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Lesson 3 Matthew 2020
Verses | Matthew 3:1-17
Key verse | Matthew 3:2

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

There was the 21st general election last week. It was an election held in Corona 19 and it will bring a lot of changes. We must strive for repentance before God in the age of global catastrophe. You can enjoy heaven when you repent. At this time, I pray that we will be able to look at something to repent before God and stand upright.

After Malachi, for 400 years there were no prophets until John the Baptist appeared. He was a late son of Zechariah, the priest, and Elizabeth. He refused to live a comfortable life as the son of the priest at that time, and went to the wilderness of Judea to study God’s words, pray and live a holy life. He ate locusts and wild honey, wore clothes made of camel’s hair, and lived a simple and frugal life.

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Repentance means to leave sin and return to God. It is to admit yourself that you are a sinner and come out to Jesus. The Israelites left God for a long time and lived a life in which they loved the world, loved money, and loved themselves. Then they fell into idol worship and sat in the shadow of darkness and death and suffered. God sent Messiah for these people. He wanted to give them heaven as a gift. The way to get heaven is to repent. You can enjoy heaven when you repent and accept Jesus.

After the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, for 40days all parts of South Korea except Daegu, Busan and Masan, south of the Nakdong River, were occupied by North Korean communist forces. The Republic of Korea was in a desperate crisis where it would disappear from the earth forever if only the Nakdong River line of defense was breached. At this time, the Korean church became one and gathered in various places, including the Choryang Church in Busan, the Central Church, and the Hangseo Church, and began praying to God to save the country in crisis. In particular, about 250 pastors and presbyters from all over the country gathered at Choryang Church to hold a two-week national prayer service to overcome the national crisis from late August to mid-September. The grace of repentance began in the first week of sermons and prayers. Repentance prayers continued for a week, day and night. "We repented various sins, including committing the crime of idol worship, adultery, and cowardice who fled first after abandoning the flock." Three days after this prayer, the Incheon Operation Chromite was successful, which had less than a 5,000th chance of success. God has accepted the prayer of repentance and made a wonderful history. Since then, the war has been reversed and the restoration of Seoul took place on September 28.

How did people react when John preached them in the wilderness? Look at verses 5 and 6. "5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River." In every corner of the country, many people came out to him and were baptized in the Jordan River. If there is a message about repentance, it would be burdensome for people to come out. But countless people came out to repent. There was a history of crying and confessing one's sins. They confessed the sin they wanted to keep to the grave, the sin that they did not able to tell anyone and not wanting to reveal. Repentance begins from the realization of sin. When you confess your sins, you get released from the restraint of sin and become free. There is no spiritual growth when there is no repentance. The sin of not repenting causes us to fall into a spiritual depression and prevents spiritual growth. No matter how much you pray, you will not be answered by prayer if you do not repent. Moreover, if you have sin without repentance, you will also have problems with your human relationships. Low self-esteem, shame, and guilt make you unable to stand upright in front of others. The problem of preventing the relationship with God and of the human relationship comes from the problem of sin. My unbroken pride, self-righteousness, vitriol, self-centeredness, and greed destroy relationships. We think the other person has a problem rather than thinking about our own sin. Rather than admitting my sin and repenting, we think the other should repent. Is it spiritually blocked? Do you feel suffocating? Is there a problem with your relationship with people? Repent. "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)." Look at Jesus, who has carried the waste of all our sins in one body and has died on the cross as a sacrifice. I pray to Jesus, who bled and died on the cross, that we may enjoy heaven by repenting. I also pray that we preach for the sheep and children to repent and accept heaven.
There were people who poured cold water in the gracious atmosphere of many coming to be baptized by John and confessing their sins with tears. They were arrogant Pharisees and Sadducees. They thought that they obviously can go to heaven, because they are descendants of Abraham. They had no intention of repentance and were so arrogant that their faces and hearts were solid. Not only that, but also because of their evil influence, many people moved away from God and lived in sin. For these people, John the Baptist gave them a strong punch, saying, "You brood of vipers!" That was because John wanted them to find themselves and repent deeply.
Then what does it say of how they should do? Let me read verses 8, 9, 10. "8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." In their life of faith, they lived with the taste of people's recognition, with only the vain pride of Abraham's offspring. They loved money, coveted the power of the world, and hated repenting. As a result, they lived a fake life of faith with a shell full of hypocrisy and pride. There was no kingdom of God in their hearts. There was no mercy, joy, and peace. In order to bear the fruit of repentance, you must first struggle to look back on yourself before the word of God. It is painful and difficult to face and admit one's own sins. But when we avoid it due to difficulties, we become people like Pharisees and Sadducees.

In Luke 5:31,32 Jesus said like this. "31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.””

Look at verse 11. " “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire." John the Baptist helped people repent and gave them water baptism. Hereunto this was John’s last role. For those who repent, Jesus burns all sins through the fire of the Holy Spirit and gives them freedom from sin. He makes them a new person. He gives them the kingdom of God. He gives them a taste of God's love, joy, happiness, satisfaction, and vitality.

Baptist John saw Jesus as a judge. He is a proof. Look at verse 12. "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." We separate the wheat and chaff by the winnowing fork and blowing wind. As such, Christ will come to the world to save His people and burn those who do not believe with eternal fire. It tells how close the punishment is. John the Baptist clearly knew his position and the mission. So when he received people's attention and recognition, he turned people's attention to Jesus and let them focus. He was a great servant of God. He did not receive honor from the people. He didn't reveal himself. He knew he was the one who delivers the message as a sound and disappears. Jesus said, "…among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist."
At this time, Jesus came to the Jordan River from Galilee to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Water baptism is given to sinners in order to repent and to cleanse their sins. Jesus does not have sin. He is innocent and does not need to be baptized.
But why does Jesus say that he should be baptized? See verse 15. “Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.” Jesus was baptized by identifying himself as sinners. At the same time, Jesus Himself receives the judgment that sinners must face. John's baptism of water to Jesus is a ritual to make Jesus the representative of all sinners. Water baptism symbolizes death. Jesus was determined to die on the cross. He chose the way to save the whole human race through His own death.
Second, being baptized by John, He acknowledges and succeeds the ministry of John the Baptist. In this way, the era of preparation through John the Baptist has ended and the era of fulfillment, the Messiah, approached. Later, after completing his mission, John disappeared from the history of the gospel.
What happened when Jesus was baptized and went up out of the water? See verse 16. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.” These words indicate that through Jesus the way to heaven opened for humans. Heaven was closed because of Adam's disobedience, but Jesus' obedience opened the way for humans to come to God.
At that moment the Holy Spirit of God descended like a dove and alighting on Jesus. Isaiah 61: 1 shows that the Spirit of Jehovah begins the ministry of the Messiah. The advent of the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Jesus as King and Messiah. The Holy Spirit empowers Jesus and works together to accomplish the work of salvation. The descending of the Spirit of God like a dove indicates that Jesus will work in a gentle and peaceful way. Jesus served God's work silently and without contention. God's work cannot be handled by human strength and wisdom, but only by the power of the Holy Spirit from above.
There was the voice from heaven when Jesus was baptized and determined to accomplish the work of salvation through death. See verse 17. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” This is called the Messiah coronation. God was pleased with the work that Jesus will suffer for God's will. Through this incident, Matthew made it clear to the church community that Jesus is the Son of God and that His ministry is the work that God is pleased with.
The baptism of Jesus, descendent of the Spirit of God like a dove, and the declaration of Heavenly Father show the work of the Holy Trinity. The God we believe is the Triune God. God works in an orderly manner, but with love he works as one. God wants the church to be united in love to fulfill God's will. Just as Jesus obeyed God's will and became God's beloved son and God's delight, Christians must live as God's beloved children and God's delight.
Through today's Word, we pray that we will repent and renew our hearts to enjoy the joy of heaven. It is not easy to repent, but we need to look back at ourselves and try to repent every day. And we pray that we will endeavor to save lives by delivering the message of repentance.