Matthew 3: The Baptism of Repentance

In this chapter, we read about John, the Baptist, and the baptism of repentance. Now Jesus had come into the world and according to the prophesies and the plan of God, He was to suffer death to bring salvation to all mankind. Through The sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God has made it easy for man to be saved from the fire of hell. Earlier, there was the law that people had to follow and for going against the law, they had to offer sacrifices. The law demanded a very strict life bordering on servile fear. But our God is a loving God and He wants us to fear Him as His own children and not as slaves. God knows that the law was burdensome for man and thus He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to offer himself as a permanent sacrifice. After Jesus’ sacrifice, there is no more sacrifice required forever and ever. He has paid the penalty for all our sins. But we are still governed by the power of sin and we are still in the presence of sin. We can be freed from the power of sin only when we admit that we are sinners and Christ died for us and ask God to help us overcome our weaknesses and the power of sin.

Therefore, people needed to repent to be saved. Thus, John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to work in our lives. The Baptism through water is just a sign. Actual baptism is the baptism of the heart when we actually do what we profess. When we confess our sins and try hard not to sin again. When we let God take complete control of our lives so that the forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice can be granted to us and we can be holy just as our Heavenly Father is holy.

And John clearly states here that the choice to accept or reject the salvation granted to us through Christ is solely ours. No man will be saved just because he is the descendant of Abraham and similarly no man will be saved just because his parents baptised him when he was born. There is only one way – Jesus Christ. So, it is still time, when the Kingdom of Heaven is near, to accept our sins and to repent for them, to accept Jesus as our Lord, God and Personal Saviour and give the control of our lives to Him.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, today as we stand before You, we thank you for loving us so much that you gave your only son Jesus Christ as an atonement for our sins. We believe that He died for us paying the penalty of our sins and by rising up again He has defeated sin and freed us from the power of sin. We are weak but we believe in your strength and we know that by your grace we can be holy like you. We admit our sins (you can tell your sins to God personally with a repentant heart) and we are really sorry for all the wrongs that we have ever done. Wash us and purify us and fill us with your Holy Spirit that we can walk in the path of righteousness. We trust in You. In the Precious and Mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray, AMEN.