1704 | Matthew 3:4
“ A voice of one calling in the wilderness , ‘ Prepare the way for the Lord , make straight paths for him .’ ” a q
4 John ’ s clothes were made of cam el ’ s hair , and he had a leather belt around his waist . r His food was lo custs s and wild honey . 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 River .
7 But when he saw many of the Phar i sees and Sad du cees com ing to where he was baptiz 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 children for Abraham . 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
11 “ I bap tize you with b wa ter for re pen tance . But af ter me comes one who is more power ful than I , whose san dals I am not wor thy to carry . He will bap tize you with b the Holy Spirit x and fire . y 12 His win now ing fork is in his hand , and he will clear his thresh ing floor , gath er ing his wheat into the barn and burn ing up the chaff with un quench able fire .” z
The Baptism of Jesus
3:13-17pp — Mk 1:9-11 ; Lk 3:21,22 ; Jn 1:31-34
13 Then Jesus came from Gal i lee to the Jor dan to be bap tized by John . a 14 But John tried to de ter him , say ing , “ I need to be bap tized by you , and do you come to me ?”
15 Jesus re plied , “ Let it be so now ; it is proper for us to do this to ful fill all righ teous ness .” Then John consented .
16 As soon as Jesus was bap tized , he went up out of the wa ter . At that mo ment heaven was opened , and he saw the Spirit of God b de scend ing like a dove and alight ing on him . 17 And a voice from heaven c said , “ This is my Son , d whom I love ; with him I am well pleased .” e
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 ; Lk 13:6-9 ; Jn 15:2 , 6
3:11 x Mk 1:8 y Isa 4:4 ; Ac 2:3 , 4
3:12 z Mt 13:30 3:13 a Mk 1:4 3:16 b Isa 11:2 ; 42:1
3:17 c Mt 17:5 ; Jn 12:28 d Ps 2:7 ; 2Pe 1:17 , 18
e Isa 42:1 ;
Mt 12:18 ; 17:5 ; Mk 1:11 ; 9:7 ; Lk 9:35
4:2 f Ex 34:28 ; 1Ki 19:8
4:3 g 1Th 3:5 h Mt 3:17 ; Jn 5:25 ; Ac 9:20
4:4 i Dt 8:3
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
4:1-11pp — Mk 1:12,13 ; Lk 4:1-13
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wil der ness to be tempted c by the devil . 2 After
fast ing forty days and forty nights , f he was hun gry . 3 The tempter g came to him and said , “ If you are the Son of God , h tell these stones to be come bread .”
4 Jesus an swered , “ It is writ ten : ‘ Man shall not live on bread alone , but on ev ery word that comes from the mouth of God .’ d ” i
a 3 Isaiah 40:3 b 11 Or in c 1 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested . d 4 Deut . 8:3
reluctance to overuse God ’ s name . God ’ s kingdom is more a reign than a realm , more a power than a place . With the arrival of the Messiah , God ’ s rule in heaven is breaking into human history and will extend to earth in new and powerful ways . 3:3 This fulfills Isa 40:3 . make straight paths for him . A forerunner would come to prepare God ’ s people morally for the Messiah ’ s arrival . 3:4 John ’ s clothes . Reminds people of Elijah the OT prophet ( 2 Kgs 1:8 ). His food . Reflects the simple , austere fare of poor wilderness dwellers . 3:5 People went out to him . Because his preaching is powerful . 3:6 Confessing their sins . Evidence of repentance . they were baptized . “ Baptize ” means to dip or immerse . John most likely immersed people in the Jordan River to symbolize their death to sin and the spiritual cleansing associated with the new way of life they were beginning . 3:7 Pharisees and Sadducees . Two key Jewish leadership sects . Pharisees scrupulously obeyed the biblical laws and the traditions that had grown up around them . Sadducees tended to be in the majority among temple authorities and were willing to accommodate Rome to keep the peace . These leaders are coming not to be baptized ( cf . Luke 7:30 ) but to check up on John . brood of vipers . Suggests that their teaching is spiritually poisonous . John ’ s response in vv . 7 – 10 drips with sarcasm : he speaks as if they were pretending to follow him , and he points out that their lifestyle does not demonstrate repentance . They are in danger of trusting solely in their ethnicity and thus coming under God ’ s judgment . 3:11 – 12 John predicts the coming Messiah , whose baptism will involve the purifying work of the Holy Spirit or the judgment associated with “ fire ,” depending on how people respond to him . 3:12 winnowing fork . See Ruth 3:2 . Here winnowing is figurative for the separation of the righteous (“ wheat ”) from the wicked (“ chaff ”). 3:13 – 17 The ministries of John and Jesus now intersect . John 1:19 – 36 and 3:22 — 4:3 show how extensive this intersection was . Here Matthew focuses solely on Jesus ’ baptism . 3:13 – 15 John the Baptist recognizes that his role and Jesus ’ role seem reversed : the inferior immerses the superior . John sees no need for Jesus to submit to a rite symbolizing a person ’ s repentance from sin . But Jesus recognizes his baptism will “ fulfill all righteousness ” ( v . 15 ). He models God ’ s will for his people and puts his stamp of approval on John ’ s ministry . 3:16 – 17 Jesus ’ baptism becomes the occasion for God himself to testify to Jesus . The
Holy Spirit anoints him , commissioning him for his ministry , and the heavenly voice combines snippets of Ps 2:7 and Isa 42:1 to indicate Jesus ’ regal and suffering servant roles . All three persons of the Trinity appear , united but distinct .
4:1 – 11 Instead of moving immediately to his public ministry , Jesus must be tested first . Adam and Eve yielded to temptation so that sin entered this world ( Gen 3 ). The Israelites failed their test and wandered in the wilderness for 40 years — another kind of testing ( Deut 8:2 – 3 ). How would the Messiah-designate respond ? He resists temptation , thereby remaining qualified for his mission of being a sinless sacrifice for the sins of humanity . Luke 4:1 – 13 narrates topically , not chronologically , reversing the last two temptations . 4:1 The Spirit of God always guides Jesus , but only the devil ( not God , see Jas 1:13 ) actually tempts him . Jesus goes to the wilderness just as John frequently ministered there ( 3:1 ). 4:2 – 4 The first of three temptations appeals to Jesus ’ intense hunger after not eating for 40 days . But Jesus must never use his miracle-working abilities for self-serving reasons . God will sustain him , and spiritual nourishment takes priority over physical sustenance ( Deut 8:3 ).