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A Voice Crying Out In The Wilderness
Authored by Takao Kiyohiro, Osaka, Japan ktakao@po.teleway.ne.jp
Translated by Rev. Mike Furey mfurey@seidata.com
at http://www.j-e-s-u-s.org.
TEXT: Matthew 3:1-12
1. In The Gospel According To Matthew appear as many as five long narratives by the Lord Jesus
directed to the disciples and the public. Why did Matthew write down these stories? It needs not be
said but, he did it to inform the church of that period. In Matthew's Gospel, stern messages of
judgment by the Lord Jesus are also recorded about the leaders in Judaism. Why did Matthew write
these down? We should not consider this gospel's first hand readers as the followers of Judaism. He
did not write this book down for the purpose of disputing [with them]. [His] purpose is clear. He
wrote it in order to inform the church of his time period. The words of judgment, spoken by the Lord
to the leaders of Judaism, had become words of warning for the church as it was then. In The Gospel
According To Matthew, as is the same in the other gospels, John the Baptizer is recorded as a
forerunner of the Lord. The stern words that came out of the mouth of John were cast at the Pharisees
and the Sadducees. Why did Matthew record this? It wasn't to inform Pharisees and Sadducees. By
the time of [the] original [writing of] Matthew, the Sadducee sect had no longer existed. This was
written to inform Christians.
2. [A message of] repentance was called out to the people. That means that [a message of]
repentance has been called out to us. He was trying to prepare the way for the arrival of the messiah.
We know that the messiah has already come, and we believe and confess that he will come again on
the day of the end. Just as the message of John the Baptizer was a preparation for the first coming of
the Lord, his words, which we are informed about today, are a preparation for us for the second
coming of the Lord. That's why this passage of scripture is read during Advent season. Advent season
is a time of repentance, as I mentioned last week. As we recall this in our hearts, I'd like us to incline
our attention to the biblical words given to us today.
Repent: The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Near
3. First let's read from verse one to verse six. "In those days John the Baptizer appeared, he
proclaimed in the Judean wilderness, 'Repent: the kingdom of heaven is near.' This was a man who
thus said according to the prophet Isaiah, 'He serves as the voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his pathways.' John wore a fur coat of camel and tied
a leather belt around his waist and made locusts and wild honey for [his] food. Then, people came to
John from Jerusalem and all the land of Judah and from the entire area along the banks of the Jordan
River, and they confessed their sins and received baptism from him at the Jordan River," (verses one
through six).
4. The character John the Baptizer appears on the scene abruptly. In The Gospel According To Luke
there is a description on his birth but none is written in Matthew. It looks like he had no interest in who
the character John was. [Matthew's] interest was directed towards [John the Baptizer's] work. It was
about what he did in relation to Christ. The Bible says about John that he was "a voice of a person
crying out in the wilderness." It says he was a voice crying out, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his
pathways straight." The road must be prepared for the Lord to come. The way must be prepared to
welcome the savior.
5. What does this mean? John cries out, "Repent: The kingdom of heaven is near." It is repentance
that is required in order to prepare the way. Repentance is the way we must get ready and prepare for
the coming of salvation. There is no salvation where there is no repentance. Repentance is not mere
regret. Many people are sorry for the consequences of [their] sin. More than most people have
regrets. There are some who go from regret to self-hatred. But, no matter how much regret or
self-loathing there might be, this by itself will not bring salvation. Well, should a person give himself or
herself to contemplation with a view to changing oneself? That would definitely be better than just
regretting; however, even though repenting does involve contemplation, it is not simple meditation.
Repentance is about changing direction. Repentance is a reinstatement with God. One makes a
change in direction from a lifestyle that was separated from God and a life that was rebellious against
God and turns to Him. This is different from regret and is not something that naturally emerges from
within the inside of a human being. Only a call on the part of God makes it possible. Therefore, over
and over the prophets had been sent. Here as well John the Baptizer has been sent by God and was
made to issue a call for repentance.
6. The reason a call has been made that one change directions and turn to God is because "the
kingdom of heaven is near." To say the kingdom of heaven is not what we might call paradise. When
the Jews say "heaven" it frequently refers to God. They avoided pronouncing the name God and called
[God] "heaven." So, "the kingdom of heaven" is nothing but "the kingdom of God." The kingdom of
God means the government of God. It is about God ruling as king. We have salvation when God is
ruling. It is not when the devil rules, nor when sin rules, nor when death rules, but it is when God
governs that we have salvation. Therefore, the saying "the kingdom of heaven is near" is nothing but the
saying "salvation is near."
7. But, where salvation is there is judgment, too. Salvation and judgment are both sides of the same
activity of God. Given a little thought it is something anyone will understand. The perfect rule of God is
salvation for the person who loves God. But, it is a fearful judgment for the person who hates God. It
is salvation for those who obey God, but it is a dreadful judgment for those who oppose God. The
time when the world will be saved is also the time when the world will be judged. Therefore, a call for
repentance has been issued. It [means] a change of direction. It is a return to God. In response to this
call to repentance people came to John from Jerusalem and all the land of Judea and from all the area
along the Jordan River, and they confessed [their] sins and received baptism at the Jordan River.
Bear Fruit Appropriate For Repentance
8. Let's continue reading from verse seven to verse ten. "John saw that a great crowd of Pharisees
and Sadducees came to receive baptism and he said this: 'O children of vipers, who taught you to
escape from the imminent wrath of God? Bear fruit appropriate for repentance. Don't think that Our
father is Abraham. Instead I tell you, God is able to create sons of Abraham even from stones such
as these. The ax is already laid to the root of the tree. Every tree which doe not bear good fruit will be
cut down and cast into the fire,'" (verses seven through ten).
9. A crowd of Pharisees and Sadducees came to John. This is surprising. They came all the way to
John who was in the wilderness and wanted to receive baptism. This means that they at least seriously
thought about God's absolute rule and his judgment. They had understood that they themselves were in
a precarious condition in their relationship with God. So, they tried to escape from the wrath of God.
This is understandable. After all we, too, would want to flee from such wrath upon being told about the
wrath and judgment of God.
10. However, this matter of simply trying to escape from the wrath of God is different from
repentance. When faced with crisis or when in hard times many people just attempt to escape. They
never even think about what was wrong in [their] relationship with God. They have never even
seriously thought about the fact the direction of [their] life was not correct with respect to God. They
only think of how can they escape. But, that's the same as trying to trim up and pretty up only the leaf
section while leaving the rotten root just as it is. Because the root is rotten, though the leaves have
gotten thick, it will not bear fruit.
11. So, John says to them with rather harsh words, "Repent: bear fruit appropriate for repentance."
This is not simply just asking them to do good or be good people. Actually, it is bearing fruit in the
vicissitudes of life. Therefore, what is fundamentally the problem is precisely this matter of one's
relationship with God. What is required is not that we try to escape from predicaments and crises, but
a repentance wherein one sincerely turns to God. [What is required] is a life that repents and walks
with God.
12. For that reason we must abandon each and every source of hindrance to repentance. For
instance, [one seemingly authoritative hindrance to repentance] was their identity as Jews. "Our father
is Abraham." On the contrary, such a thought is a hindrance to true repentance. "So big deal!" John
said: "I tell you, God is able to create sons of Abraham even from stones such as these." In other
words, it means that their claim that we are the children of Abraham has no major significance when
compared to the importance of doing true repentance and bearing appropriate fruit. We must instead
abandon such [claims].
13. Furthermore, we [can] understand from the words which follow and which appear again later as
the words of Christ which are about the same as verse ten that this was not merely a problem for the
Jews, (7:19). Matthew was thinking of this as a problem for the church. It is our problem, that is, all
those messages where they say salvation is guaranteed without repenting must be gotten rid of.
The One Who Offers A Baptism Of The Holy Spirit And Fire
14. Finally, let's read from verses eleven to twelve. "In order to guide you into repentance I have been
offering a baptism by means of water, but the One who is coming after me is superior to me. I am not
worthy to untie his footwear. He will offer you a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. And, he was a
winnow in his hand, he will clean up every nook and cranny of the threshing room, and after gathering
the wheat he will put it into storage and will burn the chaff to ashes with a fire that will not turn off,"
(verses eleven and twelve).
15. We understand from these words what John thought of the coming messiah. The messiah is
depicted as a sovereign judge. The kingdom of God has come near. John has said that the kingdom of
God will be brought in by a speedy judgment from the messiah. This [messiah] will "offer you a
baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire." It is clear from the illustration afterwards what John meant by the
words a complete and utter judgment. [It is clear] because of the imagery used here of the
circumstances around the threshing process. When the peasant lets the wheat go up into the air with a
winnow, the wind blows apart the chaff. Then the wheat is put into the store room and the chaff is to
be burned up. In this way he says the final judgment of God, which will be conducted by the messiah,
will also take place. In connection with this it is also spoken of as "a baptism by the Spirit and fire."
"Fire" is clearly a symbol of judgment. But, how about the Holy Spirit? It does not seem like John
simply meant by this the Spirit of God. Actually, "spirit" and "wind" are the same word whether in
Aramaic which John was probably using or in Greek which was used in the gospel account. So, what
John intended was "holy wind." Therefore, we understand that as he speaks using the imagery of
threshing it is a symbol of the judgment which blows apart and separates the chaff and the wheat. In
short, John was persistently speaking on the messiah as the one who would perform the last judgment.
16. Well, was John right about this point? Was there really a person he called "the one coming after
me" and was the one named Jesus really such a person as [John had proclaimed]? No, the messiah did
not come in his first coming as that type of person. It is clear from what John had a messenger ask
when he later sent him, "Are you the one who is to come? Or, must we wait for someone else?,"
(Matthew 11:3) that [John's] image of the Lord Jesus might have let down the expectations of John.
17. However, it often seems in bible prophecy that with no connection to what the original persons had
ever even intended that [the prophets] have spoken words indeed that were right. Certainly the One
who was to come, the Lord Jesus, was the One who would "offer a baptism to you of the Holy Spirit
and fire." The aptness of these words became evident on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell
on the disciples and the church was born. The Lord Jesus came not as the One to condemn humans in
sin and to enforce the judgment, but as the One to save people from sin. Therefore, the Lord did not
come as the One having a winnow in his hand that would blow apart and divide, but he came into this
world as the One who would carry our sins and bear the cross upon his shoulders. The Lord was
crucified for us and accomplished the redemption of sin for us. Also, the Lord, who was raised to
heaven, is pouring out the Holy Spirit on whoever believes. The Lord Jesus indeed is the One who is
offering a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire.
18. John said, "The kingdom of heaven is near." "The kingdom of heaven" has already begun in the
Holy Spirit where God is ruling. We are forgiven of sin, given the Holy Spirit, and can live under the
rule of God. Where God rules lies God's salvation. Also, the rule of God is heading towards its
fulfillment or perfection on the day of the end. The rule of God will be fulfilled or perfected at the end
when Christ comes the second time. It means the time when salvation is fulfilled. At the same time it
will also be a time when a perfect judgment will come to be. Because salvation and judgment are one
and the same.
19. Consequently, for us today as well, a call to repentance is being issued all the more. "Repent: The
kingdom of heaven is near." This is a message directed to us. The time when a call to repentance is
being issued is a time of grace. Paul said, "Now [is] the time of grace, right now is the day of
salvation," (Second Corinthians 6:2). We should not take repenting lightly nor should we waste the
grace of God.
Translated by Mike Furey
Hanover, IN, USA
mfurey@seidata.com
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