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§3 John the Baptist (Matt. 3:1–17)

At the close of chapter 2, Joseph, Mary, and the child Jesus returned from Egypt and took up residence in the Galilean town of Nazareth. The time would have been shortly after the death of Herod in 4 B.C. Chapter 3 begins with the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist some twenty-five to thirty years later. What had been going on in the life of Jesus during this time? Except for one incident, the Gospels remain silent. They were never intended to be taken as biographies. The only thing we know for sure is that at age twelve Jesus was taken to Jerusalem for the Passover. There he talked with the religious leaders about the things of God (Luke 2:41–50). Luke then notes that Jesus returned with his parents to Nazareth and “was obedient to them” and “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:51–52).

Such meager information did not satisfy the curiosity of later writers. They felt moved to invent all sorts of miraculous tales and assign them to the early years of Jesus’ life. For example, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas tells of Zeno (one of Jesus’ young friends), who fell from the upper story of a house and died. Zeno’s parents accused Jesus of causing him to fall, whereupon Jesus jumped down from the roof and brought Zeno back to life so he could tell them it wasn’t so (9:1–3). Fortunately, the canonical Gospels include no such sensational vignettes. Jesus undoubtedly grew up in much the same way as any other Jewish boy.

Since Joseph does not appear in later accounts (e.g., no mention is made of him at the wedding at Cana, John 2:1–12), and since it appears that he was quite a bit older than Mary, most writers conclude that Jesus, as the eldest son, took responsibility for the family when Joseph died and provided for them until he entered into his public ministry (about thirty years of age, Luke 3:23).

3:1–6 / Matthew introduces the ministry of John the Baptist, saying that in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea. The temporal reference emphasizes that this was a critical period in history (cf. Gen. 38:1; Dan. 10:2). For four hundred years Israel had been without a prophetic voice. Now there appears on the scene the promised “Elijah,” who is to usher in the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5; Sir. 48:10; cf. Matt. 17:10–13). Like the Elijah of old, his clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist (v. 4; cf. 2 Kings 1:8; Zech. 13:4 speaks of a “prophet’s garment of hair”). His food consisted of locusts and wild honey. The ceremonial instructions in Leviticus 11 allow the eating of “any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper” (Lev. 11:22). Even today, the locust is eaten in many parts of the Eastern world. Wild honey was honey that came from nectar taken from uncultivated shrubbery.

John’s ministry took place in the Judean desert, that rather barren wasteland to the west of the Dead Sea. Since John’s execution was at the decree of Herod Antipas, who ruled over Galilee and Perea (Matt. 14:1–12), it is likely that the Baptist’s travels took him into a wider area as well. Whether or not he came under the direct influence of an Essene group (the sectarians at Qumran?) has been widely discussed. It should be noted that though baptism was an important rite at Qumran, it differed in several respects from the baptism practiced by John (e.g., it was repeated frequently, had to do with ceremonial uncleanness, and involved entry into an exclusive sect that demanded unswerving obedience to the law).

John’s basic message was a call to repentance. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. To repent (metanoeō) does not mean simply to be sorry but to change one’s way of life completely. The corresponding Hebrew verb means “to turn,” that is, “to reverse completely the direction of one’s life.” The Jewish society of John’s day would know full well the radical change of lifestyle indicated by genuine repentance. As recorded by Matthew, Jesus’ initial message is exactly the same as John’s (cf. Matt. 4:17). Repentance is both urgent and appropriate, because the long-awaited kingdom is about to appear. Matthew uses the term kingdom of heaven (rather than kingdom of God) out of Semitic reluctance to speak the divine name. God’s kingdom is his reign or rule over his people.

Again Matthew finds the fulfillment of prophecy in the events of his day. It was John the Baptist that Isaiah was talking about when he spoke of one calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord.” That the Hebrew text punctuates the passage differently and joins in the desert with what follows makes little difference. In Isaiah 40 a highway for God is to be prepared along which the exiles will return home from Babylon. Ancient roads were notably poor. Efforts to make a road level and smooth were restricted to times when royalty was on its way. John calls for repentance so that God will have straight paths to travel into the hearts and lives of his people. Response to John’s preaching was remarkable. People came from everywhere—Jerusalem, all of Judea, and the entire country around the Jordan River. Confessing openly their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

3:7–12 / Among those who came were a number of Pharisees and Sadducees. Although apparently they came to be baptized, John immediately saw through their hypocrisy. The Pharisees were lay reformers who stressed obedience not only to the law but also to the oral tradition that had grown up around it. They were students of the law and centered their activity in the synagogue. The Sadducees were the priestly aristocracy, for whom the temple was the focal point for all religious life. Since the two groups were normally at odds with one another (cf. Acts 23:6–10), it is instructive to note that their differences did not prevent them from coming together at this point.

John’s response is sharp: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from God’s punishment! The picture is one of serpents slithering quickly to escape a fire racing through a field of dry grass or weeds. It is unnecessary to find in John’s words a reference to the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1). Yet Jesus calls his antagonists children of the devil, who “was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Note that Jesus uses the expression “offspring of vipers” (ASV) on two occasions (Matt. 12:34; 23:33). John has no corner on vivid language! Barclay quotes Diogenes as saying, “He who never offended anyone, never did anyone any good” (vol. 1, p. 44).

Genuine repentance produces a changed life. The religious leaders of Israel must show by their conduct that they have turned from their sins. They are not to presume that having Abraham as their ancestor will keep them from punishment. The rabbis taught that Abraham was such an exceptionally good man that he had built up a treasury of merit that covered all the needs of his descendants (cf. Mekilta Exod. 14:15). They had forgotten that “fidelity, not race or class, is the only bond that binds us to God” (Senior, p. 43). The truth is that God can take stones and make of them children for Abraham. The comparison between “stones” and “children” is strengthened by the fact that in Aramaic the two words sound quite similar. Now is not the time for empty profession and hypocrisy. The ax is already at the root of the trees (cf. Isa. 10:34; Jer. 46:22, for the metaphor), and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and burned up (v. 10). The fruit that genuine repentance produces cannot be added onto the life but grows out of a basic disposition of the heart. If there is no fruit there has been no fundamental change of heart.

John looks beyond his ministry to the One for whom he is preparing the way. “My baptism,” he might say, “indicates that you have repented. It is a baptism with water. The One who comes after me baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” John’s baptism cleansed with water; Jesus’ baptism will purge with fire. The Coming One brings a large winnowing fork that serves to throw the grain into the air, allowing the heavy kernels to fall to the ground and the lighter chaff to be blown away. The wheat will be gathered into the barn, but the worthless straw will be burned with unquenchable fire (v. 12). Matthew repeatedly uses fire as a symbol of judgment (5:22; 7:19; 13:40, 42; 18:8; 25:41). John’s baptism required repentance; Jesus’ baptism tests the reality of that repentance (cf. 1 Cor. 3:13). The Coming One is so much greater than John that the Baptist acknowledges his unworthiness to untie or even to carry his sandals. In Jewish culture this responsibility fell to a servant. The disciple of a rabbi was understood to be obligated as a servant to his master. Green writes that “John is thus represented as saying that he has a disciple [One coming after him] whose disciple he is himself unworthy to be” (p. 63). The same attitude of humility is reflected in the Fourth Gospel, where John tells his followers, “He [Messiah] must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

3:13–15 / Jesus travels from Galilee to the Jordan River where John was baptizing all who came out to him (cf. v. 5). This is the only direct encounter between Jesus and John the Baptist that is recorded in the Gospels. Yet because of the close relationship between Mary and Elizabeth (cf. Luke 1:39–45 and esp. v. 56), it is likely that the two boys spent considerable time together. Those who were baptized by John would confess their sins (v. 6) and then be submerged in the waters of the Jordan (Filson thinks they probably immersed themselves at John’s direction, p. 68). When Jesus stepped forward to be baptized, John immediately recognized the other’s moral superiority, so he attempted to get him to change his mind (the Greek verb translated in the AV as “forbade” is taken as an “imperfect of attempted action” and rendered in other versions as “sought to dissuade” [Rieu], “protested strenuously” [Amplified]).

Schweizer’s view that “John cannot have spoken the words given to him here” (p. 57) is based on the assumption that had John said what he is purported to have said he would have had to quit baptizing and become a follower of Jesus. The exchange is not at all unnatural, however, when we consider the context and pay careful attention to what Jesus said. Some question the authenticity of the exchange on the basis that it is not included in Mark’s narrative. On the other hand, its inclusion in Matthew may be in response to questions that may have been raised because of Mark’s failure to record it; specifically, Why was Jesus baptized? and, Does Jesus’ baptism imply that he needed to repent of personal sin?

Jesus’ answer to John was that by being baptized they would fulfill all righteousness (v. 15). The pronoun us refers not to John and Jesus but to Jesus and all the others who had come for baptism. Jesus identifies himself with his people in a movement of national repentance. It was required by God. Jesus’ own baptism demonstrates his solidarity with the people. He was not baptized because he needed to be forgiven of sin. The righteousness fulfilled by the act was the ethical expectation of those who had repented of their sin and had symbolized their change of heart by being baptized.

3:16–17 / As Jesus came up out of the Jordan River, the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on him. The opening of the heavens was a common feature of visionary experiences (cf. Ezek. 1:1; Rev. 4:1). The dove was a ceremonially clean animal used in sacrifice (Lev. 5:7; 12:6) and was the symbol of innocence. It is intriguing that Jesus, who was to baptize “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (v. 11), is now empowered by the Spirit who descends like a dove (v. 16). It reflects the ministry of Jesus, who will bring health and salvation to the repentant but judgment to those who continue in unbelief (cf. 2 Cor. 2:16).

The synoptic accounts give no specific indication that others saw the descent of the Holy Spirit. John’s testimony, as recorded in the Fourth Gospel, is, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him” (John 1:32). That others witnessed the event is implied by Matthew’s This is my Son, whom I love, as contrasted with the “You are” in Mark (1:11) and Luke (3:22). In the Synoptics the voice from heaven is heard once again at the transfiguration (Matt. 17:5/Mark 9:7/Luke 9:35). The only other occurrence is in John 12:28 following Jesus’ prediction of his death. Rabbinic tradition held that, since the time when prophecy ceased, God spoke only on occasion by a voice from heaven, which they called baṯ qôl (the “daughter of the voice,” that is, “the echo of the Spirit which spoke through the prophets”; cf. Str.-B. vol. 1, pp. 125–34).

The quotation (in v. 17) reflects several Old Testament passages. In Genesis 22:2 God says to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love.” Psalm 2:7 supplies the coronation formula for Israel’s messianic king: “You are my Son.” Speaking of the, Isa. 42:1 has, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.” The combining of these motifs at the very outset of Jesus’ public ministry indicates not only that he is the promised messianic king but that he will fulfill his ministry by taking on the role of the suffering servant. He conquers by the power of sacrificial love.