Traditional Catholic Teaching - Lesson 3

Lesson 3 - Supplement B

Calling In The Desert

Matthew 3: 1– 12

Introduction

As we take our first steps into St Matthew's Gospel we need to take the greatest care that we get the real gist of his account, and do not project onto it current popular attitudes or any particular bias. Let us therefore take time to observe carefully how Matthew has been inspired to present this magnificent account.

Some Notes On the Text

Verse 1

In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea;

Our reading commences with the expression, "In those days". This refers to the time of the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, which is the main topic of the Gospel. It does not refer back to Joseph's arrival in Nazareth, since several years (perhaps up to 30) had elapsed since then. We might say something like, some years later or some time later.

So, John the Baptist came preaching in the desert of Judea. By "desert" is meant a wilderness tract about 10 miles wide to the West of the Dead Sea, including also the West bank of the Jordan near its mouth. There it is hot and arid, but not without some pasturage, and is therefore not unpopulated.

The term "desert" had ancient prophetic overtones. The Law was given (proclaimed) in the desert wilderness. Here the new Word is also proclaimed in the wilderness.

Verse 2

Repent, he said, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Notice how John the Baptist suddenly appears on the scene. He seems to be so well known that he needs no introduction. His message is succinct and piercing. "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has (already) come near." There are three points of special note:

a) The term "repent"or "do penance". This has largely fallen out of use in our language, even that of Christians. If we are truly disciples of the Word we will not let the Biblical understanding of this term pass out of our use.

First, to repent or to do penance always means (in the New Testament) to turn from ungodly ways to the Commandments and love of God. It means that as individuals and as the Body of Christ we return to the Covenant with God: not to a self-styled idea of the Covenant but to that revealed in the Gospel account.

Secondly, to repent does not just mean to be sorry or to feel bad about or regret offending God. It actually demands two things:-

to change one's attitude, and
to demonstrate by conduct, a new way of life.

b) The Term, "Kingdom of Heaven"

This means God's rule now in time and history. It means the same as the Kingdom of God, used elsewhere in the Gospels. The use of the word "heaven" reflects the Jewish habit of avoiding using the name of God as a matter of profound respect and piety. Note that St. John the Baptist is not talking about the Kingdom as Heaven, but as God's reign on earth.

c) The Nearness of the Kingdom

The impact of John's testimony reflects an urgency. It is already beginning and demands our immediate and appropriate attention. This aspect of John's message will echo throughout Matthew and will confront us with the challenge to demonstrate that we really believe it.

In this Gospel we will be challenged to believe that the Kingdom:-

came with Jesus and his preaching and miracles;

came in another perspective with his death and resurrection;

will come in all its fullness at the end of this age.

St John the Baptist's proclamation is, indeed, loaded with the full power of Scriptural prophecy and divine authority.

Verse 3

It was of him that the prophet Isaiah spoke, when he said, There is a voice of one crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord, straighten out his paths.

Matthew now adds a comment about the Baptist, saying, This is he who was spoken of through the Prophet Isaiah:

"A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord,'"

(Isaiah 40: 3.)

This is a call to be ready for the Lord's coming. It is also a call to provide the necessary conditions or circumstances that would make it possible for the Lord to come to his people.

We are warned here not to be distracted by temptations towards a preoccupation with seeking endless miracle sessions or spiritual titillation but to take on and persevere in the hard preparation of building foundations for "straight paths" for the Lord to come to his people. This is not the popular religious pursuit of some Christians today; but is nevertheless the declared, required preparation forcefully announced from Heaven through John the Baptist. And it demands our meditation on all that it means to us individually and collectively.

Verse 4

And he, John, wore a garment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins, and locusts and wild honey were his food.

John's appearance in camel’s hair etc. and his way of life, were like that of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1: 8).

Verses 5 and 6

Thereupon Jerusalem and all Judaea, and all those who dwelt round Jordan, went out to see him, and he baptised them in the Jordan, while they confessed their sins.

Interestingly, people took the trouble to leave their townships throughout the Jordan region, and go out to listen to his preaching. The devout responded there and then by confessing their sins and asking John to baptise them, an act normally self-administered.

Verses 7 - 9

Many of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees came to his baptizing; and when he saw these, he asked them, Who was it that taught you, brood of vipers, to flee from the vengeance that draws near? Come, then, yield the acceptable fruit of repentance; do not presume to say in your hearts, We have Abraham for our father; I tell you, God has power to raise up children to Abraham out of these very stones.

Among the people coming to John were members of two very different groups: the "Sadducees and the Pharisees" (See appendix). John discerned that they were only receiving his baptism in case it protected them from punishment for sin. John calls them a "brood of vipers", meaning they were as clever as snakes. He cuts immediately to the core of his message since they simply have not taken it in:

"Produce fruit (ie, perform deeds) in keeping with repentance!"

Before they can open their mouths he gets in first:

"And don't tell me you have Abraham as your father, expecting that to exempt you from what we must all do to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. God is perfectly able to raise up abundant descendents of Abraham and will do so."

(The Apostle Paul will later point out in Romans 9: 6 – 8 etc. that all those who share Abraham's faith are his true descendents. This is an extremely important understanding by which the infant Church saw herself as the true Israel.)

Verse 10

Already the axe has been put to the root of the trees, so that every tree which does not shew good fruit will be hewn down and cast into the fire.

In an oral tradition, without the aid of modern teaching resources, John makes a very vivid illustration:

"The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

A sober warning indeed, intended not only for the Pharisees and Sadducees, but for any person or group who down through the ages evolve the attitude that the warnings are for anyone else but them!

Verse 11

As for me, I am baptizing you with water for your repentance; but one is to come after me who is mightier than I, so that I am not worthy even to carry his shoes for him; he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.

John went on to distinguish between his baptism and that of "one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry".

His baptism was to be coupled with repentance before and after. It was to prepare a way for the Lord by calling people to repentance to see the need for repentance and to turn their lives around to conform to the revealed Law of God.

John continues his comparison of baptisms:

"He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

The Old Testament background to baptism includes Ezekiel 36: 25 – 27, and 39: 29, as well as Joel 2: 28. The Baptist would have been very familiar with these and sensed the moment of their fulfilment. The One who was to follow would administer Spirit-fire baptism that would both purify and refine. After a long apparent absence of the Holy Spirit active in Jewish affairs, John's announcement must have been greeted with excited anticipation.

Verse 12

He holds his winnowing-fan ready, to sweep his threshing-floor clean; he will gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will consume with fire that can never be quenched.

Continuing his graphic warning the Baptist presents a clear and uncomplicated image. The Messiah will gather the repentant into his presence and the unrepentant will be sentenced to indescribable punishment. As moderns we may think of this as scare tactics, but John is so aware of the horror of being deprived of God's presence that he makes the strongest possible plea for people to listen and act.

Conclusion

We are so accustomed to decrying all the evils in the world that we easily overlook the essential message of John. He taught, as Jesus was to continue, that the true enemy was a person's own sinfulness, and not the evils of others; not Rome but the impure Jewish or Christian heart! Christian groups who label other Christians as "the anti-Christ" and so on, have looked in the wrong place for the enemy. The Gospel accounts insist on the principle of putting your own house in order before you dare to criticise others. How much we need the Baptist to stir us up.

As Christian culture collapses all around us, we have some very good advice from the Baptist who spoke the truth with clarity and great courage. The challenge will be for us to listen to it in like manner, and act accordingly.

We consider the above meditation notes to relate directly to Bishop Dwyer's Lesson 3. St John the Baptist, in his life, preaching and baptising, pointed in every way to Jesus. Everything he did and said was aimed at preparing the way for the coming Messiah — Anointed One, and removing obstacles in our path so that we can hear the true message of Jesus and follow him without old baggage holding us back. That is not easy sometimes, but John calls for bold and robust decisiveness to move forward. He appeals with urgency and encourages us to act with alacrity: there is no time to dabble in half truths, or put off making a decision. His call is as urgent and relevant today as it was two millennia ago!

Appendix: "The Sadducees and the Pharisees"

End of Lesson - Supplement B

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