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Matthew chapter 3

English Standard Version

1In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”
4Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
New International Version

1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'
3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: 'A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.''
4John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.'
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?'
15Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'
New American Standard Bible

1Now in those days John the Baptist * came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
3For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, 'THE VOICE OF ONE CALLING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE Lord, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’?'
4Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan; 6and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, 'You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance; 9and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham. 10And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.
11As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.'
13Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. 14But John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?' 15But Jesus, answering, said to him, 'Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he *allowed Him. 16After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, 17and behold, a voice from the heavens said, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'
Christian Standard Bible

1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! "
3For 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!
4Now John 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 going out to him, 6and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
7When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. 9And don't presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11"I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out."
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14But 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 John allowed him to be baptized.
16When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased."
New Living Translation

1In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. '
3The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, 'He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’'
4John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. 5People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. 6And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
7But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. 'You brood of snakes!' he exclaimed. 'Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? 8Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. 9Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 10Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.
11I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am — so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.'
13Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to talk him out of it. 'I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,' he said, 'so why are you coming to me?'
15But Jesus said, 'It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires. ' So John agreed to baptize him.
16After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.'
King James Version

1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
13Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

What does Matthew chapter 3 mean?

Matthew 2 ended with Jesus' family settling down in Nazareth, shortly after the death of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:19–23). Chapter 3 leaps forward several decades. This passage opens on John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness in the region of Judea. His simple message: Repent, the kingdom of heaven is coming!

Luke's gospel gives more details about John the Baptist. He was born to aging and previously infertile parents. This was both an answer to their prayers and part of God's plan to "turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared" (Luke 1:16–17).

Matthew declares that John is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 40:3. He dressed like Elijah (2 Kings 1:8) and many associated John with that great Old Testament prophet (Malachi 4:5). He ate the food of the very poor: honey and wild locusts, emphasizing repentance and humility. Many people wanted to hear John's message and travelled distances to hear him speak in the wilderness. Many of those were baptized by John as a symbol of their repentance from sin and readiness for the Messiah's kingdom (Matthew 3:1–6).

John's popularity attracts the attention of Israel's formal religious leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees. When he saw them arriving at his baptisms, though, he was harsh with them, calling them a brood of vipers. He asks who warned them to flee from God's coming wrath on those who do not repent from sin. John warned them not to count on being spared simply for being descendants of Abraham. God's promises to Israel would not keep Him from pruning the fruitless branches. God can raise up more children for Abraham even from the stones if He chooses to, John said (Matthew 3:7–10).

Finally, John spells out what his baptism is for. He baptizes the willing with water as a sign of repentance. He is preparing the way, though, for someone who is far more powerful than himself who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John is describing the long-promised Messiah, who will bring God's kingdom to earth, but who will also bring judgment on those who are not faithful to God. He will separate them from Israel as the farmer separates the useful wheat from the useless chaff (Matthew 3:11–12).

Then, suddenly, Jesus shows up. The Messiah about whom John the Baptist has been prophesying finds John somewhere along the Jordan River and asks to be baptized. John resists. He has declared himself unworthy even to carry the Messiah's sandals. Jesus insists, declaring that in this way they will fulfill the righteous will of God. This might have been a way of foreshadowing Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection. Or, it might simply have been a means to formally begin His public ministry (Matthew 3:13–15).

As Jesus emerges from the water, God the Father and Holy Spirit show up, as well. As Jesus resurfaces from the Jordan River, He sees the heavens open up and the Holy Spirit descend, somehow like a dove, to rest on Him. Then He hears the voice of God the Father declaring that Jesus is His Son, calling Christ beloved and saying He is well-pleased with Jesus (Matthew 3:16–17).

This launches Jesus' work on earth, confirming His role as both the Son of God and the promised Messiah of the Jewish Scriptures.
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