Matthew 3 ~ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan

 Women in the Wheat Field, By Charles Carol Coleman

Chaff is good for feeding livestock and quickly burns.

Matthew 3

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”


13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”




Who is John the Baptist? We think of John popping locusts with honey dripping off of him. Running around in camel robes, when others were wearing light colors and looking pristine and well groomed. Maybe he was Jesus' crazy cousin.

Please notice with me, we have a camel visual image on today's post. Now let's talk about camel, as in sport coat.

Leviticus 11:22
Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.

A surprise. Few know today that locusts are kosher. However in Uganda, different areas of South America, Bangkok, Brazil,  locusts are like potato chips with honey. And rather relished. John was living simply and living quite kosher.

As a matter of fact, John the Baptist locust eating has been recorded as an analogy of eating demons in the Book of Revelation. Which is incredibly flawed because..... the locusts were the size of horses. John was actually rather more like Henry David Thoreau. With a twist. John the Baptist deserves our respect for several reasons. Good reasons. We will start with a humorous bend and travel to the wondrous. Camel hair. If you are going to run around in dusty streets and you want to look good, wouldn't you start with something that is good with wear & tear, not showing dirt. I think Aaron's offspring might just might have a bit of Solomon.

And the disciples record they were married with houses, businesses, agenda, mother-in-laws. John the Baptist didn't run from the Temple, he held his head up, and did as the Essenes of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He openly embraced the Holy Spirit, in repentance, while publicly pursing a priestly carrier (on both parent's side as the tribe of Levy) looking for the advancement of the Kingdom of Heaven. John the Baptist was not standing on street corners screaming, he was washing clean and telling the Truth of power versus holiness. John was willing to look with discernment at wheat, Bread of Life, versus chaff.

Salt. Jesus told us to be Salt. John the Baptist was far from neutral beige. He said some thought provoking things.

John 1:29-31
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

This is he of whom I said, `After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.' I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."

So .... why didn't John recognize Jesus??? For the same reasons we didn't recognize Jesus until we invited Him to be part of us. Before we really knew Him: we heard about Jesus from other sources. Not all the sources were credible. Family (Church) is sometimes boring and the time it takes to get there and back is too long. Why put the effort into going when people aren't always nice? We missed the family get-togethers (Church) for so long, people hassle us about That too. If you don't remember the family stories correctly there is mocking. It's all a big tangle to sort out and we have other things to do.

Then, more importantly, it comes to the decision time. As John grew spiritually into God's plan for him, Jesus became important to him. John took the time to dwell and think about who Jesus is. God revealed not just family, a good man, but a Savior. John, bravely, and with certainty says, "And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

And we will go further, seeing the Words spoken by the Son of God recording John.

Matthew 11:11
Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Perhaps we use this passage to say the greatest shall be last and the last first. However. Why? Why is it important how we see John the Baptist?

John 1:6-8
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.


What does our perception matter today of John the Baptist? This reflects on the Body of Christ. Those who proclaim Jesus as Lord. It reflects on what we say about other denominations, other Christians.

1 Corinthians 12:21
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

Leviticus 19:32
"Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the LORD."

Ephesians 4:11-12
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

To whom did Jesus turn to in His cleansing, the beginning of His ministry?

Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Matthew 3:13-15
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.

And after John the Baptist was killed by Herod, how did Jesus react? He fed the thousands. He is recorded before and after the celebration, rather like a funeral reception, seeking very private time.

1 Peter 2:17
Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.



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