NIV Application Bible Digital Sampler v4 | Page 12

1508 | MattheW 2:21 John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Is ra el, for those who were try ing to take the child’ s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his moth er and went to the land of Is ra el. 22 But when he heard that Ar che la us was reign ing in Ju dea in place of his fa ther Her od, he was afraid to go there. Hav ing been warned in a dream, j he with drew to the dis trict of Gal i lee, k 23 and he went and lived in a town called Naz a reth. l So was ful filled m what was said through the proph ets, that he would be called a Naz a rene. n

John the Baptist Prepares the Way 3:1 – 12pp // Mk 1:3 – 8; Lk 3:2 – 17

In those days John the Bap tist o came, preach ing in the wil der ness of Ju dea 2 and say ing,“ Re pent, for the king dom of heav en p has come near.” 3 This is he who was spo ken of through the prophet Isa iah:

the line of David. Matthew also uses“ Nazarene” to refer to an individual from a remote, despised area. To his followers, the expression“ Jesus the Nazarene” marked him as the messianic deliverer( Ac 2:22; 3:6; 10:38). When used by his enemies, it was a title of scorn.

Matthew says nothing about Jesus’ early years in Nazareth. Jesus’ education would have also included learning the skills of his father— carpentry. Jesus grew up in a multicultural environment in which a number of languages were spoken by the common people— Aramaic, literary Hebrew, and some Latin, which was spoken especially by Roman military personnel.

2:13 – 23 As the name“ Nazarene” was for Jesus, so the name“ Christian” is a badge of honor, but it is also a badge of scorn and a designation for persecution. For many in the world today, wearing the name“ Christian” is similar to what it was like for the early church. In places around the world, buildings are burned just because they are known to be“ Christian” houses of worship. In many countries, people are placed in jail simply because they possess and distribute“ Christian” literature. And in the face of worldwide radical Islamic terrorism, persecution for being a Christian has come even closer to home.

Our walk with Jesus in this world will involve some kind of suffering for his name. Jesus suffered when doing the right and good thing. Persecution marked the fate of the church from its earliest days, yet it did not dim their

2:22 j ver 12, 13, 19; Mt 27:19 k Lk 2:39

2:23 l Lk 1:26; Jn 1:45, 46 m Mt 1:22

n Mk 1:24

3:1 o Lk 1:13, 57-66; 3:2-19

3:2 p Da 2:44; Mt 4:17; 6:10; Lk 11:20; 21:31; Jn 3:3, 5; Ac 1:3, 6

3:3 q Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1; Lk 1:76; Jn 1:23

3:4 r 2Ki 1:8 s Lev 11:22

3:7 t Mt 12:34; 23:33 u Ro 1:18; 1Th 1:10

3:8 v Ac 26:20 3:10 w Mt 7:19;

UNCORRECTED PROOF

Mt 3:2 ❖ To repent means to change our behavior. What repentance still needs to happen in your life?

4 John’ s clothes were made of cam el’ s hair, and he had a leath er belt around his waist. r His food was lo custs s and wild hon ey. 5 Peo ple went out to him from Je ru sa lem and all Ju dea and the whole re gion of the Jor dan. 6 Con fess ing their sins, they were bap tized by him in the Jor dan Riv er.

7 But when he saw many of the Phari sees and Sad du cees com ing to where he was bap tiz ing, he said to them:“ You brood of vi pers! t Who warned you to flee from the com ing wrath? u 8 Pro duce fruit in keep ing with re pen tance. v 9 And do not think you can say to your selves,‘ We have Abra ham as our fa ther.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up chil dren for Abra ham. 10 The ax is al ready at the root of the trees, and ev ery tree that does not pro duce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. w

passion for following Jesus, no matter what the cost.

3:1 – 3 John is the one foretold by Isaiah who would be designated to prepare the way for the Lord’ s arrival and kingdom( v. 3; cf. Isa 40:3). 3:4 John’ s appearance stirred up recollections of the prophecies of Elijah’ s return. John’ s diet and clothing embody in his lifestyle the message of repentance he preaches. 3:5 – 6 John’ s baptism was symbolic of purification. But in contrast to forms of baptism such as those at Qumran and by the Pharisees— both of which were highly structured and had regular, repeated washings— John’ s was a one- time baptism. His baptism called for a personal commitment to God’ s new activity within Israel. 3:7 – 10 The Pharisees were a lay fellowship or brotherhood connected with local synagogues and thus were popular with the common people. Their mostpronounced characteristic was their dedication to following oral tradition, which they obeyed rigorously to make the written law relevant to daily life. The Sadducees, by contrast, were a small group with aristocratic and priestly influence who took their authority from the activities of the temple.

The Pharisees and Sadducees are united in coming to where John is baptizing. John sees through their hypocrisy and has harsh words for them. Of all people, they should be the ones who prepare their hearts for the coming of the Messiah. Based on their intensive Scripture study, they should have been the first to prepare themselves to receive kingdom life. Instead, they will receive judgment.