Repentance
Repentance: Part I
Repentance: Part I
“Our Goal for this bible study is to learn what true repentance is."
Repentance: Part I
The Preaching of John the Baptist
Matthew 3:1-12
King James Version (KJV)
3 In those days came John
the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For
this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one
crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight.
4 And
the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his
loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then
went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
6 And were baptized of him in Jordan,
confessing their sins.
7 But
when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said
unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath
to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for
repentance:
9 And
think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say
unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And
now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees:
therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good
fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 I
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is
mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose
fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat
into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Let’s take a look at the history of the Jordan River, where John the Baptist conducted
most of his ministry.
The Jordan River played a significant role in numerous events of
Bible History:
• The first mention of the Jordan is when Abraham and Lot parted company: "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of The Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar; this was before The Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley, and Lot journeyed east; thus they separated from each other." (Genesis 13:10-11 RSV)
• At the end of their Wilderness Journey, after Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader of the people, the Israelites entered the Promise Land by crossing the Jordan River that, like the Red Sea, was miraculously divided for them (Joshua 3:15-17).
• The prophets Elijah and Elisha were active on both sides of the Jordan (see The World Of Elijah And Elisha)
• The Jordan River was the area where John the Baptist conducted much of his ministry. Jesus Christ was baptized by John in the Jordan River.
• In earlier times, the Israelites possessed the territory of both sides of the Jordan (see Tribal Lands and Solomon's Kingdom). Today the Jordan River forms much of the international boundary between Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan.
• The first mention of the Jordan is when Abraham and Lot parted company: "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of The Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar; this was before The Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley, and Lot journeyed east; thus they separated from each other." (Genesis 13:10-11 RSV)
• At the end of their Wilderness Journey, after Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader of the people, the Israelites entered the Promise Land by crossing the Jordan River that, like the Red Sea, was miraculously divided for them (Joshua 3:15-17).
• The prophets Elijah and Elisha were active on both sides of the Jordan (see The World Of Elijah And Elisha)
• The Jordan River was the area where John the Baptist conducted much of his ministry. Jesus Christ was baptized by John in the Jordan River.
• In earlier times, the Israelites possessed the territory of both sides of the Jordan (see Tribal Lands and Solomon's Kingdom). Today the Jordan River forms much of the international boundary between Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan.
The Jordan
River is a river in Southwest Asia flowing to the Dead Sea. In Judaism, the river serves
as the eastern border of the Land
of Israel.
The Jordan
River is 251 kilometres (156 miles) long. The Jordan River drops rapidly in a 75 kilometre run
to swampy Lake Hula, which is slightly above sea level. Exiting the lake, it
drops much more in 25 kilometres to the Sea of Galilee.
The last section has less gradient, and the river meanders
before entering the Dead Sea, about 422 metres below sea level, which has no
outlet. Two major tributaries enter from the east during this last section: the
Yarmouk River and Jabbok River.
Its section north of the Sea of Galilee is within the boundaries of
Israel, and forms the western boundary of the Golan Heights. South of the lake,
it forms the border between the Kingdom of Jordan (to the east) and Israel and
the West Bank (to the west).
The Jordan
River valley area is one of the most world-famous Bible Places. The Jordan River is mentioned
frequently in The Bible, about 175 times in the Old Testament (see Old
Testament Fact File) and about 15 times in the New Testament.
Jordan is derived from
the Hebrew word pronounced yar-dane, meaning descender. The New Testament Greek word for the Jordan is pronounced
ee-or-dan-ace. "Descender"
is an appropriate name for the river as it runs its course from the heights of
its sources near Mount Hermon to the depths of the Dead Sea. (Quoted from God’s Word First)
There
is a lot of significance for the Children of Israel, the Jordan River and for the
Ministry of John the Baptist: The Baptizer who baptized with water unto
Repentance preparing the way for Jesus Christ.
Summary:
It’s interesting to me that the Jordan has so
much significance in the lives of God’s chosen people: Israel and how it is
significant to the New Testament believers.
With that said, the Old Testament is still very important to our life:
it is our school master. Jesus was baptized
of John in the Jordan. Today many people travel to the “Holy Land” and are baptized
in the Jordan River.
Questions:
- Since Jesus was sinless, why was he baptized?
- When you read about, “John the Baptize”, did you ever think about the Jordan River?
- After you have read “Matthew 3:1 -12 write out what this passage of scripture means to you and at the end of this study, write out what you’ve learned about this passage of scripture, compare them to see how you’ve grown in gaining knowledge and understanding of God’s holy word.
- As you take this journey of studying “Repentance”, listen for God to speak to you about what you may need to repent of. Be honest with yourself and allow God to work that perfect work in you.
In our next lesson, we’ll begin to study the “preaching of John
the Baptist”. John's ministry was the preaching of “Repentance".
(Jesus also began his ministry by preaching
"Repent" for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.) We'll also take
a look at some interesting history in this Study on "Repentance".
Churches, Bible
Study groups, etc., that would like Evangelist Waters to speak at your church,
bible study, conference, women’s ministry, special program, etc. Please
contact Minister Waters on her website listed below, on the “Speaking Engagements Page”.
www.PureGoldEvangelisticMinistries.com
Follow my Bible Study Blog:
www.PureGoldMinistries.blogspot.com
Follow the Weekly Prayer Blog:
www.PureGoldEvangelisticMinistriesPrayer.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment