The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - John's Message About Jesus

Text: Matthew 3:1-4 – “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’” Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”

We began our study looking at the background of this redemptive biography. We have discussed the genealogy of Jesus. We have looked at Joseph’s Distress, His Decision, and His Dream. We then continued our study in Matthew by seeing the Wise Men’s Journey and the Wise Men’s Joy.

We studied the  reasons that Joseph took Jesus into Egypt and then brought Him back to Nazareth.

 Now, let us begin to see the ministry of John the Baptist. Literally in the Greek – “John the Baptizer (immerser).” We will consider what John preaches, to whom he preaches, and for whom he preaches.

So, today, let us consider WHAT John preaches as he embarks on his ministry to lead us to Jesus.

We need to start with his Message. Consider his message as PROCLAIMED. Reread the first two verses above. He came preaching. What does this mean? In the Greek, the word means making a public proclamation. He did this in what the Bible says is the wilderness of Judea – this was a solitary, lonely place. Yet, God sent the crowds to hear him. He had one message - “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The word repent means “to change one’s mind” to turn around, and in the original Greek, it is in the present, active, imperative voice. That means it was a command, not a suggestion.

 So what is the Kingdom of Heaven? This way of presentation is peculiar to Matthew and his writing. It is similar to the Kingdom of God. It is about the rule of heaven over Earth.

There are three aspects to Matthew’s writing pertaining to this concept. First, it is “at hand.” The Kingdom is offered in the Person of the King Himself. It means it is imminent or nearby.

So, we see that the Kingdom was imminent. Also, Matthew presents the Kingdom as being fulfilled in the present time. In Matthew 13 he presents seven mysteries (what has been hidden, but now revealed) to describe it. And, third, Matthew shows that the fulfillment of this Kingdom comes about in the Second Coming of Christ, in what he writes in chapter 24.

We need to also consider his message as it was PREDICTED. Isaiah the prophet foretold John’s ministry and message some 700 years earlier. Look at Isaiah 40:3 – “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.”

We also can see that his appearance was predicted. We are told of his mantle – what he was clothed in.  He wears a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt. This very reminiscent of the Old Testament Prophet Elijah We saw him in 2 Kings 1:8 – “So they answered him, “A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist. And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” It was prophesied to be the mark of a prophet in Zechariah 13:4 - “And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive.”

He eats locusts and wild honey, it shows the austere life he lived, also reminiscent of Elijah’s sojourns.

John is the last of the Old Testament prophets. He is the transitional pivot between the Old Testament and the New.

So, John’s message was in fulfillment of prophecy.

Today, meditate upon the importance of the message – and consider how that same message is vital today – to me, to you, to everyone we encounter.