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Repent, The Kingdom of Heaven Is Near
Repent, The Kingdom of Heaven Is Near Matthew 3:1-17 Key Verse: 3:2 “...and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” Last week we thought about 3 Magi who came a long distance from somewhere in the east just to worship the baby Jesus. They did not come to get anything from him, they came to give him the best gifts that they had to offer. They showed us what true worship is all about. Contrasted with them and the baby Jesus was King Herod. Herod had become nothing more than an agent of the devil. His life was evil and it caused all of his subjects to suffer unbearably while he was in power. Jesus was also a king, but instead of terrorizing his subjects as King Herod did, Jesus came as a shepherd for his people. He came to give his subjects life and peace and to take care of them. Finally learned about Joseph. Joseph isn’t mentioned much in the Bible, but he was indispensable in God’s plan. Through his obedience Jesus was protected and God’s world salvation work was completed. Through Joseph we can clearly see how God can accomplish His work through one man who is ready to obey God absolutely. In today’s passage we learn how John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, the King, and how Jesus entered into public ministry. At that time, people were suffering under Roman oppression. They suffered politically, economically, morally and socially. They had no hope. They were frustrated, angry and bitter. Many had various diseases and some were demon possessed. The religious and political leaders did not give them any hope. Rather, they crushed people with heavy demands, increasing their burden. The people were living in darkness and in the shadow of death (4:16). At this time of despair, God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for the Lord. John came and delivered the message of hope by introducing Jesus as God’s King. However, it was not a message that most of us would consider hopeful. John preach repentance, but he did this in order to prepare the way for the true King. The people of that time really needed King Jesus and so do we. We can understand the people of John’s time. We, too, face many challenging problems. Moral corruption has produced terrible violence and the breakdown of the family. We face terrorist activity, high unemployment, a huge national debt, and many kinds of diseases-including mental disorders, and natural disasters, and so on. This causes many to complain and blame others. Who can solve these problems? We desperately need real hope. We need fundamental solutions, not superficial quick fixes. Jesus came to solve our problems fundamentally. We have true hope in Jesus. Let’s learn from John the Baptist how to have this hope. First, John’s message (1-2). Look at verses 1 and 2. “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea2 and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” John’s message was straight forward and simple. Repent! But what does repent really mean. Dictionary.com says this: “to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one’s life for the better.” There is a problem with this definition. No matter how hard we try to change our life for the better it seems that we always fail. So Christians have modified this definition to say that we turn away from our sin. The problem is where do we turn? We need to turn and focus our eyes on Jesus and not ourselves and the world around us. Turn from the world to God. To repent means to give our whole heart to God - Fix our eyes only on Jesus. How can we do this? The only way to do this is to begin in the Bible. We need to turn back to the word of God. The Bible is God’s Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth for us. The Bible tells us how God wants us to live. So if we want to turn our eyes and our hearts back to God we must start in the Bible with His word. To repent is “to change your way,” or “to change direction positively.” It is to turn from the world to God, from being self-centered to being God-centered. It is very important to remember that repentance is not just turning away from sin with our own strength. Repentance is turning away from our sin and turning to God. It is not a new message. The Old Testament prophets said repeatedly, “Repent...come to God” (Isa 30:15; Eze 14:6; Hos 14:1). John, Jesus and Jesus’ disciples preached the message of repentance (Mt 4:17; Mk 6:12). Paul declared that both Jews and Greeks-all people-must turn to God in repentance and have faith in Jesus (Ac 20:21). Why does God give this message to his people repeatedly? It is because repentance is the only way to enter God’s kingdom and have eternal life, avoiding destruction (Ac 2:40). True repentance brings us into relationship with God’s King, Jesus. It is a life changing process. Remember Peter, the Bold, who was afraid of a servant girl and refused to acknowledge that he even knew Jesus. Well, at Pentecost, this same Peter addressed people, including those responsible for Jesus’ death (Ac 2:23). Peter proclaimed that Christ had risen and was at the right hand of God the Father as the King of kings. People were cut to the heart and said, “What shall we do?” Peter answered, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Ac 2:38a). In response, some 3,000 people repented and the Christian church was born. Jesus reigned over the lives of its members. It was a Jesus-centered community that revealed Jesus’ holiness, love and blessing to the world. Paul was once a persecutor of Jesus’ people. Then he met the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, and realized that Jesus is Lord (Ac 9:5). From that time on, he gave his heart to Jesus and preached Jesus as the Son of God (Ac 9:20). Paul changed from a self-centered person to a Jesus-centered person. This change affected his inner desires, life direction, value system, words and behavior, and everything. This is real repentance. After the message of repentance came the message of hope. This tells us why we repent: “...for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” What does this mean? It means that God's King has come to reign. As Matthew chapters 1-2 attest, Jesus is God’s King. God sent his King into this world to restore a relationship with those who accept him. He solves our fundamental problem. Due to our broken relationship with God, man lost paradise. Then the power of sin and death and Satan began to reign in men’s hearts. This brought moral corruption, poverty, misery, bitterness, strife, social chaos, war, death, and the like. All human misery stems from refusing God’s reign. This problem cannot be solved by means of education, technology, material abundance or any human means. Without God and the paradise he gives, no one can be happy. Only when we repent and receive Jesus as our King is paradise restored for us. Jesus brings us true life, peace and joy, happiness and abundance. Jesus fills our hearts with thanksgiving and enables us to live in harmony with him, with others and in his world. Though the world may be messed up, we can enjoy paradise in our hearts when Jesus is our King. This paradise can spread to families, communities, and nations. Second, John’s ministry (3-9). John’s life was governed by the word of God. Look at verse 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’s coming fulfilled prophecy. It was God who planned John’s coming. It was God who sent John. It is God who raises and sends servants to preach his message. So if we desire a revival movement, we must pray to God for it. Verse 4 describes John’s lifestyle. He wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. He looked like Elijah, the great Old Testament prophet (2 Ki 1:8). To follow Elijah’s footsteps was to go the way of suffering and eternal glory. John embraced this lifestyle willingly. John’s food was locusts and wild honey. John lived a simple and pure life. This allowed him to focus on listening to God’s word and preaching it. John’s devoted life was one reason his message was so powerful. In verses 5-6, we can see how people responded. Did they get upset and file a grievance against John for using the word “repent”? No. They came to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. They stopped everything they were doing and went to John. Then they confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the Jordan River. It was a great spiritual revival. Here we can learn that people suffered from their sins, not just their situations. We human beings really need the message of repentance to lead us to confess our sins before God. This brings real relief to our souls. This is why we should share the message of repentance like John did, with power, but also with the humility of a fellow sinner. The scene at the Jordan was truly beautiful in the sight of God. People were freely confessing their sins to be right with God. But the Pharisees and Sadducees came for a different purpose. They wanted to see what was going on. Most likely, they came as judges of John’s ministry. Outwardly, they looked impressive with their priestly garments, advanced degrees, and establishment power. However, inwardly they were proud and self-righteous. They were like silky looking vipers with poison inside. John perceived their inner condition precisely and rebuked them severely. He challenged them to produce fruits in keeping with repentance. Repentance is not a one-time event; it must be “kept with.” Real repentance produces fruit. What kind of fruit does it produce. Galatians 5:22-23b says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.” In short, this fruit is a changed because before meeting Jesus most of us weren’t filled with these things. We need to continually turn to God and ask him to produce good fruits of a godly character in us. This comes through repentance. God wants to transform our lives from selfish to sacrificial, from proud to humble, from greedy to generous, from lazy to hard-working, from lustful to pure, from self-centered to God-centered and other-centered. God wants to use this transformed life as an example for others so that they can come and meet Jesus themselves and have Jesus produce fruit in them. The fruit of the spirit should continue to produce more fruit throughout our lifetime. Why should we bear good fruit? Verse 10 clearly tells that those who do not bear good fruit will be judged by Jesus. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. This will happen when he comes or when we leave this world. It could be any time. Third, John tells the work of Jesus (11-12) People were amazed at John’s spiritual authority to lead people to repent and rebuke the religious leaders. But John did not enjoy people’s admiration. Rather, he used his influence to fulfill his mission by pointing people to Jesus. In verses 11-12 he emphasizes that Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire. This tells us two things about Jesus. In the first place, Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Through faith in Jesus we can receive the Holy Spirit into our heats. The Holy Spirit works within to fully accomplish what repentance can only begin. Actually, no one can change his sinful nature by human willpower. But the Holy Spirit burns away our sinful nature, putting it to death. The Holy Spirit creates new life in us. The Holy Spirit truly and fundamentally changes us into a new creation. In the second place, Jesus baptizes with fire. The word “fire” appears three times in verses 10-12 and refers primarily to the fire of judgment. It alludes to eternal condemnation in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Jesus is not only the King who saves. Jesus is also the King who Judges. Those who resist God's reign will be put into eternal condemnation. God’s kingdom will not be ruined by his enemies. God will destroy his enemies through his King Jesus. God’s kingdom will be filled with those who accept Jesus as King and are changed into his holy and beautiful image as God’s children. Fourth, Jesus’ baptism (13-17) Look at verse 13. Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John knew Jesus. Jesus did not need a baptism of repentance, for he had no sin. John was embarrassed and said, “But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.” (15). Then John consented. Jesus was baptized because it was right with God. In this way, Jesus recognized John as God’s servant and John’s ministry as God’s preparation for his coming. Jesus humbly honored John and stepped into God’s history with a willing decision to fulfill the mission of the Messiah. Jesus also identified with sinners. Jesus’ baptism is the marvelous grace of God. Often, when a main character comes, he ignores those who prepared the way. But God honored John greatly. In John’s own eyes, his ministry was insignificant compared to that of Jesus. Yet God gave John the privilege of baptizing Jesus. Jesus obeyed God without hesitation. Jesus is truly a humble King. Look at verses 16-17. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” Heaven had been closed to us because of our sins. However, Jesus, who is both the perfect God and the perfect man, came to be a Mediator between God and us. Now heaven is opened. The barrier was removed and true reconciliation started. The Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove. A dove is they symbol of peace and meekness and humbleness and purity. This tells us the nature of our King Jesus. Jesus is a peacemaker. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save the world. Jesus did not come to crush people from the top down, but to serve us with grace and compassion. Jesus said later, “I am gentle and humble in heart. Come to me and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28-30). God was pleased with Jesus’ baptism. God confirmed Jesus’ identity as the Son of God by his own word from heaven. God expressed his love for Jesus and his pleasure in Jesus. At Jesus’ coming, heaven began to smile. It was the beginning of the restoration of God’s reign in men's heart and on the earth. It was the indication that everything was going to be all right. We have many problems. Sometimes we struggle with these problems so much that we cannot see beyond them. But the real solution is to repent and accept Jesus as our King. Jesus restores paradise in our lives. Like John the Baptist, we should share this message of repentance and the kingdom with others. It is the only true hope for the people of our time |
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