This Is My Son!
Matthew 3:9-17
Harry Stoliker
October 14, 2007 EBC
What I'm going to do this morning, as I did last week, and will do for the rest
of Matthew, is give you an "exegetical sermon". We are going to do "exegesis".
That means we are simply going to work through the text verse by verse and explain its
meaning. When all is said and done, this is the best kind of preaching there is.
I'm not addressing some specific topic in your life, but just letting the text speak
to you as it may. The text is full of life-giving truth that will itself attract
your soul, heal your wounds and encourage your heart. You must think and meditate
along with me as I take you on this enjoyable and powerful tour of God's Word. Let's
go to work.
V.7-8
John has just blown open the pretension and guise of the Pharisees and Sadducees
who came out to where he was baptizing to investigate him as some new rabble rouser.
He called them a bunch of snakes who had been somehow warned to squirm away from
a coming fire in a hurry. He cuts to the chase with them and tells them how real
repentance looks: it has concrete evidence – visible fruit that proves it's genuine.
Of course, they didn't have any visible fruit but a lot of hypocrisy, charades,
and mock religion. John saw right through it and they had a reputation for it. God
sees through religious phonies.
V.9
John then anticipates their response to his penetrating analysis. He knew they were
going to say: "Hey, wait a minute, we are sons of Abraham! We don't need a baptism
of repentance, that's for Gentile dogs! Our religious heritage speaks for itself
We are descendants of Abraham!" The Jews took it for granted that they were already
a part of God's covenant people, heirs to God's promises, and secure in His favor
– all due to their national election. If you were a Hebrew, you automatically had
God's favor. But John is telling them something astonishing! He's saying that they
are assuming too much! Just because you are a physical descendant of Abraham does
not necessarily mean you are a true child of God! That was explosive to them! Not
all those who descended from Abraham are in the new covenant. John is making a statement
that becomes clear in what Paul taught in Romans 9:6-8 "But it is not as though
the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to
Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but
"Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8 This means that it is not the children
of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted
as offspring." (Also in Romans 4:11-15 Gal. 3:6-9)
Jesus also gives an indication in other places in Matthew that the Gentiles will
be brought into the kingdom and some of the Jews excluded. This too rocked the Pharisees'
world! Jesus says in Matthew 8:11-12 "I tell you, many will come from east and west
and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while
the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 21:43 "Therefore I tell you, the
kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits."
What's the point? God knows whose confession and repentance is real and will forgive,
justify, adopt and glorify those who are true sons of Abraham through faith alone
in Christ alone. You can't fake God out. You may be able to fool many people but
God sees our hearts, our souls, our real motives. A stone has a better chance of
heaven than a hypocrite! God can raise up true children out of stones, he doesn't
need the Pharisees and Sadducess. There is no "automatic immunity" (Hagner) from
the requirement of confession and true repentance in order to gain heaven. Being
born into a Christian home doesn't guarantee you anything but the opportunity to
hear the truth. Every person must come in humble repentance himself to Christ.
V.10, 12
These two verses that speak powerfully about hell. The note of URGENCY is seen in
the word "already". The chopping down of a tree is an OT illusion to God's judgment.
We see this for example in Isaiah 10:33-34 "Behold, the Lord God of hosts will lop
the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the
lofty will be brought low. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an
axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One." This isn't a time of pruning but
of final removal (France). Jesus says it too in Matthew 7:17-20 "So, every healthy
tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree
cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that
does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will
recognize them by their fruits." Back to 3:12: he adds another metaphor for judgment:
the threshing floor. The threshed gain is tossed into the air with the winnowing
fork so the wind can separate the lighter chaff from the heavier grain. The chaff
is collected and burned in the fire. The wheat is gathered and stored in the barn.
The people were familiar with these metaphors from their OT reading.
The fire of hell is called "unquenchable!" (Gk. word for hell: 'Gehenna')
This is imagery taken from Isa. 66 and from the constantly burning fire dumps of Jerusalem.
Gehenna refers to the Valley of Hinnon, which had been the seat of the idolatrous
worship of Moloch, to whom children were sacrifice as an offering by fire (2 Chron.
28:3). This valley became associated in prophecy with judgment from God. It is called
in Jeremiah the Valley of Slaughter (7:32). In Jesus' day it was where the city's
trash was incinerated and a fire smoldered constantly there. It is very sobering
that Jesus, our loving, kind, compassionate Savior, also spoke of the burning of
hell's fire in a half dozen other verses in Matthew's gospel! One example is Matthew
5:22 "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable
to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever
says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." It is truth like this that
makes the gospel so serious. Christianity isn't a play-time, feel-good, no-consequence
religion! There is a screaming urgency to it all. The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians
6:2 "Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
The bottom line is that we as believers need to be crying out to God for people's
souls! When we have a special prayer service on a Sunday evening to pray just for
the salvation of our loved ones, this church should be full of people! Is it full
of people when we have those special prayer services? NO it isn't. A faithful 40
come, but where are the rest of you? I plead with you to join the others who are
pouring out their hearts before God for the souls of men and women!
V.11
Here's why I love John the Baptist: He knew his role. He didn't want glory or recognition
for himself but for The Powerful One, Jesus. John knew he was the weak one, the
lowly one, the humble servant. Mark and Luke tell us that John said he was not worthy
to 'untie' the sandals of Jesus. Matthew tells us John said: "I am not fit to carry
his sandals." Listen to this quote: "Taking off the master's sandals was a slave's
role, specifically excluded from the otherwise menial duties of a rabbi's disciples.
Another rabbinic source goes further in regarding the task as too low even for a
Hebrew salve." (France, p.113) John wasn't too proud to be seen as Jesus' slave-boy
in a society of haughty-hearted rabbis. God draws near to the humble but resists
the proud.
John says: "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." There are numerous
interpretations among the commentators on the meaning of this verse. Some see it
as a double baptism: the HS for the repentant and the fire for the unrepentant.
I think a better interpretation sees one baptism by Jesus that involves the Holy
Spirit and fire. In the OT the Spirit is promised as a cleansing agent and so is
fire. The Spirit-fire baptism of Jesus goes beyond John's baptism of repentance
in that it purifies and refines the soul and life of the repentant person getting
baptized. John had an outward sign of repentance and the One who followed Him, who
was more powerful than John, purges the inner man through salvation and the indwelling
Holy Spirit.
V.13-14
Now we have the first appearance of the adult Jesus in Matthew. He traveled from
Nazareth in Galilee to John (Mk. 1:9). He is coming to be baptized by John, which
raises an immediate and curious question: "Why is the sinless Son of God coming
to received a baptism that focuses on repentance?" Before we tackle that question,
notice again the wonderful humility of John the Baptist: "But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you
come to me?"
John understood his own spiritual condition and need. He also understood that Jesus'
Spirit-and-fire baptism was his greatest need. The tense of the verb translated
"tried to deter him" gives a sense of repeated efforts. The position in the Greek
sentence of the prepositional phrase "by you" gives it great emphasis. John is determined
to humble himself before Jesus. What a great heart he had!
We are not told all the details, but it certainly appears that John understood who
Jesus was, the Messiah of God.
V.15
"Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all
righteousness. Then John consented." Jesus takes control of the situation and with
"messianic authority" (Hagner) insists that John baptize him. But why? How should
we understand Jesus' reason for being baptized? All we have to work with is a phrase
"to fulfill all righteousness."
- Jesus says: "It is proper or fitting" for this to happen. That tells us that it
was God's divine will for Jesus to get baptized. It was the right thing to do. It
was a divine necessity that had to be accomplished. It wasn't optional, that is
why Jesus insisted so strongly that John do it, even though John felt like he shouldn't
do it. That's the same with you, if something is God's divine will, then just do
it!
- Why was it fitting or right to do is the next question. "To fulfill all righteousness"
is Jesus' answer. We should quickly notice the word "fulfill!" Remember what I said
was the key word that unlocks the gospel of Matthew? "Fulfillment!" So, in some
way, the baptism of Jesus is part of the story of fulfillment of all that God has
planned in the history of redemption. It was to fulfill "all righteousness." In
Matthew the word 'righteousness' occurs 7 x's and in every case it refers to
"obedience to God's commands or proper conduct before God." In essence, Jesus is saying to
John: "John, you and I, together, are obeying God the Father through this baptism.
This is proper conduct. We are doing what is right in His eyes. We are carrying
out the beginning symbol of My entire mission of salvation. This will show that
I am perfectly obedient to the will of my Father." Jesus is identifying himself
with all those who truly confessed their sins and repented in John's baptism. He
is in the water with them as the obedient servant of Yahweh – prophesied in Isa.
42. Jesus baptism has a role in His mission of being the representative of His people.
He goes before them in all things.
Hebrews 2:14 "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself
likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one
who has the power of death, that is, the devil."
Now comes the absolutely incredible part of the passage!!!
V.16-17
"And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold,
the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved
Son, with whom I am well pleased."
- Three parts can be seen here: the opening of heaven – the descending of the Spirit
– the voice of the Father.
- The Opening of Heaven: This is not an uncommon experience in Scripture. Ezek. 1:1
Ezekiel stood by a river and saw heaven open and he saw visions of God. Jn. 1:51
Jesus told Nathaniel that he would see heaven open and angels ascending and descending.
Acts 7:56 Stephen said he saw heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right
hand of God. Acts 10:11 Peter saw heaven open and a great sheet descend. Rev. 4:1
John the apostle saw heaven open and he was summoned up to gain a revelation.
There is always a great revelation from God when the heavens open! The one we have
here is perhaps the greatest! The Father affirms and confirms Jesus as the divine
Son in preparation for His mission of redemption. "Jesus is visibly equipped and
commissioned to undertake his messianic mission" (France).
- The Holy Spirit descends like a dove: This calls to mind Isaiah 42:1 "Behold my servant,
whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations." Jesus is anointed, empowered and led
by the Holy Spirit. Look at 4:1 "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted." The OT speaks of times of the Spirit coming upon people to equip
them for a special task. Judges 6:34 "But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon,
and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him."
This is the only place in Scripture where we hear of the Holy Spirit appearing in
a visible form. But, some think that is wasn't visible, but it was "dove-like."
The text here says "like a dove" and seems metaphorical. Nowhere is the Spirit symbolized
as a dove, other than here. Some say perhaps Noah's doves that hovered over the
flood waters are a picture of the Spirit hovering over the unformed creation in
Genesis 1:2. Luke 3:22 "and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like
a dove …" Was it a physical, real dove? Perhaps.
- The Voice of the Father: We are treated to a clear, unmistakable, passionate view
of how the Father feels about His Son! God is pleased with His Son's obedience.
There can be no mistake and no debate about who Jesus of Nazareth really is in the
Scriptures! Jesus is the unique Son of God, the Spirit-anointed Messiah, the Humble
and Obedient Servant of Yahweh, the Second Member of the Divine Trinity! This is
what the rest of the Gospel is aimed at convincing us of. Oh, may we be convinced!
Application
I don't want to give you an application to this text that doesn't measure up to
its greatness. If you can understand what I mean. How do we properly apply the privilege
we have this morning of listening to how God the Father feels about His unique Son?
How do we do justice to the urgency of knowing that there is an unquenchable fire
in the future for people who refuse to truly repent?
Perhaps the most honorable application we can do to such majestic passages as these
is to get alone and pray to God and say: "Father, make me believe this Word! Make
me believe that the heavens did open up and you did speak these words to your beloved
Son." If we do that much, I think it will do us good and we will be fulfilling all
righteousness.
Let's Pray,
H.