THE MESSIAH’S HERALD

1 The beginninga of the gospelb of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.A,c 2 As it is written in Isaiahd the prophet:B,e

See, I am sending my messengerf ahead of you;

he will prepare your way.C,D,g

3 A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:h

Prepare the way for the Lord;i

make his paths straight!E,j

4 John came baptizingF,k in the wildernessl and proclaiming a baptism of repentancem for the forgivenessn of sins.o 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalemp were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordanq River, confessingr their sins.s 6 John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locustst and wild honey.u

7 He proclaimed, “One who is more powerfulv than I am is coming after me.w I am not worthyx to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals.y 8 I baptize you withG water,z but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”aa

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS

9 Inab those days Jesus came from Nazarethac in Galileead and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavensae being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voiceaf came from heaven:ag “You are my belovedah Son;ai with you I am well-pleased.”aj

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS

12 Immediatelyak the Spirital droveam him into the wilderness.an 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, being temptedao by Satan.ap He was with the wild animals,aq and the angelsar were serving him.