Matthew 3:8-12

Matthew 3:8-12

John the baptist Preaches Repentance

This is a continuance of John responding to the Pharisees and Sadducees. The doctrine John preached was that of repentance, in consideration of the kingdom of heaven being at hand; now here we have the use of that doctrine. Application is the life of preaching, so it was of John's preaching.

Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Matthew 3:8-12

1. (3:8)"Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance”;

1. John demands proof from these men of the new life before he administers baptism to them. “The fruit is not the change of heart, but the acts which result from it”. It was a bold deed for John thus to challenge as unworthy the very ones who posed as lights and leaders of the Jewish people. “Any one can do acts externally good but only a good man can grow a crop of right acts and habits”. (Ephesians 5:9) (Galatians 5:22-23) (Matthew 21:43)

2. (3:9) “and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones”

1. John touched the tender spot, their ecclesiastical pride. They felt that the “merits of the fathers,” especially of Abraham, were enough for all Israelites. At once John made clear that, reformer as he was, a breach existed between him and the religious leaders of the time.

2. Salvation is not a birthright and John lets them know they must deserve it (John 8:33-37)

3. God created the heavens and the earth from nothing, He made Adam from sand

3. (3:10) "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

1. It was customary with the prophets to represent the kingdoms, nations, and individuals, whose ruin they predicted, under the notion of forests and trees, doomed to be cut down. See (Jeremiah 46:22-23) (Ezekiel 31:3 & Ezekiel 31:11-12). John the Baptist follows the same metaphor: the Jewish nation is the tree, and the Romans are the ax, which, by the just judgment of God, was soon to be cut down.

4. (3:11a) “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,

1. This statement is directed to the people who truly repented of their sins

1. Mark puts it in the proper tense, ”I baptized you…”, to show it as a finished act (Mark 1:8)

2. Luke says it more directly, “John answered and said to them all” (Luke 3:16)

3. By this statement John also points out his commission as ordained by God

1. As a teacher John is to guide the people to the truth (Matthew 3:8)

2. As an evangelist John is to proclaim the coming of the “Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 3:3)

3. As a minister John is to accept their repentance and baptize them (Matthew 3:2)

4. As a prophet John is to prepare them for the consequences of disobedience (Matthew 3:10)

4. To be publicly baptized is not what saves you. Being baptized is a public declaration of your faith in Christ Jesus. You are being showing the World who you belong to

5. (3:11b) “but He who is coming after me is mightier than I,”

1. Though he was born first and started ministering first John was by no means superior and he knew it

1. Besides being the son of a mortal man, John’s works were all outward works

2. Lead with words and live as an example

3. Threaten with damnation

4. Baptism by water

5. John could only minister to the flesh

2. Being the Son of God, Christ’s works are outward and inward

1. Lead with words and live as an example

2. Threaten and actually carry out the damnation he warns of

3. Christ would Baptize with the Holy Spirit (John 20:22)

4. Christ can minister to the body and soul

6. (3:11c) “whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.”

1. A servant’s job which John feels less worthy then the lowest servant of the house to do

1. By washing the disciples feet, Jesus shows us how we should serve in order to save John 13:1-17

7. (3:11d) He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”

1. To be baptized with the Holy Spirit means that the Messiah would send upon the world a far more powerful and mighty influence than had attended the preaching of John

8. (3:11e) “and fire.”

1. Two different schools of thought on what John meant by baptizing with fire

1. One side believes the meaning is that he would baptize a portion of mankind - those who were willing to be his followers - with the Holy Spirit, but the rest of mankind - the wicked - with fire; that is, with judgment and wrath

2. One side believes the meaning is the trial and tribulations Christians will go through as we are tested and strengthened as if in time these trials will help us die to ourselves and be cleansed and purified.

1. Some have described three kinds of baptisms we all go through

1. By water

2. By the Holy Spirit

3. By fire, or the heat of tribulations and afflictions and temptations that test us

2. They have also observed that our blessed Lord went through these three baptisms

1. By water He received from John

2. By the Holy Spirit sent from the Father in the form of a dove

3. By fire in His temptations from Satan in the desert

9. (3:12a) “His winnowing fan is in His hand,” (Some translations – “His winnowing fork”)

1. Similar to what we would call a pitchfork used for throwing the threshed grain into the air so that the chaff might be blown away by the wind. You can imagine Jesus with a broom, getting ready to sweep away the empty wheat husks and loose straw bits left on the floor when the threshing is all done.

10. (3:12b) “and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor,”

1. An area usually on a high ground so the wind could carry the chaff away from the wheat. An example is the threshing floor David bought from Ornan for an altar, and later Solomon built the Lord's Temple, (1 Chronicles 21:22 & 2 Chronicles 3:1)

2. The area that was used for threshing the grain, usually done by oxen. Sometimes with a sharp

3. threshing instrument, made to roll over the grain and to cut the straw at the same time.

4. The floor represents the Jews whom Isaiah prophesied would be threshed and gathered (Isaiah 27:12)

5. Threshing was often used to represent the crushing of one's enemy (Micah 4:13) (Jeremiah 51:33)

11. (3:12c) “and gather His wheat into the barn”

1. Wheat represents those who accept Christ (John 12:24) (Matthew 13:30)

2. Barn represents the “Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 3:2)

12. (3:12e) “but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire”

1. Chaff represents those Jews who rejected Christ (Luke 9:22)

2. Unquenchable fire is the final death (Revelation 21:8)

This last part of the study should be done by explaining Jesus' parable of the wheat and tares of the field in Matthew 13:40-43. Can also learn a lot form a private discussion with Peter, James, John and Andrew that another winnowing will take place in the end, this one will include the whole world (Mark 13:1-37)