Matthew 3 (NRSVue)
1 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’ ”
Repentance is the price we pay for peace.
Here are some questions for discussion:
1. Like a grandmother spoiling her only grandson, God wants to spoil us as well. In what ways might the “kingdom of Heaven being near (at hand)” equate to God wanting to spoil us?
2. If you KNEW for sure that God was coming to your house today, what, (if anything) would you do differently to prepare for God’s arrival?
3. The word “repent” (metanoeō), used in Matthew 3:2, describes a change of mind and direction—a turning away from one path and a turning toward something new. Matthew connects this call to repentance with the nearness of God’s kingdom. How might viewing repentance as a response to God drawing close—rather than God being angry—shape the way you understand what we are turning toward when we repent?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. What uncomfortable stuff are we going through each day to prepare for God’s arrival? What comfortable alternatives plague us each day when we should be repenting?
2. In this week’s scripture the crowds step out of the familiar city and into the wilderness to hear John’s words. In doing so they actively acknowledged their need for something they didn’t have. Why does owning our spiritual need feel so vulnerable, and what familiar comforts or “city walls” might keep someone from following God into the deeper places He’s inviting us to explore?
3. In what ways might we be living as second class citizens today in a society that does not recognize God? What struggles stand between us and honoring our God during these times?
4. In Matthew 3:3—quoting Isaiah 40:3—John is called “a voice of one crying out in the wilderness.” Not an institution, not a leader in the temple, but a voice preparing the way for the Lord. What does it look like today to be “a voice crying out in the wilderness”? Where might God still be calling people to speak truth from unexpected or overlooked places? Whose voice has prepared the way for God in your life, the way Isaiah 40:3 describes?
For further contemplation, consider these prompts:
1. John the Baptist appears “in the wilderness.” What might the wilderness in Matthew 3:1 represent in Scripture, and why do you think God chose that setting for John’s ministry? Where in your own life have you experienced a “wilderness” that became a place where God spoke or reshaped you?
2. We struggle on a regular basis in a system that has its faith in manifest destiny, one that seeks a heroic presence to liberate us all while some of us oppress each other. How does “making the way” look different when our society is built on predatory social practices in the name of Jesus? Consider this from a personal perspective and a collective perspective.