Matthew 3
3
The Herald of the Messiah
1In those days John the Baptist came,#Mk 1:3–8; Lk 3:2–17; Jn 1:6–8,19–28 preaching in the wilderness of Judea#Jos 15:61; Jdg 1:16 2and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” #Dn 2:44; Mt 4:17; 6:10; 10:7; Mk 1:15; Lk 10:9; 11:20; 21:31 3For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said:
A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way for the Lord;
make his paths straight! # 3:3 Is 40:3 #
Is 40:3; Lk 1:17,76; Jn 1:23
4Now John had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were going out to him, 6and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.#Mt 23:37; Mk 1:5; Lk 3:3; Jn 15:22; Ac 19:18
7When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees#Mt 16:1; 22:23; 23:15; Ac 4:1; 5:17; 23:6 coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?#Mt 12:34; 23:33; Rm 5:9; 1Th 1:10 8Therefore produce fruit#Mt 3:10; 12:33; 13:8,26; 21:19,34,41,43; Mk 11:14 consistent with#3:8 Lit fruit worthy of repentance. 9And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’#Lk 3:8; Jn 8:33,39; Ac 13:26; Rm 4:1 For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.#Mt 7:19; Lk 13:7,9; Jn 15:2,6
11“I baptize you with#3:11 Or in water for repentance,#Mk 1:4,8; Jn 1:26; Ac 1:5 but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove#3:11 Or to carry his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.#Is 4:4; Jn 1:33; Ac 2:3–4; 11:16; Ti 3:5 12His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”#Is 30:24; Mt 13:30; Mk 9:43,48; Lk 3:17
The Baptism of Jesus
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.#Mk 1:9–11; Lk 3:21–22; Jn 1:31–34 14But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”
15Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him to be baptized.
16When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens#Mt 24:35; Lk 12:33; Ac 17:24; Eph 6:9; Rv 21:10 suddenly opened for him,#3:16 Other mss omit for him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him.#Is 11:2; Jn 1:32; Ac 7:56; 2Pt 1:17 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”#Ps 2:7; Is 42:1; Lk 9:35; Jn 12:28
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Matthew 3: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Matthew 3
3
The Work of John the Baptist
1About that time John the Baptist began preaching in the desert area of Judea. 2John said, “Change your hearts and lives because the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3John the Baptist is the one Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said:
“This is a voice of one
who calls out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.’ ”#Isaiah 40:3
4John’s clothes were made from camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. 5Many people came from Jerusalem and Judea and all the area around the Jordan River to hear John. 6They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.
7Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to the place where John was baptizing people. When John saw them, he said, “You are snakes! Who warned you to run away from God’s coming punishment? 8Do the things that show you really have changed your hearts and lives. 9And don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children for Abraham from these rocks. 10The ax is now ready to cut down 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 water to show that your hearts and lives have changed. But there is one coming after me who is greater than I am, whose sandals I am not good enough to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12He will come ready to clean the grain, separating the good grain from the chaff. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn, but he will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.”
Jesus Is Baptized by John
13At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River and wanted John to baptize him. 14But John tried to stop him, saying, “Why do you come to me to be baptized? I need to be baptized by you!”
15Jesus answered, “Let it be this way for now. We should do all things that are God’s will.” So John agreed to baptize Jesus.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven opened, and he saw God’s Spirit coming down on him like a dove. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.