Matthew 3:1-12
1John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-9, 15-17; John 1:19-28In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the wilderness of JudeaJosh 14:10; Mark 1:4, 15; Luke 3:2-3; John 1:28 2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!”Dan 2:44; Matt 4:17; 10:7 3He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said,Isa 40:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 1:76; 3:4; John 1:23 “He is a voice calling out in the wilderness:‘Prepare the way for the Lord!Make his paths straight!’” ▼▼Isa 40:3
4John had clothing made of camel's hair and wore ▼▼The Gk. lacks wore
a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.Lev 11:22; 1Sam 14:25-26; 2Kings 1:8; Zech 13:4; Mark 1:6 5Then the people of ▼▼The Gk. lacks the people of
Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region along the Jordan began flocking to him,Mark 1:5; Luke 3:7 6being baptized by him in the Jordan River while they confessed their sins.Acts 19:4, 18 7But when John ▼▼Lit. he
saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, ▼▼Lit. to his baptism
he said to them, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?Matt 12:34; 23:33; Luke 3:7-9; Rom 5:9; 1Thes 1:10 8Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! 9Don't think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our forefather.’ For I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!John 8:33, 39; Acts 13:26; Rom 4:1, 11, 16 10The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.Matt 7:19; Luke 13:7, 9; John 15:6 11I am baptizing you with ▼▼Or in
water as a token of repentance, ▼▼Lit. for repentance
but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with ▼▼Or in
the Holy Spirit and fire.Isa 4:4; 44:3; Mal 3:2; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:15, 26, 33; Acts 1:5; 2:3-4; 11:16; 19:4; 1Cor 12:13 12His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clean up his threshing floor and gather his grain into the barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire.”Mal 3:3; 4:1; Matt 13:30 Mark 1:1-8
1The Gospel According to MarkJohn the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus Matthew 3:1-12; Luke 3:1-9, 15-17; John 1:19-28This is ▼▼The Gk. lacks This is
the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ▼▼Other mss. lack the Son of God
Matt 14:33; Luke 1:35; John 1:34 2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,Mal 3:1; Matt 11:10; Luke 7:27“See! I am sending my messenger ahead of you,who will prepare your way. ▼▼Mal 3:1
3He is a voice calling out in the wilderness:Isa 40:3; Matt 3:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:15‘Prepare the way for the Lord!Make his paths straight!’” ▼▼Isa 40:3
4John was baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.Matt 3:1; Luke 3:3; John 3:23 5People from ▼▼The Gk. lacks People from
the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were flocking to him, being baptized by him while they confessed their sins.Matt 3:5 6Now John was dressed in camel's hair with ▼▼Lit. and
a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey.Lev 11:22; Matt 3:4 7He kept proclaiming, “The one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandal straps.Matt 3:11; John 1:27; Acts 13:25 8I baptized you with ▼▼Or in
water, but it is he who will baptize you with ▼▼Or in
the Holy Spirit.”Isa 44:3; Joel 2:28; Acts 1:5; 2:4; 10:45; 11:15-16; 19:4; 1Cor 12:13 John 1:19-28
19The Testimony of John the Baptist Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:2-8; Luke 3:15-17This was John's testimony when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”John 5:33 20He spoke openly and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ▼▼I.e. the Messiah
Luke 3:15; John 3:28; Acts 13:25 21So they asked him, “Well then, are you Elijah?”He said, “I am not.”“Are you the Prophet?”He answered, “No.”Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5; Matt 17:10 22Then they said to him, “Who are you? We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23He replied,Isa 40:3; Matt 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 3:28 “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,‘Make the way of the Lord straight,’” ▼▼Isa 40:3
as the prophet Isaiah said. 24Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Christ ▼▼I.e. the Messiah
or Elijah or the Prophet?” 26John answered them, “I am baptizing with ▼▼Or in
water, but among you stands a man whom you do not know,Mal 3:1; Matt 3:11 27the one who is coming after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie.”John 1:15, 30; Acts 19:4 28This happened in Bethany ▼▼Other mss. read Bethabara
on the other side ▼▼I.e. the east side
of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.Judg 7:24; John 10:40
Copyright information for
ISV