Matthew 3:1-12

 Matthew 3.1-12

Between the end of Matthew 2 and the beginning of Matthew 3 thirty years transpire. Matthew gives us important themes in this introduction featuring John the Baptist. These themes will be repeated from time to time during the whole story that Matthew shares. The first theme is that of repentance. Repentance is more that remorse over evil done; it is even more than a change of mind about the nature of right and wrong. Repentance is a call to abandon rebellion against God and return to the covenant-obedience as one of God’s people. Feeling guilty and saying a half-hearted or even a heart felt “Sorry” is not repentance.

The repentance John calls for is expressed as “fruit’ as he responds to the Pharisees and Sadducees. Verse 7 is translated into English that they came “for baptism”. This misses the mark, it is better understood they came “to baptism”. This was not a group of sincere individuals returning to God, rather a delegation of the authorities coming to see whom this character was and if he represented a threat to their power structure. John welcomes them with the designation of “brood of vipers”. Sounding archaic we may not recognized the insulting nature of John’s verbal volley. Vipers were unclean animals, they were a deadly threat and they would have been associated with the tempter in the garden. To call someone a child of a viper would be at least as insulting as calling him a son of a bitch. Their destruction is at hand and John tells them the way out in verse 8. This theme of “fruit” is another theme that will be repeated often in Matthew. For John, Jesus-and indeed in the whole New Testament-the life of a disciple is not one of outward rituals and forms, but of a life that produces godliness in behavior and character.

The third theme that John presents that will weave its way through the whole book is “The Kingdom of Heaven”. Matthew uses this phrase more often than the other Gospel writers, while Mark and Luke use “Kingdom of God”. The Kingdom of Heaven is the realm where the King of Heaven rules and now that Heavenly Kingdom has come. Our English doesn’t adequately express the near proximity with the translation “is at hand”. The time of decision has come. If there was ever a time of neutrality that time has passed because the King of Heaven has brought His rule and is now here.

Each day the Kingdom of God comes on earth as we submit by repentance and obedience to His rule. That submission is evidenced by the fruit of our lives and marks the choice we make either to be followers of Christ or to be a bunch of sons of vipers.

“Father, flood over me with Your Holy Spirit’s conviction of any place where I have not repented and committed myself to loving obedience to you. In the Name of my Lord Jesus, Amen.”