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Copy of Matthew 3:1-17
00:30:19
This week Dr. Tim Gray and Dr. Michael Barber continue their study of the Gospel of Matthew by diving into chapter 3.
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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to FormLive. I'm Tim Gray, president of the Augusta Institute, and Joining me is Dr. Michael Barber.
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B
Good to be here.
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A
He's a professor of scripture here at the Augusta Institute. So it's a joy. You know, on Wednesdays, Michael and I are going to be doing this Bible study on Matthew that you get to join. And so just grab a Bible and open up with us. We're using, of course, the Augustan Bible, which is the ESV Catholic edition. So you know what translation we're working from. And we left off last time in chapter two of the Gospel of Matthew. Now we're going to jump in to chapter three with John the Baptist, this incredible and interesting figure, and Jesus baptism. So, Michael, why don't you jump right in? And of course, you know, we're told right away that, you know, in those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. So we get his message of repent. So we get John the Baptist. And I think it's important for people to remember that he's. He's a prophet and he has a prophetic vocation, and he's calling Israel to repentance. And they come down to the Jordan river where he's preaching and where he's baptizing. And that's an interesting location to be in the Judean wilderness because, you know, I know you've been with me in Israel. You know, if you're up in Jerusalem, you're up in Bethlehem. It's pleasant. But when you go down into the Judean wilderness, it is a wilderness. It's stark, it's barren. And worst of all, it's extraordinarily hot. And, you know, usually 110, 120 degrees is fairly normal in the Judean wilderness.
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B
I had that big bag with me when I was with you. That was tough, walking through the wilderness with that.
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A
Yeah, you break a sweat pretty fast with that, don't you?
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B
You do sweat with that. But I think the point is going out into the wilderness is an expression of a commitment to do penance, right? To live. A kind of asceticism, self denial. In fact, it's interesting. John the Baptist wears clothes. You know, it says here that he wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around waste. And so we see John is living rather humbly here. John sounds a lot like a figure Josephus describes named Bannas, who was in the first century, a kind of ascetic figure himself. And what are they doing out there? Well, they're preparing themselves for the coming of the Lord. They're preparing themselves like the Dead Sea community. When we were there, we went out to Qumran, where this group of people lived together, focused on prayer and repentance and purification in anticipation of the coming of the new age, the eschaton, the final age. They wanted to prepare themselves. And so John the Baptist is very much presented in a way that rings true with 1st century Judaism and what we know about other figures at the time.
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A
Yeah, I know, Michael, that reminds me that important for everybody to understand the context that at the time of John the Baptist, the Jews were expecting a Messiah. They knew the prophecies. And of course, when we talk about Josephus, Josephus is a first century Jewish writer. He was a Pharisee, he was a leading Pharisee, he was an aristocrat, well educated, and he later on becomes a key figure and leader in the Jewish revolt against Rome in 6670 A.D. and then he chronicles that war. But Josephus gives us a window because he is a significant Jewish thinker and writer of the time of the first century. And his description of what the Jews were thinking at that time gives us a historical window into the life and times of Jesus. And one of the things he talks about is that the prophecies of Daniel were very popular. And Daniel gives a time limit of the time of the end of the exile. And so there's this great expectation that soon the Messiah is going to be coming. Because even the prophet Daniel talked about four kingdoms that would rule over Israel. And you end up with the Babylonians, the Medo, Persians, the Greeks. And then every Jew knew Rome was the fourth and therefore the last empire to rule over Israel. And so during the time of the fourth beast, as Daniel describes it, or fourth kingdom, that's the time the Messiah is supposed to come. So there's this heightened expectation and hope. So when John the Baptist goes out in the wilderness and he is a prophet, he's preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah. And many people are going to think, are you the Messiah? And they're going to come and ask him if he's the Messiah. So you have this incredible Messianic expectation,
- [04:29]
B
right, that was deeply rooted in Exodus traditions. So we know Josephus, that first century Jewish historian, or also tells us that there were others who, for example, went out into the wilderness with these announcements of the dawning of the final age of God's deliverance. And so this goes all the way back to the book of Deuteronomy, because Moses explains in Deuteronomy that When the day comes when God's people return to him, one day God will bring his people back out of the places they've been exiled, that the places where they've been persecuted. God will one day restore his people. And so Moses in the book of Deuteronomy talks about the future day in which God would raise up a prophet like him. So you've got people in the first century going out into the wilderness like Moses. Did people remembering Moses promise that in the future day there'd be repentance and therefore restoration. John the Baptist seems to be doing that, and not surprisingly, he's a popular figure. Lots of people go out to see him. It's important. It says.
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A
I was just going to start with that opening message of John the Baptist is repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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B
That's right.
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A
And the kingdom of heaven, heaven being probably a Jewish circumlocution for God, because you don't want to say God generally. And there's deeper meanings there too, perhaps layers of meaning. But the other idea is that once you get the idea of kingdom, well, that's what Messiah is all about. Because Messiah is in Hebrew means the one who is anointed. And it was the kings parks who were anointed by the prophets. And so this idea that repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is now taking already heightened expectation and ratcheting that expectation up a few notches. Now people are going to be really interested is the Messiah coming? And so many people are going to come not just simply because they have a desire to repent. They are coming to find out, is this the time for the Messiah? And is John the Baptist the Messiah? They don't want to miss out. So that's why he's a crowd drawer.
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B
He definitely is. And we know that from the Gospel of Matthew because he tells us that all of Judea was going out to him. Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him. And we know from other first century sources like Josephus that in fact John the Baptist was very popular and he was tapping into Jewish hopes. You think about the age in which they're living, you've got the Romans who are dominating them. They're hoping for liberation of some sort. They know that God has made promises in the past regarding a coming of a future kingdom, the coming of a future Messiah. John the Baptist draws in particular on Isaiah. And in the second half of the book of Isaiah, we have an announcement that God is going to Come and he's going to deliver his people. And so we have the quotation here in Matthew 3, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. So just as God went and brought his people through the wilderness in the first Exodus, now we're going to have the hope of a new exodus. But what's interesting to me here, Tim, is that John the Baptist is cast in the role of the one preparing the way. Well, who's coming after him? According to Isaiah, the one who's coming isn't just the Messiah. The one who's coming after him is the Lord. And we've already seen Jesus introduced as Emmanuel, God with us. So John the Baptist announcement here is raising expectations.
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A
What.
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B
What is going to come out of the wilderness? Who is coming after John the Baptist?
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A
No, it's exciting because as the Jews are going to learn, there's more to Jesus than just the Messiah. And that's going to be a surprise to many and a scandal to not a few. Right. But that's definitely where the story is going to be going. I like that. You know, Matthew is distinctive and he talks about how John the Baptist dressed. And it wasn't just a fashion statement in the first century. It also echoes a figure in the Scriptures of Israel, right. Going back to Second Kings, chapter one, there's somebody who's known for addressing the same exact way. And that person was one of the prophets of the Old Testament and a prophet who is closely associated with John the Baptist later on by Jesus in chapter 11 of Matthew, we'll see that. And this prophet is Elijah Tishbite. So Elijah dresses the same way, and he's known for that because Ahaziah, who's the king at the time of Israel, who falls and he's sick and he sends out messengers to go and, you know, inquire of the God of Ekron. And then they're intercepted by a prophet on the way who happens to be Elijah, who says, go back to your king and say, is there no God in Israel that you're inquiring of Ekron? And they go back. And then the king says, well, who was this who stopped you and sent you back to me? And they don't know his name, but they say, well, he says, well, what
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B
did he look like?
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A
And they explain he's like, aha, it's Elijah the Tishbite. Because even in the time of Elijah, that was a fashion statement, Right? To dress that radical in that radical of a manner is a fashion statement. So there's a connection here. And why do you think there's a connection with John the Baptist being an Elijah figure?
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B
Right. That's a great question. Well, in Jewish tradition, we see it already rooted in the Old Testament books. There's an idea that before God comes to save his people, Elijah is going to be the one to prepare God's people for that to happen. In the book of Malachi in the Old Testament, we read, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, and he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. And so we see that Elijah is the one who. Who's going to bring about a kind of turn of a new attitude, a renewal of the heart. And this is a major theme in the book of Deuteronomy, for example, I already mentioned Deuteronomy, that God is going to circumcise his people's heart. And so what really needs to take place is not just the removal of political powers, but heart surgery, heart transformation. Elijah is the one who's going to do that. Now, later in the Gospel of Matthew, at the story of the transfiguration, Jesus and the disciples are coming down the mountain. And of course, at that point, they've seen Jesus transfigured. They're starting to catch on, okay, Jesus is who he says he is, right? And as they come down the mountain, they ask Jesus, well, why do the scribes say Elijah must come first, Right? And Jesus. Because they're wondering, well, we haven't seen Elijah yet. And Jesus says, I tell you that Elijah has already come. And they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. And then Matthew tells us something. He says, then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. Now, that story is also found in Mark, except for that last line, Mark is subtle. Matthew is not. Matthew wants to make very clear what his message is. And so who is John the Baptist? Well, it's not a coincidence. He was dressed the way he was. He is the new Elijah who comes to bring God's people to conversion.
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A
I love that, and I love the idea that he's bringing the people to conversion. And of course, his message is repent. And that reminds me of Elijah, because Elijah was at a time where Israel, the ten tribes in the north, had fallen into idolatry. They drifted away from God, and Elijah tries to stir them back to renewal and to faithfulness in the Lord and Yahweh. And that's what we're finding with John the Baptist and of Course, just as Elijah was opposed by the king of Israel, and so too, John the Baptist is going to be opposed by a king.
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B
Right? Yeah. And we see that conflict between him and Herod, which of course also sets up Jesus and Herod in the conflict that's going to happen there. In fact, in many ways, John the Baptist anticipates what Jesus does in his own ministry. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That's the same phrase verbatim, Jesus uses to announce the beginning of his ministry. In the next chapter, John the Baptist is also going to be confronted by the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were bitterly opposed in the first century. They weren't really often seen as together.
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A
John the Baptist sees through hypocrisy already. Right. So what is he going to call them?
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B
Right. He calls them a brood of vipers. Right. And Jesus is going to use the exact same phrase later in the gospel. And this sets up a major motif, and that is that the leaders, the kings and the leaders, such as the Pharisees and the Sadducees, who are they, have the power to arrest Jesus, for example. These are blind guides. And what happens when you have a blind guide? You end up in a pit. And so John the Baptist, on the one hand, is proclaiming repentance. And so some people are coming and experiencing the grace of that repentance. Others are digging in their heels and refusing to acknowledge that there needs to be a change. And I think we should all feel challenged by this. Right?
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A
Yeah. And that leads me to the next section here, where John the Baptist, his humility is going to be in striking contrast to scribes and the Pharisees that you highlighted. You know, he says, and almost in a confession to the crowds, because he's become quite a figure, and he's become quite a popular person. And in verse 11, John the Baptist says, I baptize you with water for 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 with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat from the barn. But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. So here John the Baptist is saying, look, I'm not the Messiah. He's making it clear. He's like, there's one greater than me, mightier than me. I baptize you with water as this water ritual for your conversion. For your repentance, but he's going to come and baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And of course, you know, oftentimes we take it for granted. But there's two great expectations in the Old Testament. The coming of a Messiah. But the second great expectation was the coming of God's spirit back to Israel, back to the temple. And here John refers to that this Messiah figure is going to be the one who returns God's spirit to God's people, which is really interesting.
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B
Right. And so it leads into. Should we move into the story of the baptism?
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A
Yeah, let's do that.
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B
Because here you see John's humility on display once again. Because when Jesus approaches him, John the Baptist says, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? And then Jesus reveals he's a Beatle fan. He says, let it be. It's right there. Anyway. No, but Jesus says, let it be so for now. And he says, this is necessary to fulfill all righteousness. And that's a really interesting expression for.
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A
It's fitting. Yeah, it's fitting, he says, to fulfill all righteousness, which is. Which is amazing. Jesus humility, to submit to this rite of repentance when he has nothing to repent of.
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B
That's correct. So the crowds are going out there to confess, and Jesus is among those who are going out there to confess their sins. Thomas Aquinas, in his commentary on Matthew, points out that Jesus comes in the form of sinful human nature. Of course, Jesus is without sin. But as Pope Benedict XVI once wrote, jesus stands with the sinners. He's not going to partition himself off from the sinners, but he goes to John the Baptist with them. And then, of course, he's baptized. And this is a remarkable scene because it's accompanied with at least three really important details.
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A
Yeah, no, it's a rich scene. And let's dive into it. And even before we get into the symbolism actions that happen here, I just want to spend a moment to talk about the place, the location. Oh, yeah, it's the Jordan river. And Yardan in Hebrew, which means to descend, because this water comes all the way down from Galilee, which is fed from the Jordan river, even above Galilee, north of Galilee. And it goes all the way down from basically the mountain base of Mount Hermon, all the way from the mountains of southern Lebanon down to the lowest part of Israel and the lowest part of the world, basically, which is the Dead Sea, which is below sea level. And so it's making this incredible descent in elevation, this water and The Jordan river is important in the story of Israel in several key ways. We have it with Israel, with Moses leads the people through the 40 days of wilderness up to the Jordan river and Joshua takes them into the promised land. And so the idea of the Jordan is the threshold from the wilderness into the promised land. And so that's going to be significant, I think, for what they're doing. Jesus in a sense is a new Joshua. Right. So here we find Jesus at the Jordan and I believe John the Baptist. And you can tell me what you think about this, Michael. But I think John the Baptist was living and camped up on the east side of the Jordan river, which is present day Jordan, because people had to come to him. And then the baptism that he would administer, they re entered the promised land. Now my suggestion that he was on the east side is that the east side of the Jordan river is Herod Jr. S jurisdiction and Herod will arrest him. Whereas on the west side it was actually Pilate, the procurator of Jerusalem and Judea had control over that side. So I think he was stationed and living on the east side. And so that means that everybody who came from Judea and Jerusalem had to cross the Jordan river to where John was, get baptized and then come back into and re enter the promised land. So in other words, the way John the Baptist had it set up in my perspective is that he was inviting Israel to leave Israel and to re enter. So in other words, you're going to make a fresh start repenting your sins, repenting of your sins, but make a fresh start, a fresh re entry, so to speak.
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B
Well, I think that makes a lot of sense of what happens next. Of course, in the narrative Jesus continues and he just goes right out into the wilderness. Right. So if he's on the other side of the Jordan, that would fit with that.
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A
And the wilderness is on both sides of the Jordan in this place. So not to confuse people, sure. When he's in the Judean wilderness, he's, you know, so he crosses back into the Judean wilderness. The wilderness is on both sides of the river there.
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B
One of the things that strikes me is that when Jesus goes into the water, of course we see that Matthew tells us that the heavens are open to him. And so of course this has symbolism for ancient Jews in terms of the Jordan. But Matthew ends with Jesus instructing the disciples to go baptize all nations. So the Christians who are reading this in Matthew's Gospel are going to identify Jesus baptism with their own baptism as well. So it's Also in a way evoking New Covenant imagery, New Testament baptism. And I. And one of the ways the fathers of the Church interpret this, and I think it's very helpful, is that what happens to Jesus at his baptism reveals to us what happens at our baptism. Right. And three things happen at Jesus baptism. The heavens are open. We hear the voice of the Father and then we see the Spirit come down in the form of the dove. And here I think not only can we see this is imagery that Jews would have associated with the Old Testament, we can also see Jesus is revealing to us what happens to us when we receive the sacrament. Right. It's a really powerful way to meditate on this passage because what happens at our baptism is the heavens are opened. Right? Sacrament of baptism is the gateway towards heaven, gateway towards salvation, and the other sacraments, number two, God the Father speaks. This is my beloved Son. And in our baptism we are of course identified as children of God. And then finally the Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus, which is what happens to us in our baptism as well. So I think it's a fruitful way to meditate on that passage.
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A
I think so. I love that connection with the mystery of Jesus baptism and our own baptism. That's something we should definitely reflect on. You know, just to add another element to this. Since we're at the Jordan river now, the Holy Spirit's descended from heaven and I think of the name Jordan, which means to descend. And the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus at the Jordan river, right? So the river that's named for descent experiences. Now this location of the greatest descent from the heavens, the Spirit of God descends and lands on Jesus. And we also have another, I think, echo to with John the Baptist here we have another echo to Elijah because Elijah goes down to the Jordan river after he goes to Jericho. And when he goes down to the Jordan river, that's when he is taken up in the fiery chariot up in heavens. And so you see the heavens opened and this time the heavens are open to receive Elijah. But now the heavens are open and the Holy Spirit descends. And you know, it's at that time for Elijah that his disciple Elisha, who says, you know, Father, if you're departing, I pray that I may receive a double portion of the Holy Spirit that you have. And Elijah says, wow, that's a whopper request. I can't promise it's not mine to give you. I can't give you the Holy Spirit. But I'll say this, if you see me as I ascend, know that you'll get A double portion of the Spirit. And of course, Elisha sees Elijah ascend in the fiery chariot. And the Holy Spirit comes mightily upon Elisha. And Elisha goes forward with twice the power that Elijah had. Elisha will do 16 miracles to Elijah's eight miracles. And now we have John the Baptist, who is led by the Spirit. But now Jesus has the Spirit come upon him. And so, in other words, Jesus now plays the role of Elisha to Elijah. So you had this great Elijah and you're like, he's the greatest prophet. Well, actually, the next one after him will have twice the power of the Spirit. Now Jesus will go forward with a double portion of the Spirit that even John the Baptist had. Right?
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B
I love that. Yeah, I love the Elijah Elisha imagery there. There are so many other Old Testament allusions here, just to mention a couple of them. We have the spirit of God coming down over the waters of the Jordan. Now, remember how we started the Book of Matthew? It's the book of the Genesis of Jesus Christ. So what happens in the book of Genesis at the dawning of Creat? We have the spirit of God hovering over the waters. And so baptism imagery is linked to new creation imagery. You have a dove. And the dove, of course, reminds us of the story of Noah in many ways. The story of Noah is a new creation account, right? We have flood waters, floodwaters of the world coming out of waters. We have, of course, Noah ends up in a vineyard, like a garden. He's found naked. He consumes too much of the fruit, just like Adam ate the fruit. Lots of parallels between Noah. But of course, that new creation fails. Now we're going to have a new creation that's going to stick with Jesus. But probably the one that strikes me the most is the Davidic imagery, because again, Matthew introduces the Gospels, the book of the Genesis of Jesus Christ, the son of David. And of course, it was the son of David, Solomon, who was anointed in a river, the river Gihon. And of course, the son of Solomon, son of David. Solomon is remembered as God's son. And so it's not a coincidence that God says, this is my beloved son. One more I gotta just mention, it's the son of David, the son of Abraham. Well, beloved son, that language reminds you of Isaac. Isaac in the Old Testament, who offered himself up as a sacrifice. Jesus is going to offer himself as a sacrifice as well. So what's going on here is recapitulation, which is a big fancy word that basically means recap, Right?
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A
There you go.
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B
Jesus Is recapping the Old Testament being fulfilled, the story of Israel, the story of the scriptures are being fulfilled in him.
- [25:21]
A
It's really remarkable. And I love that you highlighted the Isaac imagery, which is so subtle. I think many people miss it now. But someone like Matthew, who is a devout Jew, he wouldn't miss that, especially with his introduction, his prologue of the son of David, son of David, which makes you think, well, the son of David was Solomon.
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B
That's right.
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A
And then you have the son of Abraham.
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B
And.
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A
And of course, the son of Abraham is Isaac. And here you get this Isaac imagery because Jesus, baptism is going to foreshadow his death. Yes, right. And that's the important thing here. Baptism is going to be a sign of death. Paul will make that point in Romans, chapter six, verse three. You know, don't you know, all you who have been baptized into Christ Jesus, that you've been baptized into his death. And if you die with him in a death like his, you will rise with him in a resurrection like his. And so baptism for Paul and the early Christians signifies death. And a good reason for that is that most Jews didn't know how to swim. And so you go under the waters, that's a sign of death. You come out of the waters, it's a sign of rising. And so the importance of baptism and the idea that this is my beloved son, God the Father, sees that Jesus at his anointing in his baptism, is anointed and baptized for his sacrifice, for his death. And that foreshadowing, where the story is going to end is here. And there's just so much to unpack.
- [26:42]
B
There's so much to unpack. Yeah. I mean, we could spend, you know, months just talking about Matthew 3. One thing to kind of end on, or at least a major point that I'd like to make here is Jesus ministry commences, of course, with the voice from heaven. This is my beloved Son. But we need to recognize the way Jesus, in humility, begins his mission. He begins his ministry by submitting, in a sense, to the imagery of death, by going to where the sinners go and being baptized by John the Baptist. And so before we go out on our mission, whatever it is God wants us to do, you know, oftentimes we all feel called to do something. Yeah, I think the Lord really wants me to do X, Y or Z. We really need to check ourselves and ask, is this what I want to do? Is this what the Lord wants me to do? Are we really embracing that humility that he's calling us to Jesus is a model of humility. Here we have much to learn from him before we try to imitate him in proclaiming the gospel to others as well.
- [27:53]
A
That's beautiful, Michael. Well, you know, and I think that as we reflect on the lesson here of John the Baptist and his amazing humility, and I just, you know, he fulfills this great promise that we began with in Matthew, chapter three of Isaiah saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. And John has that humility. He's at the service of Jesus Christ. And, you know, he lives a very penitential life to prepare and to make space for Christ. And I always think of John the Baptist. He's a major figure during Lent, and he's always the figure the church puts forward to us for when we need penance, you know, whether it's on a Friday to make a little sacrifice during Lenten season. But John the Baptist is willing to make sacrifices to create space and prepare us for our Lord. And so that's the role of John the Baptist. He's to help us prepare for our hearts to receive Jesus in a deeper way. And I love the idea that Jesus is going to be the one who's going to anoint us with the Holy Spirit. And so I always think about the first luminous mystery of the rosary, which is the baptism of Jesus. And so I want you to reflect on that mystery, that one of the things I always pray for is a deeper sense of my divine affiliation, that in baptism, when we're adopted as God's children. And so when God the Father says, this is my beloved Son, that's what he says at our baptism, that you're his beloved daughter, you're his beloved Son. And that's the good news that God the Father gives us in this great mystery of Jesus, baptism and the mystery of our baptism, which is a participation in the life of Jesus Christ. So next time we're going to take on chapter four of the Gospel of Matthew. And also what I want you to know is we're going to have a special zoom webinar where we can answer your questions. I'm sure as you're doing this Bible study with us, you're going to have questions. Look for an email that's going to invite you to a webinar with Michael and I where we're going to do a question answer soon to answer your questions of the first few chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. I hope you've enjoyed this Bible study. May the Lord bless and keep you.