Matthew 3:1-12 - Metanoeite!

That's meta-noy-ate-uh. It's the Greek verb for "repent." This one word encapsulates John's message.

But first, let's take a look at a few ways that John is a forerunner of Jesus.
1. The first words we hear him say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," give us the content of his message, but also, if we look further in the book, we'll see that Jesus begins his ministry with these exact words in 4:17.
2. In 3:7, John addresses the Pharisees and Sadducees as "you brood of vipers." Who else addresses them this way? Jesus does in 12:34 and 23:33. In 3:8, John admonishes them to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance." Fruit bearing is one of Jesus' favorite metaphors; he uses it in chapters 7, 12, 13, and 21.
3. John says that his own baptism is of water, but that Jesus will baptize with the Spirit and fire. 4. Later, John's death at the hands of Herod precedes Jesus death at the hands of Pilate.

So we see that John is serving as a forerunner in a bunch of little ways.

But what is the main way in which John is the forerunner of Jesus? His whole purpose is tied up in that greek word above. Metanoeite. The command to repent. This the bulk of his message in this passage. Verse 2 is the key: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

As we saw in chapter 2, there are two camps here. One camp is responding favorably to John's message. One camp is not. The people of Judea have heard the message of repentance and have come to confess their sins and be baptized. The Pharisees and Sadducees have not come for this purpose. How do we know? Because of how John welcomes them to the scene: "You, brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [In other words, 'it's not like you to humbly confess sin'] Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentance."

He goes on to cut them off at the knees: "Do not presume to say among 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." John is saying here that salvation is not a matter of paternity but of repentance and faith. In other words, being a descendant of Abraham is of no help to you without the fruit of repentance. Paul says in Galatians 3:7, "it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham."

Paternity is not the precursor for inclusion in the people of God. Repentance is. This is John's purpose - to issue a call to repentance as salvation draws near.

How does John know that the Jewish leaders have not repented? They have not born evidence of it, the fruit of repentance. They think that they have heaven in the bag because they are Jewish. The reality is that they are doomed to hell because they have not repented as manifested in the bearing of fruit.

So, John's message is, "Repent - someone else is coming after me who will separate those who have not repented from those who have." That One coming after John is going to separate the wheat from the chaff. We'll look at this more closely in the next post.

Now, what should we chew on here? One huge thing is that people who have repented show signs of it. Church membership is meaningless here. Having said a prayer won't cut it either. True repentance and faith is the only way.

I'm afraid that many people in our churches are damned because they have been convinced by someone or have convinced themselves that all they needed to do was say a prayer. We all know people who claim to be Christians but who show absolutely no signs of fruit.

My older sister said a prayer when she was a kid and spent all her adolescent years and early adulthood believing that she was saved. A few years ago, in her late twenties, she was studying Hebrews and through that study was led to turn away from her sinfulness and give herself completely to Him. Some time later, as she reflected back on her life and the lack of fruit that characterized it prior to her study of Hebrews, she realized that she was not saved when she prayed that prayer as a kid. She realized that it was in the Hebrews study that she had actually repented and given herself to the Lord.

Let me testify today that I know that my sister is redeemed, and I know when it happened. The rest of our family would say the same thing. Her life prior to that study was virtually devoid of fruit, joyless and miserable, lived according to the course of this world. She is today a new creation. The old has passed away. She has repented and given herself to the Lord. He has taken away the heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh that beats only to please her Master. I do not personally know of another person in whom the Lord has worked such a dramatic change. She is literally the kindest, sweetest person I know. She has borne fruit in keeping with repentance.

Repentance results in fruit. Period. My goal is not to make everyone doubt their salvation. But it is my goal to make some of you doubt your salvation. If you made some kind of public display, prayed a prayer, walked an aisle, got baptized, joined a church, preached a sermon, or had the hair on your neck stand up when you sang a hymn, but you do not have any fruit providing evidence that you have repented of your sin and become a new creation - it is very likely that you are the chaff and not the wheat. And right now you have a horrible expectation of judgment.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Pray that the Lord will grant you repentance. Turn from your sin. Surrender to the Savior. Pledge to Him everything that you are. And trust Him to save you. All those who truly desire Him and do this will be saved.

For those of you who have repented, may the Holy Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you are an adopted child of God. For those of you who have not, may the Holy Spirit lead you to profound grief over your sin and utter dependence upon God to save you from His own wrath.

Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.