마태복음 Chapter 3

Translation: ESV

1

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

Key Message

God's new era begins not at the centers of power but in the wilderness, the margins.

▸'In those days' points to the roughly 30-year gap after Jesus grew up in Nazareth.

'In those days' points to the roughly 30-year gap after Jesus grew up in Nazareth. John the Baptist's appearance is sudden and striking. 'The wilderness (ἔρημος)' is not merely a geographical location but a theological space — the setting for Israel's wilderness wandering, encounter with God, and new beginning. The new era is proclaimed not in the court or the temple, but in the wilderness. The cry from the wilderness directly echoes Isaiah 40:3 ('the voice of one crying in the wilderness'), declaring John to be the opening of prophecy.

Related Verses

A voice cries: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.
2

saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

Key Message

Repentance is not mere guilt but a reversal of life's entire direction, powered by the imminence of God's kingdom.

▸John's message is compressed into just two clauses: the command (repent) and the reason (the kingdom of heaven is at hand).

3

For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'

Key Message

John is a voice preparing the way for the one who is coming. Every proclaimer turns people not toward themselves but toward the coming Christ.

▸This is a quotation of Isaiah 40:3.

4

Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Key Message

A proclaimer's way of life proves the credibility of the message he delivers. John proclaimed first with his life.

▸John's appearance and diet intentionally echo Elijah (2 Kgs.

5

Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him,

Key Message

Spiritual hunger that official religious institutions cannot fill ultimately moves toward a voice of authenticity.

▸John's message caused a wide social response from the religious center of Jerusalem to the entire surrounding region.

6

and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Key Message

True repentance is expressed not in words but in public confession and outward action (baptism).

▸The 'confession of sins (ἐξομολογούμενοι)' precedes baptism.

7

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?'

Key Message

When outward religious practice is performed without inner transformation, it degenerates into a means of avoiding judgment.

▸The Pharisees (strict guardians of the law) and Sadducees (the temple aristocracy of priests) were the two major factions of Jewish religious leadership, theologically opposed to each other, yet together they receive John's rebuke.

8

Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

Key Message

True repentance is proved not by words or ritual but by the concrete fruit of changed life.

▸'Fruit in keeping with repentance (καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας)' is John's core demand.

9

And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

Key Message

Being children of God is determined not by lineage or birth but by faith and repentance.

▸'We have Abraham as our father' was the most powerful religious safety net of first-century Jews.

10

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Key Message

Judgment is not a future possibility but an already-begun reality. Now is the time to bear fruit.

▸'Even now (ἤδη) the axe is laid to the root' is an already perfect-tense expression declaring that judgment is not a future threat but an already-begun reality.

11

I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Key Message

John's greatness lay in knowing his own limits and turning people toward the one who was coming.

▸John contrasts his own water baptism with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire of the one who is coming.

12

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Key Message

The final judgment is a separation — distinguishing wheat from chaff. Repentance is the only way to become wheat.

▸The image of the threshing floor uses the process of harvest and separation in an agrarian society as a metaphor for eschatological judgment.

13

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.

Key Message

Jesus voluntarily comes to the place of baptism to identify with sinners. This is the logic of the Incarnation.

▸That Jesus comes to receive the baptism of repentance meant for sinners is a theological paradox.

14

John would have prevented him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?'

Key Message

True spiritual discernment means knowing one's own position and limits, and humbly yielding before the greater one.

▸John's refusal shows that he already recognized Jesus' identity.

15

But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he consented.

Key Message

Jesus fulfills all righteousness by coming down to the place of sinners. Salvation is the love of God coming to where we are.

▸'To fulfill all righteousness (πληρῶσαι πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην)' is one of the central themes of Matthew's Gospel.

16

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;

Key Message

Jesus' baptism is the beginning of a new creation in which the Triune God appears together. The heavens open and the Spirit comes.

▸With the baptism, three theophanic events occur: the heavens are opened, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the voice of God is heard.

17

and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'

Key Message

Jesus is the beloved Son in whom God delights. His identity is both King and Suffering Servant.

▸God's voice is a composite of two Old Testament texts: 'this is my Son' from Psalm 2:7 ('You are my Son; today I have begotten you'), and 'with whom I am well pleased' from Isaiah 42:1 ('my chosen, in whom my soul delights').