Hope in the Wilderness

Matthew 3

It has been too long since I've been able to post this study. We covered this chapter almost 3 weeks ago. Since then, much has changed. Some pain, some joy - some unanswered questions. Reading over chapter 3 again, I am reminded that life is full of pains, joys and unanswered questions. We need a leader to bring us into a new way of things. We need someone to bring us out of the wilderness of despair and into the promised land of milk and honey. We need Christ. We need our King.

Here we go ...

I. The Wilderness Baptizer (3:1-12)

Two points strike me as Matthew paints his portrait of John the Baptist:

First, the location of John's baptisms. Matthew has John baptizing the people of Israel in the Jordan just to the East; in the wilderness. I don't think Matthew means simply to locate John geographically. In fact, I think Matthew is actually making a very profound theological point about what's going on here. All throughout Matthew's Gospel so far geographical locations are mentioned to conjure up images of past events; events in Israel's history. I believe this is what's going on here.

Ages ago, Israel set out upon the Jordan leaving their wilderness wanderings behind. There in the wilderness God transformed a rugged nation of Egyptian slaves into a unique culture organized around God's rule; a theocracy. The nation went through great trial there in the wilderness; it was a time of intense soul-searching and discipline. But it was in the wilderness that God provided for His people and molded them into a community who could enter into His promised land. A community that looked radically different than those around it. A community ruled by YHWH.

As Israel stood before the Jordan with their new leader Joshua (which is by no simple co-incidence the Hebrew equivalent of Jesus' name; the Lord saves!) they stood at the threshold of a new life. A life lived under God's rule; in His land and under His laws. This is the same image that Matthew is conjuring up for his readers when he mentions the baptisms of John. John brings Israel back into the wilderness and sets them before the Jordan to prepare them for the coming of the new Joshua; the new leader who will lead His people into special communion with God. John prepares Israel for a new Jordan crossing. A crossing into the New Kingdom of God. This is the first point that strikes me when I read Matthew 3:1-12.

Second, the message of John the Baptist. The simple message: Repent. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

I believe that this two-fold message summarizes the rest of Matthew's Gospel in nuce. What we have in John's message (and later Jesus picks up the same message -4:17-) is a statement and a response to the statement. First, the statement that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand i.e. that God's rule is going to be established in a new and yet unheard of way. God is coming and He is coming as a King to His people. This is the statement. The response is that we must repent to enter into this Kingdom i.e., we must radically change our ideas, our morals, our whole way of life. In other words, to cross the Jordan into the land of milk and honey - we must turn away from the old and enter the new. When God comes as King - we become the subjects. In fact - and this may or may not make sense at first but I think if you reflect on it, it might haunt you and change you - in fact, the only possible way of life after God has come as our King is repentance; a way of life that is open to His changing it and redefining it.

At any rate, this is 3:1-12 in outline. While I could elaborate on more, these are the two points that strike me in this first chunk of narrative in Matthew 3.

II. The King in the Water (Matthew 3:13-17)

The second scene in Matthew 3 brings us to an unusually perplexing passage of Scripture. One that theologians and exegetes have grappled with over the centuries. A stumbling block for many, but the hope of life for those who understand it properly. Why would the Lord of Heaven and Earth submit to baptism? What does Jesus, King and Christ, have to repent of? Why is the King in the water?

In my opinion it makes the most sense to read this passage as Jesus' - and therefore God's - unwavering willingness to participate in full human experience. This is Jesus' way of claiming solidarity with humankind. In all His freedom, in all His power - He decides to enter fully into the human experiences of those He came to save. The one who does not need baptism in fact is baptized for us.

This may be unsettling, but it is in fact the best reading of the text. The Lord, the King, God's beloved Son humbles Himself and is baptized by His created servant John. He is willing to lead the way for humanity across the Jordan and He does this as one who understands fully the complexities of His human creation. He is in solidarity with it - He leads it as its King. - but He is in solidarity with it.

This looks a lot like what's going on in the first chapter of Matthew. Interestingly, the conclusion there is the declaration - 'Immanuel' i.e., God with us. It is the same here in chapter three.

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Again, I'll just post some light comments in the way of application but I will leave you to connect some of the dots in your own lives:

1. Jesus leads the way for us into a new and unwavering hope. A life and healed from the way we used to live; He leads us into His Kingdom.

2. This Kingdom is not without standards; living in it requires a complete transformation from an old way of life to a new. New ways of living, loving and thinking are needed to enter it. We need to repent of the old and jump across the Jordan towards this new way of life. Perhaps we'd call that a leap of faith? ...

3. This Kingdom was brought about by a King who understands the depths of our human experiences; a king who demonstrates His greatness and power by becoming lowly and weak on behalf of those He loves. He uses His Kingly power to serve man - again, should we not be picking up on Jesus' cue and drastically redefining our understanding of power and its use?

//Ex Profundis//