Bible Class – Matthew Study #2 (Mt 3-4)
Notes and Discussion questions
Matthew Study #2: The pathway of the King
Main passage of study: Mt 3:1 – 4:25
Related passages:
Pt A: Ps 1:4-6; 140:3; Is 40:3; Mal 4:5-6; Mt 7:16-17; 16:1,6;
Lu 3:1-3; Jn 8:39; Ac 19:4; 1Co 12:13; Re 14:10
Pt B: Is 42:21; 61:1; Mt 17:5; Mk 1:9; Lu 3:21; Jn 1:31-34; 12:28;
Ac 10:37-38; 2Pe 1:17
Pt C: Ge 3:1-6; Ex 34:28; Dt 6:13, 16; 8:3; Ps 91:11-12; Mk 1:12-13;
Lu 4:1-13; Jn 14:30; 1Th3:5; He 2:18; 4:15; 1Jn 2:16; 5:19
Pt D: Is 9:1-2; Mt 8:16-17; 9:1; Jn 1:40-42; 3:30; 4:43-45;
Mk 1:14-20; Lu 1:78-79; 4:14; 5:10-11
Outline & Notes
Outline:
- John’s baptism of repentance– Mt 3:1-12
- John’s prophesied role – Mt 3:1-4
- The proper response of the repentant – Mt 3:5-6
- John’s pointed rebuke to the religious – Mt 3:7-10
- John’s preferred reference to the Redeemer – Mt 3:11-12
- Jesus’ baptism of recognition– Mt 3:13-17
- Jesus’ arrival to be baptized – Mt 3:13
- John’s aversion to baptize Jesus – Mt 3:14
- Jesus’ answer to John – Mt 3:15
- Jesus’ anointing by the Spirit -Mt 3:16
- Jesus’ acknowledgement by the Father – Mt 3:17
- The proving of the King – Mt 4:1-11
- The King led by the Spirit – Mt 4:1
- The temptation to spurn God’s provision – Mt 4:2-4
- The temptation to spurn God’s protection – Mt 4:5-7
- The temptation to spurn God’s plan – Mt 4:8-10
- The King left by the Devil – Mt 4:11
- The public ministry of the King – Mt 4:12-25
- The initial focus of the King – Mt 4:12-17
- The initial followers of the King – Mt 4:18-22
- The initial fame of the King – Mt 4:23-25
After presenting the Lord Jesus as the King in chapters 1 and 2, Matthew then outlines the pathway of the King in chapters 3 and 4 from preparation to public ministry. John the Baptist appears as the prophesied forerunner, calling the nation to repentance in view of the nearness of the kingdom of heaven. He exposes empty religious profession and points forward to the One
coming after him who will baptize in the Holy Spirit and in fire. Jesus then enters this pathway, identifying Himself with God’s purposes in baptism. Though sinless, He fulfills all righteousness, is anointed by the Spirit, and publicly affirmed by the Father as His beloved Son.
Immediately following this event, the King is led into the wilderness to be proven. In resisting Satan’s temptations, He demonstrates perfect dependence on God’s Word and unwavering submission to His will. Following this victory,
Jesus begins His public ministry, proclaiming repentance, fulfilling
prophecy, calling disciples, and displaying divine authority through teaching and healing, as His fame spreads throughout the region.
Textual notes
● We find the first mention of ‘baptism’ in Matthew 3 but the
practice was known before New Testament times. New converts to Judaism, called proselytes, would typically be circumcised (males), they would immerse or baptize themselves in water and then offer a gift for the temple. So for John to baptize Jews would be most curious to the nation.
● Matthew is the only gospel writer to mention the Pharisees and
Sadducees together (5 times). This was unique because of their
distinctively different theological positions.
● There is some difference of opinion as to how to interpret John’s
statement that the Lord Jesus would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire” . Some see the baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire as both speaking of the same event (usually Pentecost and the formation of the church) and they see the fire as speaking of the purifying effects of salvation. But others, based on the context, see two events – the baptism in the Holy Spirit at the formation of the Church at Pentecost and the baptism in fire during the judgments of the Great Tribulation. The preposition translated ‘with’ in the NKJV is more properly ‘in’ and so refers to the element into which the individuals are baptized.
● The Lord fasted forty days and nights before Satan came to tempt Him. The number forty in the Bible is often used for times of testing, probation, trial or preparation. Examples: Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness, Moses on Mt. Sinai (Ex 24:18; 34:28), the spies in Canaan (Nu 13:25), Goliath’s challenge (1Sa 17:16), Jonah’s preaching to Nineveh (Jon 3:4)
Discussion questions
1. Why do you suppose that John who came “preaching”
(or publicly heralding)
would do so “in the wilderness”? Why not in the bustling streets and marketplaces of the cities?
2. In Mt 11:11, Jesus states that
“there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist”
Why do you think that Jesus said this?
3. What can we learn about true repentance from John’s confrontation of the Pharisees and Sadducees?
4. What does John’s resistance to baptize Jesus tell us about his estimation of himself and of Jesus?
5. In what sense could Jesus’ baptism by John “fulfill all righteousness” ?
6. We see the unity of the trinity at the occasion of Jesus’ baptism. How was the anointing of the Spirit and the acknowledgement of the Father significant at this point in Matthew’s narrative?
7. What does Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness teach us about the purpose of the temptation?
8. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus“was in all points tempted as we are”. How are Jesus’ temptations here representative of those that we face?
9. Jesus responds with Scripture to each temptation of the devil. What practical lessons are there for us in this?
10. Matthew (and the other synoptic gospels) skips over at least a year of Jesus’ early ministry mostly in Judea covered in the early chapters of John and instead begins with Jesus in Galilee and only Matthew specifically links Galilee to the Gentiles. Given Matthew’s audience, why do you think that he does this?
11. What do you think is the significance of how Jesus called these two fraternal pairs of disciples –
“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men”?
12. What can we learn from the three aspects of Jesus’ early ministry that Matthew highlights in 4:23?