In this chapter, Matthew quickly turns from the birth of Jesus and all circumstances which surrounded it to John the Baptist. Matthew suddenly jumps over almost 30 years. That is, Jesus’ entire childhood is not discussed. The Gospel of Mark does the same. Only in Luke’s Gospel is part of Jesus’ youth discussed. You can read about it in Luke 2:21-52.
Verse 1: Verse one begins “In those days” or “During those days”. This is an indefinite term that simply means some amount of time has passed and new circumstances are about to be discussed. The time which has passed from the end of chapter is three decades plus or minus a few years.
The new circumstance involves a very strange, yet passionate man called John the Baptist. This was not his real name, but is his English-ized name. In Hebrew, his name was Yochanan, which means the LORD shows favor. Matthew also refers to John as “John the Baptist” and not just “John” as the Gospel of Mark tends to do.
Matthew characterizes John as a preacher. The beginning of his preaching is said to be in the wilderness of Judea. The Judean wilderness is not densely forested hills and valleys, but it is a stark, barren desert. The desert of Judea is the southern end of the Jordan River valley and extends all the way past the Dead Sea and down to the Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea.
There were several religious communities who lived in that desolate region in the first century. They sought peace and separation from both the Romans and the corrupt Temple authorities. None was larger nor more famous than the sect of the Essenes who wrote the Dead Sea scrolls. The discovery of the scrolls in the mid 20th century opened a new understanding and study of the Old Testament and Jewish history. It is almost impossible to imagine John not living among one or more of those communities during his years of preparation in that barren desert.
An interesting feature in this chapter is that just as Matthew jumped completely over Jesus’ youth, he does the same with John the Baptist. It is often stated in Christian commentaries that this omission assumes the John and Jesus were already well known in the Jewish community. So there was no need to mention it. Perhaps this is so. However my view is that in Jewish thought and writing, unless the point of a biblical narrative is about a person’s times as a youth (such as when David as a teenager battled with the giant Goliath), then the Hebrew cultural value system of placing more weight on mature adults than on infants and children was what was at play.
Furthermore, since all the Gospels are about a religious matter, and since in Jewish society a man had to be 30 years old to be considered eligible to be a religious authority, then for Matthew what John the Baptist and Jesus did as youths was not particularly relevant. When we consider that Jesus grew up in the tiny town of Nazareth and John was a man who lived part of his youth in a desolate desert, then whatever encounters the Jewish public may have had with these two as youths, must have been far and few between. So it is difficult to imagine the local Jewish community being familiar with Jesus’ and John’s infancy and childhood.
There are a few Johns in the New Testament. Recognize that John the Baptist is not the Apostle John, an original disciple of Jesus. John the Baptist is a very unique John whose story begins in other Gospels, but not in Matthew’s, when he was still in his mother’s womb.
What does the word “Baptize” mean?
It is significant for us to understand what the term baptize meant to Jews in the first century because whatever we find in the New Testament about baptize and baptism is meant to be taken in that context. Christian tradition has altered the meaning of the word and the means by which to perform it.
John the Baptist brings two critical messages to the Jewish public. They are “repent for your sins” and “the Kingdom of God is near”. They are two different things, and yet, they are intimately related.
When we hear the words, “Repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand”, we mostly conjure up a picture of a guy standing on a makeshift box on a busy street corner, shouting to no one in particular and people avoiding to look at him. However, what John is talking about is completely different.
John does not say to repent; he says to turn from your sins. The Hebrew word used here is “Teshuvah” “Teshuvah” is often translated into the abbreviated English word “repent”. But “Teshuvah” means so much more. It literally means to turn or to return. In its Jewish religious form it means to turn from one’s sins AND to return to God. It does not only mean to quit your bad behavior. It also means to sincerely recommit one’s life to the LORD and His ways.
An atheist can notice his bad behavior and decide to stop them. BUT, that does not mean the person has repented. Reforming one’s relationship with God is the other necessary ingredient. Furthermore, Jews acknowledge that even this act of returning to God is set in motion by God. We can only truly repent by God’s grace. All else is but a short-live emotional response to our conscience.
The second part of John the Baptist’s message is that the Kingdom of God is near. What exactly is the Kingdom of God and what does he mean that it is near? We will explore that topic a little later in the study.
Verse 3: In verse three Matthew once again connect an ancient prophetic oracle with the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. Matthew quotes Isaiah 40:3
“A voice cries out: ‘Clear a road through the desert for the LORD! Level a highway in the desert for our God!’” (Isaiah 40:3)
Different Bible versions will quote this passage differently, but they all amount to the same thing: someone coming from the desert of Judea is going to announce the arrival of God or someone God is sending. The differences among Bible versions come mainly from taking Isaiah’s quote directly from the Hebrew Old Testament or from the Greek Septuagint. Although it is agreed upon by Judaism and Christianity that this passage is prophetic of the coming of a Messiah, in the time it was written the context was of the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon.
To get a better understanding of what this verse is saying, it is best if we read the verses around Isaiah 40:3. let’s read Isaiah 39:5-40:11
5Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of Hosts: 6The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. 7And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
8But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “At least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
2
“Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her guilt has been removed, That she has received of the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.”
3
The voice of one calling out, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4
Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the uneven ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5
Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6
A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7
The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the Lord blows upon it; The people are indeed grass!
8
The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.
9
Go up on a high mountain, Zion, messenger of good news, Raise your voice forcefully, Jerusalem, messenger of good news; Raise it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
10
Behold, the Lord God will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His compensation is with Him, And His reward before Him.
11
Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in the fold of His robe; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
(Isaiah 39:5-40:11)
We see this passage in context is related to the Jews’ return from Babylon. Yet, from the way the verses are written, the fullest fulfillment of this prophecy is much wider and more grand than only the Jews coming home from Babylon. A deeper meaning is that the passage speaks of the Messiah. It was also understood among the Jews that the person who is crying out, the one who is preparing the way, is Elijah.
In Matthew 11:14, Matthew speaks this way of John the Baptist:
“If you are willing to accept it, he (John the Baptist) is Elijah, whose coming was predicted.”
Elijah’s return was predicted in Malachi:
“I will send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.” (Malachi 4:5)
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