Preparing the Way For The Messiah
Text: Matt. 3:1-12
Introduction
1. Illustration: Gene Getz once said of God’s plan for Joseph that: At age thirty, Joseph could never have handled this world-class task without an intensive and experience oriented course in management. It began in Potiphar’s house, where he managed all of his affairs. It continued in prison where he was eventually responsible for all the prisoners. And thirteen years later, he was “put. . .in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” “God’s plan for Joseph was on schedule. His preparation was tailor-made for the task God had for him. And because Joseph passed each test, learned from each experience, and learned to trust God more, he was ready when God opened the door of opportunity. He handled prestige and power without succumbing to pride. He persevered with patience and performed his duties faithfully and successfully. He was well prepared.”
2. Preparing for Jesus takes preparation too.
a. His first coming required the preparation of a prophet named John the Baptist.
b. We need to prepare ourselves for his second coming.
3. That preparation will require:
a. The message of preparation
b. The sincerity of preparation
c. The necessity of preparation
4. Read Matt. 3:1-12
Proposition: We need to make sure that our hearts are ready for Jesus coming.
Transition: The first thing we need is...
I. The Message of Preparation (1-6)
A. His Message
1. We must first ask the question, who was John the Baptist?
a. Two Old Testament prophets had prophesied his coming.
b. We can see one of them mentioned down in v. 3.
c. Matthew 3:3 (NLT)
The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”
d. However, the prophet Malachi also spoke of John’s coming.
e. Malachi 3:1 (NLT)
“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
f. Malachi 4:5-6 (NLT)
“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
2. Notice that Malachi associates him with Elijah the Old Testament prophet. Several things in Matthew’s text show the similarities between John and an Old Testament prophet.
a. The first thing is where he ministered, "the Judean wilderness." He ministered out in the desert, away from the towns and villages because the establishment didn’t want to hear his message.
b. Second, was what John wore. John appears in the desert wearing garments made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist.
1) Goat’s hair or camel’s hair was often woven into a thick, rough, dark cloth, which was used as an outer garment or cloak, particularly by nomadic desert dwellers.
2) More importantly, this again associates John with Elijah.
3) 2 Kings 1:8 (NLT)
They replied, “He was a hairy man, and he wore a leather belt around his waist.” “Elijah from Tishbe!” the king exclaimed.
4) Moreover, garments of woven hair were sometimes worn as a protest against luxury and as a symbol of distress or self-affliction, so John the Baptist’s garment of camel’s hair probably visualized the repentance to which he called the people (Wilkins, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Matthew, 133).
c. The third thing that Matthew uses to associate John with the Old Testament prophets is what he ate.
1) John’s food was locusts and wild honey, not an unusual diet for people living in the desert.
2) But more important, John’s diet causes him to stand out as one who has rejected the luxuries of life.
3) His diet and clothing combine with his message to cast a powerful demand for repentance in the light of the nearness of the kingdom (Wilkins, 133-134).
3. However, the most important aspect of John was his message, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
a. The word repent means "to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. John called his audience not just to cover over their sins with meaningless sacrifices, but to actually have a complete change of hear, mind, and spirit.
c. "This involves congnition of need, sorrow for sin, a decision to turn from sin to God, and subsequent obedient lifestyle" (Turner, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, 57).
d. They needed not only to admidt to their sin, but to stop doing it.
e. John 8:10-11 (NLT)
Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
f. The reason for his message was "the Kingdom of Heaven is near."
g. They were about to come face to face with the living God, in the person of Jesus Christ, and they needed to get their lives right with Him.
h. God cannot tolerate sin, and if we are to come face to face with him we need to deal with the sin in our lives.
B. Repentance
1. Illustration: In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church’s integrity problem is in the misconception "that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior." He goes on to say, "It is revival without reformation, without repentance" (C. Swindoll, John The Baptizer, Bible Study Guide, p. 16).
2. We cannot be right with God unless we repent.
a. Acts 3:19 (NLT)
Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.
b. We cannot stand in God’s presence unless we repent.
c. We cannot live with Him in heaven unless we repent.
3. We need to repent because Jesus is coming soon.
a. He will come in the blinking of an eye.
b. He will come like a thief in the night.
c. There won’t be time to turn.
d. There won’t be a chance to turn.
e. Luke 13:3 (NLT)
Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.
4. It will require true repentance.
a. It is more than just saying you’re sorry.
b. It is more than just admitting your sin.
c. It is turning away from your sin and walking towards God.
Transition: We also need...
II. The Sincerity of Preparation (7-10)
A. Prove By the Way You Live
1. There were many people that came to John at the Jordan, but he only baptized those who were sincere.
a. His sense of discernment allowed him to see through shallow people who came to see him for all the wrong reasons.
b. He could see through those who were foney, and recognize those who were genuine.
2. Matthew tells us, "But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them."
a. They weren’t there to be baptized or to repent of their sins, but merely to check out what people were going to see.
b. Those that did ask to be baptized where only doing to show how "spiritual" they were.
c. At any rate, John saw through their hypocrisy.
3. John said to them, "You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath?"
a. Ancients thought that some kinds of snakes ate their way out of their mothers.
b. It was bad enough to be called a snake, but to be called a snake’s child was even worse—killing one’s mother or father was the most hideous crime conceivable (Bible Background Commentary - The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
c. John not only saw through their hypocrisy but he called on it.
4. He tells them to "Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God."
a. The coming of God’s reign either demands repentance or brings judgment.
b. Repentance must be genuine: if we wish to escape the coming wrath, then our entire lifestyle must be in harmony with what we say (Carson, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Matthew).
c. They couldn’t say one thing and do another; their repentence must be genuine.
5. They assumed that simply being Jewish was good enough, but John tells them differently. He tells them, "Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones."
a. What John is telling them is that God does not have grandchildren.
b. You cannot be right with God simply because your parents walk with God.
c. We cannot make on our parents or grandparents coattails.
d. We need to make peace with God for ourselves.
6. He also tells them that unless they got their lives right with God they would have to face his judgment. He says, "Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire."
a. They were going to come face to face with God, and unless they repented of their sin, they would have to deal with God’s righteous judgment.
b. Unless they made a genuine repentance, and proved it by the way they lived, they would have to face the consequences.
B. Being Genuine Before God
1. Illustration: Dwight L. Moody was not very polished with his grammar because he did not have a great deal of formal education. When he spoke to a group of intellectuals at Oxford University he got so excited about the love of God that he said, "Don’t think that God don’t love ya, cause He do!" The passion and sincerity of Moody so moved the members of the Oxford elitists student body that many of those young men decided to give their lives and careers as missionaries and Pastors instead of politicians and businessmen. It is often not just what we say but how we say it that moves the hearts of our listeners.
2. When we come to God it must be with a sincere heart.
a. Hebrews 10:22 (NIV)
let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
b. We will cannot pull the wool over God’s eyes.
c. He will see through our insincerity.
3. We must be willing to walk before others with sincerity.
a. 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (NLT)
We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.
b. We may be able to fool others, but we cannot fool God.
c. We may be able to hide our sins from other, but God knows our deeds.
d. Eventually your sin will find you out.
Transition: We must also understand...
III. The Necessity of Preparation (11-12)
A. Someone Is Coming
1. John points out to these religious leaders that he is the least of their worries, but that someone much greater than he is coming.
2. He came to prepare the way for the Messiah. Of the Messiah he says, “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals."
a. The one who is coming is much greater than he, and he is only a herald to announce his coming.
b. He said that he is so great that John was not even worthy to care his shoes.
c. A slave carried the master’s sandals; John here claims that he is not worthy even to be Christ’s slave (Bible Background Commentary - The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
3. John proclaims, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
a. John differentiates here between his baptism of water, and the one that Jesus would bring which is in the Holy Spirit.
b. Again showing how Jesus would be greater than he.
c. John’s baptism was one of repentance, but Jesus baptism would be one of empowerment.
d. Acts 1:5, 8 (NLT)
John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit....But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”
4. John further says of Jesus, "He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”
a. Winnowing was familiar to all Palestinian Jews, especially to the farmers: they would throw harvested wheat into the air, and the wind would separate the heavier grain from the lighter chaff.
b. The chaff was useless for consumption and was normally burned (Bible Background Commentary - The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
c. What he is saying is that Jesus is going to separate the righteous from the unrighteous. The righteous would be taken in and the unrighteous would be burned in hell.
B. Coming Judgment
1. Illustration: Dr. Ian Paisley, the fiery Irish cleric and politician was reputed to have been preaching one Sunday on the End Times - and in particular on the Day of Judgment. As he reached the climax of his address he said that on the Day of Judgment "there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth". At which point an old woman put up her hand and said "Dr. Paisley, I have no teeth" Paisley replied "Madam, teeth will be provided"
2. Preparation is necessary because God’s judgment is coming.
a. Malachi 3:2 (NLT)
“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.
b. When Jesus came the first time he came to bring salvation, but when he comes the second time he will come to bring judgment.
c. When he came the first time he came meek and mild, but when he comes a second time he will come to bring war.
3. Preparation is necessary because time is short.
a. The real question behind Jesus second coming is will we be ready.
b. Will we be ready when he comes for us?
c. Will we be ready to see him face to face?
d. Will we be ready to claim him as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord’s?
Conclusion
1. Have you prepared to meet Jesus because you have repented of your sins?
2. Have you prepared to meet Jesus by having a sincere heart?
3. Have you prepared to meet Jesus knowing that he could come at any minute?
4. Are you ready to meet Jesus if he came today?
