Mat 3:1-12, 11:7-15, 17:12-13, Mar 1:1-11, 11:27-33, Luk 1:11-17, 67-80 | ESV | STEP | In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea ,

1 ^aIn those days ^bJohn the Baptist came preaching in ^cthe wilderness of Judea, 2 ^d“Repent, for ^ethe kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

^f“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^g‘Prepare ^{▼▼Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness} the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore ⁱa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was ^jlocusts and ^kwild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^lconfessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of ^mthe Pharisees and ⁿSadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^o“You brood of ^pvipers! Who warned you to flee from ^qthe wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit ^rin keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ^s‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from ^tthese stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^uEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 ^v“I baptize you with water ^wfor repentance, but ^xhe who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you ^ywith the Holy Spirit and ^zfire. 12 His ^aawinnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and ^abgather his wheat into the barn, ^acbut the chaff he will burn with ^adunquenchable fire.”

Matthew 11:7-15

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^aeinto the wilderness to see? ^afA reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man ^{▼▼Or Why then did you go out? To see a man . . .} dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? ^ahA prophet? ^{▼▼Some manuscripts Why then did you go out? To see a prophet?} Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

^aj“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 ^akFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, ^{▼▼Or has been coming violently} and the violent take it by force. 13 ^amFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^anElijah who is to come. 15 ^aoHe who has ears to hear, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit to hear} let him hear.

Matthew 17:12-13

12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^aqdid to him whatever they pleased. ^arSo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 ^asThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Mark 1:1-11

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^atthe Son of God. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit the Son of God}

2 ^avAs it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts in the prophets}

^ax“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 ^aythe voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^az‘Prepare ^{▼▼Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness} the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 ^bbJohn appeared, baptizing in ^bcthe wilderness and proclaiming ^bda baptism of ^berepentance ^bffor the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ^bgconfessing their sins. 6 Now John was ^bhclothed with camel’s hair and ^biwore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^bjlocusts and ^bkwild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, ^bl“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 ^bmI have baptized you with water, but ^bnhe will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

9 ^boIn those days Jesus ^bpcame from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^bqsaw ^brthe heavens being torn open ^bsand the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And ^bta voice came from heaven, ^bu“You are my beloved Son; ^{▼▼Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved} with you I am well pleased.”

Mark 11:27-33

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 ^bwAnd they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, ^bx“By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John ^byfrom heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ^bz‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”— ^cathey were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was ^cba prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Luke 1:11-17

11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^ccthe altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^cdfear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^ceyour prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^cfyou shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^cgrejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be ^chgreat before the Lord. And ^cihe must not drink wine or strong ^cjdrink, and ^ckhe will be ^clfilled with the Holy Spirit, ^cmeven from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and ^cnhe will go before him ^coin the spirit and power of Elijah, ^cpto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^cqthe disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^crto make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Luke 1:67-80

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah ^cswas filled with the Holy Spirit and ^ctprophesied, saying,

68 ^cu“Blessed be the Lord ^cvGod of Israel,
for he has ^cwvisited and ^cxredeemed his people
69 and ^cyhas raised up ^cza horn of salvation for us
^dain the house of his servant David,
70 ^dbas ^dche spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 ^ddthat we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 ^deto show the mercy promised to our fathers
and ^dfto remember his holy ^dgcovenant,
73 ^dhthe oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him ^diwithout fear,
75 ^djin holiness and righteousness before him ^dkall our days.
76 And you, child, will be called ^dlthe prophet of ^dmthe Most High;
for ^dnyou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
^doin the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the ^dptender mercy of our God,
whereby ^dqthe sunrise shall ^drvisit us ^{▼▼Or when the sunrise shall dawn upon us; some manuscripts since the sunrise has visited us} ^dtfrom on high
79 to ^dugive light to ^dvthose who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into ^dwthe way of ^dxpeace.”
80 ^dyAnd the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^dzin the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.