During these intervening years the Scripture is silent except for one incident at the Temple when Jesus was twelve (Luke 2:41-50, NKJV). All that we know about those silent years is that Jesus was obedient to God and that He grew in wisdom and stature and socially and spiritually (Luke 2:51-52, NKJV).

We now come to the introduction of the Messiah to the world. His first public appearance will be at His baptism.

The Messiah will first be preceded by a forerunner who will prepare His way - John the Baptist.
John the Baptist announced the fact that the King was about to make His entry.
His ministry was to let people know that the Kingdom of Heaven was about to be established.

Matt. 3:1-12 (NKJV)
¹ In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ²and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" ³For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
        "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
        "Prepare the way of the LORD;
        Make His paths straight."' (Is. 40:3 ; NKJV)

⁴Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ⁶and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹and do not think to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.¹²His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
(AMP) | (NIV) | (NLT) | (KJV) | (NASB)

A herald in ancient time announced the king. Whenever a King went out among the people, the herald announced his arrival and urged the people to prepare for the royal visit. If changes needed to be made, if security was a problem, the herald would make the necessary arrangements. Eastern rulers only traveled roads that were safe and secure.

We still do something very similar today. When the Pope visited cities in the United States, security agents from the Vatican and the State Department made arrangements with local law enforcement. When the President travels to different parts of the country, secret service agents do studies to determine potential threats to the President.

And here in the Judean wilderness, John was preparing the way for the King.
John’s road was men’s hearts.
The obstacles on the road were the barriers of sin.

John was also proclaiming the way to the King. And the first word that God speaks through His prophet is “Repent!” The people were moving away from God and, through John, He is calling them to stop and turn around - to turn back to Him.

This word repent includes regret and sorrow but the primary meaning is "to change one’s mind." True repentance implies a change in attitude toward sin that results in a changed heart and a changed life.

A Sunday School teacher once asked a class what was meant by the word “repentance.” A little boy put of his hand and said, It is being sorry for your sins.” A little girl raised her hand and gave a more complete answer, “It’s being sorry enough to quit.”

As Christians, we do not want to sin, but sometimes we do. What is the solution? Repent! Falling into sin does not condemn anybody, but staying in it does.

Illustration: A visitor at a fishing dock asked an old fisherman who was sitting there, “If I were to fall into this water, would I drown?” It was a strange way of asking how deep the water was, but the fisherman had a good answer. “Naw”, he said, “falling into the water doesn’t drown anybody. It’s staying under it that does.”

Writing to a primarily Jewish audience, Matthew shows that John is the fulfillment of Old Testment prophecy, Isaiah 40:3 (NKJV) in particular. John came to prepare the people for the Messiah.

John was a character to say the least! He didn’t shop at the Gap. There was nothing soft about this man - there was plenty of domestic honey to be had in his day but no - he had to have wild honey. And what are these locusts? We’ll talk about them tonight.

While John’s dress and lifestyle might seem strange to us, it spoke volumes to the Jewish people of that day. Everything about John reminded them of the Prophet Elijah - his boldness - his call to repentance. That was important because,  when later in Jesus’ life his skeptics said that He could not be the Messiah because, according to the prophet Malachi (Mal. 3:1, NKJV, 430 BC), the Messiah was to be preceded by Elijah, Jesus boldly proclaims that He was proceeded by one who had the "spirit of Elijah" -- referring to John the Baptist (Luke 1:17, Matt 17:10-13; NKJV).

III. THE SUCCESS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST  (verses 5-6)
Notice as word got out that people traveled long distances to hear John speak. And as they listened to him God touched their hearts and they repented of their sins and were baptized in the Jordan River.

The scene described here is more amazing that it at may seem:

1. Jews practiced ceremonial washing for religious reasons; but they did it themselves.
2. John is called John the Baptizer because he baptized them - maybe the first to do this.
3. Here we see Jews who know that they need to make some changes; and John offers them a way to express that change of mind and heart -- baptism.
4. The physical experience (cold water, etc.) emphasized their decision and the fact that it was done publicly provided a visual testimony to others.

IV. JOHN’S CONFRONTATION WITH THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS (verses. 7-12)
Hearing about the revival in the wilderness, the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the Jewish religious leaders of the day), came to check it out. Hoping to expose John as a fraud,  they themselves are exposed by John. They believed themselves to be the authorities regarding God’s actions toward humanity; but they are exposed by John as being God’s major opponents.

These religious leaders were coming to be baptized - which was remarkable - but John knew that it was not genuine. ”Who warned you of the wrath to come?” - “What are you doing here?”

John knew that the Jews thought they had favor with God by the mere fact that they were Jews. He knew that they believed that baptism was not necessary for them because their heritage, they felt, guaranteed them safety from the wrath of God. He knew that they believed that no matter what they did, God would not allow them to go to hell. It's no wonder that he asked them, “What are you doing here?”

John accuses them: ”The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and you don’t even realize it!” 
That in which you have placed your trust is about to fall - “the ax is laid to the roots even now.”

The King is coming and He will be the One that will approve the genuine and expose the frauds.

Matt. 3:12 (NKJV)
¹²His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Do you think that because you are a professing Christian that you are free to live a life of sin 
and rebellion against God?
Do you think that personal holiness doesn’t matter and that personal purity is irrelevant?
Do you think that you can sleep with your girlfriend or boyfriend?
Do you think that you can pollute your mind with pornographic material or watch any movie or TV program?

Think again!

Your attitude towards sin and your lack of awareness of your own sins is a warning sign that you have not truly repented. And if you have not truly repented - then you may have had a moment of confession and sorrow - you may have even been baptized; but you have not had a real life-changing encounter with God.

The King is coming. Are you ready? If not, then you need to repent.