Bible Studies: Worldnet Grace Ministries

Matthew 3:13-17

Messiah Arrives

By Johnny Tatum

The purpose of this study is to show how righteousness comes out of Messiah Jesus and onto those individuals who let Him identify with them.

PART 1:"LET IT BE"

The Matchmaker at Work

Matthew's primary concern is to show that Messiah, the long-awaited King [of the Jews] is here in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth.

Matthew (whom I call the matchmaker):

Looks at the Old Testament Scriptures,

Sees the messianic prophecies that have to be fulfilled,

Looks at the life of Jesus of Nazareth,

Matches up the prophecies and the life of Messiah Jesus (who ultimately fulfilled all of the 300+ prophecies), and

Makes the connection concluding That which was spoken of by the prophets was fulfilled.

One of the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament was that Messiah would be proceeded by a forerunner who would appear in the wilderness. Matthew sees John the Baptizer as the prophesied individual in the wilderness saying The Kingdom of Heaven is here, and Matthew makes the match and states That is the fulfillment.

Setting the Scene

The Locale

We are about 25 miles east of Jerusalem in the Jordan Rift Valley. Those who have come down from Jerusalem have crossed the arid Kidron Valley and the bare ridged Mount of Olives. Then after going steadily downward from the mountains while having to circumvent bends and overhanging cliffs, they have their first view of the wide Jordan Valley.

On one side of this plain rises the mountains of Judea and, fourteen miles away, facing them, are the mountains of Moab. The Jordan Valley is a wide trench between them, and in the center meanders the Jordan River's 200-mile windings from the Sea of Galilee.

So there is a long river and a wide plain surrounded by mountains. From the size of the Jordan Valley, it could have held a thousand people [or more] at any given time. And hundreds [maybe thousands] of people were coming to John the Baptizer and were being baptized in the Jordan River.

The Forerunner in the Wilderness

John the Baptizer is in the wilderness and he is getting people ready for the Kingdom. What does he tell people to do? Just one thing:

Change your mind (repent)!

The Jews would have been very familiar with the word Repent. Why? That is what Gentiles did; they had to repent to become saved. They would say:

I used to think my religion would save me. I used to think I was okay. Now I know I am not. Now I know the Jews have the answer.

So a Gentile would change his mind to become a believing Jew (a proselyte). And it would have made perfect sense to the Jews for a missionary to go out to the GENTILES and say The Kingdom is here, so repent.

However, we have John the Baptizer telling the Jews to change their mind. How could that be? The Jews were:

The sons of the covenant; they have the Scriptures and they are the covenant people of the Lord God.
The ones looking for the Messiah.
The ones conducting the sacrifices that gave access to God.

Did the Jews have to change their mind? Yes, [most of them did], because [most] Jews thought:

The Jewish religion would save them.
The sacrifices would save them.
Keeping the Law would save them.

And very few Jews caught on that those were just pictures; it was MESSIAH who would save them.

John the Baptizer was NOT claiming that his baptism would save anybody. He said baptism was a symbol of a changed mind. As the believers were being baptized, they were confessing I am a sinner; I need Messiah.

So people could accept that the believers -- including Gentiles AND Jews -- were changing their mind, were being baptized, and were [ALL] looking for Messiah.

Then suddenly, who appears?

Messiah!

Messiah Jesus comes to be baptized by John the Baptizer!

This would have been difficult for those people in the Jordan Valley. The baptism of John the Baptizer is a picture of changing your mind, a picture of looking for Messiah, so they would have been questioning:

How does it make sense that Messiah comes?
Is Messiah going to change His mind?

Obviously, the most shocked person was John the Baptizer.

Keeping Up With the Times:

Film Producer

I believe that if Matthew (the author of the Gospel of Matthew) were alive today, he would not be a writer. Matthew would produce films [he would say I am into film], because the book of Matthew is a succession of scene after scene with no transitions:

One scene - the next scene - the next scene … [and so forth]

Also, Matthew used a very vivid present tense, such as:

In Matthew 2 he said The magi appear in Jerusalem.

In Matthew 3 he said John the Baptizer appears in the wilderness.

And here, in Matthew 3 he said Jesus arrives from Galilee.

Surely, he would have made a smooth transition to films!

Matthew 3:13-17

13 Then Jesus arrives from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.

Restated for Clarity: Then Jesus arrives from Galilee, coming to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.

The last time Matthew had presented Jesus of Nazareth, He was an infant. Luke gives us one glimpse of Him at 12 years of age when Jesus of Nazareth was with the teachers in the Jerusalem Temple. The next time we see Jesus of Nazareth in the book of Matthew, He is a 30-year-old man. He had lived 30 years in obscurity in Galilee.

So Messiah Jesus comes to be baptized by John the Baptizer.

14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?"

Yes, why is Messiah coming to be baptized?

15 But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time;"

That means Let it.

All week [unfortunately] I have had the Beatles son "Let It Be" on my mind, because that is what Messiah was saying. He was saying Let It Be!

The central question of this passage: How could this be?

The eternal Word of God, incarnate in a human body, coming down to the Jordan River to be baptized by John, He just says Let it be.

Why?

"For in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."

In what way does the baptism of Messiah Jesus fulfill righteousness? We have to rule out the fulfillment of His righteousness, because Messiah Jesus is the external Word in the flesh. So what is Messiah talking about? Is He being baptized as our example? [What we hear a lot.] No, He says that He is being baptized to fulfill all righteousness.

So John lets Him. What a sentence…

Then he permitted Him.

Meaning, "John the Baptizer let Messiah Jesus"! Let Him do what? We have two LETS here:

John the Baptizer let Messiah Jesus let him (John) baptize Him (Messiah Jesus).

That is what he said.

16 And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water;

Why did Matthew say Immediately? Was there a difference between the baptisms of others and the baptism of Messiah Jesus?

And behold, the heavens were opened,

Is there a connection between:

Messiah Jesus goes into the water and comes back out,

and:

The heavens were opened?

and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him,

17 and behold a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

This is one of the passages in the book of Matthew that seems easy, but as we get into it we will see that it is difficult.

We will ask Holy Spirit to guide us into correct understanding.

Father, thank You for this passage in the book of Matthew.

Thank You for Your Holy Spirit who wrote this passage through the writer Matthew. And we thank You that we have this unbelievable privilege of having the same Person who wrote this book live within us.

Father, we ask for guidance, that the eyes of our spirit would be opened. Help us to understand what is the meaning of the baptism of Messiah Jesus, and what is its application to me.

We make this request in the name of Messiah Jesus. Amen.

The Perfect Percentage for Messiah Jesus' Life

After all of these years, Messiah appears. He arrives as a baby in Bethlehem, he goes with the royal family for a brief time to Egypt, and then He spends 30 years in Nazareth living with His parents. From everything we know about Jesus of Nazareth, He seemed like a normal boy.

Then into His public ministry Messiah Jesus starts doing miracles and some of the people from Nazareth attack:

What? Is that not just that carpenter's boy? (Matthew 13:55)

This is surprising, is it not? We know Jesus of Nazareth was sinless. And though He lived a sinless life for 30 years in Nazareth, apparently nobody, including His own family, saw anything supernatural. So for 30 years He was in obscurity.

Actually, it was NOT meaningless obscurity, because:

He was being prepared:

For 30 years Jesus of Nazareth was being taught by His parents, His biological mother (Mary) and His virtual father (Joseph), and

[Above all] For 30 years Jesus of Nazareth was being nurtured by His heavenly Father.

What a percentage of time:

Thirty Years of Preparation for Three and One Half Years of Work!

Is this not amazing? Remember that He is not any other human being. He is the eternal Word, He is a perfect Man, and He needed 30 years of preparation for three and a half years of messianic work … and He was perfect!

Application: What does that tell us about what we need? How many times do we rush out and do things with no spiritual preparation whatsoever? How many days do we conduct business with, maybe, as little as a quick prayer and think Well I am set for the day. And we are sinners! And yet:

The sinless One, the eternal Word, needed 30 years of spiritual preparation for three and a half years of work.

I believe that we are missing out on something.

Matthew 3:13-17

After 30 years Messiah Jesus appears in public. And what would be His first act? Should it not be some mighty miracle? I know that if I waited for 30 years to be King and I stepped into power, I would do something great that day. I would at least go collect a few gold coins; I would NOT just arise somewhere!

However, Messiah Jesus does not burst into His public ministry with some great work; He just arrives…

13 Then Jesus arrives from Galilee, coming to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.

Okay, the Jews could accept the Gentiles had to be baptized. No problem. And yes, the Jews could change their mind if they did not understand that:

The sacrifices were just pictures of Messiah Jesus,
That keeping the Law would not save them, and
That they needed to trust in Messiah personally.

But the Messiah Himself comes to be baptized? This does not seem to make any sense.

So logically…

14 But John tried to prevent Him,

Of course John tried to prevent Him!

saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?"

John has it exactly right. He understands what the problem is.

15 But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time;

First, we want to notice that Messiah Jesus does not argue with John. John said This is not right. You need to baptize me. And Messiah Jesus does not contest that, because that is true. But He does say Let it happen.

The key word: Let

Let is a very important word throughout the whole book of Matthew, and it is the key word of this passage.

Here is Messiah, the King, the eternal Word in a body. And not only is He coming to be baptized by a sinner, but what should the King do when John the Baptizer resists?

He should say Do it boy. Now! He can give orders, because He has the right to. However, Messiah Jesus does not.

He is persuading John. He is very gentle and says Just let it happen; just do it. He is the King, and the King does not have to give a reason; He could have said Just baptize Me. But He gives a reason. What is that reason? Why is Messiah Jesus being baptized? Is He being baptized as our example?

Let us see…

Next:

Matthew 3:13-17, PART 2: EXAMPLE OR IDENTIFICATION?

To: Matthew 2:1-12, Searching For the King of the Jews!

Matthew 2:12-23, What Was Spoken Was Fulfilled

Matthew 3:1-12, Have You Changed Your Mind?

Back To: Matthew Series Page

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We want to express our deepest appreciation to Mitchell and Dawn Kolodin for their excellent work in transcribing and editing this entire Matthew study.

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