Matthew 3
3
The Preaching Ministry of John the Baptist
Mk. 1:1-8; Lk. 3.1-9, 15-17; Jn. 1:19-28
1 And in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Judean wilderness 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven* has drawn near.” 3 For this is the One who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make His paths straight.’ ”**
4 Now John himself had his apparel made* of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 At that time, Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were being baptised in the Jordan River by him, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism,* he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore, bear fruit appropriate to repentance, 9 and do not presume to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father.’ For I say to you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham! 10 Even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I indeed baptise you with water for repentance, but the One who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clean out His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
Mk. 1.9-11; Lk. 3:21-22
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptised by him. 14 But John attempted to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptised by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But in response, Jesus said to him, “Permit it now, for so it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 Now, having been baptised, Jesus immediately went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And behold, a voice from heaven* saying, “This is My Son, the beloved One, in whom I am well pleased.”
Notes
2 Greek of the heavens
3 Or make straight paths for Him
3 Quoted from Is. 40:3
4 The word made is contextually supplied for the purpose of clarification
7 Some ancient manuscripts read coming to the baptism
17 Greek the heavens
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Matthew 3: AFINTLIT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
