The Sadducees Came to his Baptism – Matthew 3:5-9

 Amongst the common people of Israel who came to hear the preaching of John the Baptist, there were two specific groups – the Pharisees and Sadducees. History tells us that there were at least four sects, or groups, among the Jews in John’s day. There were...

John’s Humility – Matthew 3:11-14

 I think that John the Baptist gives us a good opportunity to study the subject of humility. We all need to be more humble than we are, but it needs to be a Biblically-governed humility. It needs to come from within us, from the place where the Holy Spirit resides....

John’s Baptism – Matthew 3:5-16

 There are a lot of Christian scholars who don’t like John the Baptist, and who try to call him some sort of Old Testament prophet or servant of God. I know that it is true, because I have often read it, but I can’t understand why they want to do it. Maybe...

John’s Attire – Matthew 3:1-6

 I foresee our Sunday study of Matthew becoming exceedingly long. If there are 13 messages from all 28 chapters then we will again take about 350 services in that study. Of course, I’m leaving the door open for the Lord to return and bring it to an end, but...

John’s Crowds – Matthew 3:1-6

 Last Sunday, a couple of people mentioned that they were blessed by the message on John the Baptist. And I was told that one person said that she had never before heard any lessons on John. I went home and checked my records and to my surprise that comment was quite...

The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand – Matthew 3:1

 Wednesday I picked up the mail at our box down the street, and as I walked home, I glanced through it all. Within that little bundle was an envelope from the Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA 19255. Immediately my heart skipped a beat. About five years ago I...

In those Days came John the Baptist – Matthew 3:1

 Back in 1972 I bought a book by S.E. Anderson, published by the church of M.L. Moser in Little Rock, Ark. It’s title was “The First Baptist.” Very surprisingly, the forward to the book was written by W.A. Criswell, pastor of the huge First Baptist...

The First Point in John’s Message – Matthew 3:1-4

 Between chapters 2 and 3 we jump ahead about thirty years. The ministry of the Lord Jesus is about to begin, but first there is a forerunner, a vanguard, an usher. As we shall see, it was John’s divine commission to prepare the way of the Lord and to encourage...

Why Wasn’t Jesus called a Nazarite? – Matthew 2:23

 With this message tonight, I have every intention of finishing our thoughts on this chapter. If I made that statement a month ago, and I might have done so, then I apologize. But I’m really serious this time, and I won’t even try re-reading chapter 2 at...

Overjoyed – Matthew 2:7-10

 Have you ever thought about the logic behind the word “overjoyed?” I was surprised that my dictionary didn’t offer any etymology for the word. Who first used that word in literature, and what did he intend by it? We all know what it is to be...