Article Manza - The Articles Directory | Biblical Baptism - Putting Baptism into Context through Chapter 3 of the Gospel of Matthew

This present verse is the first direct mention of baptism within the entire Word of God. Through using the expression “In those days”, the Aposple Matthew is locating his text into it’s chronological framework. He is also telling us about years that had recently gone bye, and was most likely writing to his audience a long stretch later than the actions that he reports. So that we can learn about those days Matthew is telling his contemporaries concerning, we have to look at the preceding chapters.

In the beginning of his gospel, the Aposple Matthew names it “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1v1). Here Matthew states his goal - to prove The Lord Jesus Christ as a actual human being who lived at a specific time, was born to precise parents, and had the ministry and position of “Christ”, the anointed Messiah or Saviour. The remainder of the first chapter talks of the lineage of Jesus, and furthermore a concise description of how Mary became pregnant: “she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 1v18)

It is in chapter 2 that we start to witness the detailed events that Matthew uses in order to locate his account into a historical period. 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 from the east headed for Jerusalem, wanting to know “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2v1-2)
· The wise men travelled for the reason that, 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 point in time the star did appear (Matthew 2v7) and found that it was as long as two years earlier (Matthew 2v16). It is feasible however that he overestimated in an effort to be certain that Jesus was murdered, thinking that the star had actually appeared at His conception about 9 months earlier.
· Herod dispatched an directive with the intention of every single one of the babies below the age of two in Bethlehem in addition to the whole of the adjoining rural area will be killed. This was his effort to make sure that just a single newborn, Jesus, was additionally killed. (Matthew 2v16)
· Following the visit of the wise men, Joseph escorted Mary as well as Jesus to Egypt in a hurry, seeing that he had been warned concerning Herod the king's plans by an angel. (Matthew 2v13-14)
· Whilst Joseph, Mary and Jesus had been living in Egypt, King Herod died so Joseph was instructed to come back toward Israel with “the young child”. (Matthew 2v19-20)
· When King Herod died, his son Archelaus ruled Judaea as the new king. (Matthew 2v22)

Unmistakably, Matthew places the events during the life of the Lord Jesus Christ inside the context of who was ruling Judaea, along with a few of their achievements. This would most likely place the birth of Jesus Christ within a couple of days or weeks from the command that Herod had made in order to have him and all further children living in and in the region of Bethlehem murdered. It is possible that a number of Matthew’s readers had lost a baby, brother or sister during this instance and may possibly relate the writing of Matthew directly to events from their particular family unit. It was into these time in the reader's recent past that John the Baptist had arrived, preaching as well as baptising.

John the Baptist was not teaching within the temple or synagogues, but in the boondocks. Possibly he was banned inside the temple for some reason - the most probable explanation was the teaching that he contributed. For further evidence of this, see in addition v7 3.

Shall we look at the message that he taught, as found within the few verses which go after the current one:

· Repentance was commanded to everyone (v2)
· The “kingdom of heaven” was at hand - about to be exposed (v2)
· John the Baptist appreciated his own office in the role of laying the groundwork in support of the ministry of the Lord, sowing the soil, getting the whole thing prepared, and making His path a small amount less difficult. (v3)

Without a doubt, precisely from the foundation of the biblical account about baptism, repentance from sinful ways was trapped in the message of baptism. This idea of repentance and baptism was laying the groundwork for every person who heard the teaching for the coming ministry of the Lord Jesus.