Subject 13 : The Gospel According to MATTHEW
[Chapter 3-1] Spread the True Gospel And Jesus’ Righteous Deed (Matthew 3:1-17)
(Matthew 3:1-17)
“In
those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ For this is
he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.’’
Now
John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around
his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all
Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were
baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw
many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to
them, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to
yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God
is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now
the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed
baptize you with water unto 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. His winnowing fan is in His
hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather
His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable
fire.’ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be
baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be
baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said
to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to
fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him. When He had been
baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the
heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like
a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven,
saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”
In
the Bible, John the Baptist must have been an extremely important
figure. John the Baptist cried out for repentance from the people of
Israel. We must remember precisely the work of Jesus and John the
Baptist. Jesus, who came to this world saved mankind, obeying the will
of God along with John the Baptist. John the Baptist and Jesus came to
this world and accomplished righteous deeds.
John
the Baptist urged the people of Israel to return to God. We can see in
Matthew 3:7 that John the Baptist boldly rebuked the Pharisees and
Sadducees saying: “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the
wrath to come?” when he saw them coming to him while he was baptizing.
This John the Baptist rebuked the people of Israel severely as a
prophet: “Repent, you brood of vipers!” John the Baptist was a prophet
who did righteous deeds in God’s eyes and was the last prophet of the
Old Testament era.
Some
wonder how John the Baptist, as a prophet of God, could have uttered
such a horrible expression as “Brood of vipers.” However, the Bible has
it recorded and tells us that it was a righteous deed in front of God.
All prophets should be people who can cry out for the righteous deed of
God. And there came another One who accomplished righteous deeds besides
John the Baptist. That was Jesus.
In
the Bible, Sadducees are politicians. They are the politicians of the
world. They put more emphasis on the politics of this world than serving
God. However, the Pharisees were the conservative religious leaders. At
the same time they said they believed in God’s Word as it was, they
denied Jesus.
God
was greatly disappointed when He saw these people. In God’s eyes, are
these evil people or not? The Pharisees and the Sadducees are evil
people in God’s eyes.
The
Pharisees did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah. That is why it is
correct when John the Baptist called them a brood of vipers. John the
Baptist did not compromise with the religious men of that time. Rather
than compromising with the Pharisees and Sadducees, he tried to turn
them around by rebuking them as a brood of vipers. John the Baptist
taught the people who were returning to God that repenting was not good
enough, but they needed to have the fruits of their repentance, and that
they needed to turn away from evil. For example, they have to return
and pay back all the money they had exploited. Then they could come back
to him for baptism, and return to God.
When
we listen to his claims, we can see without a doubt that he was a
servant sent by God. About the time that John the Baptist appeared was
the time that Jesus Christ started His public ministry. John the
Baptist’s proclamation was to help the work of Jesus. At that time,
there had not been a servant of God for about 400 years to the people of
Israel. Therefore, the appearance of John the Baptist was an
opportunity as well for the people of Israel to hear the providence of
God and the voice of God.
John
the Baptist cried out: “Brood of vipers, repent and return to God. Turn
away from idolatry. You need to renounce foreign gods and return to God
to avoid God’s judgment.” It was a great blessing to the people of
Israel that a servant of God could rebuke and advise them like that. The
entire nation of Israel was shaken by the cries of John the Baptist.
The miracle of the High Priests, Sadducees, and Pharisees coming to John
the Baptist, repenting and returning to God occurred.
John
the Baptist testifies about the abilities of Jesus Christ, “I indeed
baptize you with water unto 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. His winnowing fan is in His
hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather
His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable
fire” (Matthew 3:11-12). He testifies that he does the work of turning
people back to God by rebuking them, but the one who comes after him
will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John
the Baptist said that people who were born again by believing in Jesus
will be gathered as the wheat into Heaven and the ones who are not born
again will be separated with winnowing fan as chaff and be burned with
unquenchable fire.
We
must know that John the Baptist cried out for repentance in God, and
that Jesus Christ, when He came to this world, received baptism from
John the Baptist. According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was about
thirty years old when He was baptized (Luke 3:23). Here, why did Jesus
want to be baptized when He was thirty? The reason that it was ‘about
thirty’ was because one had to be thirty years old in order to carry out
his duties as a High Priest. God said in the Old Testament that the
sons of the High Priests had the ability to take on the responsibility
when they turned 30 years old (Numbers 4:35). Likewise, when Jesus
turned 30, He was baptized by John the Baptist.
The
reason that Jesus received baptism from John the Baptist was to
accomplish all the righteousness of God. Jesus was baptized by John the
Baptist to take on the sins of everyone in the world.
However,
people are confused and do not understand why Jesus was baptized by
John the Baptist. Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist is a secret
revealed in the Bible. Many people do not understand the secret of the
baptism and misunderstand why Jesus was baptized. They think it was to
present an example or to show modesty.
We
must know that Jesus came to this world and was baptized to save
everyone in the world from his sins. Jesus could accomplish the
righteous deed of taking on the sins of the world by being baptized by
John the Baptist when He came to this world. The righteous deed is that
Jesus took on all the sins of the world once and for all by getting
baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus’ baptism was to fulfill all the
righteousness of God and was the will of God that was pleasing to Him.
Our Lord came to this world to save us from all our sins. He was
baptized to take on the sins of yours and mine once and for all by the
baptism and bled to death for us. The Lord took on all the sins of the
world once and for all.
In
Matthew 3:15, “all the righteousness” means Jesus taking on all the
sins of the world by being baptized by John, and bleeding to death on
the Cross. At that time, Jesus took on all the sins of the world, all of
our sins. How fortunate is it, and how thankful are we?
Fellow
Christians, do we commit sins in this world or not? We commit sins. Do
we only commit a few sins here and there? Or do we sin greatly? You
commit many sins in this world, and your sins are included in all the
sins of the world. Jesus took on all the sins of the world once and for
all by being baptized by John the Baptist, and bled to death on the
Cross once and for all, and wiped out the sins and judgment.
How
could you and I be those without sin if Jesus did not take on all the
sins of yours and mine once and for all? This Truth is the righteousness
that our Lord fulfilled by being baptized and bleeding when He came to
this world. Jesus is the Savior who came to this world as the Son of God
and took care of the sins of the world and the judgment of the sins for
us.
What We Need to Remember
As
we greet Christmas this year, we must remember that John the Baptist
and Jesus fulfilled the righteousness of God that no one else could have
done. As we greet Christmas, we need to think: ‘how can I join in on
the righteousness work as we greet Christmas, as we commemorate our Lord
who fulfilled the righteousness?’ rather than ‘how can I have fun? How
can I make good memories?’ We can certainly remember the work of John
the Baptist and Jesus. We, too, should be those who think of Jesus and
John the Baptist who fulfilled all righteousness on this Christmas. Our
lives should be devoted solely to spreading that righteousness of God.
After we receive the remission of sin by believing in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, we must continue to lead a life that spreads this
gospel.
What
would we be if we do not offer ourselves to this righteous ministry
that spreads the gospel of the water and the Spirit? How can we expect
God to give us His blessing if we do not participate in this righteous
ministry? We must participate since we know that Jesus has saved us by
taking on all of the sins of mankind. Is it not necessary to spread all
over the world the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Can we do
righteous deeds according to the flesh? Can we avoid committing sins by
trying not to do them? How can we, the insufficient ones, live the
righteous life after receiving the remission of sin? Would it not be
possible by spreading this gospel of the water and the Spirit that saved
us from the sins of the world through Jesus who came to this world,
took on all the sins to the Cross, bled and died so that He could take
on the judgment of the sins for us? What would truly be the good work
that you and I do in this world? Would God be happy by our proper
behavior and memorable deeds?
The
most righteous work for us in this world is spreading the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. What is righteous is devoting all of our hearts
and energy into spreading this gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Whatever appearance you have, God will only be glad when you are
involved in the work of spreading the gospel of the water and the
Spirit.
What
does it mean that when Jesus was getting baptized he said: “For thus it
is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness, then he allowed Him”
(Matthew 3:15). These are the words of testimony that tell us that Jesus
took on all the sins of the world that we have committed by the baptism
that He had received from John the Baptist. When Jesus was baptized by
John the Baptist, all the sins of the world were passed onto Jesus once
and for all. Jesus received all the sins of the world that are yours and
mine through His baptism once and for all. This is how the body of
Jesus could take on all the sins of the world, and this is how it was
possible for Him to face judgment as both hands and both feet were
crucified on the Cross. However, this does not mean that the sin was
upon His soul. You must receive your salvation by believing that Jesus
came to this world and fulfilled the righteousness of God, and John the
Baptist also participated in this great ministry by passing on the sins
to Jesus through laying on of his hands.
John the Baptist did two things as the servant of God, the greatest representative among those who were born from a woman.
The
first one was pointing out the evilness of everyone. He cried out for
people to return to God by rebuking them, saying, “Serving other gods
besides God is sin.” The second was that he baptized Jesus to pass on
the sins of everyone in the world. This is the righteousness of God that
was for you and me. This is the very righteousness that the Lord came
to fulfill in this world.
Jesus
came to this world to receive the sins of yours and mine and take them
on. And He received baptism to take on everyone’s sins in this world,
your sins, and your descendants’ sins, and their descendants’ sins, your
parents sins, your ancestors’ ancestors’ sins, the sins of everyone
from Adam as long as this world exists until the last day, though we do
not know when the earth will cease to exist. Jesus received the baptism
to blot out our sins and to cleanse us of our sins.
The
word ‘to baptize’ means “to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash,
to make clean with water, to wash one’s self, or to bathe.” Therefore,
Jesus was baptized to take on all the sins of the world. Jesus cleansed
our sins by receiving the sins through John the Baptist. Just as your
clothes get washed when you wash your clothes with water, just as your
filthiness gets cleansed when you take a bath with water, Jesus cleansed
our sins clean by receiving baptism and took on all of the sins of our
hearts through John the Baptist.
My
fellow Christians, do you believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit? ―Yes.― Do you believe that the Lord came to this world, was
baptized, and died on the Cross to fulfill the righteousness of God?
As
we greet Christmas, we must remember Jesus our Lord who fulfilled the
righteousness for us. It is said, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink,
or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
As we greet Christmas, we must ruminate on what is truly righteous, how
we can lead a life of righteousness, and believe firmly. You and I need
to keep our faith in Jesus Christ in this world and return to God
someday. We must live the one life we have in this world, doing
righteous work. What kind of work do we need to do in front of God? We
must think of righteousness once. Before we can think about whether or
not we should live for the righteousness of God, we must think about
what righteousness itself is first.
I
am greatly thankful to God as I greet this Christmas. And I wish you
would do the “righteous thing.” What kind of righteous thing can you do
in front of God? Can we do any righteous thing by doing well with our
flesh? Don’t even think about it. Trying to do righteous things with the
flesh is like a tower built on sand that will crumble down in one
moment. Even if you were good all your life, if you make one wrong move,
all the humanly righteousness is shattered.
The
true righteousness is spreading everyday the gospel of the water and
the Spirit, with which God has wiped out all our sins. Participating in
this spreading of the gospel is participating in the work of God. You
and I live for the purpose of this work. Whether you work for a company
or own your own business, it is righteous for you to devote yourself to
this gospel of the water and the Spirit. If you cannot do it yourself,
it is righteous through your prayers and small materials. Whatever you
do, whether eating or drinking, living to spread this gospel is
righteousness.
Fellow
Christians, even though we did not go over the Bible verse by verse,
you are those who generally have heard these words. I believe that you
believe in these words as the Truth. Do you believe that Jesus came to
this world and fulfilled all righteousness? Do you believe that the Lord
has fulfilled the greatest work that wipes out all the sins, yours and
mine? ―Yes.―
It
is so fortunate that Jesus took on all the sins, and we are so thankful
that He fulfilled ‘all righteousness.’ How lamentable would it be if He
took some sins and did not take some others? However, whatever sin you
have committed, Jesus took it all. Have a strong faith. I hope you
please God with your faith and do righteous deeds by your faith. I hope
you live by the faith. And I hope you go to Heaven by your faith. I hope
you are a person without sin by your faith. I hope you are a person who
receives the Holy Spirit by believing in the true gospel of the water
and the Spirit.
I
truly thank God again and again because I believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. Fellow Christians, do you believe in the gospel of
the water and the Spirit? ―Yes.― I hope that all of you are those who
truly believe in the true gospel as we greet Christmas. Hallelujah!
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