Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 3, as we continue our study through the New Testament and the Word of God. And if you remember from our last study we said that Matthew is presenting Jesus Christ as king and the fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophets spoke of. Thus, Matthew chapter 1 gives to us the genealogy of the king. Matthew chapter 2 we saw the worship of the king. And this evening, as we start out in Matthew chapter 3, we will see the herald of the king as John the baptist comes on the scene to prepare the way for the king, Jesus Christ. With that said, let's begin reading in Matthew chapter 3, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening.

VERSES 1-2
1. For some 400 years or so God has been silent, no prophets have spoken, until John the baptist comes on the scene. He was the herald for the Messiah, and a herald would make sure the roads were clean, they were smooth, the debris were removed, as the king would then pass by. And here John was preparing the way, the hearts of the people for the coming king and he was proclaiming the way to the king. And the first word that God speaks through this prophet is "repent" or METANOIA in Greek. Because the people were moving away from God, God is now calling them to stop and turn around, turn back to Him. You see, this word carries with it not only a change of heart but a change of actions as we will see in a few minutes.

2. Secondly, he said "For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" The Messiah came to bring heaven to earth, but He was rejected by the Jews. Thus, Jesus has brought to us the kingdom in our hearts if we allow Him to rule and reign. But He is coming again to take that which was internal and spiritual and make it external and physical as He rules and reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords!

VERSES 3-4
1. Again, Matthew, in writing to a primarily Jewish audience, shows the fulfillment of another Old Testament prophecy. As I said, John came to prepare the people to receive their Messiah. And John was a character to say the least. Can you picture him sitting down next to your daughter, if you have one, as locusts legs are hanging out of his mouth? Not the one you would want to date your daughter to say the least, from a worldly perspective. He was an outdoors man as you can easily see. And his ministry was by Jericho and the Jordan River. Not the person we would use to prepare the way for the king, and yet, look at the response that occurs as he proclaims the things of God.

VERSES 5-6
1. Notice as word got out people traveled long distances to hear John speak. And it was not only hearing, but God touched their lives, they repented of their sins and were baptized in the Jordan River. True repentance leads to actions, it is not empty. J. R. Miller put it this way in regards to true repentance. He said that true repentance "amounts to nothing whatever if it produces only a few tears, a spasm of regret, a little freight. We must leave the sins we repent of and walk in the new, clean way of holiness."

2. Some today say they have come to Christ and yet as you look at their life, there is no change. They are still doing the same things they did before they were saved. There is no transformation only a conforming to this world, and the reality is, that repentance is empty. Peter warns us in I Peter 2:11-12, when he says "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation." Peter is telling us to flee those things, don't be consumed by them! Again Peter tells us in I Peter 1:13-16, "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, `Be holy, for I am holy.'" Our desire is to be holy, or it should be. We should not be looking into sin, falling into those sins that have enslaved us before, but we need to hate sin, to hate what God hates and love what God loves!

3. As we move on we are going to see a group of people that were not interested in a inward change that changed their outward actions, but only looking good outwardly while their hearts were still full of evil!

VERSES 7-8
1. Here we see two religious groups of people who traveled a long distance to see what John was all about. And these two groups did not get along, they were on opposite ends of the religious spectrum, and yet, as we will see in the Gospels, the one thing they did agree upon was their hatred of Jesus!

2. The Pharisees were the conservative group, the legalist's. The word "Pharisee" means "separated ones" and that is how they tried to live. They separated themselves from the common people, the sinners, and when they returned home from the market place or any public gathering where someone may have touched them, they would go and perform a ceremonial washing. Thus, you can understand why they were so upset with Jesus when He ate with sinners. You see, they were self-righteous, legalistic and isolated themselves from others.

3. And we can read of the martyrdom of Christians as the church began, but you will not read of the death of any Pharisee. Do you know why? Because they didn't die, they are still alive and well and living today as many Christians have become Pharisaical in their actions, looking down upon others and straining the gnat from the cup instead of missing the message and applying it to their lives. I have seen this too often. One example is a group of people feel that some of the music we listen to is a sin, it is not of God but of Satan. And they have made a law of this even though they can not support it from the Scriptures. On the other hand, they will not go to gatherings if I am there and are very cold if they do see me or my family. And yet the Scriptures speak of love, forgiveness, acceptance, they reject the application of God's Word.. You see, they have strained the gnat and swallowed a camel! And that is what a Pharisee does, and they are alive even today!

4. The Sadducees were on the other end of the spectrum, they were the liberals. They only accepted the Law of Moses and yet they cared little for doctrine. They saw themselves as masters of their destiny, in control with unlimited freedom to do as they pleased. Thus, they deny the existence of angels, spirits or the resurrection from the dead. Thus, they are SAD -U -SEE! That is an easy way to remember this group.

5. And John did not beat around the bush with these two-faced religious leaders. He calls them children of vipers or small poisonous desert snakes! Why? Because, as Jesus said in Matthew 23:13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." They were responsible for keeping people from God because of their ungodly, unbiblical views! Thus, John tells them that if they truly want to repent, if this is not just for show, bear fruits in your life of true repentance! It is as Acts 26:20 says "...that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance."

VERSE 9
1. Like many today, these religious leaders thought they were saved by birth, being children of Abraham. And yet, it has nothing to do with your birth, but the new birth in Christ. The second and third generations of families that got saved are in danger of this. They think they are saved because of their parents or grandparents. Some feel it is the church they belong to. Neither are right, it is the God you come before. Peter said in Acts 4:11-12, "This is the `stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." May we not forget that!

VERSE 10
1. John is warning them that if they continue down this path, if they don't produce fruit in their lives, they will be cut down and thrown into the fire! Judgment will come and all that self- righteous, holier than thou attitude will be done away with as they are cast away into outer darkness!

VERSES 11-12
1. John is speaking of the wheat and the chaff. Those who come to Him will be empowered by the Holy Spirit and God's judgment will purge out the garbage in their lives with the fire of purification. Many today want the power of God but they don't want the changed lifestyle! And please understand that this fire John speaks of has nothing to do with the tongues of fire in Acts chapter 2, the day of Pentecost. First of all it was "like" tongues of fire. Secondly, this is speaking of judgment, as Matthew tells us.
You see, you would place the harvested wheat on the floor and the oxen would walk over them and crush and break the husk from the wheat kernel. Then they would thresh the materials in the air, and the wheat would fall to the ground while the husk or the chaff would be blown away by the wind, or they themselves would fan these materials. The husks or the chaff would then be gathered and burned, but the wheat would be gathered into the barn. The righteous will enter the kingdom of God, the unrighteous will go into outer darkness!

VERSES 13-14
1. Jesus moves southward to where John is working, so that He may be baptized by John. And John is blown away by this, he saw no need for Jesus to be baptized even though at this point he did not recognize who Jesus was, the Son of God, the Messiah. Yes, they were second cousins, but John tells us "This is He of whom I said, `After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water. And John bore witness, saying, `I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.'" John 1:30-34. But John did recognize the righteousness of Jesus at this point!

VERSE 15
1. Jesus is setting an example for us to follow, that not only do we have to die to self, to be reborn in the Spirit, but we need to be empowered by the Spirit of God to be an effective witness of Jesus.

VERSES 16-17
1. The Greek word for "baptize" is BAPTIZO and it speaks of dipping an object in water, not just sprinkling water on an object. In fact, full immersion into water was practiced by the church until the Middle Ages when the sprinkling or pouring of water was introduced by the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, Jesus used that word in Matthew 20:22-23 where we are told "But Jesus answered and said, `You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?' They said to Him, `We are able.' So He said to them, `You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.'"
Jesus is speaking of the work He was to do, not just a little involved, but immersed in it. Also, in Acts 1:5, "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." Again, not just a sprinkling of the Holy Spirit, but a pouring out, a immersing of power in the believers life. And lastly, Jesus came up out of the water, the water was not sprinkled on Him. Not a big deal, but that is why when we baptize people we do a full immersion, signifying death to the old life, buried in the waters, and the coming up out of the water speaks of the new life in Christ.

2. One last point before we move on to the next chapter. Here, very clearly we see the Holy Trinity; the Father speaks forth from heaven, the Holy Spirit is like a dove descending upon Jesus, and Jesus is in the Jordan River. One God manifested in three distinct persons. Explain it, I can't! Believe it, I have to for that is what the Scriptures teach us!

VERSE 1
1. After the blessings came the tempting as the Spirit of God lead Jesus into the barren Judean wilderness. The Greek word for "tempted" can have two meanings, and I believe both apply here. The first is to test or prove and the second is to solicit evil. You see, the devil sought to cause Him to do evil while the Holy Spirit sought to prove His faith, which was obviously perfect. In Hebrews 2:16-18 we are told, "For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted." Jesus experienced the same things we experience, and yet He did not succumb to the flesh, He did not sin. Thus, He is our example. How did He do it? Remember in chapter 3, the Holy Spirit came upon Him, to empower Him for the work. It is as Paul said in Galatians 5;16, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

2. Again in Hebrews 4:15 we are told, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." Now some say that Jesus was not able to sin even if He wanted to. Others say that He could sin because if He couldn't those temptations that Jesus was able to overcome would be meaningless to us, there would be no comfort, no hope of withstanding them. Which is right? I like the way that Jon Courson puts it. He says:
In His Divinity, Jesus was solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. His Divine nature could not be tempted. Yet Philippians 2 says when He came to earth, He emptied Himself - He became vulnerable like you and me. Therefore, I believe Jesus could sin because of His humanity, but because of His deity, there's not a chance He would sin. It would be like if the USS Missouri, armed to the teeth and with 16-inch thick steel plates covering every part of her, pulled into port in San Francisco Bay, and I said, "I'm going to test her to see whether she is seaworthy or not," and I pulled out Peter John's BB gun, and started firing away.
Could my BB gun sink the USS Missouri?
While the possibility exists that a BB could set off a chain of events which could somehow sink the USS Missouri, realistically, I would only prove how solid that battleship really is.
So too with Jesus...
- Jon Courson, Matthew Vol. One, pp. 68-69

VERSE 2
1. Physiologists tell us that after about 7 or 8 days of fasting you lose your appetite, you are no longer hungry. And somewhere around the 40th day that hunger returns and it is a indication that death is not far off. Jesus had reached that point, He hungered and what happens in a weakened condition? The adversary comes to try and cause us to stumble as he is going to do with Jesus.

VERSE 3
1. Not "if" but since you are the Son of God, make bread for yourself so you can eat. Notice what Satan was doing here. He wanted Jesus' physical needs to control His Spirit. That is the battle we face every day. Paul said in Galatians 5:17, "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." The flesh is ugly, self-seeking, while the Spirit is love, patience, joy and-so-on. You can easily tell what is controlling you by what comes out of your mouth, the actions you do.

VERSE 4
1. Notice how Jesus fights off the temptations that are before Him, by the Word of God, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. This is the key, allowing the Word of God by the Spirit of God to control the man of God! The power is not in quoting Scripture but obeying it! We need to allow that Spirit life to grow in us and not let the flesh control us, our bodily desires!

VERSES 5-6
1. This is interesting to me, for Satan does know the Scriptures, but he will twist them and misquote them to make his point. Satan quotes Psalm 91:11-12 but misquotes it. For the thought is in all of God's ways, not our ways. And the challenge is if you really trust God, if you really trust His Word, then throw yourself down from the top of this pinnacle to the valley below, maybe some 400 feet, and God will protect you like His Word says. Prove you trust God's Word!

VERSE 7
1. I wish more Christians would understand this. It is wrong to deliberately place yourself in danger just to test God's faithfulness. It would be like going out and laying down across the Interstate to prove God will protect you. If you do that, you will be able to ask Him personally why He didn't! We even see that with those Christians who handle poisonous snakes and drink poison, quoting Mark chapter 16 as their reason for doing it. And yet that deals with missionary work and God's protection, not tempting God. And many have died because of this foolishness. Again, Jesus combats the Devil with the Word of God, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16.

VERSES 8-9
1. That was not an empty promise by Satan for in Luke 4:6-7 we are told, "And the devil said to Him, `All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.'" God gave to man this world and because of man's sin it was handed over to Satan. In II Corinthians 4:4 he is called "...the god of this age..." In John 12:31, "...now the ruler of this world..." And in Ephesians 2:2 he is called "....the prince of the power of the air..." Thus, Satan could offer all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus, the only catch was He would have to bow the knee to Satan!

2. What was Satan doing here? He is telling Jesus that He doesn't have to go to the cross, He can have it all now, immediate gratification! And that is exactly what he tells people today. You don't need to go to the cross, you can have it all now! And sadly, people buy into that lie and have a eternity to think about their mistake. There is no real joy, no real fulfillment apart from the cross!

VERSES 10-11
1. Jesus again counters Satan with the Word of God, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20. Jesus came to do the Father's will, and the cross was part of that. You see, He came to redeem man from his sin and redeem the world back from Satan. Jesus is going to be Lord over all, but first He has to go to the cross!

2. Don't let the enemy confuse your mind, be in the Word of God and apply it to your life. And you see, the power was not in the quoting of God's Word, but in our submission to it, for it will cause the Devil to flee! It says in James 4:7, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

3. As we move into verse 12, there is about a year gap of time that John fills in, and we will get to that when we get to the Gospel of John. But just keep in mind that a year or so has passed now.

VERSES 12-13
1. John is now in prison and Jesus is beginning His ministry and His home base will be Capernaum, in the land of Galilee. And Matthew tells us this is the area where the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali settled when the land was divided during the times of Joshua. Why? Let's read on and you will see.

VERSES 14-16
1. Because this is a fulfillment of what the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 9:1-2. In this area of spiritual darkness, Jesus, the light of the world will come to pierce it and give the people a hope for the future, a light to guide them. Jesus didn't come to save the righteous, but the sinner, and thus, He places Himself right in the middle of those who were in need, who saw their problem, not the self-righteous who saw no need for Him.

VERSE 17
1. The same message of John is now picked up by Jesus. Why? Because you first must recognize your position and then you must take that step of faith and turn back to God. As I have said, it is a change of heart that leads to a change in our actions!

VERSES 18-20
1. Now this was not the first encounter that Jesus had with Peter and Andrew, but it was an important one. No longer would they be fishermen, but fishers of men! And notice their response - immediately they followed Him! When God calls you into a ministry, to do something for Him, what excuses do you give Him or do you immediately follow Him? What a lesson for us to follow.

VERSES 21-22
1. Now James and John left their lucrative fishing business they had with their father and they too followed Jesus. Jesus starts out with four fishermen to work in and through!

VERSE 23
1. Notice what Jesus is doing. He is teaching the Word of God, that is for those who believe. He is preaching the good news of the kingdom to the unsaved and out of that many were healed.

VERSES 24-25
1. The fame of Jesus spread beyond the boarders of Israel and on into Syria. And as the news spread, those who were stricken with all kinds of diseases and possessions came to Jesus for healing, and He healed them. The ministry of Jesus was and is restoration, not only physical healing but also lives that have been destroyed by sin He has also healed, setting them free from the bondage of sin! It is as Jesus said in John 8:34-36, "...`Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.'" What a joy it is to be set free in Jesus!