Matthew 3

The Messiah’s Herald

3In those days John the Baptist came, ⁱpreaching in the Wilderness of Judea ^j2and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” ^k3For 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! ^lm

⁴John himself 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 flocking to him, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. ⁿ

⁷When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees ^ocoming to the place of his baptism, ^phe said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ^q8Therefore produce fruit ^rconsistent with ^srepentance. ⁹And don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ ^tFor I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁰Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ^u

¹¹“I baptize you with ^vwater for repentance, ^wxbut the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove ^yHis sandals. He Himself will baptize you with ^zthe Holy Spirit and fire. ^a12His winnowing shovel ^bis in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out.” ^c

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ^d14But 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 he allowed Him to be baptized.

¹⁶After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens ^esuddenly opened for Him, ^fand He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. ^g17And there came a voice from heaven:

This is My beloved Son.

I take delight in Him! ^h