their beginning of the Levitical priesthood, so our true High Priest presented Himself to be washed as a symbol of entering into the work of ministry.

We notice a supernatural affirmation of Jesus and His life up to this point. This is an important statement for us to take note of because there are people who teach lies about the Son of God in churches today. According to a survey I’ve heard of (probably Barna), a troubling percentage of people who call themselves Christians believe that Jesus was a sinner just like everyone else. People actually teach that in churches as crazy as that sounds. Furthermore, people teach that Jesus was not divine but was a man that was inhabited by God after this baptism. However, we notice a supernatural sign as Jesus comes up from the water in verse 16. The verse says that “the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him.” This supernatural sight was followed by the very voice of God. From God’s own statement, we can tell that Jesus was divine and had lived a perfect, sinless life. God said in verse 17 “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God identifies Jesus as His Son. Therefore, He must have been divine. A human being can become a child of God through the power of Jesus and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, but we do not start out being the children of God. God doesn’t say Jesus became His Son but that “this is My beloved Son”. Also, He dismisses any doubt of the purity of Christ’s life to this point by saying that He was well pleased with Jesus. Psalm 1 teaches us that God will not have sinners in His presence. If He calls the life of Jesus a life with which He was well pleased, that life must have been a sinless life.

As we read these words of Jesus and God the Father, we can be encouraged that we have a faithful, compassionate High Priest who is able to redeem us and present us faultless before God. Praise the Lord.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Matthew 3:14 The Baptism of Jesus Part II

John the Baptist testified numerous times that he was not the Christ and that the Christ was to come after him. John was humble and recognized his role as the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Sometimes in life, we have people who are convinced of their own importance and want to draw attention to themselves. Their motto seems to be “Look at me everyone.” John the Baptist was the antithesis of that type of person. We can observe his humility in his response to Jesus when He came to the Jordan to be baptized.

First of all, we notice that Matthew records John’s attitude toward Jesus coming to be baptized. John is said to have tried to prevent Him. The Greek word translated prevent is diakoluo. According to Vincent’s Word Studies, this verb is in the imperfect tense which means John had it in his mind to prevent Jesus from being baptized. There is also a Greek proposition attached which intensifies the force of the verb. In other words, John had strong objections to Jesus coming to him for baptism. So much so that he would have barred Him from taking part in the sacrament.

As we study further in this verse, we see why John had such strong feelings about this. First of all, John recognized not only who he was but who Jesus was. He said to him in verse 14 “I need to be baptized by You”. As a preacher to those in the wilderness of Judea, John was content to baptize those who came to him and repented of their sins. He was known as a wilderness man but he was also someone who sought the righteousness of God and had been filled with the Spirit of God since he was born. All in all, I think I’d be doing pretty well if I could be half as faithful to God as John was. But when he stood before God in human flesh, he shows humility. Not that he was proud and haughty before, but he recognizes that he is a sinner and is in the presence of the One who forgives sins. He knew the baptism he administered was merely a symbol of the spiritual reality that Christ would bring into this world. Therefore, he rightly recognizes that he needs what Jesus offers-true cleansing from sin. We should all pray for this kind of humble evaluation of ourselves. Whether we are pastors or laypersons, we all need to realize that we cannot achieve righteousness apart from our Lord Jesus.

Not only did he recognize his need of Christ’s baptism, but also Christ’s lack of need of his baptism. He said to him “…and are You coming to me?” He recognized the significance of the baptism he administered to those who come to him at the Jordan river. Those who came publically confessed of their sins and announced their repentance from those sins. Therefore, the baptism pictured a cleansing from sin. However, Jesus had no sin. John, in his question, not only recognizes Christ as the Messiah but also as the spotless Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. He acknowledges in his question not only his need of Christ but Christ’s sinlessness. This is an important point for us to consider. I have heard that an alarming number of Christians (professing) from all denominations have stated that they do not believe Jesus was sinless. Well, friend, if Jesus committed sin you and I have no hope whatsoever. The only way he could pay the price for our sin was for him to have no sin of his own. It is very important, therefore, that we observe not only John’s humble admission of his sinful state but also of Christ’s sinless perfection. We should praise God for clearly revealing these truths to us.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Matthew 3:13 The Baptism of Jesus part I

God is very particular in His timing. In Genesis, He told Abraham that his descendants would be in bondage in Egypt for 400 years and they were. He told several prophets in the Old Testament about the exile of Judah for 70 years and it came to pass. Jesus Christ lived for 30 years on this earth before he began His earthly ministry. While God did not choose to reveal why Christ labored in relative obscurity for those years, we do know that Jesus began His ministry in accordance with the will of God the Father. To begin that ministry, we see Him come to John to participate in John’s baptism at the Jordan River.

Observe with me first of all the great distance that Jesus traveled. The journey took Jesus from “Galilee to…Jordan”. Jesus grew up in Nazareth as noted in Chapter 2. As we read earlier in this chapter, John was baptizing in the wilderness of Judea. According to Bible scholars, this would have been about a 3 days journey. We’re not talking about a trip to the Quickie-mart to pick up some Diet Dr. Pepper. This was a journey made with a purpose. He had a single intent on this trip. Not only was the trip arduous, it was also voluntary. No one compelled Him to go to John. Of course, we know He was obedient to God the Father. However, as far as anything in the world was concerned, He was under no obligation to go and be baptized by John.

We notice also the humility our Lord demonstrated. He was the Lord of all creation. All things that were made were made through Him. He was the Light and the Life of men. He came as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to a sinner for baptism. Now, we know John was a righteous man in the sight of God. However, we also know that in Romans 3:23 that we all have sinned. Therefore, the God of the universe condescended and came to John. By rights, He could have sent for John and commanded him to come to Nazareth. Instead, He makes this trip and in doing so validates the baptism of John. Obviously, if God in human flesh is willing to come and participate in this baptism, that is about the best seal of approval you could get. When we are tempted to demand our rights and our own way, we should remember this example of humility that our Lord gave us and pray for the strength to behave likewise.

Finally, however, we notice that Jesus came to John for the purpose of being baptized. As we read this, I think a good question for us to ask is “Why?” John’s baptism was one of repentance. Repentance from personal, specific sin was the message John preached. However, Jesus was perfect. He had no sin nature and he never sinned. We’ll look at this more specifically in the next few verses, but Jesus’ baptism had nothing to do with sin but it did accomplish 3 things. First of all, as we observed earlier, it validated John’s baptism. 2nd of all, it gave the opportunity for a miraculous sign as a proof of His Divinity when the voice from heaven spoke. Finally, it signified that He was being set apart for His ministry by being ceremonially washed. By humbly making the long journey from Nazareth to Judea, Jesus publically demonstrated His commitment to His Father’s will.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Free at last!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey

I should be back to a regular weekly posting schedule this week (maybe more than once a week). Our team finished the audit just in the nick of time on Friday. I can honestly say that the financial statements of the entity dated fiscal year end 6-30-07 fairly represent, in all material respects, the financial condition and activities reflected in those financial statements. That, by the way, is my PROFESSIONAL opinion.

Thank you for your paitience. God bless you.

in Him

Workin' for a Livin'

Hello
I really intended to update this blog every week. The past month or so has been kind of tough. I work as an auditor. Right now, I'm on an audit of the financial statements. I am on the team responsible for auditing this lovely piece of accounting work and I am currently working harder than a one legged grape stomper. I will finish that audit and the ridiculous overtime December 7th. Until then, I may not be as regular as I like.

Thanks

in Him

Matthew 3:10-12 John’s Rebuke Part II

A common trend in modern evangelism is to concentrate on telling people the good news of Jesus and His love. In fact, the pastor of America’s largest church has said publicly that people already know how bad they are. They don’t need to be told about sin. God’s goodness is what will draw people to God. I imagine if John the Baptist were to evaluate that statement he would find it quite unbiblical. In fact, we can see from his rebuke of the Pharisees that rebuking people because of their sin and proclaiming God’s righteous judgment on that sin were core parts of his message. While we recognize that God is love and He is ready willing and able to forgive a truly repentant sinner, He is also too holy to allow sin to go unpunished. We see in these verses the hopelessness and helplessness of those who must face God’s judgment with their own righteousness rather than the righteousness of Christ.

John proclaims the hopelessness of the lost person in verse 10 of this chapter. He says that “the axe is laid to the root of the tree.” Trees are pretty defenseless against people with axes. I mean, they’re about as mobile as Drew Bledsoe. They are not going to dodge or get away from the One wielding this axe. They are also not going to recover from this judgment because the axe is laid at the “root” of the tree. This is final and absolute. And there is going to be no “faking it” during this judgment because the One wielding the axe is going to evaluate each tree based on whether the tree bears good fruit and that “every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” This is a picture of hopeless, absolutely final judgment. We know that judgment of the lost will include punishment in the lake of fire as described in the book of Revelation. The judgment will include total separation from God for all eternity. The lost will not be completely destroyed but instead will suffer forever in torment.

John teaches them that the baptism he brings was a picture of the coming future baptism which would come upon true believers. He performed a wet baptism whereby the person being baptized declared themselves to be a sinner in need of God’s saving grace. The Person (Jesus) who would come after him would perform the permanent baptism when He would baptize the believer with the “Holy Spirit”. The King James and New King James are based on a Greek text which adds “and with fire”. I’m not going to get into some huge discussion of textual criticism. I will say, however, that the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit does provide the means to purify us from sin and allow us to live holy lives. In that sense, the Holy Spirit is like a fire. In any case, John wanted the Pharisees to know that his baptism was a physical picture of the kind of spiritual reality that Christ would usher in with His death, burial, and resurrection.

Finally, John described the helplessness of the lost person facing the judgment of God. He states that the Messiah will come with His “winnowing fan in His hand” and that He would “thoroughly clean out His threshing floor.” Here is a picture of a farmer after harvest. He is on his threshing floor and with his winnowing fan he lifts the bundles of wheat and chaff on the floor into the air. The chaff is then caught by the wind and blow away. Therefore, he is able to separate the good from the bad. The Messiah used His winnowing fan (the gospel) to separate the wheat (the elect who were saved) from the chaff (those who rejected the gospel). And just to make sure they didn’t miss the point, he tells them the wheat will be gathered into the barn, but the chaff would be “burned up with unquenchable fire”.

The judgment of God on sin is not a popular conversation starter. Most people don’t like to be confronted with their own sin. However, the knowledge of our personal sin and the fact that it separates us from God is paramount. Unless we realize that fact, we will not repent. God is sovereign in the area of salvation and He will work His work in the lives of the elect. However, as Christians, we must follow John’s example and be willing to lovingly confront sin and proclaim God’s judgment in order to create what Paul calls in 2 Corinthians a “godly sorrow” that leads to repentance.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Matthew 3:7-9 John’s Rebuke Pt. 1

John the Baptist is one of my favorite Bible characters. Here was someone who was totally sold out for God and was willing to call it as he saw it. Actually, he was willing to call it as God saw it. Some people try to be diplomatic and not ruffle too many feathers. And as my friend Corey pointed out in his comment to my last post on Matthew, we should never be abrasive simply to be abrasive. Certainly, that is true. What we see in John the Baptist is a godly example of confrontation not just in these verses but elsewhere in Matthew. He stood for what was right without thought or care for his safety or comfort. His stinging rebuke of these religious leaders is an encouraging example of how he stood up for God.

In verse 7, we have seen how John rebuked the Pharisees for their purpose in coming out to his baptism. He asked them who had warned them to “flee from the wrath to come.” In fact, we find as we read the comparison passage in Luke chapter 3 that he said this to those who had come to him to be baptized. What it seems like happened was he addressed everyone the same way. Those who came out to him with a repentant heart responded by confessing their sins publically and specifically before being baptized. However, the Pharisees did not confess their sins because they did not believe they had sins. Their answer to his question would have been “No one warned us to flee”. God did not inspire the gospel writers to reveal the motivation of these men. However, it was not the same as the motivation of the crowd. Their purpose was not to prepare themselves spiritually for the coming of the Messiah. In fact, we know that they were actually enemies of our Lord.

John continued his rebuke of these godless hypocrites by pointing out that they had no proof of spiritual life within them. Oh, they were very religious. Outwardly, they looked righteous. However, inwardly they were spiritually dead. They could and did fool men but they could not fool God. John admonished them to “bear fruits worthy of repentance”. As I mentioned in my exposition of Psalms 1 verse 3, fruit trees bear fruit because they are fruit trees. It is a result of them being fruit trees assuming they have what they need to live (water, sunlight, etc.). They don’t strain or groan. I have never heard a fruit tree even once grunt with effort trying to produce fruit. They produce fruit in season. Also, they don’t get a choice as to what kind of fruit they produce. A green apple tree does not one day wake up and say “You know, I think today I’m going to produce some red apples just to shake things up a bit.” They produce fruit according to the kind of tree they are. Therefore, since these Pharisees were not good trees they did not produce the good fruits that would demonstrate that they had truly repented. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

Finally, John rebuked them because of their pride. Ultimately, that is the root cause of all sin. When Satan rebelled against God, he said “I will ascend” and “I will be like the Most High”. Pride leads to spiritual downfall. Why? Because you cannot get help before you acknowledge there is a problem. These men assumed their spiritual condition was righteous and that they were right with God due to their biology. They believed that because they had descended from Abraham that they were spiritually secure. According to John MacArthur in his commentary on Romans, Abraham actually stood at the door to hell to make sure no Jew accidentally went there after death. However, John tells them not to rely on their relation to Abraham because it did them no spiritual good. In fact, he said that God could “raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” Talk about being replaceable. I mean, the thing that they thought made them so special suddenly was exposed by John to be meaningless. Today, we might say they had no job security. When we depend on anything other than the righteousness of Christ to make us right with God and empower us to live the Christian life, we are taking the same prideful attitude as the Pharisees.

As we see John reveal the hypocrisy of these men, we should be encouraged ourselves to stand up for the truth and to faithfully proclaim God’s word. God’s word is the means that we have to rebuke sin and call sinners to repentance. Let us ask God for the boldness to do just that.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Matthew 3:7 “You can fool some of the people some of the time…..”

As we read verse 6 of this chapter in Matthew, we saw a glorious picture of people coming to repentance as a result of the call of the Holy Spirit working through the preaching of John the Baptist. The true repentance of these people was evidenced by the public and specific confession of their sins. However, while their motives were pure, there were people who would come to the Jordan whose motives were not so godly. As we see John’s reaction, we are reminded that religious hypocrites still exist and we must be on guard for them even today.

Matthew records that while John was baptizing the truly repentant, “…he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism…” We should mention something about these two groups. As John MacArthur notes in his study bible “The Pharisees were traditionalists, the Sadducees were liberals. The Pharisees were separatists, the Sadducees were compromising opportunists.” Also, as noted elsewhere in scripture, the Sadducees rejected all scripture other than the 5 books of Moses and totally rejected anything supernatural. Furthermore, they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Basically, they lived life for the “now” and were probably what we would think of as theologically liberal. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were conservative to the point of being legalistic. They viewed law and tradition as a means to attain righteousness and strived to live a life separated from sin. However, as we will see over the coming months of studying this wonderful gospel, their blindness to the truth of God’s purpose in the law led them to the greatest sin off all-the rejection of Jesus Christ. Needless to say, it was highly unlikely that these men came to the baptism of John with truly repentant hearts.

John was able to recognize their true motivations. I love John’s address to them here. We have a man in John who was willing to call an ace an ace and a spade a spade. Sometimes, tact and diplomacy is required in dealing with a situation. Dealing with a false teacher or religious leader is not one of those times. John begins his rebuke of them by calling them a “Brood of vipers”. Certainly, this was not the kind of response these men were used to. Because John lived in the wilderness, he was probably used to seeing broods of snakes that lived their in the desert. He knew that, while they may look small and harmless, that they are full of deadly poison. By addressing them as such, John insulted them and rebuked them for their religious hypocrisy. The people respected these leaders and it would probably have been somewhat shocking to hear them rebuked so strongly.

However, John didn’t stop there with his rebuke. The main point of his proclamation was to reveal the hypocritical motivations behind their arrival. He asked them “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” The answer, of course, was “No one.” They were not out there because they wanted to prepare themselves for the arrival of the Messiah. To them, it was a show. Perhaps they came because they were curious. Perhaps they came because they wanted the people to see them take part in the baptism so that they would still be seen as the head religious leaders. Whatever their reason, they did not come with right motivations. To them, it was just another religious activity-something to add to their resume. Very likely, John’s rebuke was quite stinging.

As we will notice in the coming weeks, John did not baptize them. I think sometimes in churches, we are too ready to accept someone into our local congregation without making sure they realize the seriousness of the commitment or making sure they are actually saved. Of course, you can’t be 100% sure because anyone can fool people. However, the church is not a social club for networking opportunities, but a holy congregation of saints who worship and serve the Lord together. People can come, just as the Pharisees and Sadducees did, for selfish purposes. Like John, we should not accept those kinds of people in our congregation but we should faithfully proclaim the word of the Lord to them and everyone who has not professed saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Well, well, what do we have here?

Hello.

I've been posting on this blog for several months now. If you've been here before, welcome back. If this is the first time you've visited, welcome. I thought it might be helpful if I offered a brief explanation of the format here. As the title says, I started this blog with the idea of teaching through books of the Bible verse by verse. I had been going through Matthew but have recently added Psalm 1. I also posted some teaching from Philippians because I had the opportunity to sub for my Sunday School teacher and since I was going to write the lesson out anyway, I decided to post it. Obviously, though, Philippians is not verse by verse. The teacher only asked me to sub for 3 weeks and they were not consecutive.

Anyway, you will notice on the left something called "Labels". The item Matthew 1 has all the blogs for Matthew chapter one and Matthew 2 is all the blogs from Matthew chapter two and so forth. I got to thinking while it made sense to me it might not be clear to everyone.

Also, if you stop and read something, I would be encouraged if you would leave a comment. You don't have to name yourself or even agree with me. My email is in my profile, also, if you want to contact me. I simply have comment moderation on to prevent sexually explicit comments from being posted. I know, "Why would anyone post a comment like that here?" I'd just rather be overcautious than not cautious enough.

In closing, thanks for stopping by and reading a bit. I hope you are encouraged by the truth revealed in God's holy and precious word.

in Him

Psalm 1:3 Righteousness and success

When we look at the life of Joseph, Jacob’s son, we see a man supernaturally blessed by God. He rose from the ranks of slavery to the heights of being the 2nd in command of the nation of Egypt. Likewise, Daniel was extraordinarily successful as an administrator and adviser to the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empire. Certainly, God allowed these men to succeed and enabled them to perform these great tasks. However, if you were to listen to most ministers on TBN, you would get the impression that success and wealth are results or even proofs of salvation. I’m afraid as much as I would like to be guaranteed success and wealth, the Bible does not promise those things to every believer as the world defines them. As we read this verse, we can get a clearer glimpse of what God does in fact promise those who have saving faith.

As we have read, persons who are true followers of Christ do not associate themselves closely with those who reject the truth. In fact, we have seen that a person who loves God also loves His word. In this verse, we see the result of this relationship. We are told this person “shall be like a tree planted”. Now, trees are completely dependant on someone else for their survival. They don’t, nor can they, work or save or exert effort to take care of themselves. Either they are taken care of by a man or by God. In much the same way, regardless of how we like to think of ourselves as self sufficient, we are totally dependant on God. God chose us before the foundation of the world. God numbered our days before we were even born. Like it or not, we are God’s property. We didn’t just happen to come into existence by chance but we were “planted”. We are where we’re supposed to be. We are tended by a loving Gardener who tirelessly provides for every need. For instance, we are not planted just anywhere. Rather, we are planted by “rivers of water”. Our loving Father wants us to be taken care of so we aren’t just planted near one stream but by “rivers” (plural). There have been times where I haven’t had everything I wanted and there have also been times where I wondered how a need was going to be met. However, my God has never once failed to provide for my or my families needs.

In addition to providing for my needs, He also provides for my growth. A person whom God has planted will, according to this Psalm, “bring forth [his] fruit in season”. Now, the last time I was around a fruit tree was the Bradford pair tree in my mother-in-law’s yard. I have never once heard that tree, or any fruit tree, strain with effort to bring forth fruit. They bear fruit because they are fruit trees. It is a result of their existence. We, as Christians, bear spiritual fruit. As Jesus said in Matthew 7 “No good tree bears bad fruit and no bad tree bears good fruit”. God may at times have to prune us to make us more fruitful, but the fact is that fruit trees bear fruit based on the kind of tree they are. Of course, none of us are on the same level of maturity spiritually. Therefore, we bring forth our fruit “in season” in keeping with the will of the Master Gardener.

Now, some people could read this Psalm and say “Hey, look at these next two verses. See. There’s proof that all Christians will have success.” However, let’s think about what these next two phrases and remember that this is talking about someone who has a right relationship with God. I live in Tennessee and here it is turning fall. Just barely but the leaves are turning none the less. I believe this is my favorite time of year because of the beauty of the falling leaves and the dead grass (I hate cutting grass). When I read this verse, I wasn’t exactly sure what it would mean that the subject of this Psalm had leaves that “shall not whither”. However, when I reflect on the fact that the leaves that are falling have died I remember that I will live forever in heaven with God and my Christian brothers and sisters. I’m going to die (or be raptured) physically but I will never die as far as eternity is concerned. Likewise, I may suffer loss and misfortune in this world. In fact, I have. Some things were due to my stupidity and some were not my fault. However, they were all in the providence of Almighty God. Even though I have had success and failure here in this world, ultimately “whatever [I do] shall proper” because I will eventually shed this mortal body and leave this sinful world for a perfect home in heaven. No matter how ugly things get here, I know that ultimately I will have true joy beyond anything I could ask or imagine when I come to live forever in heaven with Him who “planted” me in His garden not because of my worth but because of His grace and mercy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Matthew 3:5-6 The Baptism of John-A Baptism of Repentance

For years as a Christian, I floundered. I didn’t grow or produce spiritual fruit because I wasn’t studying the word of God. I don’t think I’m the only Christian that could say that was the case in their lives. That is why I am convicted as a teacher of God’s word that the Bible must be taught from cover to cover. I am totally sold out for God’s word because of the power that it had to change my life. True Biblical preaching produces change in the lives of people who are willing to submit to it. We see this is the case as we study these verses today.

First of all, we must remember the context of these verses. John had, for some time, been preaching in the wilderness of Judea that because of the advent of the Christ people needed to repent. He proclaimed that they needed to prepare themselves spiritually for the arrival of Jesus. We find that his preaching had an effect on some of the hearers. Matthew records that “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan” responded to his message. Now, as we read that, we recognize that Matthew couldn’t have possibly meant every single person came in response. The picture the evangelist paints here for the reader is that of a large, diverse crowd coming in response to this message. They came from the city, from the county and from the boondocks. The message of the gospel, as Paul notes in Colossians, is for the whole world. We see by the response of the people in this region that Biblical message preached by John drew people regardless of where they came from.

Not only do we observe the variety of people who came in response, but we notice the result the preaching had on their hearts by their actions. First of all, they exhibited their true repentance by agreeing to be baptized. The Greek word that is transliterated “baptized” is the word “baptizo” which means “to immerse in liquid”. As John Gill notes in his commentary, Jews had practiced baptism of Gentiles who would convert to Judaism to symbolize that they were now ceremonially clean. Therefore, when these Jews participated in this baptism, they were making the startling profession that they had, in fact, been Gentiles all along spiritually speaking. They were recognizing their need of a savior and the inability of their form of religion to produce the righteousness that God would require.

They also come to be by the one who exhorted them to prepare spiritually. They came to John in response to his preaching. The message of repentance had pierced their dead hearts and they came to John in the same spirit of the jailer who fell at Paul’s feet asking “What must I do to be saved?” Some of these people may have had money or power. It is easy to imagine that most of them were better off than John was because, after all, he lived in the woods. Coming out to this man was an act of humility for these people and speaks to the genuineness of their motivations.

Notice also the exclamation of the people. They came to John “confessing their sins”. The Greek word “exomologio” and it can mean “to acknowledge or agree fully.” In confessing their sins, they were agreeing with God that their sin was wrong. This confession was probably public, with people lining the shores of the Jordan while the person was being baptized. It was probably specific. I can’t imagine anyone confessing their “sins” (plural) and not listing the specifically.

This awesome sight of truly repentant people demonstrates the power of God’s word to change lives. This man of God faithfully proclaimed his message. He sowed the seed of the word. Of course, God was faithful, as he always is, to produce of harvest of truly repentant people who would bring glory to His name by allowing people to see His love and mercy in forgiving them of their sins.


Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.