Tagged: John the Baptist

Matthew 3:1-12

This text is used for the Lectionary Year A on December 8, 2013.

This scene out of the gospel of Matthew continues the theme of fulfillment.  Jesus came to fulfill the plan of God. John came before Jesus to fulfill the role of royal herald.  When royalty traveled to any part of the expansive kingdom heralds were sent before them announcing their coming and preparing the people for the royal visitation.  It was imperative that the people understood their position in relation to the coming King. The herald not only announced the coming of the king, but also modeled the appropriate demeanor and attitude when hosting the king.  Not only did John fulfill the prophecy found in Isaiah 40:3, but he also spoke of the one who was coming in a way that exalted the king, and diminished the herald (Matthew 3:11; John 3:30).

In this section of Scripture, Matthew introduced John and his preaching (Matthew 3:1-6), portrayed the confrontation between John and the Jewish religious leadership (Matthew 3:7-10), and highlighted the difference between the ministry of John and Jesus (Matthew 3:11-12).  The entire scene seemed to have two basic functions: to introduce the enemies of Jesus (the Pharisees and Sadducees); and, explain the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist.

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Matthew 11:2-11

This text is used for the Lectionary Year A on December 15, 2013.

The journey from expectation to disappointment is often short.  For John the Baptist, expectation peaked beside the Jordan River when he witnessed the Spirit descend on Jesus of Nazareth like a dove (Matthew 3:13-17).  From that moment he expected Jesus to be the promised Messiah.  Even when John was arrested for speaking truth to power (Matthew 4:12) he did not falter in his confidence, for he was certain that Herod’s reign was over.  It would be a matter of days before the baptism of fire, the threshing of the wheat, the chopping down of the fruitless trees would all begin (Matthew 3:11-12).

But that did not happen. The days in Herod’s prison at Machearus east of the Dead Sea stretched into weeks and then months.  No rumors were afoot about the Messiah mustering an army to overthrow Rome and its puppet king Herod.  Nothing occurred resembling any messianic expectations held by John and other faithful Jews.  It looked more and more like Jesus of Nazareth might not be “the coming one” (Matthew 11:3; Psalm 118:26; Malachi 3:1; Daniel 7:15).  How could Jesus be Messiah and John his herald if John were languishing in prison and opposition to Jesus were growing? John’s journey to disappointment was not yet complete, but he could see the city limits from his prison cell.

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Matthew 3:1-12

This text is used for the Lectionary Year A on December 8, 2013.

All four gospels open with the figure of John the Baptist and connect his ministry and message to Jesus.  Each draws attention to John’s role as a fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3.  In the Fourth Gospel John the Baptist has the exclusive role of introducing Jesus as the Lamb of God and pointing his own disciples toward him.  However, in the Synoptic Gospels John is primarily a prophet of repentance anticipating the appearance of the Messiah and the advent of the Kingdom of God.

Matthew summarizes John’s message simply: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come” (3:2).  He identifies John as the one prophesied by Isaiah who would prepare the path of the Lord in the wilderness, making smooth the way of his coming to his people.

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