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Matthew 3:1-6 (Isaiah 40:3)
(November 28, 2004) Scripture quotation taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright© 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
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Matthew’s audience consisted mostly of Jews who became Christians. His gospel, compared to the other three, has a distinct Jewish flavor. For example, if you ever hear the phrase, “kingdom of heaven,” instead of “kingdom of God,” you will know that passage comes from Matthew; since Jews in the first century did not speak the name of God aloud, Matthew opted for the phrase, “kingdom of heaven,” to avoid using God’s name. Matthew also went to great lengths to show that Jesus did not abolish the Law, but came to fulfill it. (See Matthew 5:17.) Because his audience was steeped in Jewish scripture, Matthew could quote it many times, knowing his readers would understand. In this passage that we read today, Matthew quotes Isaiah 40:3. Interestingly, all four gospels quote this passage from Isaiah, to explain the appearance of John the Baptist. This passage interprets John’s role as the one who prepares the way in the wilderness for God. John’s call for repentance prepared people’s hearts to turn back to God. He also called people back to God through the use of baptism in a unique way, different from other first century cleansing rituals, by understanding this ritual as something done only once to protect from the judgment to come. To understand fully Matthew’s comparison of John to Isaiah 40, we need to have a little background on the Isaiah text. In the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, called 1st Isaiah, the prophet warned Israel to turn back to God or suffer the consequences of a “hostile takeover.” Unfortunately, Israel did not listen and were conquered by Babylon, an ancient empire located in today’s eastern Iraq. The Babylonians took the Israelites back to Babylon, which the Jews referred to as “exile.” During this time in exile, which begins for the prophet in chapter 40, Isaiah brought words not of judgment, but of comfort from God to the Israelites. Exile seemed very much like a wilderness experience, lonely, desolate, and barren. Isaiah brought comfort to the people by reminding them that God makes a way where there seems to be no way. Jews in the first century must also have found this comforting. They were living in an exile of sorts, occupied by the Roman government. The time was right and their hearts were ready for the harvest, when John stepped in and called them to turn back to God, to make a way in their hearts for the promised Messiah. Let’s slow down and prepare our hearts for the Messiah to come into our lives once more. Questions for Reflection
For further study: One Bible study method is to allow scripture to interpret itself, by finding several related passages. In a concordance (located at the back of most study Bibles), look up and read scripture related to wilderness and preparation and highway or path. What do these passages say about the wilderness or the path of God? What do they tell you about God? What do you learn about yourself? (If you don’t have a concordance, look up these passages: Exodus 14:1-4; Psalm 78:40; Ezekiel 20:11 for wilderness; Hosea 10:12; Joel 2:12-13 for preparation; and Isaiah 35:8; Isaiah 43:19b; Jeremiah 31:21 for path.)
For next week: Read
Matthew 4:12-17 and
Isaiah 9:1-2. |
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