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Matthew 3:4
Matthew 3:4 describes the appearance of John the Baptist; the clothing he wore and the food he ate. This is unique in that we do not receive this information about everyone in the Bible, so we must ask, “Why is it there?” Many scholars believe – and the proof is there – that this is to reveal the return of the Prophet Elijah. In 2 Kings 1:8 (NKJV) Elijah is described as, “…A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist…” Matthew describes John the Baptist in Matthew 3:4 as, “…clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist…”
We are also given the food that was eaten by John the Baptist as being, “…his food was locust and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4c). The locust is described in Leviticus 11:20-23 as the only type of flying insect that may be eaten as is determined by the Law that God gave to Moses. When God called Moses to lead His people out of captivity from Egypt, He said to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:8a-b (NIV), “So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…”
John the Baptist is described by the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40:3 (NKJV) as, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight’”, as Matthew also records for us in Matthew 3:3. In comparison, Elijah is described in the Old Testament as living in the wilderness (1 Kings 17:1-7).
Most importantly, Jesus describes the relationship between the Prophet Elijah and John the Baptist in Matthew 11:14 (HCSB), “if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.” Jesus further exemplifies this in Matthew 17:10-13.
This is an example of the connection between the Prophet Elijah and John the Baptist.
We may continue to ask ourselves, “Why is this important?” We have made (in our previous lesson of Matthew 3:1-3) the connection of Matthew’s concentration on making the prophecies of the Old Testament relevant to the Jewish community. This is still yet another connection to the fulfillment of the prophecies that have been anxiously sought by the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.
Jesus came to His own, but His own did not receive Him (John 1:11). His own tortured Him and killed Him – they crucified Him on the cross (Matthew 27:27-54). But this was accomplished in the will of God that not only did Jesus come to save His own (Israel) from sin, but that His saving grace has Almighty power to save everyone who would believe in Him as He commanded His disciples that the gospel should be preached throughout all the world. After Jesus had risen from the dead showing His power over sin, death, and Satan, the Bible teaches us in all four gospel accounts and in the book of Acts the command of the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV) Jesus declares, “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” In this, the Gospel of Matthew begins with one crying in the wilderness baptizing for the remission of sin, and it ends with the call to all nations to follow in this instruction. We too, in making our public declaration of our faith in Jesus, should be baptized as Jesus died for our sins publicly and we should publicly declare our faith in Him.
Dear LORD,
Matthew made strives to show the connection of the prophecies of the Old Testament to the fulfillment of them in Christ Jesus. Please help us to see and make the connection of Jesus to our salvation through what He has done for us in His death, burial, and resurrection that we would put our faith in Him and proclaim it publicly as He publicly made His claim to us. In Jesus name I pray, amen.