d. The reasons for repentance (3:10-12)
Matthew now emphasizes the reasons for repentance. He gives three clear-cut reasons.
- Judgment is at hand (3:10).
Divine judgment will precede the establishment of the kingdom on earth. This is well established in the Old Testament (Isa. 1:27; 4:4; 5:16; 13:6-19; 42:1; Jer. 33:14-16; Dan. 7:27-27). John now announces that this judgment was forthcoming, for if the kingdom is at hand so must be its preceding judgments. Those who do not repent are in a serious position. The axe is at the root of the trees. Those who do not bring forth fruit will be hewn down and cast into the fire. (Picking up the imagery of verse 8). The axe “is a symbol of destruction, and lying at the root of the trees paints a grim picture of impending doom.” [France, MATTHEW, 60] It is a prophetic image of judgment (Isa. 10:15). It is noteworthy the word choice made by John. He refers to trees in addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees, the leaders of the nation, for leaders were sometimes compared to trees (Judges 9:7-16; Dan. 4:20-22). The same judgment that fell upon the nations (Isa. 10:33-34, Ezek 31; Dan. 4:14) is about to fall upon the nation (Israel). John is giving a clear warning to the leaders of the nation that judgment is a hand. They need to repent and bring forth the good fruit of repentance. Failure to do so will lead to destruction.
- The coming baptism work of Christ (3:11)
John here makes a comparison between his baptism with water and the baptism that Christ will perform. The two are not the same. He indeed baptized with water unto repentance. However, he points out that the one that is coming also has a work of baptism to perform. The coming one’s work is superior to his baptism, for He is “mightier than I,” which carries the idea of higher in rank, thus superior. The coming one is superior both in his person and his work of baptism.
The verse brings out three baptisms:
Ÿ First, is John’s baptism with water to prepare the way by repentance for the coming kingdom.
Ÿ Second, is the baptism work of the coming Messiah with the Holy Spirit. The Bible student should be aware that the Holy Spirit here is not the agent of the baptism; rather it is the coming one, i.e. Jesus Christ. Christ, not the Holy Spirit performs this work. Chafer points out that “A certain group would force a rending…by translating the words ‘into the Spirit’ and ‘into water’; but the great majority of Scholars sustain the Authorized rendering, namely, ‘with’ the Spirit and ‘with’ water.” [Chafer, SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, 5:67] Christ is the performer of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. This baptism is not the same as 1 Cor. 12:13, where the Holy Spirit is the performer of that baptism into Christ, not Christ. This observation has not been seen or recognized by Bible students. Chafer has and writes, “Those Scriptures in which the Holy Spirit is related to baptism are to be classified in two divisions. In the one group, Christ is the baptizing agent, yet the Holy Spirit is the blessed influence that characterized the baptism. In the other group of passages, the Holy Spirit is the baptizing agent and Christ as the Head of His mystical Body is the receiving element and by so much that blessed influence which characterizes the baptism.” [Chafer, 6:141] This is an important distinction. The baptism which Christ was to perform was an empowering baptism (see Luke 24:49) of which a foretaste took place at Pentecost (Acts 2). However, its complete future fulfillment is when Israel accepts Christ as her Messiah (Isa. 44:3; Joel 2:28-32). This is not the same baptism that Paul describes in 1 Cor. 12:13, which is a positional baptism of the believer by the Holy Spirit into Christ’s body, the Church. The two are not the same. Neither baptism is one that is performed by water, but rather are spiritual baptisms.
Ÿ Third, is a baptism of fire. This is not a water baptism. What is this baptism of fire? Some connect it with the baptism with the Holy Spirit and indicating one aspect of this baptism as purification. The reasoning for such a view is not without merit. Did not this baptism take place at Pentecost like fiery tongues? In other words, it is taken as a different aspect of the same baptism above. Toussaint points out that, “Since the two nouns are joined by the conjunction ‘and’ (kai) and one preposition is used with both, only a baptism of the Holy Spirit is in view.” [Toussaint, BEHOLD THE KING, 70] This is mostly true, but not always. In this text, the context seems not to fit here. The three rules of Bible interpretation are context, context, and context. The context is judgment and it must be the strongest consideration in our understanding of this text. The more natural fit contextually is that this is a second baptizing work of Christ—a baptism of judgment. “The context, which speaks of blessing for the repentant but judgment for the unrepentant, tends to favor two baptisms,” observes Constable. [NOTES ON MATTHEW, 53] Fire in the New Testament is generally taken in its destructive sense of judgment when used metaphorically (Matt. 13:42; 18:8; 25:41; Mark 9:43; Luke 9:54; 12:49; 17:29; 1 Cor. 3:13, 15; 2 Thess. 1:8; 12:29; Hebrews 1:7; 10:27; 11:34; James 3:5; 2 Peter 3:7; 3:12; Jude 7, 23; Rev. 20:9, 14.) It is likely that John develops the context here from his predecessor, Malachi who pictured the coming of Messiah with fire (Mal. 3:2-3; 4:1-3). He is carrying on that prophetic theme, for in Luke 3:16-17 we find the words “the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” The prophet Isaiah described this judgment or baptism of fire (Isa. 63:1-8). The Jews expected a time of impending judgment against the wicked and deliverance for the righteous, so it is not a stretch that the listeners would have associated the fire with judgment, rather than purification. This judgment of fire reaches it climax and realization in Revelation 16. It takes place at the second coming of Christ. Then He will come in flaming fire to judge those who do not know Him (2 Thess. 1:18). I believe Bultema is correct to say, “This baptism will be a pouring out of the fire of the wrath of the Lamb.” [BIBLE AND BAPTISM, 66]
- The Separating work of Christ (3:12).
The judgment work of Christ is a separating work, separating the believers from the unbelievers; the repentant from the unrepentant. The emphasis here is on judgment, not salvation. Christ has the winnowing shovel. The winnowing shovel (that is its proper name, although it looks more like a fork) is already in his hand, ready for immediate use. This metaphor is from the common practice of harvest. On the winnowing floor was piled grain with chaff. The farmer would shovel the pile and throw the mixture in the air. The grain would fall down on the floor, and the wind blew away the chaff. The grain and chaff were separated by this process. In many areas of the world it is still done by this process. The grain is gathered up, and the chaff is burned. Many times chaff is used as fuel for domestic stoves. The thought is that since the kingdom is at hand, so is the preceding judgment. The coming Messiah will separate the grain from the chaff. When the Messiah comes to rule, he will purify His kingdom by first bringing judgment. The Greek word diakathariei means literally, “he will cleanse thoroughly.” [Nolland, MATTHEW, 148] He will remove the useless and keep the useful. The useful will be gathered into the granary or barn, signifying the kingdom. The useless will end up in “unquenchable fire.” This underlines judgments finality. In Mark 9:43 it stands in apposition to Gehenna, the place of final punishment.
The message of John the Baptist was for both personal salvation and national salvation. The nation and the people were to repent for the earthly Kingdom was at hand. If they did not repent, they could not be saved from the judgment nor enter the Kingdom.
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