Biblical Baptism - Putting Baptism into Context through Chapter 3 of the Gospel of Matthew

This present verse is the first direct reference to baptism in the entire Scriptures. By utilising the expression “In those days”, Matthew is locating his account into it’s historical perspective. He is furthermore recounting to his contemporaries about days that had recently gone bye, and was most probably giving his account to his readers a prolonged time after the events that he notes. In order to find out which days Matthew is writing to us concerning, we will need to consider the preceding chapters.

In the opening of his gospel, the Aposple Matthew calls it “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1v1). At this point Matthew states his objective - to demonstrate The Lord Jesus Christ as a true person that lived at a certain period, was born to precise parents, and had the ministry and eminence of “Christ”, the anointed Messiah or Saviour. The rest of the first chapter talks of the genealogy of Jesus, and furthermore a concise explanation of how Mary got pregnant: “she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 1v18)

It is within chapter 2 that we commence to glimpse the detailed events that Matthew makes use of so that we can position his writings into it's chronological timeframe. The historical events shown include:
· Jesus was given birth to in Bethlehem (King David’s historical home) “in the days of Herod the king” (Matthew 2v1)
· Wise men came out of the east headed for Jerusalem, wanting to know “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2v1-2)
· The wise men journeyed since, in their words, “we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2v2)
· Herod the king asked the wise men at what instant the heavenly body had appeared (Matthew 2v7) and established that it had been nearly 2 years previously (Matthew 2v16). It is feasible nonetheless that he overestimated in an attempt to ensure that the newborn child was killed, thinking that the heavenly body had in fact appeared at His conception roughly nine months earlier.
· Herod the king dispatched an instruction that every single one of the children less than the age of two in Bethlehem and all of it's adjoining countryside should be slaughtered. This was his attempt in order to make sure that specifically a single infant, the baby Jesus, was additionally slaughtered. (Matthew 2v16)
· Following the visit of the wise men, Joseph escorted Mary along with the newborn child toward Egypt in a hurry, because he had been warned about Herod the king's plans through an angel. (Matthew 2v13-14)
· While the family were in Egypt, King Herod died and Joseph was advised to go back toward Israel together with “the young child”. (Matthew 2v19-20)
· When Herod the king had died, his son Archelaus ruled Judaea in his place. (Matthew 2v22)

Unmistakably, the aposple Matthew locates the events within the life of Jesus within the framework of who was ruling Judaea, and a number of of their historical actions. This would most likely locate the birth of the newborn child within just a few days or weeks from the directive that Herod had given to ensure him along with all other children in and around Bethlehem killed. It is likely that a few of Matthew’s readers had lost a child, brother or sister at some stage in this instance and may well link up the writings of Matthew quickly to dealings in their own household. It was into these time in their recent past that John the Baptist had come, preaching and baptising.

John the Baptist was not ministering in the temple or other places of worship, but in the wilds. Conceivably he was not welcome inside the temple for specific crimes - the most probable explanation was the preaching that he brought. To get more confirmation of this, notice moreover v7 3.

Let us examine the message that he preached, which is discovered in the few verses that follow on from the present one:

· Repentance was commanded to everyone (v2)
· The “kingdom of heaven” was at hand - about to be exposed (v2)
· John the Baptist appreciated his particular office being preparing the way for the ministry of the Jesus, sowing the land, getting everything prepared, and making His course a little simpler. (v3)

Undoubtedly, right from the opening of the scriptural writings of baptism, repentance from sinful behavior was caught up in the message of baptism. This message of repentance and baptism was preparing each individual that received the preaching for the future ministry of the Lord Jesus.