Matthew 3-4 (The Kingdom of Heaven is Near and Jesus Begins His Ministry)

Chapter three of Matthew begins with the arrival of John the Baptist who had arrived to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. There has been approximately twenty five years, or maybe more, since the end of chapter two of Matthew. In chapters three and four, after the introduction of John the Baptist, we will see the baptism of Jesus, the temptation of Jesus, the calling of the first disciples, and the beginning of Jesus' ministry. 

In Matthew 3:3, Matthew, along with the other Gospels, quotes Isaiah 40:3 in reference to John the Baptist:

 "A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

John is, of course, announcing the imminent arrival of Jesus. Because Isaiah speaks of God comforting His people who were in exile, by having Matthew quote this point to the divinity of Jesus.

Malachi 3:1 and 4:5-6 speak of Elijah returning to prepare the way before God arrives to judge Israel:

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts." (Malachi 3:1)

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

Elijah is also mentioned similarly to John the Baptist in 2 Kings 1:8 because Elijah wore a garment of hair, with a leather belt about his waist, and John the Baptist wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist. The promises of Elijah were to prepare a way before God's arrival to save and judge, just as John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus.

People were instructed to repent and be baptized. The instruction of repent and be baptized was so urgent because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand:

 "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance." (Matthew 3:8)

"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." (Matthew 3:10)

John's message to the Pharisees and the Sadduccees is one of urgency. It was a stern, but true reminder to them that the fact that true children of God are only children of God because of His actions, and that they can not expect to be spared from judgment unless they repent and believe in who is to come. The Kingdom of Heaven is near.

Temptation is something that God uses for our good. If we overcome temptation, our faith is strengthened, but if we fall to temptation, we recognize the need for forgiveness and God's grace is glorified that much more. We can see through history where people have been tempted and they have failed. This includes Adam in the beginning, as well as Israel in it's history. Jesus, however, did not fail.

Comparisons can be drawn between Jesus' forty days in the wilderness when He was tempted, and the forty years that Israel was tested in the wilderness. Israel did not fully trust God, so they were left to wander for forty years. It took forty years for the unbelieving generation to die off. Jesus, however, remained faithful and the Father was pleased.

Jesus' response when he was first tempted in Matthew 4:3 ("And the tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.'"), was to quote Scripture. He said, "It is written..." His response is important for believers because it emphasizes the importance of knowing Scripture, especially when dealing with temptation. It is a reminder of the importance of reading our Bibles often.

When Jesus began His ministry, He went to Capernaum, which was the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. While much of Matthew focuses on Jesus' ministry to Jewish people, this shows that the mission of Jesus was never just for the salvation of Jewish people, but also Gentiles. Salvation was not just for one ethnicity, but for people from all nations. This would also foretell the Great Commission later in Matthew to go into the world and make disciples.

Matthew 4:23-25 tells of Jesus beginning to minister to larger crowds after calling his first disciples:

 "And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan."

Here, Jesus does three things which would summarize His entire ministry: teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and affliction among the people. He demonstrates the urgency of the kingdom at hand by proclaiming the Gospel. It also shows God restoring a broken world by healing the diseased.