Knowing The Word in Matthew 3:1-6

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 In those days [30 years later] John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea [the land that drops down from the Judean hills to the Dead Sea], 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [The main thrust of his ministry was not baptism but the announcement of the immanent judgment of God and the coming One, which is the same message as Jesus’. Repentance then led to baptism. John is the first to baptize others. Proselyte baptism was self-administered. John is not a rival to Jesus but a preparer of his ministry. The “kingdom of heaven” means the establishment of God’s rightful sovereignty in judgment and in salvation, i.e. the Messianic age.] 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah [40:3] when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” [In Isaiah, the voice preceded the coming of God. The coming of God is fulfilled in Jesus.]

4 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist [2 Kings 1:8, for comparison with Elijah], and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. [They were not seeking ceremonial washing but were “fleeing the wrath to come.”]