Repentance Homework (Matthew 3)...

I thought I would start working ... seriously ... on the homework for my next catechesis lesson, even though it is still two weeks away.

A Lutheran once pointed out a bible verse about us needing pastors to teach the Scriptures.  I do not remember where it was or if it was one that was clear to me or left me scratching my head in further confusion.  However, I wouldn't mind a bit of ... hints ... about why I am to read what I am to read for my homework.  And, yet, as a teacher, I always held study guides with high distain.  Let the student think on his or her own first.

Harumph.

I already wrote about my thoughts that arose from encountering honey in this reading of John the Baptist.  But those thoughts were nothing about repentance.  I am actually rather ... puzzled as to why read Matthew 3 as a part of preparing to talk about repentance.  So, my thoughts are not much ... coherent, I suppose:

ONE
I cheated.  I read Matthew 3 and then promptly looked up the reference in my Harmony of the Gospels.  I found it ... odd ... that John the Baptist is not in the book of John.

TWO
In comparing the other three Gospel accounts, I noted that Matthew is the only one that actually mentions repentance in equivalent of verses 11-12 (Marke 1:7-8 and Luke 3:15-18).  In Matthew, John states that he baptizes with water for repentance.  Now, that "for" is noted in the margins as also being "by" or "with," but that does not catch my attention so much as the preposition "for," which is defined as meaning 1) intended to help or benefit someone/something and 2) used for stating the purpose of an object as the first two entries of the MacMillian Dictionary.

I would have thought that the word would have been because, which is used for showing the reason something happens or the reason it is described in a particular way.  That would be the evangelical translation, I think.  Because you have repented, I will baptize you.  The for implies that repentance is a result of the baptism.

For ... laughs ... as I was checking out several translations of Matthew 3:11, I peeked at the amplified version:  11 I indeed baptize you in (with) water because of repentance [that is, because of your changing your minds for the better, heartily amending your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins]. But He Who is coming after me is mightier than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  Yeah, uhm, another way to translate that is Now that you have prayed the Jesus prayer and accepted Him as your Savior and begun your journey of faith, I baptize you for that good work.

SIGH. I have way more evangelical brain cells than Lutheran ones.

Interestingly, both the King James and the English Standard use the preposition unto.  That is an old way of saying to, which would then put the meaning as  I baptize you to repentance.

All that translation mucking about aside, why is it that Matthew is the only what that mentions repentance in that bit of John the Baptist's words to the pharisees and sadducee who had sought him out?

THREE
In Matthew 3:14-15 (something that does not appear in the other Gospel accounts), John protests Jesus request to be baptized, noting that Jesus should be baptizing him.  Jesus response is: "Permit it as this time for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."

Well, what does that mean? Is Jesus not already righteous?  Has he not already received repentance?  [That question belies the thoughts I have from the Christian Book of Concord passages on repentance about it being something we receive, too, as opposed to something we do ourselves.]  Or is Jesus saying that since He is flesh He needs to do all that flesh would do, all that man would do?

The references for His response in my NASB 1977 bible are:  Psalm 40:7-8, John 4:34, and John 8:29.  Isn't it kind of curious that the New Testament references are both from the one Gospel that does not share the account of John the Baptist??

Psalm 40: 7-8 is:  Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart.”  Okay, that just confused me, so I read through the entire Psalm:


I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay;
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.

How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which Thou hast done,
And Thy thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with Thee;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.

Sacrifice and meal offerings Thou hast not desired;
My ears Thou hast opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me;
I delight to do Thy will, O my God;
Thy Law is within my heart.”

I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips,
O Lord, Thou knowest.
I have not hidden Thy righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation;
I have not concealed Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth from the great congregation.

Thou, O LORD, wilt not withhold Thy compassion from me;
Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth will continually preserve me.
For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head;
And my heart has failed me.

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
Make haste, O LORD, to help me.
Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
Let those be appalled because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
Let all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee;
Let those who love Thy salvation say continually,
“The LORD be magnified!”
Since I am afflicted and needy,
Let the LORD be mindful of me;
Thou art my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

~Psalm 40 (NASB 1977)

Of course, that made me wonder, Is this another "Jesus" psalm my past evangelical teachers didn't know about?  I mean, the "heading" for the psalm is: God Sustains His Servant.  So, you think me, us, man, children of God.  But Christ was His servant, too.

Setting aside my ... confusion as to why Psalm 40:7-8 was noted as a reference, I turned to John.  In 4:34, we read:  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him to sent Me, and to accomplish His work."  The context is too much for me to ponder now, but feel free to read chapter 4 yourself (and then explain it all to me).  John 8:29 has more of the same, really:  And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do that things that are pleasing to Him.  Well, that sort of joins the first two passages together.  However, why do all three of them serve as references for Matthew 3:15?

In Psalm 40, the words in the scroll of the book it is written of me.  I think of Psalm 139, in reading this, were the psalmist declares, And in Thy book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them (16). Now, the NASB has this nifty little way of capitalizing things that have to do with God.  So, in Psalms 40 and 139, the pronouns (written of me and ordained for me) are not capitalized, leaving me thinking mostly about man.  But, well, the whole bloody Old Testament is about Jesus, about the Promise, about the need for Christ and the long, arduous journey of time and mankind between that first temptation and the resurrection.  So, well, which book?  Which me?

However, all that I just wrote pales in comparison to my wondering about the words Jesus speaks (rather than the references for them):  "Permit it as this time for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."

And, then, back to the first question:  why that preposition (for) and why/how is repentance tied to baptism?

Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!