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Matthew 3 – Day 1: "Prepare the Way"(V1-6)

Start your study time today with prayer.

Read Matthew 3:1-17 Today we will focus on the first 6 verses of Matthew chapter 3

Digging Deeper:

(V1) was the cousin of Christ. Although he was born before Jesus, John was in his mother's womb at the same time that Jesus was in Mary's. John was known as a forerunner (See Luke chapter 1) for the Messiah, meaning that he would tell everyone that the Messiah was coming and that they should repent from their sins and prepare their hearts to receive what the Messiah would give. The wilderness in those days had different kinds of people. There were social outcasts who didn’t feel that they belonged in the city, criminals who were on the run and didn’t want to get caught, and there were religious self-denialists who went there to get out of the city and seek God. It was here in the wilderness that John the

1 Baptist, the forerunner, would start preaching to the people.

(V2) Let's break down John's message. He told the people in the wilderness to Repent of their Sins. This word doesn’t mean to be sorry for your Sin, it means to turn away from your Sin. It's an action word, and John is telling people to make a change in the way they are living. Instead of living for self, change your mind and follow God. John says to turn to God. Once you’ve repented from your Sin, now it’s time to turn to God. God's ways are better than our ways, so instead of putting Sin to rest and trying our hardest to not Sin any longer, John tells us that we should turn to God's ways, because the kingdom of God is closer than we think! In Heaven, Gods kingdom, we will be led by king Jesus, who leads with perfect justice and righteousness.

(V3-4) From the time that they were little children, the devout Jewish believers in that day learned about the Old Testament scriptures. Many were familiar with the book of , and what that book revealed about the coming Messiah. There would be a forerunner that came before the Messiah, who cried out with his voice in the wilderness. His message would be

2 distinct, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight." This was the same message that we see John preaching here!

(V5-6) John was different than most of the people you would see in that day. He wore a long coat that covered his whole body that was made from camel's hair, he had a leather belt around his waist, and he had a strict diet of locusts (bugs) and honey (yummy). As people heard about John and what he was doing out in the wilderness, many of them went out to see what was going on. It was there that people began to confess their sins before God, and were baptized. John was there to prepare the way for the Messiah, who would come to save His people.

Application Questions:

1.) John preached repentance to the people out in the wilderness. The wilderness was a place of exile for some, and an escape from the city for others. We meet many people today who are living in some kind of exile, or are trying to run away from God.

3 A.) Looking at John's example, what would you say to someone who is running away from God? List 3 things you would tell them: 1.)______

2.)______

3.)______

B.) Read Romans 1:16. Paul says the Power is in the . What does this verse speak to you? ______

2.) John’s message from God was to prepare the way of the Lord. God is working in our lives, and scripture tells us that He wants to grow our faith in every season, even every day! We have a choice whether or not we are going to let him grow our faith, or if we are going to try and stay the same. Healthy growth always brings healthy change.

4 A.) What holds you back from growing in your relationship with God? ______

B.) List some ways that you can prepare your heart and mind to grow in Christ. ______

Prayer for the day:

Father, I want to grow in you. Please help me to not be afraid of healthy change, and will you show me today how I can prepare the way of the Lord in my life to grow in you. I love you, and commit my life and my day to you. Amen

5 Matthew 3 – Day 2: “Genealogy will not get you into heaven!” (V7-12)

“…Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7)

Pray. The Lord has something in store for you in these passages. Ask Him to give you eyes to see and a heart that is ready to receive everything He has prepared for you today.

Read Matthew 3:7-12

Digging Deeper:

When “many” of the and , the respected religious leaders of the Jewish council, approached John (V7), probably to be baptized, considering John’s reply, his question was probably quite genuine in effect. Saying “How did you poisonous snakes know, and did you really take to heart the teaching of the coming Messiah and His kingdom?” which John was convinced was directly at hand and about to emerge onto the scene.

6 “If you genuinely have a repentant heart, then it should show up in your outward behavior,” John might have said (V8). The gift of salvation is not something that can be inherited from your earthly father, or gained by getting baptized with believers. Being descendants of (V9) would not in any way guarantee any Israelite, including the religious leaders, a place in heaven. We might imagine John pointing a finger at stones along the river’s edge as he reminded these Pharisees and Sadducees that if God in His sovereignty had chosen to, He could easily have turned those same stones into Abraham’s children. Without a heart of repentance, the hearts of these men were no more alive than stones on the riverbank.

John gives stern warnings, using the picture of trees that are able to bear fruit, and of harvested wheat, both to be tested by the Lord, the mighty God. Verse 10 describes unfruitful trees, which, without repentance are being separated out, cut down at the root, cleared out, and burned in the fire. John’s message (V11) was bringing the axe. But God separates out the good fruit, the grain of wheat from the unfruitful chaff with His winnowing fan (V12), the powerful wind that is His . It is a word picture that John speaks, describing the baptizing work of the

7 Holy Spirit and fire, the fruit being gathered together and preserved, while the chaff receives the fire that cannot be put out, and is completely consumed.

Application Questions:

1.) Rather than “Brood of vipers,” the uses the term “generation of vipers.” The term can be defined as the progeny, or offspring of poisonous snakes. Groups of snakes might be known as a den, nest, pit, bed, or knot but not necessarily a group of snakes. John was not only calling the Pharisees and Sadducees venomous snakes, but also sons of serpents. What do these scriptures imply about the character of a viper?

A.) Acts 28:3 ______

B.) Genesis 3 ______

8 ______

C.) :44 ______

2.) Jesus uses the same phrase “Brood of vipers” in :34.

A.) How does that term balance with John’s heart and Jesus’ heart to evangelize? ______

B.) How does this speak to us about the way we treat vipers that we encounter? ______

C.) Are they only to be found among unbelievers outside of the church? Explain.

9 ______

3.) John said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.”

A.) How can fruit be worthy of repentance? What is your understanding of this admonishment by John? ______

B.) Repentance goes way beyond saying, “I’m sorry.” How do these verses sort of outline different attributes of repentance? Job 42:6 ______

Ezekiel 18:30 ______

10 :15 ______

Acts 3:19 ______

Prayer for the day:

Dear Heavenly Father, I want to be wise only in the understanding that You provide. Please convict my heart of any poisonous thought that I have “arrived” spiritually. Fill me, I pray Lord, with a heart and habit of repentance, laying my sins before You in sorrow and disgust, turning to Your wisdom and forgiveness, and surrendering myself again to Your perfect will for my life. Amen.

11 Matthew 3 – Day 3: “The Old Man Buried, the New Man Raised Up” (V13-17)

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.’” :3

Will you ask the Lord to meet you today as you surrender your mind and heart to Him in the study of these passages?

Read Matthew 3:13-17

Digging Deeper:

It is no short jaunt from to the Jordan. Jesus traveled the distance, around 60 miles (as the crow flies) for the express purpose of getting to John (V13), who was at the Jordan. Though scripture does not tell us exactly where John was baptizing on the 156-mile stretch of the , Luke’s gospel gives us a historical snapshot, (:1-2) by name of the ruling powers over Israel in Jesus’ day. We also know that the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to

12 John were sent from , and when baptized, Jesus went into the Judean wilderness below Jericho, so we might suppose that John was close to Jerusalem on the Jordan. Also, :28 mentions the town of Bethabara, and John 3:22-23 describes John baptizing near Aenon and Salim, in , but the exact location of these towns is unknown today.

We do know that Jesus sought out John for the purpose of being baptized. We know that baptism is an outward demonstration of an inward work of the Holy Spirit as we bury the old man beneath the water, and a new man with a new life in Christ emerges. Why then, would Jesus Christ Himself, want to be baptized? John was hesitant (V14), stating in effect, that he needed a baptism by Jesus in the Holy Spirit, and here was Jesus asking for a baptism by water for repentance.

God never pushes His perfect will on us. He never forces His way into our lives, ever. And here (V15) we witness the Son of God, not commanding but entreating John to let it be so, and so John allows it. “…to fulfill all righteousness,” Jesus declares, which seems to be an act of obedience to His Father. And when the obedience is fulfilled we get to witness the

13 reward; a moment in the history of man in which God our Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son all meet. The heavens open to the eyes of Jesus, perhaps to John, and maybe even to those who stood by. And there is no doubt in Matthew’s words that it was the Spirit, in the form of a dove, that alighted and remained on Jesus.

Imagine, the voice, the power, the very spoken words of God in heaven (V17) pouring down and proclaiming to the world without question that this Jesus indeed is His obedient and faithful Son. It is a proclamation of a turning point in the life of Jesus Christ, formerly a man from Nazareth, of the home of Joseph and Mary, a sibling and a man known to those of His hometown, and now turning His attention, as history reveals, to the work that His Father has established for Him. He is the fulfilled prophecy of John, the Kingdom of Heaven at hand!

Application Questions:

1.) Each of the gospel writers had a different purpose for their writing, and each writer included the with unique

14 content and detail. Consider these gospel accounts of the baptism of Jesus and briefly describe how their writing lines up with the specific purpose of each writer.

A.) Matthew 3:13-17 ______

B.) Mark 1:9-11 ______

C.) Luke 3:21-22 ______

D.) John 1:21-24 ______

15 2.) John baptized with ______

3.) Jesus baptized with ______

4.) Read the passages from Romans 7:15-19.

A.) What does Romans 8:1-6 say about how we overcome this endless battle with the carnal man? ______

B.) How does this relate to the baptism that Jesus offers us? ______

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Prayer for the day:

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise Your name and thank You for sending Your Son to die for my sins. I surrender my life to You again today. I thank You for Your Holy Spirit and pray that You will baptize me again in the power of Your Spirit. Fill me again Lord, I pray. Strengthen me again Lord I ask, because I know that today this carnal man within me will attempt to rise up against my spirit and draw me away from You against. Thank You, Father. Amen.

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