We have seen that the place of recommendation was neither in the holy city nor in the holy temple, but in the wilderness. Verse 1 says that John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, and verse 3 says, “For this is he who was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, A voice of one crying in the wilderness.” It was according to prophecy that John the Baptist began his ministry in the wilderness. This indicates that the introduction of God’s New Testament economy by John was not accidental, but planned and foretold by God through Isaiah the prophet. This implies that God intended His New Testament economy to begin in an absolutely new way.
If you trace the history of the past few centuries, you will see that every prevailing revival took place in some kind of “wilderness.” When John Wesley and George Whitefield were raised up as evangelists two centuries ago, they mainly did their preaching on the street corners. According to his biography, George Whitefield often preached on the foothills in the wilderness. However, at that time, the Church of England had regulations forbidding the expounding of the Holy Word outside the “sanctuary.” According to these regulations, anyone who preached or taught from the Bible had to do so in the “sanctuary.” Nevertheless, God raised up George Whitefield and John Wesley to conduct their preaching outside the “sanctuary.” The principle must be the same today. But this does not mean that we should copy John the Baptist in an outward way. It means that we should not take either the religious way or the cultural way. Rather, we must take the way that is full of the presence of God. We should not be in the holy city or in the holy temple, but in a place outside religion and culture, yet in a place full of the presence of God. I hope the young people will bring this matter to the Lord and pray, “Lord, make us today’s John the Baptist. Lord, take us into the wilderness and show us how to be genuine priests to bring others to You and how to introduce You to them as their King.”
The Gospel of Matthew is absolutely different from the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is a book of life, whereas the Gospel of Matthew is a book of the kingdom. In John Jesus is life, but in Matthew He is the King. According to the book of Matthew, the Jesus we are to receive is the King. As we consider the Gospel of Matthew, we must be thoroughly and deeply impressed that we are now in the kingdom. Everything written in this book is related to the kingdom. Therefore, we must look into this book from the angle of the kingdom, viewing every chapter and even every verse from the perspective of the kingdom.
The repentance called for in chapter three is for the kingdom. You must repent because you are not in the kingdom, because you are not under God’s authority. You must repent because you have not yet submitted to the authority of Christ or come under His kingship. Although you may not feel that you are sinful, as long as you are not in the kingdom, you are a rebellious one. As long as you have nothing to do with the kingship of Christ, you are in rebellion and must repent. Repent of not being in the kingdom! The genuine Christians of today are saved, yet many of them still are not in the kingdom. Thus, even these Christians must repent. As long as you are not under the kingship of Christ, you must repent. If you are not actually in the kingdom of the heavens, not under the heavenly ruling, you must repent. It does not matter how spiritual, holy, or good you are. The only thing that matters is whether or not you are under the heavenly ruling. If you are not, it means that you are not in the kingdom and that you must repent. If you are not in the kingdom, you are in rebellion. You consider yourself scriptural, fundamental, and holy, but in actuality you are rebellious. Even your spirituality is a form of rebellion against the kingship of Christ. You care for your spirituality, not for the kingship of Christ. This indicates that you are in rebellion, that you are not in the kingdom. Repent of your rebellion! Repent of not being in the kingdom and of not being under the kingship and authority of Christ! This is the basic thought of the Gospel of Matthew.
Do not think that Matthew is only for unbelievers, outsiders, or Gentiles. Many of us have never heard the Gospel of Matthew. I do not know what kind of gospel you have heard, but I do know that you need to hear the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of the kingdom that requires you to repent of not being under the kingship of Christ. We all must repent to the Lord and say, “Lord, forgive me. Even today I am still in rebellion. I am not under Your Lordship, Your authority, Your heavenly ruling. Lord, I confess that I have been ruled only by myself. Lord, grant me a true repentance for my rebellion, for my not being under Your authority.” We all need to repent. Praise the Lord that John the Baptist and this ministry of the priesthood are still with us! On the one hand, this priesthood brings us to God; on the other hand, it recommends the heavenly King who brings God to us. When we receive this King, He gains us, and the kingdom is here. This is the Gospel of Matthew.