3:12 {6} Whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will throughly {m} purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.(6) The triumphs of the wicked will end in everlasting torment.(m) Will clean it thoroughly, and make a full riddance. read more
Though John was of a priestly family, this too is not mentioned. He does not preach in the temple, but in the wilderness of the river Jordan, at least thirteen miles from Jerusalem. For a priest to preach in the wilderness is totally out of character, and nothing but the sovereign power of the Spirit of God can account for his large audience coming from Jerusalem and all Judea out into the wilderness to hear the unusual messenger of God. But the formal religion of the Jews, though... read more
PREPARATION FOR PUBLIC MINISTRY BAPTIZED BY JOHN (Matthew 3:0 ) For the earlier history of John the Baptist compare Luke 1:0 . In Matthew 3:1-6 of the present lesson, however, we have the place and theme of his ministry, a statement of his official relationship to the Messiah, his description, and an account of the interest awakened by his mission. “The Kingdom of heaven” or “the heavens” (Matthew 3:2 ) means the earthly kingdom promised to Israel in the Old Testament, over which the... read more
Review of the Whole Chapter Now, looking at the third chapter as a whole, having already gone through it in detail, we seem to see in this brief chapter the history of a whole dispensation, the dispensation of John the Baptist. It begins and ends in these seventeen short verses. In this chapter I read, "Then cometh John," and I also read, "Then cometh JESUS." God thus condenses much into brief space. Sometimes he takes a long line, and we say he has gone into a far country, and we know not... read more
Chapter 8 John's Preaching The Right Spirit of Hearing the Old Grit Is Lost a Kingdom Or a Wrath Different Reports of Preaching Prayer Almighty God, our mouth is filled with thanksgiving, because our heart is stirred with gratitude. Thou hast done great things for us, and most wonderful, therefore is our mouth opened in praise, therefore are our hands stretched out to thee in the offer of loving service. Thou hast beset us behind and before and laid thine hands upon us, and thine eye has... read more
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. The Pharisees were a sect who prided themselves upon a more than ordinary sanctity of life and manners. The Evangelist Luke hath drawn the portrait of one, which may serve as a sample of all. Luke 18:9-14 . And their general character our LORD himself hath most strikingly marked in a whole chapter. Matthew 23:0 . The Sadducees, in their... read more
Address yourselves then to Him, and prevent, by a prompt and sincere conversion, that dreadful judgment which the just and severe Judge, whom I now announce to you, will most undoubtedly pass upon sinners, when he shall remove the chaff from the good grain, i.e. the bad from the good, calling the latter with him to his heavenly kingdom, and sending the former to burn in unquenchable fire. (Haydock) read more
7-12 To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadducees ran into the opposite extreme, denying the existence of spirits, and a future state. They were the scornful... read more
Matthew 3 THE THIRD CHAPTER presents John the Baptist without any preliminaries as to his birth or origin. He fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy; he preached in the wilderness apart from the haunts of men; in clothing and food he was apart from the customs of men; his theme was repentance, in view of the nearness of the kingdom of heaven. It was a very unique ministry. What other preacher has selected a wilderness as the geographical sphere of his ministry? Philip the evangelist went indeed to the... read more
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Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Matthew 3:1-17
3. The Herald of the King; the Entrance upon His Public Ministry. 1. The Herald of the King. (Matthew 3:1-6 .) 2. His Message and His Baptism. (Matthew 3:7-12 .) 3. The King in Jordan's Waters. (Matthew 3:13-17 .) CHAPTER 3 The third chapter relates the ministry of the herald of the King, who announces that the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh, and the presence of the King Himself, who is to come after him; the baptism of the King, who comes from Galilee to the Jordan to John, and... read more