Matthew 3:1-12

Rachel Workman: 3 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, I believe the Kingdom of Heaven is near today. Because we can't know when we take out last breath we need to live like the Kingdom is near today.

“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
    Clear the road for him!’”

4 John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. 5 People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. 6 And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize,[c] he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. 9 Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 10 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. Our fruit is how we are identified as being Christ's. Not everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. John asks them to prove by the way they lived  that they had repented. I guess he could be asking us all that now. Does my life reflect the life of someone who is saved?

11 “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” Never ending fire does not sound very appealing to me.

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John Burnett:  3 Now in those days John the Baptist *^[a]came, ^[b]preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven ^[c]is at hand.”  The parallel passage in Mark 1 says repent and believe in the gospel.  In today’s churches easy believism is running rampant and says that all you have to do is believe.  Believe and you are saved is declared by the preacher who has no authority.  This declaration is like another convict in the court declaring to the judge that the convict before him is innocent.  When we receive the Holy Spirit is the moment that we are justified, adopted, imputed His righteousness, and begin the lifelong process of sanctification.  We only receive the Holy Spirit when we repent and put our faith in gospel.  ³ For this is the one referred to ^[d]by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

“The voice of one ^[e]crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”

⁴ Now John himself had ^[f]a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; ⁶ and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;  Keeping with repentance is like keeping with a diet.  It is a lifelong process that is required in order to be saved.  John says to bear fruit in keeping with repentance and if a tree does not bear good fruit will be thrown into the fire. ⁹ and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “As for me, I baptize you ^[g]with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you ^[h]with the Holy Spirit and fire. Baptism is important as an outward sign of our inward baptism of the Holy Spirit.¹² His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”  Wheat/chaff or sheep/goats, Jesus will return and separate those who belong to Himself and those who will be cast into the unquenchable fire. 

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Mike Grimm:  3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The kingdom of heaven began when God himself entered human history as a man. Today Jesus the Christ reigns in the hearts of believers, but the kingdom of heaven will not be fully realized until all evil in the world is judged and removed. Christ came to earth first as a suffering servant; he will come again as King and Judge to rule victoriously over all the earth.  ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

John, just like Isaiah, was a prophet who urged the people to confess their sins and live for God. Both prophets taught that the message of repentance is good news to those who listen and seek the healing forgiveness of God’s love, but terrible news to those who refuse to listen and thus cut off their only hope.

⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. John was concerned only with the praise of God. Having separated himself from the evil and hypocrisy of his day, John lived differently from other people to show that his message was new. John not only preached God’s law, he lived it. Do we practice what we preach? Truthfully…no. Could people discover what we believe by observing the way we live? ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Repentance happens inside with a cleansing that isn’t seen right away. Once I realized this I gave up on the whole “Ah-ha moment” idea and accepted the fact that it’s going to take time, but more importantly, time and effort on my part.

Repent means “to turn,” implying a change in behavior. It is turning from sin toward God. Have we repented of sin in our life? Can others see the difference it makes in us? A changed life with new and different behavior makes our repentance real and visible.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. John the Baptist called people to more than words or ritual; he told them to change their behavior. “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” means that God looks beyond our words and religious activities to see if our conduct backs up what we say, and he judges our words by the actions that accompany them. Do our actions match our words? ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Just as a fruit tree is expected to bear fruit, God’s people should produce a crop of good deeds. God has no use for people who call themselves Christians but do nothing about it. We cannot be God’s people in name only. We are of no value if we are Christians in name only. If others can’t see out faith in the way we treat them, we may not be God’s people at all.

God’s message hasn’t changed since the Old Testament—people will be judged for their unproductive lives. God calls us to be active in our obedience. John compared people who claim they believe God but don’t live for God to unproductive trees that must be cut down. To be productive for God, we must obey his teachings, resist temptation, actively serve and help others, and share our faith. How productive are you for God.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Baptism was an outward sign of commitment. To be effective, it had to be accompanied by an inward change of attitude leading to a changed life—the work of the Holy Spirit. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” “Winnowing” is often used as a picture of God’s judgment. Unrepentant people will be judged and discarded because they are worthless in doing God’s work; those who repent and believe will be saved and used by God.