Matthew 3
3
Thunder in the Desert!
1-2While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptizer,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”
3John and his message were authorized by Isaiah’s prophecy:
Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!
4-6John dressed in a camel-hair habit tied at the waist by a leather strap. He lived on a diet of locusts and wild field honey. People poured out of Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordanian countryside to hear and see him in action. There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their sins were baptized into a changed life.
7-10When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not your skin! And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and flourishing? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.
11-12“I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama—compared to him I’m a mere stagehand—will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.”
* * *
13-14Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. John objected, “I’m the one who needs to be baptized, not you!”
15But Jesus insisted. “Do it. God’s work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism.” So John did it.
16-17The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Matthew 3
3
The message of John the Baptist
The preaching of John the Baptist
(Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.1-18; John 1.19-28)
1Years later, John the Baptist started preaching in the desert of Judea. 2He said, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven#3.2 kingdom of heaven: In the Gospel of Matthew “kingdom of heaven” is used with the same meaning as “God's kingdom” in Mark and Luke. will soon be here.”#3.2 will soon be here: Or “is already here.”#Mt 4.17; Mk 1.15.
3John was the one the prophet Isaiah was talking about, when he said,#Is 40.3 (LXX).
“In the desert someone
is shouting,
‘Get the road ready
for the Lord!
Make a straight path
for him.’ ”
4John wore clothes made of camel's hair. He had a leather strap around his waist and ate grasshoppers and wild honey.#2 K 1.8.
5From Jerusalem and all Judea and from the River Jordan Valley crowds of people went to John. 6They told how sorry they were for their sins, and he baptized them in the river.
7Many Pharisees and Sadducees also came to be baptized. But John said to them:#Mt 12.34; 23.33.
You snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? 8Do something to show that you have really given up your sins. 9And don't start telling yourselves that you belong to Abraham's family. I tell you that God can turn these stones into children for Abraham.#Jn 8.33. 10An axe is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into a fire.#Mt 7.19.
11I baptize you with water so that you will give up your sins.#3.11 so that you will give up your sins: Or “because you have given up your sins.” But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals.#3.11 carry his sandals: This was one of the duties of a slave. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks.#3.12 His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks: After Jewish farmers had trampled out the grain, they used a large fork to pitch the grain and the husks into the air. Wind would blow away the light husks, and the grain would fall back to the ground, where it could be gathered up. He will store the wheat in a barn and burn the husks in a fire that never goes out.
The baptism and temptation of Jesus
The baptism of Jesus
(Mark 1.9-11; Luke 3.21,22)
13Jesus left Galilee and went to the River Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John kept objecting and said, “I ought to be baptized by you. Why have you come to me?”
15Jesus answered, “For now this is how it should be, because we must do all that God wants us to do.” Then John agreed.
16So Jesus was baptized. And as soon as he came out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. 17Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him.”#Gn 22.2; Ps 2.7; Is 42.1; Mt 12.18; 17.5; Mk 1.11; Lk 9.35.
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