Matthew 3
3
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ ”#3:3 Isaiah 40:3
4John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11“I baptize you with#3:11 Or in water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with#3:11 Or in the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Matthew 3
3
1Some time later John the Baptist appeared on the scene, proclaiming in the Judean desert, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has arrived!”#3:2. “Has arrived.” The verb used here is in the perfect (i.e. past) tense, indicating the event has already happened. The word itself means “to approach,” or in older language, “draw near.” However, if something “has approached” then it “has arrived.” Also in 4:17, 10:7. 3He was the one Isaiah spoke about when he said, “A voice is heard crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord. Make the paths straight for him.’”#3:3. See Isaiah 40:3.
4John had clothes made of camel hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts#3:4. Probably locust beans. and wild honey. 5People came to him from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and the entire Jordan region, 6and were baptized in the Jordan River, publicly admitting their sins.
7But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he said to them, “You vipers' brood! Who warned you to run away from the coming judgment?#3:7. Literally, “wrath.” 8Show by what you do that you have truly repented,#3:8. Literally, “Produce fruit worthy of repentance.” 9and don't presume to say proudly to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children of Abraham from these stones. 10In fact the ax is ready to chop down the trees. Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.
11Yes, I baptize you in water to show repentance, but after me is coming one who is greater than I am. I'm not worthy even to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12He has his winnowing tool#3:12. Used after harvest to separate the grain from the chaff. ready in his hand. He will clean up the threshing floor and gather the wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn the chaff with fire that can't be put out.”
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to change his mind. He told Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me to baptize you?”
15“Please do so, because it's good for us to do what God says is right,” Jesus told him. So John agreed to do it.
16Immediately after he was baptized, Jesus came out of the water. The heavens were opened, and he saw God's Spirit like a dove descending, landing on him. 17A voice from heaven said, “This is my son whom I love,#3:17. Or “This is my son, the beloved one.” who pleases me.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com