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, during this period of expectation, John the Baptist—the forerunner and preparer of the way—came, preaching publicly in the Judean wilderness, the desert region near the Jordan River.
2 And saying with urgency, “Repent—turn from your sins and change your minds and hearts—for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near—God’s rule and reign is breaking into history.”
3 For this is the very one who was spoken of and prophesied 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 clothing and apparel made of camel’s hair—rough, humble clothing like the ancient prophets—and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey—simple, austere fare from the wilderness, demonstrating his separation from worldly comforts.
5 At that time, Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him in large numbers, drawn by his prophetic message,
6 And they were being baptized in the Jordan River by him, publicly confessing their sins and acknowledging their need for repentance.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees—the religious elite and leaders—coming to his baptism, he said to them with sharp rebuke, “You offspring and brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath and judgment of God?
8 Therefore, bear fruit—produce evidence—appropriate to and consistent with true repentance, demonstrating genuine change in your lives.
9 And do not presume or think to say within yourselves with false confidence, ‘We have Abraham as our father and are his descendants.’ For I say to you that God is able, from these very stones lying here, to raise up children and true descendants for Abraham!
10 Even now, at this very moment, the axe is laid to the root of the trees, ready to cut them down; therefore, every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire of judgment.”
11 “I indeed baptize you with water as a sign of repentance, but the One who comes after me—the Messiah—is mightier and more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, bringing spiritual transformation and empowerment, and with fire, bringing decisive judgment.
12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, ready to work, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, separating wheat from chaff, and He will gather His wheat—true believers—into the barn of safety, but the chaff—the unrepentant—He will burn up with unquenchable fire of eternal judgment.”
The Baptism of Jesus
Mk. 1.9-11; Lk. 3:21-22
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River, to John, to be baptized by him—identifying with sinful humanity though Himself sinless.
14 But John attempted to prevent Him, saying with humility, “I have the need to be baptized by You, do You come to me?”
15 But in response, Jesus said to him, “Allow this to happen, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness”—to accomplish all that God requires and to identify fully with humanity.
16 Now, having been baptized and coming up immediately from the water, Jesus immediately went up out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened supernaturally, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove in visible form and alighting upon Him—anointing Him for His messianic ministry.
17 And behold, a voice came from heaven, the Father’s voice, saying, “This is My Son, My beloved One, in whom I am well pleased”—the Father’s affirming declaration of Jesus’ identity and approval.
Notes
3 Quoted from Is. 40:3
Nu markerat:
Matthew 3: AFINTEXP
Märk
Kopiera
Jämför
Dela
Vill du ha dina höjdpunkter sparade på alla dina enheter? Registrera dig eller logga in
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).
