NIV Application Bible Sampler | Page 11

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 .