MATTHEW, CHAPTER 3

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias with the news that he and his wife Elisabeth would have a son, he told him that the mission of the boy would be to prepare the way of the Lord (Luke 1:17). God named John before his birth; one of four people so honored in Scripture. Born six months before Jesus, John was ordained to be a Nazarite from his birth. We are introduced to the adult John the Baptist in this Chapter. Living a hermit-like existence in the region west of the Dead Sea, he prepared himself for the work to which God had called him. Now, the time has come for him to begin the ministry for which he had prepared. Matthew 3:1 "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea," John is probably about 30 years old now, and he's out in the wilderness preaching. The people knew of John's supernatural birth and his life, so, with the general expectation that someone great was about to appear, they were attracted to him, and he had a great following from all around the region. John the Baptist was the last of the prophets, and would have been reckoned as Elijah, himself, or as an Elijah had the nation obeyed his preaching. Matt 11:13-14 tells us: "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will" (are willing to) "receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." Jesus is saying that if the nation had repented, John would have been reckoned as Elijah. (See Malachi 4:5). Matthew. 3:2 "And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 'Repent' means what? To be sorry? It means more than that. It means to have a change of heart that will change your life in many ways. Too many people think that in becoming a Christian you miss out on everything. But that's not true. It pleases the Father to give good things to His children (Luke 12:32). Christians have the best of everything when they put their trust in Him. Matthew 3:3 "For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." He's quoting Isaiah 40: 3. Many people think that John WAS Elijah the prophet. He was not. He never claimed to be. In fact, he was asked if he was that prophet, and he said 'No'. But, he came in the spirit of Elijah. The purpose of the voice crying in the wilderness was to 'prepare the way of the Lord.' John claimed this for himself in John 1:19-23. And, Luke 1:16, 17 tells us that when the angel told Zecharias that Elisabeth would conceive, he said the child they would have would "go before Him (Christ) in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."