In our reading today from Genesis 6:1-7, God decided to destroy mankind because of the extent of wickedness. However, God demonstrated grace (“favor”) toward Noah and his family (Genesis 6:8) in saving them from the coming flood. Thus, God remembers his promise to Noah (Genesis 8:1) and, by saving Noah’s family, keeps a remnant for himself.

This theme of a remnant continues throughout the Old Testament. From Abraham, to the Exodus, the to the exile, to the return from exile, God has always promised to keep a remnant for himself.

Now, in Matthew 3:1-3, we see God once again bringing a remnant of people to himself. He calls this people his “kingdom.” The kingdom of heaven (or the kingdom of God) is an important concept in the Gospel of Matthew, and the concept is first mentioned in Matthew 3:2, where John the Baptist calls the people to repentance because the kingdom of heaven is near. Later, in Matthew 4:17, Jesus will make the same pronouncement after reading from Isaiah 9:1-7, thereby proclaiming himself to be both the initiator and the ruler of this new kingdom – a new remnant.

We learn much about the Jesus’ reign in the approaching kingdom of heaven from John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1-17. First, we see that the kingdom was foretold. Next we see that the kingdom involves true repentance that demonstrates itself by “fruit” – that is, both internal and external righteous deeds. Finally, while baptism by water is an indication that someone has repented, Jesus Christ will bring people into his kingdom by immersing them in the Holy Spirit.

What can we take from our reading today? We can rejoice that we have been shown grace by God and included in his remnant – in his kingdom! Second, in response to being included in his kingdom and being baptized (immersed) in his Spirit, we should live by the Spirit demonstrating the fruit and power of the Spirit.

We are a new people who live as part of a new kingdom.

A Little Greek

ἐγὼ μὲν ὑμᾶς βαπτίζω ἐν ὕδατι εἰς μετάνοιαν: ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἰσχυρότερός μού ἐστιν, οὗ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς τὰ ὑποδήματα βαστάσαι: αὐτὸς ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί (Matthew 3:11)

The μὲν… δὲ (men… de) conjunctions in this sentence form a strong contrast. Sometimes, this conjunction pair is translated “on the one hand” and “on the other hand.” The emphasis is heightened by the use of the pronouns ἐγὼ (ego) and αὐτὸς (autos), which are unnecessary because the verbs themselves carry the meaning of “I” and “he.” Putting these two together (conjunctions and pronouns), we can see that John the Baptist is making a big distinction between his baptism and Jesus’ baptism.

By the way, the phrase found in Matthew 3:11 is found in all four Gospels (also Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, and John 1:31-33) and twice in Acts (Acts 1:5 and Acts 11:16).

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