August 27 Matthew 3: 1-12 John the Baptist A man named John began preaching in the wilderness next to the Jordan River. He was a man with a clear mission from God. That mission was to prepare the way for the Messiah. (Isaiah 40:3 “A voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way for the Lord, make His path straight!’”) He told the people to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” He was telling them that the Messiah was about to come to establish His kingdom. He told them that they needed to be baptized to show that they wanted to change and start a new life and turn from their sins. He was called John the Baptist. He wore camel’s hair clothing and wore a leather belt. His food was locusts and wild honey. He was quite strange in appearance and action. His words were of repentance and changed lives. The people of Judea and Jerusalem went out to John by the hundreds. Many thought he may be the one they had been waiting for, the Messiah, who would establish his kingdom. John was not the Messiah, but proclaimed that the kingdom was at hand and that Jesus was the one whom they had been waiting for. Some thought he was just strange amusement. When the Pharisees and the Sadducees came, but John knew their hearts were not true to God. He called them “brood of vipers”. Not a nice character reference. The Pharisees burdened the people with laws that they themselves were not able to keep. John warned them that they must bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance and not depend on their human genealogy to Abraham to save them. John and Jesus preached the necessity of personal repentance and this was startling to the people. They had not heard of this from their religious leaders. The Pharisees stumbled at the truth that they needed to be born of the spirit (Born again). God does get to the roots of our lives (vs 10 “every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire”). For the root determines the fruit. John points them to Jesus and magnifies Him alone. Do you have a personal relationship with the Lord or are you depending on the fact that your parents or grandparents were Christian in order to get to heaven? Do you know Jesus personally as your Savior? Accept Him now if you have not already and live a life that shows where your heart is. One that bears fruit for God out of love and obedience to Him.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 16:56:10 +0000
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