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The First Sunday of Advent, November 28 ROOM AT THE RIVER: BAPTIZING THE BAPTIZER Matthew 3 It has been recently reported, that in a certain high school English class, 85% of the students could not name the four Gospels in the New Testament of the Bible. In fact, one student honestly responded that he only knew three of them—Christianity, Hinduism, and Confusion. Obviously, he meant "Confucianism," but, in a way, he was really right the first time, for "confusion" really does abound. The Gospels, of course, are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Right at the beginning of these, in Matthew 3, we see the Holy Spirit laying out—at the very outset—the truth of who Jesus is and His mission. God had essentially been silent—that is, without a prophetic voice—for some 400 years. Until now! When John the Baptist comes on the scene, he breaks forth with these words: "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (vs. 2) He knew that he was to be the voice that was to cry in the wilderness of sin and self, and thereby, prepare the way for the Lord. If his call were to be heeded, people would be "adjusted" and made to fit into the Kingdom of God, for this is what "prepare" actually means in the Greek. No, we don't earn our salvation—no, not at all! When we recognize our sin as being against God, we need to hate it and turn away, thus making us "fit" for His Kingdom, His rule, and His reign—and not just later some day in heaven, but right now, while we make our way through this wilderness of life. It really is a matter of bringing forth "fruits meet for repentance." (vs. 8) John made it very clear that this could only happen as the One who was about to come, comes. John would, "baptize…with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (vss. 11, 12) This is where so much of the confusion comes in. Many think Christmas is supposed to be all about a baby. And that is the Jesus many will make room for, because a baby certainly can't be very authoritative and order us around. But before we can truly understand what Christmas is really all about, we need to see why He came in the first place. I think it can all be boiled down to virtually two things—He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), AND He came to baptize in Holy Ghost and fire—as seen here in our text. That is, once you are born from above (John 3), He is insistent on your ever-deepening commitment to Him and a heart-felt surrender to His will being accomplished in your life. John the Baptist had come to baptize the Baptizer. Jesus would be immersed in the Jordan River as a picture of our need to be immersed ("baptizo", in the Greek) in the fullness of His Holy Spirit. John would later say that he needed to decrease in order that Jesus could increase (John 3:30). I think that really says it all, doesn't it? Don't be confused—the question really is one of room! ~ Rev. Roy D. Warren, Jr.
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