In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! ” For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight! Now John had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. —Matthew 3:1-6
“A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight.” —Matthew 3:3
We need to clear a path for Jesus into
“Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” —Matthew 3:2
Preparation Step One: Recognize the embracing of
“Since God alone possesses the secret of my identity, He alone can make me who I am or rather, He alone can make me who I will be when I at last fully begin to be.” —Thomas Merton
“When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” —Matthew 3:7-10
Preparation Step Two: Clear the falsehood from your
“For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.” —Matthew 12:34
“Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” —Proverbs 4:23
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” —Ezekiel 36:26
Preparation Third Step: Clear the falsehood from your
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” —Matthew 3:11
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” —John 16:13
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” —John 14:26
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” —Hebrews 12:28-29
“When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment…” —John 16:8
“God is specially present in the hearts of his people by his Holy Spirit. Indeed the hearts of holy [people] are truly his temples. In type and foreshadow, they are heaven itself. For God reigns in the hearts of his servants. There is his kingdom.” —Jeremy Taylor
“…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” —Galatians 5:22-23
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” —John 1:29
“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians. Who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” —Brennan Manning
For further study:
Scripture: Isaiah 40; Galatians 5:16-26; James 3
Resources: “Confessions” by St. Augustine
Community Group Guide:
Spend a few moments meditation on this quote from Thomas Merton, “Since God alone possesses the secret of my identity, He alone can make me who I am or rather, He alone can make me who I will be when I at last fully begin to be.” How does this help us understand the embracing of falsehood?
How can you see the falsehood that exists in your heart? How can you speak with others in the church about falsehood that may exist in their lives?
How does it feel to know that the Holy Spirit will bring to light the falsehood in our lives?
How does clearing the path of our lives from falsehood help smooth the path for others to come to Jesus?
To prepare for next week: Read and meditate on Matthew 4