Who Was John the Baptist And What Was His Baptism All About? Matthew 3:1-6

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 

John the Baptist is one of the more fascinating characters in the bible.  He is a distant cousin of Jesus, and the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who was born in their old age.  The word "preaching" means to "proclaim" a message of importance. Other translations say, "crying out" to show the urgency of the message.  John spent time in the wilderness preparing for his ministry to proclaim the good news.  This was customary for prophets to spend time in the wilderness preparing for their ministry.  

2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  

"Repent" is one of the most important words in the bible.  Today it is often given a negative connotation, but repentance is the key to turning from a life moving away from God to moving toward him.  We might think of it as making a 180 degree turn. Importantly John said repentance was a necessary to prepare for God's kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven.  The word for "repent" in the Greek is "metanoia", which simply means "a change of mind or thinking".  Or, "get ready for a new purpose".  

3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” 

This is a passage from Isaiah 40:3.  Matthew connects this passage to John who announced the coming of the "Lord", or the "Messiah".  Guzik says, "The passage Matthew quotes from (Isaiah 40:3) has in mind building up a great road for the arrival of a majestic king. The idea is to fill in the holes and knock down the hills that are in the way."

The key preparation for the people was to think about how their lives were out of alignment with God's will.  Though Jesus was not there yet, they could get ready by thinking about their lives and being ready to give up the behaviors they knew weren't right in their lives.   

4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

This was the typical garb of a prophet in training.  Prophets led an austere life without the comforts of ordinary people.  Both Elijah and John had stern ministries in which austere garb and diet confirmed their message and condemned the idolatry of physical and spiritual softness.” (Carson)

His diet (locusts-protein, honey-carbs) though not one we would pick, was fairly nutritious and ready available in the wilderness.  John's garb also would have called to mind how Elijah is described in 2 Kings 1:8 when King Ahaziah sent for him. His servants came back and he asked them what the man looked like,  

They replied, "He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist." The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite."

 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.

John's message brought several inquirers.  The Jews had not heard from a prophet since Malachi several hundred years ago.  Their hopes of Messiah had grown dim.  Word must have spread fast (as there was no internet) about this charismatic preacher who looked and spoke like the greatest prophet in Israel, Elijah.  

 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Though baptism had precedence in the Old Testament, as Gentiles coverted to Judaism underwent a water baptism for purification those were Gentiles not Jews. The baptism John administered was a "preparatory baptism", which involved the confession of their sins which had never been specific to the Jewish people.  It appears as if this confession was public.  Confession of sins was not a prerequisite of being baptized but happened concurrently as indicated by the Greek tense of the word "confessing".  

How do you prepare for coming into God's presence?  What does "repentance" mean to you? Do you think there are any John the Baptist types out there today?  What might they look like?  Do you think we need more John the Baptist's types today and why?