Hurry up and wait for Jesus

Joshua Clark
Mar 31
7 min read

Updated: May 15

Matthew 3

Fast-forward about thirty years, and we are introduced to John the Baptist, an intriguing man who lives quite an alternative lifestyle. He preaches in the wilderness of Judea and has accumulated a strong following. People appreciate his eccentric teaching style and have listened to his message of repentance. Knowing more about John the Baptist is essential to appreciating what he does and his role in the overall narrative.

John was the son of Zachariah and Elizabeth, an older couple living in a small town outside of Jerusalem. His father Zachariah was a priest, and one of his duties was to travel to Jerusalem twice a year to work at the temple. Lots were cast (names drawn randomly) for who would give the message from God that week in the Temple. It was a high honor to be chosen and came with great responsibility. One of the times Zachariah worked at the temple, he was chosen. His role was to spend some time in the dedicated holy space within the temple to hear from God. While there, an angel appears and gives him news of his soon-to-be son. He says he will name him John, who will never drink wine and will prepare the way for the Lord in the Spirit of Elijah[1]. This comes as a shock because Zachariah is old as dirt, and there is no way his wife, who is a similar age, can have a baby. So, he argues with the angel a little bit[2]. The angel then takes his voice away until John is born.

John had a calling from the beginning, and his parents raised him knowing this. John was the son of a priest, and his mother was in the family line of Aaron, the first high priest and brother to Moses. So, naturally, there would be an expectation for him to go into the priesthood. He would enjoy the many privileges that came with that lifestyle. Instead, he stays faithful to his calling and begins to bring people back to God, not in the way of the temple but through repentance and Baptism. Baptism was something John created, which was an unknown practice that was performed with his followers to symbolize repenting of their sin and turning back to God.

Repentance

To understand Repentance, we must understand sin. To sin means to miss the mark or to be away from God. So, when any of us Sin, we are removing ourselves from the presence of God. To be sinless, one must walk in line with God.

To repent means to change one’s mind or to breathe new air. Turning away from sin. Breath and thoughts are two basic functions of the human existence. Breath is the function of the body, and thoughts are of the mind. Air is a human's most basic need; without it, there is no life. Genesis tells us that God breathed life into Adam as he created people[3]. To breathe new air means having a new source of life – God. Our thoughts create our reality. The way we view the world shapes the life we experience. When we are focused on the bad, what is off the mark, on sin, we are not living in line with God. This is where hurt, pain, and loneliness spurn. To repent of sin means to fix our thoughts back onto the mark. To breathe new air. We sin both in mind and body, thoughts and actions. To truly repent means stopping an action and changing the thoughts around it. It’s one thing not to murder people, but if a fierce anger toward an estranged parent festers inside you, then you are not truly living in the presence of God. Turning away from this and facing God will breathe new life into you and relinquish the control of Sin.

John the Baptist came to preach repentance and the coming of the kingdom of God. He prepared the people’s hearts by leading them toward humility. Acknowledging that every one of us sins and that only through Jesus can we be set free. Only faith in Jesus can give us the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which empowers us to change[4]. John the Baptist recognized that there was nothing people could do for themselves except make a choice: Jesus and accept the gift of Grace or perish in our selfish desires.

God does not expect us to fix our problems. He watches us as we hold onto unhealthy friendships out of fear of being judged. As we distract ourselves with our phones to avoid the pain of spending another night alone. We lash out at others for their problems while hiding our own issues from the sight of others. He’s watched it all, and He waits for us to return to him, admit we have missed the mark, and give ourselves to Him. So, He can guide us to the mark – salvation.

Producing Fruit or Burning Chaff

As people repented, they opened their hearts to the coming kingdom of God. The kingdom of God refers to heaven. Edon was the garden where the first humans lived, which was heaven on earth[5]. Life was perfect. Once humans sinned, everything changed; the world fell, and we have desperately searched for a way back to Eden ever since. Jesus here comes as the new Adam, offering an opportunity to return to Eden – the kingdom of God. Right at this moment, John baptized Jesus, and the heavens opened up, allowing the Holy Spirit to descend onto him like a dove. God then speaks the very words we all wish to hear: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased”[6]. Who doesn’t want that? We all wish to return to Eden, to enter into the new kingdom of God and hear Him say, “Good job, my child, with you I am well pleased.”

John makes it very clear here that there are two responses to Jesus. You either accept his message of salvation, repent, and follow him, or you deny this message and will suffer forever. He illustrates this with the image of a threshing floor: a concrete pad separating the wheat’s good and bad parts. The grain is piled up and tossed about with a pitchfork against the hard surface. Through this process, the good parts of the wheat are stuck to the pitchfork and moved to the pile headed to the barn (Symbolic for heaven). The bad parts, which is the chaff, fly about in the sky and fall to the floor. The chaff is gathered and burned (Symbolic of hell). Harsh, but sobering. It’s hard to think of God making such a distinction. How can God say no to some of his children? The truth is that this is one of the challenging parts of the Christian faith. Much can be said about this topic, which deserves far more attention. However, I’ll try to touch on this as briefly as possible.

God gives everyone free will. You have a choice either way. We do not know why God gives us free will, but for whatever reason, he made us this way and deemed it good[7]. He also created people and the world within a particular order. Natural laws such as gravity, energy, and matter govern the physical world. Moral and spiritual laws also rule the proper ways of living life. He communicated this to people throughout the scriptures. For us, we have the bible; those back then had the writings of the laws and prophets (Old Testament). Heaven is spending eternity in the presence of God, who is wholly and holy Love.

Nothing bad, imperfect, or evil can be in God's presence. So, for someone to enter the kingdom of God, they must be all good, perfect, and pure. Any one of us can see that no one, including ourselves, is all good, perfect, and pure. Because of our free will, we make mistakes and miss the mark – we sin. To join God in heaven, we need something else, or rather someone else, to get us there. We need God. So here, Jesus is recognized by the voice from Heaven that He is His son. God sent this man to be the help we need to get into heaven (Salvation). Because God loves everyone, he gives everyone a choice to make. Every person will have the same choice: to have faith in Jesus.

You can delay the choice, but time is short. John knew this, which was cause for his urgency. He knew the kingdom was coming, and they must decide. None of us know when we will meet Jesus, either after we pass or when he returns to earth[8]. Either way, the kingdom of God will be there, and I pray that all of us are not too late in making the right choice. If you have not thoroughly thought this through, you must. Drop everything and consider what this means to you. There may be no other chance.

[1] Luke 1

[2] Luke 1:18-19

[3] Genesis 2:7

[4] Matthew 3:11

[5] Genesis 2: 8-14

[6] Matthew 3:17

[7] Genesis 1:27-28 and 1:31

[8] See Matthew 24:17, Revelations 1:7, and John 14: 3. Though the latter seems to be pointing more toward the first coming of the kingdom (the death and resurrection), it has undertones leading us to believe it also refers to the second coming.

Matthew 3: Reflection Questions

Reflect on these questions and use the spaces below to write down your thoughts.

Like Jesus and John the Baptist, we, too, have a calling from God. Do you feel you are living out that calling, or is there something else you are meant to do? If not, what is the first step toward that calling? Write what that step is and when you can accomplish it.