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Matthew 3:1–3

Be ready!

Only those who really *repent will enjoy the benefits of Jesus’ work.

Matthew now spoke about later events. He did this just after he had told about Jesus’ birth. These events happened 30 years later. The time was just before Jesus started his special public work. Matthew must have thought that the events were important. He said, ‘In those days’. This meant: ‘In those important days’.

A great leader usually sent someone ahead of him. The name for this special person was a ‘herald’. His job was to prepare for the arrival of the leader. Jesus was a king (2:2). He had a herald too. The OT had said that this herald would come. Isaiah 40:3–5 told about him. He would come before God himself came. Matthew said that the verses referred to John the Baptist. Usually, nobody would give his talks in the desert. He would go to where there are people to listen! But this was what John did. It was what Isaiah had said would happen too.

Note: Many OT prophets spoke about events in the near future. But they often suggested that these events could refer to something more. They pointed to much greater events. They would be a long time in the future. These verses in Isaiah are like this.

*Repent!

John was a herald. Someone important was going to arrive. He was much greater than John. The herald’s task was to make sure that everyone was ready. This was exactly what John did. His message was very clear. Most people would not want to hear it. He called them to repent. If they did not repent, something bad would happen. He warned them about that.

We may want to know what John meant by the ‘kingdom of heaven’ (3:2). It meant that God would establish his rule over the whole earth. The OT told about this time. It described ‘the kingdom of God’. Another name was the ‘kingdom of heaven’. John said that this kingdom ‘is near’. God would act very soon. Men and women could enjoy God’s kingdom for themselves. But, they must be ready. They would not just arrive there. John emphasised this. They needed to do something. Most important, they must *repent.

To repent is not just to feel sorry about something. There are all sorts of reasons to be sorry. Perhaps someone discovered what we did. Maybe we suffered for our actions. We may have hurt other people. But, repentance is different.

God promised that he would give many good things. It would happen soon. But men and women must be ready. Jesus spoke the same message. (Read Matthew 4:17.) But there was a difference. Jesus taught how these good things would come. They would come because people knew him. (Read Mark 1:15 and Matthew 13:16–17.) John promised good things. These good things began to arrive. They started when Jesus came.

Questions

1. How could your life show that you have *repented? What evidence should you expect in your life?

2. *Repentance is necessary. How does your church emphasise this when they tell the Good News about Jesus? Do they emphasise it too much, or too little? How can they do it in the right way?

3. John spoke the truth to the people. How can we learn from his methods?

Important truths

The *kingdom is near

John said that God’s kingdom was near. He said that God’s judgement was coming soon. But this does not seem to be true. More than 2000 years have passed since then. God’s final *judgement is still in the future. Jesus has not returned to earth yet. The Bible itself gives information about these things.

  • There would be two arrivals of Jesus. The Bible describes them both. But, they sometimes seem like one event. At other times, the Bible talks about them separately. Jesus’ work began the events that will lead to the *judgement.
  • The enemy destroyed the city of Jerusalem. This happened only 40 years later. The NT described this event as the certain judgement of God.
  • When people refuse to believe, they become worse. For such people, *judgement is starting to happen.
  • God’s time is different from our time. Peter spoke about this. He said, ‘For the *Lord, a day is like a thousand years.’ (Read 2 Peter 3:8.)

But none of these points gives a complete answer. There is still a problem in this passage. Probably, John was speaking about certain people. It was those people who would not recognise who Jesus was. They would receive God’s *judgement for a special reason. They always refused to believe. They chose to do this. So, God would leave them in that state.