Matthew
Announcement of the Kingdom by John
John the Baptist preached in the wilderness
saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Matthew 3:2
“A voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him." Matthew 3:3
Jesus followed that path before preaching the Kingdom
Jesus after being led by the Spirit into the wilderness
Where He was tempted by the devil, He began to preach the Kingdom
From that time on Jesus began to preach,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Matthew 4:17
The wilderness experience is sweet like honey and bitter like locust
Matthew
Announcement of the Kingdom by John
Chapters 3-7
The Kingdom of Heaven is announced
Matthew introduces the Kingdom of Heaven
in Chapters 3 through 7.
The Kingdom is first introduced
by the prophet, John the Baptist.
John introduced the Kingdom with a warning…
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Matthew 3:2
This is not a new message.
It is a message, we see Isaiah preaching in Isaiah 40.
Isaiah 40:3…
A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.
The announcement is made from a desert place
by a man not dressed in the clothing of king’s clothing.
Jesus made this connection between Elijah
and John the Baptist to solidify John
as a prophet who would
prepare the way for the Messiah.
I tell you the truth:
Among those born of women there has not risen
anyone greater than John the Baptist; …
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is the Elijah who was to come.
Matthew 11:11,14
Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John:
"What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes?
No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces.
Then what did you go out to see?
A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
Matthew 11:7-10
John’s message of Repentance was relatable
to Old Testament times when people would
repent in sackcloth and ashes.
There is a great contrast between those who
make announcements for kings in this world
and John, as well, and other prophets,
announcing the King of Kings.
John did not go to the city in a motorcade
dressed in the finest clothes…
To send a message of wealth and prosperity.
He did not go to the people,
but the people came to him.
John’s life and message describes
the way we enter the Kingdom.
We must come through the wilderness
and leave the city, the things of this world.
To repent is to…
Think differently, to reconsider.
How you and I think about life is strongly influenced
by the things we have and the places we live.
To leave the city and go out into the wilderness
brings a freedom to think differently.
To open your mind to what really matters.
Whether you willingly leave what you have
to go into the wilderness…
Or, you are forced there by circumstances…
The wilderness is a great place to start
to see the Kingdom of Heaven.
John’s message was Repent and be Baptized.
The Baptism of Repentance is…
The washing of the world’s residue off of you.
Yet, it is more then the removal of dirt and dust…
It is a deep cleaning of the mind.
John’s message of the Kingdom was not
a message of what you get…
But a message of what you get rid of.
Matthew showed us…
John the Baptist announcing the Kingdom of Heaven
where we must leave our places in this world
and go into the wilderness with only humble clothing.
His message was…
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Matthew 3:2
The Kingdom is near the wilderness.
The wilderness stands between where
we live and the Kingdom of Heaven.
The only way to get through
the wilderness is to repent.
Matthew 3:4-5…
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 ate locust…
Locusts have been symbolic of crop destruction.
If you haven’t read of the times in history
throughout the Bible of judgment by locusts…
Then maybe you saw Jurassic World: Dominion
and the destruction of crops by these insects.
Before the wilderness experience
when Moses led the people of God out of Egypt…
There was one of the 10 plagues where God sent
locust or grasshoppers to eat the crops.
Exodus 10
When the locus ate the crops
the only thing left to eat was the locus.
Wild honey was not produced in
man-made bee hives…
It was a natural provision.
The announcement of the Kingdom of Heaven
comes with hard truth, yet sweet reality.
We find the description of John’s
experience in announcing the Kingdom
in Revelation 10:9-11…
So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."
And in Psalms 119:94-104…
94 Save me, for I am yours;
I have sought out your precepts.
95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me,
but I will ponder your statutes.
96 To all perfection I see a limit;
but your commands are boundless.
97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
102 I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.
The wilderness experience is sweet like honey and bitter like locust
Scripture Reading
Matthew 3:1-12 NIV
3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
"A voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.'"
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. 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.
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. 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.
11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 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."
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