Matthew Chapter 3
John's message was repentance and a change in behavior. The people who heard John were religious people, but the Holy Spirit still convicted them of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
As a sign of repentance and humility they allowed John to baptize them in the water of the Jordan River.
John fulfilled the prophecy foretold in Isaiah describing a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. This was John's mission: to get people ready to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This message of repentance is important in preparing hearts to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Until we forsake our opinions it is doubtful we can truly put our entire faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
This message of repentance was preached by John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus, and also the disciples and apostles in the early church. Why do modern preachers think they can improve on this by focusing on prosperity and self-help messages? It is time to return to preaching the message John preached, Jesus preached, and the apostles preached. Repent! The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Jesus never sinned in his life. His purpose in baptism by John was to identify himself with sinners he came to save. Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. His goal was to take the place of sinful man and be the lamb of sacrifice who stood in our place as our substitute. The Lord Jesus is and was completely sinless. He is innocent, pure, and holy. Yet he was baptized by John to fulfill the righteousness of his purpose and mission.
God the Father set his seal of approval on the Lord Jesus and proclaimed Jesus Christ to be his beloved Son. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove. All three persons of the one God in one section of scripture. I don't see how anyone can read this and deny God is three in one.
Also, to further underline the truth that God is three in one we have Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
Notice John the Baptist is described in detail in regards to his clothes and also what he ate. Why did the Holy Spirit include these details about John the Baptist? I think one reason is to reveal something about the gift and the calling of a prophet. A man whom God makes a prophet is outside the world system. He is peculiar, and will never fit into the world system anywhere. He may go along with people for awhile but eventually whatever he does fails. Why? Because the prophet works for God. He preaches the gospel. We have the work of someone who prophesies given to us by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:3, "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort."
This is what John the Baptist did in his ministry. We have his specific words recorded for us so we can also hear his exhortation. His words were to edify the believers, exhort those who were backslidden or unbelievers, and to comfort those who went into the water. Each Christian can be used by God at times in this capacity, but there is still a specific gift in the church called 'prophet'. There are men and women who are prophets within the church today. These men and women are almost always unknown. They wash the feet of the saints through their ministry of intercessory prayer and words of edification, exhortation, and comfort.
The gifts in the church we never hear about today are apostles and prophets. There is a reason for this, which I won't expound on now, except to say these men and women do exist and are almost always completely unknown except by their close friends. Those who teach the bible in front of churches and are titled pastors generally make very little of prophets or apostles. I'm not sure why they do this, but even in pastors I greatly admire I notice how they are dismissive toward the gift of apostle and prophet.
John the Baptist did not preach in a church building. He preached out by the Jordan River and God sent people out to where he was. He told men they were sinners and should flee from the wrath of God. He called the religious leaders of his day "snakes" which in my mind, at least, associates them with the serpent we know as the devil. How many religious leaders are there today who are really vipers? It would probably frighten us to know. I'm sure those Pharisees and Sadducees were not at all happy with the prophet dressed in fur and ate locusts.
