— Edited

Preaching through Matthew 3:1-4:11 Hello Everyone, If you were to preach through Matthew 3:1-4:11, what would be your main points? These main points would be determined by the central ideas of this passage.  The needs of your congregation would shape your imperative theme, which is the particular response from them that you expect to achieve from your message. Please read the following summary of Matthew 3:1-4:11, which provides these answers for you. The Justification of Jesus: The Kingdom is Inaugurated through the Presentation of Jesus Christ (3:1-4:11) – Literary Evidence for the Theme - The narrative material recorded in Matthew 3:1-4:11 testifies of Jesus’ ‘justification’ or authentication as the Messiah in fulfillment of Scriptures using three testimonies: John the Baptist (3:1-12), God the Father (3:13-17), and the Scriptures (specifically, the Deuteronomic Law) (4:1-11).  Collectively, these three testimonies declare that Jesus Christ stands as the righteous judge of mankind (3:1-12), that He is the beloved Son of God (3:13-17), and that He fulfills all the standards of the Mosaic Law (4:1-11). The opening prologue of the Gospel of Matthew presents three key attributes of the redemptive role of the Lord Jesus Christ: His humanity (Matt 1:1-17), His deity (1:18-25), and His Lordship as King (2:1-12). These attributes are repeated when John the Baptist testifies of Jesus’ Lordship as the Judge of mankind (3:1-12), when God the Father testifies of His deity as the Son of God in perfect union and fellowship with Him (3:13-17), and when the Scriptures (specifically, the Deuteronomic Law) testifies of His humanity as sinless regarding the Law (4:1-11). These three testimonies ‘justify’ or authenticate the person of Jesus as the Messiah in His redemptive roles. Davies and Allison define the word ‘righteousness’ or ‘justification’ in this passage to describe Jesus’ “moral conduct.” In the sense that John the Baptist and Jesus are “acting rightly” in “obedience to God’s will” in “fulfilling Scripture,” “they are exhibiting ‘righteousness.’”  This three-fold testimony of man-God-Scriptures originates from three sources: the prophetic voice of John the Baptist, the judicial voice of God the Father from heaven, and the legal voice of the Law in Deuteronomy, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, a matter is confirmed (Deut 19:15).  (Matthew will incorporate the additional two testimonies of Jesus and His miracles in later narratives, but Jesus has yet to begin His public ministry, so the author does not use them in his prologue.) Literary evidence for the theme of justification in this narrative section (3:1-4:11) is seen in the Matthean quotation formula of 3:3 citing Isaiah 40:3. Matthew places one quotation within this section as evidence that the Scriptures predict the ministry of John the Baptist, who was sent ahead of the Messiah in order to prepare the hearts of the Israelites and to present or justify the Messiah to the Jewish people through water baptism. This quotation follows the thematic scheme of the ordo salutis within the literary structure of the Gospel of Matthew by emphasizing the theme of ‘justification’. Isaiah 40:3, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Matthew 3:3, “For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” The three stories recorded in Matthew 3:1-4:11 support the testimony of the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3 in which John the Baptist baptizes Israel to demonstrate that repentance from the heart is God’s standard of true righteousness. John’s testimony is supported at Jesus’ baptism by God’s judicial declaration of His Son’s right standing with Him. These two testimonies are supported by a third one concerning the sinless character of Jesus Christ demonstrated in the wilderness in His fulfillment of the Deuteronomic Law using three citations within close proximity to the ‘Shema’.  The water baptism of Jesus is the ceremony that God uses to present Him to the people of Israel (3:1-12). Jesus demonstrates God’s standard of righteousness before the people by receiving baptism Himself and having God the Father’s audible voice justify His Sonship (3:13-17).  Jesus is led afterwards into the wilderness to demonstrate true love and devotion to His Father as the purest expression of righteousness before God, proving His ‘justification’ through His total obedience to the Law (4:1-11).    Literary Evidence for the Structure – Literary evidence for a three-fold structure in 3:1-4:11 is Matthew’s use of the temporal adverb τότε (at that time, then) to transition into the second and third subdivisions in this passage (3:13, 4:1).  Matthew 3:1-12 introduces the person (3:1-4) and message (3:5-12) of John the Baptist.  The adverb τότε shifts the movement of the plot in 3:13 from John the Baptist to God the Father’s testimony from heaven at Jesus’ water baptism (3:13-17). This adverb again shifts the plot in 4:1 when Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit (4:1-11).    Here is a proposed theological framework of 3:1-4:11 emphasizing the justification of Jesus as the Messiah: (1) John’s Testimony of Jesus’ Righteousness         3:1-12 (2) God the Father’s Testimony of Jesus’ Righteousness       3:13-17 (3) The Scripture’s Testimony of Jesus’ Righteousness       4:1-11 The prologue emphasizing the justification of Jesus Christ (3:1-4:11) testifies to the fact that He is the beloved and sinless Son of God who has been appointed as judge over mankind. The theological framework of this section allows the preacher to develop the sermon series using either a three-sermon or a one-sermon approach. The sermon series can develop three sermons around the central ideas of the justification of Jesus Christ as the Son of God; or it can have one comprehensive survey that captures the entire theological framework of this section of the prologue in a manner that points toward the Great Commission. Central Ideas - Here are proposed statements expressing the central ideas of the prologue in Matthew 3:1-4:11 emphasizing the justification of Jesus Christ: Exegetical Idea of the Text—The Old Testament Scriptures testified that Jesus Christ was justified to be the Messiah, having fulfilled Messianic prophecies as the sinless Son of God, appointed to redeem mankind. Theological Idea of the Text—The Gospel has declared Jesus Christ as the sinless Son of God, appointed to redeem mankind as a witness that He is the Messiah and the Son of God. Homiletical Idea of the Text—Because Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Gospel calls men to place their faith in Jesus Christ as the sinless Son of God, appointed to redeem mankind.