Matthew 3:1-12
These verses describe the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ: it is a ministry that deserves close attention. Few preachers ever produced such effects as John the Baptist: “There went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan.” None ever received such praise from the great Head of the Church: Jesus called him “a burning and a shining light” (John 5:35); the great Bishop of souls Himself declared, that “among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.” Let us then study the leading features of his ministry.
John the Baptist spoke plainly about sin. He taught the absolute necessity of “repentance,” before any one can be saved; he preached that repentance must be proved by its “fruits”; he warned men not to rest on outward privileges, or outward union with the Church.