Where To Begin

In chapter 3 of Matthew's gospel, John the Baptist arrives on the scene, preaching in the desert, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near (at hand; right here, right now)". Now, another word that's used to describe that same region is "wilderness". But either way, wilderness or desert, isn't this an odd place to begin a ministry? No doubt, John was obeying the Father's command by doing so, but still it's an unlikely place. Nonetheless, the people came to him, confessing their sins and being baptized in the Jordan River (Matt. 3:6). The lost and the hurting, the poor and the needy, are always in the desert, somehow.

There's a couple of things that speak to me here. First, obedience is priority one. Not success, demographics, statistics, location - obedience, plain and simple.

Second, repentance prepares the way of the Lord. The Jordan River is always seen in scripture as the "entry point" into the fullness of God and the purposes of God; i.e., everything He's promised. The entry point to the Kingdom of Heaven is a baptism of confession and repentance. The word here for baptism refers to the process of dying cloth. The cloth is immersed into the dye until it is saturated through and through with the color of the dye. In other words, it is immersed until it changes colors. (By no means am I suggesting that we baptize people this way!) This means that we must become immersed in confession and repentance as a way of life. As John Wimber used to say, "The way in is the way on."

In verse 7, John speaks to the Pharisees and Sadducees and says, "Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" My question is, what wrath? Did Jesus come in wrath or to save His people from their sins? I believe that what John is referring to here is the preparation mentioned in verse 3: "Prepare the way of the Lord". He announced that the Kingdom of Heaven had come. When a new kingdom takes over where an old one has been, there are folks who welcome the new kingdom and there are those who do not. Those who welcome it came to John confessing and repenting. To those who did not, John said in verse 8, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." For those who humble themselves through confession and repentance, the visitation of God will be salvation; to those who do not, wrath. For "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (Proverbs 3:34, 1 Peter 5:5).

Do I welcome the Kingdom of Heaven into my daily life through confession and repentance? Do I live immersed in humility and repentance? Can the Lord send me into the desert so that He may bring the kingdom to others? Will I go where He says to go? Do I prepare the Lord's way in my life daily? To welcome the kingdom, there must be preparation. May the Lord always find me prepared; may He always have in me a straight path on which to move.