Homiletics Matthew 3

written 24 September 2013

Contents (not sentence, direct verbiage from Scripture):  Where?                  Wilderness of Judaea   Who?  John the Baptist, Jesus

1	Mt 3:1-2	In those days, John the Baptist preaching in wilderness of Judaea: repent for kingdom of heaven is at hand.
2	Mt 3:3	This is he spoken of by prophet Esaias: the voice of one crying in wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
3	Mt 3:4	John had raiment of camel’s hair, leathern girdle, his meat was locusts and honey.
4	Mt 3:5-6	Jerusalem and all Judaea and all region round about Jordan were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
5	Mt 3:7	When he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees come to baptism, he said: O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
6	Mt 3:8-9	Bring forth fruits meet for repentance: think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father: for I say God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
7	Mt 3:10	Also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree which bringeth not good fruit hewn down and cast into fire.
8	Mt 3:11-12	I baptize with water unto repentance: he that cometh after me is mightier, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize with Holy Ghost and fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat; but he will burn chaff with unquenchable fire.
9	Mt 3:13-14	Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to John to be baptized, but John forbad saying, I need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
10	Mt 3:15	Jesus said, suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness, then he suffered him.
11	Mt 3:16-17	Jesus, when baptized, went out of the water and the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him: and a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

 

Divisions (run-on sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture):

1	Mt 3:1-6	John the Baptist, preaching Repent, the voice crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, had raiment of camel’s hair and meat of locusts and honey, then went to him Jerusalem, Judaea and the region about Jordan and were baptized, confessing their sins.
Principle:		Repentance prepares the way for salvation. Those preparing the way for the Lord attract a crowd. Sometimes we must travel a great distance to obey God.
2	Mt 3:7-12	But when he saw Pharisees and Sadducees he said, generation of vipers, who warned you to flee from wrath to come; bring forth fruits for repentance and think not, We have Abraham to our father, God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham; now axe is laid - every tree which bringeth not good fruit is hewn down and cast into fire; I baptize with water unto repentance but he that cometh is mightier, shall baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire, he will thoroughly purge floor, gather wheat and burn chaff.
Principle:		Repentance will show in the fruit of our lives. Don’t make excuses for a lack of repentance. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Ghost and fire. Jesus will gather His own to Him and those who remain will burn.
3	Mt 3:13-17	Then cometh Jesus to John to be baptized, but John forbad saying, I need to be baptized of thee and Jesus answered, suffer now, for it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness, and Jesus, when he was baptized, went up out of water, heavens were opened, he saw Spirit of God descending and lighting on him and voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
Principle:		Jesus was baptized by John to fulfill all righteousness. When we are in the presence of someone more righteous than we are, we might be tempted to not fulfill our mission.

 

Subject Sentence (10-word sentence with proper structure):

John baptized Jesus, the heavens opened and the Father spoke.

 

Aim (Christian and Non-Christian):

TCMAT see that John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord by preaching repentance and by baptizing Jesus.

 

Application:

1	How has John the Baptist’s message of repentance and baptism personally affected your life? What might the significance of John’s wardrobe and diet be in relation to his mission? Why is it important to know the location of John’s ministry and the areas from where people came to be baptized? What is the greatest distance you have gone to follow Christ?
2	Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? What fruits of repentance have you observed in your own life and in the lives of others? How have you experienced the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire?
3	Under what circumstances have you been tempted not to fulfill your ministry when asked to serve someone you considered to be more righteous than yourself? How does Jesus’ baptism fulfill all righteousness? How confident are you that God would acknowledge you as His beloved and that He is well pleased with you?