Matthew 3

Dr. John Mann discusses Matthew chapter 3, highlighting John the Baptist's unique appearance and prophecy, emphasizing the importance of repentance. The passage also touches on various types of Old Testament prophets and the significance of God's continued communication through scripture and the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist's role as a prophet preparing the way for Jesus, the Messiah, is underlined, connecting to Isaiah's prophecy about the wilderness messenger paving the path for the glory of the Lord, identified as Jesus. The passage stresses the relevance of God's ongoing voice and the call to repentance as central themes in Matthew chapter 3. Alright, good to see all of you this morning. Y'all forgive me for a moment, I always feel like I need to sanctify this lectern up here after Eddie gets finished, so... I don't want his troubles to become my own. We're going to be in Matthew chapter 3 today. I have a tendency to get into a little bit of trouble, but normally I try to keep it a little bit private, but maybe not all the time. Sometimes I tell stories I probably shouldn't tell, and I get that look right there. Alright, Matthew chapter 3, we've covered in two chapters of Matthew, we've already covered a lot of territory. You look at the lineages of Matthew, and we go from Abraham all the way up to Jesus Christ, and so we've got about somewhere, depending on how you count, about 2,000 years that will comprise that lineage. We've heard the angel's announcement to Joseph that even though he and Mary have not yet been married, and Mary is with child, that Joseph is to go ahead and to take Mary to be his wife, and explains the virgin birth. We've seen the royal visitors last week as they traveled from the east. We've seen Joseph, under the guidance of God, escaping the threats of Herod as he seeks to have the king of kings put to death. We've been from Bethlehem, fled to Egypt, seen the massacre of uncounted numbers of two-year-old boys, and we left Jesus settled in a small farming community by the name of Nazareth, just through Galilee and through Samaria, and just lying there through Judea and through Samaria, and then into Galilee there in the northern part of the Israeli nation. So we've seen quite a few things that have taken place. What's interesting about Matthew that Luke does that Matthew does not do, Luke gives us a little bit of insight into the childhood of Jesus, right? Matthew goes right from landing in Nazareth to the next introduction that we have of Jesus is after he's already fully grown, and we come to the Jordan River where we're going to look at today in chapter 3. And so as we look at chapter 3, we're really going to look at about three different topics that we're going to discuss. We'll look, first of all, at the preaching of John the Baptist. We'll look at the hypocrisy, secondly, of the religious leaders. And then we will look at the baptism of Jesus. And so in Matthew chapter 3, we don't slow down. We almost feel like we are running on a treadmill as hard and fast as we can possibly run. And there is this urgency, it seems, that Matthew has to get out the story of Jesus Christ. And Mark does so even more that Matthew really hits the ground running with us in the first few chapters. So let's look at the first six verses, and we want to begin by looking with Matthew at the ministry of John the Baptist. And so after 23, Jesus would be called a Nazarene, and then right after that, Matthew says, In those days John the Baptist came, he was preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and he was 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 in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. And now John had a camel-haired garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. And then people from Jerusalem and all of 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. And so what we notice here is this appearance of John the Baptist is very unique. We read of the dress and the diet of John the Baptist. He's clothed in camel hair, he has a leather belt that he wears, and he eats locusts and wild honey. I've been to a lot of Baptist fellowships over the years, and I've never seen anybody serve locusts and wild honey. Though I did eat crickets in Indonesia one time. So, one. One. That was enough. The only reason I did it was to say that I did. And so I can say that I've eaten crickets. And have no intentions of doing it again. But what we see with John the Baptist is we see that the Bible is introducing him to us in a very unique way. The Bible is introducing us to John the Baptist as being a prophet. And as we see here in a little bit, he's a prophet in line with Elijah. We see different types of prophets in the Old Testament. We see those who were temple or court prophets, like Isaiah. The picture we get of Isaiah is that he's very refined, very intelligent, kind of a high-regarded type of a person. A younger contemporary of his was Jeremiah. Jeremiah a little bit different. We call Jeremiah the weeping prophet for a reason. He just really seems to be a person who carries the burdens of the nation very closely to his heart. And seems to be at times almost heartbroken at the rejection of the Jews, of his prophetic ministry, and ultimately, of course, of God. We have Ezekiel. Ezekiel being what we would call an ecstatic prophet, right? He does a lot of strange things. Read through the story of Ezekiel, and you'll see Ezekiel doing things like taking off his sash or his loincloth and burying it. And coming back and uncovering that sash after it's been rotted. And he says, this is what's happening to our nation because of our rebellion against God. Laying on his side 490 days, and then on the other side for 70 days. Showing the time that Israel and Judah are going to go into captivity. Doing strange things. And then, of course, we have the wilderness prophets like Elijah. And like Elisha. And Elijah is the forerunner of John the Baptist. But here's what we learn from the appearance of John the Baptist. Remember what we talked about last week. We had about 400 years between the closing out of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament. Now what the rabbis taught, the Jewish rabbis would teach, was that the Word of God was no longer spoken because there were no longer prophets. And their idea was, and this was their language, that the ongoing preaching and word of the prophets were merely an echo. They were echoing what God had said previously. But God was silent. No longer was the voice of God heard. And when John the Baptist comes onto the scene, with the validation later on of Jesus Christ, ultimately what we hear is God still speaks. Don't you love to know today that God is not silent? That you and I still have the voice and the Word of God. Our Anabaptist friends would say in years past that we would have the outer word and the inner word. The outer word is, of course, Scripture. And so we know that when we read the Word of God, we are reading the Word of God that is living and it is active. It is not merely a book of the history, but it is a book through which God still speaks today. The inner word is the Spirit of God who indwells our heart. We have the Word of God by the Spirit of God. All Scripture is God-breathed. Paul would tell Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3. And is therefore useful for teaching, reviewing, correcting, and training in righteousness. And so the Word of God is given to us by the Spirit of God. But then we also have the Spirit of God who indwells our heart. And as we read the Word of God, we can know that what we are doing is we are actually living in communication with God through His Word and through His Spirit as we are people of prayer. And so when John the Baptist comes onto the scene as a prophet, God is saying, I still speak. One of my favorite theologians was a guy by the name of Carl Henry. Carl Henry wrote about the truthfulness of the Word of God. He wrote a series of works called God, Revelation, and Authority. And he would talk about how we can depend upon and trust the Word of God. And he said that God is the God, listen to his language, that stoops and stays. Well, you know what it means to stoop. What he is saying is that God speaks on our level. We have three little grandbabies. We have Paisley and then we have a younger one whose birthday is today, by the way. She is turning nine years old today. Her name is Tinley and then we have her little sister. Her name is Tailey. Everybody needs a Tailey. Tailey is that little kid. She is the funniest person she knows. It doesn't matter what she is doing, she laughs at herself. And when you speak to those kids, you stoop. You come down on their level. And you speak to them in a way that they can understand. When Henry says that God stoops, that is what he is saying. God speaks to us in a way that you and I can understand. We don't even fully comprehend the magnificence of who God is. But he stoops. He comes down to our level. And then he says he stays. That is, he stays with us by his spirit and by his word. And so John the Baptist coming in Matthew chapter 3 is God in part saying, I am still speaking to my people. I am not silent. I am thankful for that today. I hope you are too. God still speaks. And we see this prophecy of John the Baptist that he is coming in verse 3 of Matthew chapter 3. He is the one that was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah. He is a voice of one crying out in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord and make his path straight. That prophecy says for us in Isaiah chapter 40. Now, it is important for us to note that Isaiah goes on after Isaiah chapter 40 in verse 3. He goes on to say in verse 5 that the one that is crying out in the wilderness is the one who will usher in the glory of the Lord. And so Isaiah says in Isaiah chapter 40, there is going to come one in the wilderness who is going to cry out, make straight paths, is going to make a way for God's Messiah to come, and in verse 5 it is going to be the glory of the Lord. In other words, what Isaiah is showing us is that the glory of the Lord is none other than Jesus Christ. And so when we see Jesus Christ, we are seeing the very glory of the Lord. John preaches here in verse 2, what is his message? In verse 2, his message is to repent. Now, that word for repentance is a great word. It comes from the Greek word for what we use for our mind. It is the nous is the word. It is your mind. And the word is metanoe. It means what we think about. And so when John says to repent, he is in part talking about our mind. When the Old Testament says to repent, it is not so much think about what you are thinking, change the way you are thinking, but it is change the way you are walking. Now in the Bible, in the New Testament in particular, it says a lot about our mind, right? We read in Philippians chapter 4 verse 8, whatever things are noble, whatever things are holy, whatever things are just, whatever things are of good report, think on these things. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind. Romans chapter 12, we begin there with don't be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So John's use here, the Baptist, John's use of the word repent has to do with your mind. Where the Old Testament use of repent has to do with the direction you are walking. In other words, the biblical idea of repentance is that we are to change the way we are thinking, so that we will change the way we are walking. God's direction for us begins not with what we are on the outside, but with who we are on the inside. And so when we think and dwell and meditate and pray and reflect upon the things of God, it changes the way we live. It changes the way that we view the world around us. The way that we view our problems, the way we view various other circumstances of our lives. And John says the reason that we should repent in verse 2 is because the kingdom has drawn near. And when he says the kingdom is drawing near, he's not talking about time. He's not taking out his calendar, his day planner, or his iPhone and saying, oh look, the kingdom of God is closer today than what it was before. That's true. We'll never relive this moment again. Or this moment. Or that moment. They're gone. And we can't get them back. But that's not what he's talking about. When he says the kingdom of God has drawn near, he's not talking about time. He's talking about proximity. To say the kingdom of God has drawn near, the kingdom of heaven has drawn near, he's saying that it is close to us. And of course, he's referencing here Jesus Christ, who is about to appear on the horizon. Where when John sees him in the gospel of John, he says, behold the Lamb of God. It takes away the sin of the world. And so the kingdom of heaven is drawn near. He's not talking about time. He's talking about a person. And that person, of course, is Jesus Christ. And so as John is out here in the wilderness, and as he is proclaiming for them to repent, and to be baptized, because the kingdom of God is drawn near. Well, he's saying the kingdom of heaven, rather, is coming across the horizon. And you're about to see. And of course, his name is Jesus Christ. What's interesting, or another interesting thing about this particular passage here in the first part of chapter 3, is found in verses 5 and 6. The people came from Jerusalem, and all of Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan. They were going out to him. And they were going to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. Now think a little bit about what's occurring here. First of all, remember what we talked about when we discussed how Joseph, under the guidance of God, went down to Egypt. And we talked about how that's kind of a prophecy, a lived out prophecy, that Jesus, the Messiah, was being taken into Egypt to accomplish what Moses could not accomplish. Moses had been sent back into Egypt to lead the people out in the Exodus. And of course, Moses did wonderful things. Led them across the Red Sea, raising the staff, sea parting, the people crossed. The Egyptians stepped in. The waters crashed down. Moses had faith in God. Before that, the ten plagues. Manna from heaven. Water from a rock. Until Moses got a little bit impatient. Because God wasn't providing as quickly as Moses thought God ought to provide. He's grown a little bit weary of the people complaining. So Moses takes that staff and cracks it on the rock again. God says, Moses, you're not going to be able to enter into the promised land. Because you didn't wait upon me. Moses did wonderful things. But Moses could not bring final deliverance from our primary enemy. The power of sin. And so Jesus is going back into Egypt. Is symbolically showing us that Jesus is going to do what Moses could not do. But now notice where the baptism is occurring. In the Jordan. After Moses passes from the scene, the mantle of leadership is given over to Joshua. And where does Joshua take them? Across the Jordan. And so these events take place in Jordan. And everybody was going out to him. And they were, in verse 6, they were being baptized. And they were confessing their sins. Now there's a little interesting thing there about that word for confessing. It's the idea that they entered into a state of constant confession. It wasn't, I confessed my sins when I was 8 years old and I walked down the aisle at Vacation Bible School. But it was that they entered into an awareness of the presence of sinfulness. And the ongoing practice of confessing ourselves sinners to God. That's why James will say to confess your sins one to another. Because for us to be believers, for us to be Christians, doesn't mean that we simply made a confession of faith at one point. It does mean that. But it doesn't mean that's the only time we confessed. It means that we walk in humility because we are continually aware that we wrestle with sin today. And some of us more than others. But all of us. Always. And so this confession is a state that they entered into, not a one-time event that occurred. And that brings us to the religious leaders and their hypocrisy in verse 7. When John the Baptist saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees coming to his baptism, He said to them, 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 with fire. His winnowing shovel or his winnowing fork is already in his hand. And he will clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into the barn, but the shaft he will burn with fire that never goes out. You see, as the people were flocking out to hear the message of John the Baptist, the Pharisees and the Sadducees had their interest piqued. I mean, think about this for just a moment. They had received and been at the center of the limelight of the Jewish nation for many, many years. They were the ones who gained all the attention. They were the pollsters. They were the Jewish politicians. They were the Jewish leaders and priests. And just like Herod, they didn't want their position of prominence to be threatened. And now here's this wild guy out here in camel hair eating locusts and honey and wearing, you know, a leather belt and unclean and probably hadn't even brushed his hair or anything else. And everybody's going out to hear what he has to say. And so the religious leaders felt like their position of prominence was being threatened, and so they had to go out and do a little bit of investigation. Of course, John was a prophet, so he wasn't scared. There wasn't anything about the Pharisees and the Sadducees that made him afraid. And so he just continued to preach that much more. Now, this is our introduction to those who are going to be the primary opponents that Jesus is going to face throughout the book of Matthew. And as we begin to build toward that climactic point where they finally turn against Jesus and call for his arrest and crucifixion, we see the Pharisees and the Sadducees subtly slipping in under cover, pretending to be his friend early on. Oh, Jesus, we want you to come in and be a part of our company. Until they see that he dines with tax collectors and sinners. And then they turn against him, so we're being introduced here to the primary opponents of Jesus. The Pharisees, they derived their name from the word for separated. They were high and holy. Don't touch us. You're unworthy to be in proximity to us. They were legalists. They were the ones who knew the jot and tittle of the Old Testament law. And they could recite the Torah, the Pentateuch, frontwards and backwards and starting from the middle and working both directions in the Hebrew if they needed to. Because they had memorized the word of God like nobody's business. And they were all the more willing to tell you that they had done it. The Sadducees, on the other hand, weren't the legalists. They were the liberals. They didn't believe in heaven. They didn't believe in the angels. But in the only purpose of religion was for political control. And that was what they did with it. The Sadducees, they derived from Zadok, who was the man who became the high priest when Solomon acceded to the throne as king, following David. And so the Pharisees saw themselves as the keepers of the Jewish doctrine, while the Sadducees were mostly interested in political power. The Sadducees had sold themselves out to the government. They wanted to be the friend of the Roman government. And so they would use all of the political power that they had attained to make friends with the government and to use that as leverage over the people for whom they were supposed to be responsible. Thankfully, politics doesn't work that way today. But the two groups, the legalists and the liberals, though they were oftentimes opponents, by the way, they're the ones who made up the Sanhedrin. You've heard the Sanhedrin, that Jewish Supreme Court. They were made up of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. And the high priest, the leader, was usually a Sadducee. By the way, you know why they were called the Sadducees. They didn't believe in heaven. They didn't believe in angels. And so they were sad, you see. Most of them are pretty good. That one, not so much. Fifty-fifty, maybe. Though the two groups were very different, they were going to discover a common enemy, right? And so they would eventually join forces together so that they could come against this common enemy that was going to be, of course, Jesus Christ. Well, John, when he sees them coming, he knows their hypocrisy. He knows the Pharisees. He knows the Sadducees. He's listened to them. He's watched them. He's known that for them, it's really not about having a devoted heart toward God. It was really about them maintaining their place and their position of prominence. And so John obviously never read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Because he just continues to preach all the more. He says in verse 7, You brood of vipers. That's not really getting started off on a good foot. Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? You to produce fruit that is consistent with repentance. And don't presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. Now, notice the particular place of Abraham in the book of Matthew. We begin the lineage with Abraham. And now the Pharisees and the Sadducees are placing all of their hope in the fact that they come from the lineage of Abraham. So much so that John says, look, you're placing everything you are, everything you hope for, in the fact that you have Abraham as our father. Well, Matthew has already shown us that the ultimate son in the lineage of Abraham is not a Pharisee or a Sadducee. It's a carpenter. It's Jesus. That's why Matthew begins there. Because he's showing us that Jesus is the ultimate one who has been born in the lineage of Abraham. And so the religious leaders had come to confront John because he was operating outside of their perceived authority. But John wants them to know that he is not threatened by them and there's one who's going to come later that has even more authority than him. One whose sandals he is not worthy to unloose. And so John is baptizing with a baptism of repentance but the one toward whom he is pointing in verse 11 is baptizing with, or John says, I'm baptizing with water for repentance but the one who's coming after me, he's more powerful than I. I'm not worthy to remove his sandals. Notice what he's going to baptize with. He is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Now, John probably had in mind here the words of the Old Testament prophet Joel in Joel chapter 2 when Joel says this, After this I will pour out my spirit on all of humanity and then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, your young men will see visions, excuse me, and I will even pour out my spirit on the male and the female slaves in those days and I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. In other words, Matthew begins by showing us that the baptism that Jesus is going to baptize with is not only a baptism of water but it's a baptism of the Holy Spirit and it's a baptism of fire. Now this would lead us then to the baptism that would come into the life of the early church. You see, because John was merely baptizing for repentance but the baptism that Jesus would bring would be a symbolic baptism that points toward first of all, the Holy Spirit. What were Peter's words on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2? What shall we do? Peter says repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. Not because forgiveness comes through the act of baptism but because baptism is a visible symbol of the repentance and the cleansing that comes. But then, we see that this baptism is also fire. Now, fire represents, in the Bible, judgment. We'll see that again in just a moment. But fire represents judgment. And so to be baptized in the baptism of Jesus Christ is to be baptized into the judgment that He has received on our behalf. And so when we follow through with New Testament Christian baptism we are symbolically showing that what has happened to us is that we have confessed our sins, we have been cleansed of those sins, the Spirit of God has come upon us and the judgment that Jesus Christ received on the cross has been applied to us so that we don't have to undergo the judgment that we have deserved. And the Pharisees and the Sadducees did not understand that. And that's why John is confronting them in their sinfulness. It reminds me of a guy, maybe you've heard of his name, he was an old Lutheran pastor that followed our forebears, the Anabaptists. His name was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. You ever heard of Bonhoeffer? Yeah. Killed by Hitler. I think he was 39 years old for withstanding the movement of the Nazis. And he would write a little book called Discipleship or what's more popularly referred to as The Cost of Discipleship. And one of his big concerns was what he referred to as Cheap Grace. And this is what he writes about Cheap Grace. What is Cheap Grace? Bonhoeffer says, Cheap Grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance and baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap Grace is grace without discipleship. It is grace without the cross. It is grace without Jesus Christ. Costly Grace is the treasure hidden in the field. For the sake of it, a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all of his goods. Costly Grace is the kingly rule of Jesus Christ for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye that causes him to stumble. It is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nest and follows him. Costly Grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again. It is the gift that must be asked for, the door at which we must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow. And it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life. And it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin. And grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly grace because it costs the Son of God his life. Above all, it says you were bought at a price. And what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon His Son too dear a price to pay for our life. But He delivered Him up for us. Costly Grace is the incarnation of God. It is costly. It is cheap. When it is desired salvation, apart from personal devotion, commitment, repentance, obedience, grace is free. But it's not cheap. It's free because Jesus Christ purchased it on our behalf. Well, as Matthew continues to show us this preaching of John, we come in verse 13 to the baptism of Jesus. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. But John tried to stop Him saying, I need to be baptized by you. And yet you come to me. Jesus answered him, allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness. And so John allowed him to be baptized. And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him. And He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Now, this text is really kind of strange. Remember that the reason John is baptizing is he's baptizing for the repentance of sins. And yet Jesus comes and says, I need to be baptized. John says, no, I can't baptize you. You need to baptize me. Now, this is likely the first time that the cousins, John the Baptist and Jesus, ever met. Now, perhaps, and we're speculating here, but perhaps Mary and John's mother Elizabeth had shared with each of them as they raised their sons in their homes, had shared with them their connection, their human kinship. We don't know. But this is likely the first time that John has ever seen Jesus. And yet John, in his prophetic, Spirit-filled discernment and gift, recognizes that this is the one that God has sent. And so John says to Jesus, no, I can't baptize you. You need to be baptized by me. And yet Jesus insists. Why? What's Jesus having to repent of? What is he needing to confess? Well, Jesus isn't undergoing baptism because he needs to confess. Rather, Jesus says that he's being baptized in order to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus' willing to be baptized is not for repentance, but it's for authorization. Jesus' willingness to be baptized by John is saying to the Pharisees and the Sadducees and all of the Jews that have come out into the wilderness, they're saying, I endorse what John is preaching. His message is true. Jesus is bringing heavenly authorization, not of the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, but the teaching of John the Baptist. So that the people who might be somewhat confused, asking the question, do we follow the holy Pharisees, the powerful Sadducees, or the prophetic John the Baptist? And Jesus is saying between choices A, B, and C, choose C. Listen to what John is preaching, because that is the message that is authorized by heaven. Secondly, Jesus is baptized because he wants to identify himself with us. When we studied Hebrews toward the end of last year, what we learned there was that much of what Jesus was doing, he was coming so that he could be identified with us. Tempted in all ways, even as we are tempted. A great high priest. The author and the finisher of our salvation. The captain of our souls. He is showing that he is identified with us. And the next three years of his earthly ministry is going to be the Son of God dwelling among the people that he has come to redeem. And finally, Jesus' baptism is going to lay the foundation for what would become one of the two ordinances that would be practiced by the church. Repentance, forgiveness, the fulfillment of righteousness, the mark of sonship, the gift of the Spirit. Now these things aren't fully developed until we get to the book of Acts. We still see them in the symbolic act of baptism today. But Jesus is saying, God is doing something new. We don't really have baptism in the Old Testament. Somewhere between the Testaments, Old Testament and New Testament, baptism became a Jewish practice for the proselytes. You want to become a Jew? Then get baptized. John is saying, you want to become devoted to God? Then get baptized. Jesus is going to teach us, you want to become a child of God? Then identify yourself with the Son of God. And in Romans chapter 6, we are baptized into the likeness of Jesus' death that we might be raised to live in Jesus' life. And then something very fascinating happens. Notice verse 16. When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water and the heavens suddenly opened for him. God stooped and said, I'm going to stay. He still speaks. And everybody that was gathered around that Jordan River on those banks, they saw the heavens open. And then they saw two things occur. The Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove. And God, a voice from heaven, spoke and said, this is my beloved Son. And with Him, I am well pleased. The Holy Spirit had already been referenced back in Matthew chapter 1, where Joseph was told that the child that Mary was carrying was placed there by the Holy Spirit. And now we see the Holy Spirit mentioned again in chapter 3. Brother Jimmy is going to explain to us why the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for temptation next week. But we see the second appearance of the Holy Spirit 12 times. Matthew is going to mention clearly the Holy Spirit. Because what we are seeing is that Matthew is showing us, by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, that the God who speaks from heaven, the God who opened heaven, stooped, stayed and speaks, is a triune God. Because what we see here is an appearance of each of the persons of the Trinity. The Son of God is being baptized. The Spirit of God is descending. And God the Father is speaking. And Matthew begins with the Trinity. And Matthew ends with the Trinity. All authority has been given to me, Jesus says in Matthew chapter 28. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And so Matthew opens with the doctrine of the Trinity. And Matthew concludes with the doctrine of the Trinity. And we are going to see the work of the Son accompanied by the Spirit for the glory of God and our joy throughout the remainder of Matthew. And that's why you and I would sing, Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The grace that you and I have received, it is free. The Son of God has won it. But it is not cheap. It costs the Son of God His own life. And today, you and I are indwelt and guided by the Spirit with the Word of God as the resurrected Son of God is advocating on our behalf. And so we can walk out of here today saying, God is for us. Who can be against us? Amen? Father, we are so grateful for Your grace. Lord, that what was beyond our reach You brought to us. You have made it available to us. And we thank You that Matthew shows us that clearly. Lord, continue the rest of our study throughout this wonderful book that we will grow in knowledge and obedience and service to You in Jesus' name. Amen. Good to see you today.