1 Now in those days John the Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

“The voice of one calling out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”

4 Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

Matthew 3:1-6 (NASB)

John the Baptist

Matthew now skips ahead in the life of Jesus. Actually none of the four gospels give much detail of His adolescent and young adult years. Luke gives a summary: “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people.” (Luke 2:52) 

He picks up with John the Baptist. John is actually the cousin of Jesus and has his own prophecies about his coming (see below). Luke devotes a whole chapter to John (Luke 3). John was a wild-looking man. He ate strange foods (locusts and honey) and dressed crudely. For more on John the Baptist, click here.

John’s message – Repent!

John had one simple yet profound message. “Repent!” Many responded and then demonstrated their repentance by confessing their sins and having John baptize them. God stirred their souls to see their sin, confess it, and repent. This was critical preparation for the coming of the Messiah into their lives.

Of course this same message applies to people today, including you and I. Picture our sin as a wall between us and the Spirit of God. As we leave our sin unconfessed, the Spirit cannot help us with our sinful behavior. We cannot overcome sin’s hold on us. When we confess and repent, the wall comes falling down and gives the Spirit free access to help us. 

Prophecy

Jesus, as we’ve seen, has a number of prophecies about His advent. But here we see John has his own. This one is from Isaiah 40:3. Of course, since John’s purpose in coming was to point to Jesus, we might say Jesus “gets an assist” on this one. 

RЯeflection

• I encourage you to spend some time asking the Holy Spirit to reveal your sin to you. Be serious about it. Then be quick to confess and repent and receive the immediate forgiveness of the Lord and restoration of relationship (1 John 1:9).
• As well, look for idols in your life. No, not man made statues necessarily but idols of the heart. To what do we devote our time, energy and affection? How is the Holy Spirit speaking to you? Check out this video for more about idols of the heart.