Matthew chapter 3 brings us to John the Baptist and the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry. The first two chapters have given us an introduction to His life and here is the moment when the Messiah, the Lamb of God, appears on the scene and is commissioned for His ministry.

First, we see John the Baptist fulfilling prophecy and preparing the way for the Messiah. What was his message? "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2). I think I'll pick this apart.


Repent: The Greek word literally means "to perceive afterwards." The implication is that understanding one's action is followed by a regret or reproach of that act. Dictonary.com defines it as feeling "sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct." But I don't think it is a passive word. Repentance requires an action - true sorrow for past sins can only be coupled with a change of course. When someone apologizes to you, then turns around and does the same thing, you know that their apology was insincere. In the same way, true repentance is always accompanied by action. So do we need to repent before coming to God? According to David Guzik, "Repentance does not describe something we must do before we come to God, it describes what coming to God is like." He uses the illustration of travelling. If I ask you to come visit me in Pennsylvania, I don't have to say, "Leave North Carolina and come to Pennsylvania." Coming to Pennsylvania requires that you leave North Carolina. In the same way, coming to God requires that you turn away from your sin.


The Kingdom of Heaven: Interestingly, Matthew is the only Gospel writer who uses this phrase. It occurs 32 times in the Gospel of Matthew. The term "heaven" was common in Jewish circles and shows how, out of reverence, Jews were reluctant to use the name of God. I think we should read "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Kingdom of God" interchangeably. The Jews of that day and age were waiting for a political Messiah who would establish an earthly kingdom, but the Messiah had come, not to save a nation, but to save mankind.


At Hand: The Greek word means "to draw near, to approach." The Kingdom of God was near, bringing salvation to all mankind. The Messiah that had been promised for thousands of years had finally come.

I love the way Matthew Henry responds when faced with God's wonderful gift of grace. I couldn't put it better, so I'll let him tell you his insight: "This is a great inducement to us to repent. There is nothing like the consideration of divine grace to break the heart, both for sin and from sin. That is evangelical repentance, that flows from a sight of Christ, from a sense of his love, and the hopes of pardon and forgiveness through him. Kindness is conquering; abused kindness, humbling and melting. What a wretch was I to sin against such grace, against the law and love of such a kingdom!"

Whew! And that was only one verse!

I'm going to skip ahead to the Pharisees and Sadducees, those wonderful, hypocritical characters we so love to hate and so hate to see in the mirror. They came to John, along with all the other Jews, to be baptized. But John knew their hearts and that there was no real repentance. Maybe they were just acting like they really wanted the Messiah to come. If they believed it, would it not have changed their hearts? According to John's harsh words, they believed that being of Jewish blood was enough to save them. But it's not, and God did raise up stones to be Abraham's children, stones that were grafted in (yes, I mixed my metaphor), and I'm one of them!

We may not have the divine insight that John did, so how do we know if repentance is real? Is it enough to feel sorry for what I've done? Is repentance just beating myself up for what I've done? As I mentioned earlier, true repentance demands a response, a change of course. John puts it this way: "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matt. 3:8). If I have truly repented, my life should show it. The Christian life should not be one of accepting the gift of salvation and then abusing that grace. If I truly understand the depth of my sin, I should fall on my face weeping because I have grieved the heart of my Father. I should run so hard toward Him that I leave every selfish sin behind. If I really grasp God's holiness and the extent of Christ's sufferings to rescue me from my own dark and wicked heart and the punishment I justly deserve, shouldn't my life be an act of worship lived in gratitude to Him?

Thanks for your comments! I'll finish up chapter 3 in a followup post.