A Deeper Look at Matthew:  An End-Times Bible Study
Copyright 2012
 
Matthew 3
 
            Here we find the first mention of John the Baptist.  He has come "preaching in the wilderness of Judaea."  His message is simple:  "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  (Quite literally, the King of heaven has come to earth to do the work His Father has sent Him to do.)
            The coming of John the Baptist fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3, which says, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."  We are told John had clothes of camel's hair, a leather girdle around his loins, and his food is locusts and wild honey (3:3).
            Remember, at this point, Israel hasn't seen a prophet like John the Baptist since the prophet Malachi some four hundred years earlier.  Going this length of time without such an outspoken prophet has caused Israel to become stiff.  John's purpose was to loosen the people up and wake them up.  He clears a straight path for Jesus to begin His ministry.
            John's message has an impact.  We are told in Matthew 3 the people of Jerusalem, all of Judaea, and all the region around Jordan come out to him.  They confess their sins and John baptizes them.  John does not just attract common folk, but also "many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism."  John calls them a "generation of vipers" and asks them in 3:7, "who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"  John calls them "vipers" because they are like their father Lucifer (symbolized by a snake) and their message brings death.  John's message is one of life; theirs is death.
            John tells them to bring forth the fruits appropriate for repentance.  He tells them, "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."  He goes on to say that the trees that do not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.
            Let's take time to reflect, here.  What are the fruits of your life?  Do they include love for God and neighbor....or strife, hate, jealousy, and discord?   You will know who the TRUE people of God are by the way they talk and act.  Simply, good trees yield good fruit (Matthew 7:17) and, if your life does not bring forth good fruit, what good is it?  Trees yielding good fruit graduate to heaven while trees yielding bad fruit are cut down and thrown in the pit of hell.  (Please, if you don't know Christ as Savior, please accept Him into your heart today!)
            John says in Matthew 3:11 that One comes after him, one whose "shoes he is not worthy to bear."  So, I ask you, if John the Baptist cannot bear the shoes of Jesus, who can?  Jesus calls John the greatest prophet born of a woman in Luke 7:28.
            In 3:11 we learn of the three different types of baptism.  John baptizes with water, but Jesus baptizes with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
            Baptism, itself, is symbolic of the act of repentance.  Take note of what happens in 3:6 - the people confess their sins and are baptized.   Firstly, the people acknowledge their sin and we know from the book of Romans that the wages of sin is death.  The act of water baptism involves submersion and, as you know, you can't breathe under water.  So, in a sense, you are in "death" under the water; then, you are brought out of the water into "life."  Water also has cleansing properties.  We use it to clean things and this symbolic of your sins being washed away in the act of repentance.  Nevertheless, baptism won't SAVE you as many think, and that's why you need to confess your sins and repent!  Then, get baptized.  It's your public testimony showing you have repented and "gone from death into life."
            But Jesus baptizes us with fire and the Holy Ghost.
            What is a baptism of fire?  Some use this term to describe what happens when a soldier goes off to war.  They go into the front lines of battle with bombs and bullets whizzing by their head.  Fire, like water, has purification properties.  Think about the heating up of metals like gold and silver - fire is used to cleanse and purify.  By heating up the metal, you literally burn the impurities out of the metal.  An excellent example of a baptism by fire will be the great tribulation.  It will literally be "hell on earth."  The tribulation will be so hard on people that they will literally be BEGGING God for food, clothing, and shelter.
            Life in the United States is rather easy right now - cheap food, plenty of food, many have lots of money.  People have forgotten about the God WHO CREATED THEM; most just look forward to their next check whether from their employer or federal government.  Well, in the tribulation, this will be taken away.  These hard times will cause people to once again think of their CREATOR to whom they paid no attention - because all they could pay attention to was THE MONEY!  The tribulation will be so hard that it will be a baptism of fire meant to burn the impurities out of people.  Finally, the worst baptism of fire is HELL itself.  This is one thing you WANT TO AVOID because you will be in hell for a long time and it is VERY HOT and there IS NO WATER, among many other terrible things.
            John the Baptist says in 3:12 that Jesus will purge His floor - gathering the wheat into the garner but throwing the chaff in the unquenchable fire.  Note that wheat is good for food, just like saved people are good for everything.  Wheat is nourishing like saved people are nourishing.  Saved people, when they see a hitchhiker on the side of the road, generally pick them up, and they may even give them some money when they drop them off.  (This is a good test!)  Saved people are like wheat.  Compare this to the chaff.  Is chaff good for food?  No, one of its definitions is "worthless matter."  The chaff are unsaved people who reject Christ.  People that are chaff - they generally don't pick up hitchhikers and, if they do, have hidden expectations.  They don't care about other people and that's why they are thrown in hell.  The real test is LOVE!
            In 3:13, Jesus comes to John to be baptized of him.   John, however, says he needs to be baptized by Him, and not the other way around.  Here, Jesus says something very interesting.  He says to John, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness."
            Some drama takes place in 3:16-17 - after Jesus is baptized, the heavens are opened and the Spirit of God comes down like a dove and alights on Jesus.  Then a voice from heaven says, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
            And this is so important - IS GOD PLEASED WITH YOU?  Is God happy with you?  If He's not...things need to change in your life.  All that matters is - is God pleased with you???