Matthew 3:1-6 The Ministry of John the
Baptist
Introduction: Matthew skipped over the childhood of Jesus
and goes to the ministry of the forerunner of Jesus. The term “in those days” speaks of the time
while Jesus was still in
I. The place of John’s ministry. verse 1
A. John preached
in the wilderness of
(A rocky, wooded area just west of the
B. It was a thinly
populated area with a few small villages.
C. It was not the
most likely place to have a large ministry.
D. But in fact
John had larger crowds there than he could have had in any of the cities.
(He was centralized.)
II. John’s name and title.
verse 1
A. Matthew calls
him John the Baptist. (That was not his
name.)
B. His name was
John. John 1:6, Luke 1:13, 60, 63
C. His title was
“the Baptist”.
1. The
term means “the baptizer”. “One who
baptizes.”
2. Yet
he was “the Baptist” before he ever baptized.
3. He
was the Baptist because God authorized him to baptize. John 1:33
III. John’s message. verse 2
A. The essence of
his message was “Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand.”
B. Repent ye.
1. The
word “repent” means a change, or turning.
(Especially a change of mind or attitude).
2.
Thus he called attention to their sins.
(No need to repent otherwise.)
3.
Thus he said “You are not fit for the kingdom of heaven because of your
sins.”
C. The kingdom of
heaven is at hand.
1.
Some split hairs making a big difference between the kingdom of heaven
and the
God. (There is none.)
2.
What John meant was “the king from heaven is at hand.”
(His ministry, not his rule, is
about to start.)
3. He
preached faith in this king.
IV. John’s ministry, a
fulfillment of prophecy. verse 3
A. Matthew
identified John as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Isaiah 40:3
B. Isaiah
represented a messenger crying before a king.
1. The
messenger would cry out and inform them of the coming of the King.
2. The
people would, then, get things ready for his coming.
C. For one thing,
they would prepare the roadway.
(Move the rock slides and fallen
trees and fill up the washes).
D. He would also
rally the people to come to hear and see the King
(This was what John was doing, getting the
people to prepare for the coming of Jesus
by repenting.)
E. He was
preparing a people for the organization of the New Testament Church.
V. John’s appearance and food. verse 4
A. John was not
trained under the influence of the scribes and Pharisees.
B. He lived in the
wilderness, wore wilderness clothes, and ate wilderness food.
(God called him, trained, clothed
him and fed him).
VI. The impact of his ministry.
verses 5-6
A. Many came out
to hear him preach.
B. Many recognized
him as being God sent with God’s message.
C. Many repented
and trusted Jesus as the Christ.
D. Those who
repented, John baptized in the
E. It was from
these that Jesus would select those first members to go into the organization
of His
church.
VII. A summary of John’s
preaching.
A. He preached a
personal guilt of sin.
B. He preached a
personal repentance of sin.
C. He preached
faith in the coming Christ.
D. He preached
baptism for those who repent and trust Jesus.
E. He preached a
changed life as a result of repentance.
Conclusion: If John were here he would preach the
same. Since he is not here than that is
what I preach. John warned to get ready
for Christ’s first coming. I warn people
to get ready for His second coming.
Preached at
Preached at Texas Baptist
Institute
Preached at Texas Baptist
Institute
Preached at