Matthew 3:1-12 - John The Baptist Begins His Ministry

¹ About this time John the Baptist made his appearance, preaching in the Desert of Judaea. ² "Repent," he said, "for the Kingdom of the Heavens is now close at hand." ³ He it is who was spoken of through the Prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying aloud, 'In the desert prepare ye a road for the Lord: make His highway straight.'"

⁴ This man John wore a garment of camel's hair, and a loincloth of leather; and he lived upon locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then large numbers of people went out to him--people from Jerusalem and from all Judaea, and from the whole of the Jordan valley-- ⁶ and were baptized by him in the Jordan, making full confession of their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he exclaimed, "O vipers' brood, who has warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Therefore let your lives prove your change of heart; ⁹ and do not imagine that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our forefather,' for I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ And already the axe is lying at the root of the trees, so that every tree which does not produce good fruit will quickly be hewn down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ I indeed am baptizing you in water on a profession of repentance; but He who is coming after me is mightier than I: His sandals I am not worthy to carry for a moment; He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire. ¹² His winnowing-shovel is in His hand, and He will make a thorough clearance of His threshing-floor, gathering His wheat into the storehouse, but burning up the chaff in unquenchable fire."

¹ The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ the Son of God. ² As it is written in Isaiah the Prophet, "See, I am sending My messenger before Thee, Who will prepare Thy way"; ³ "The voice of one crying aloud: 'In the Desert prepare a road for the Lord: Make His highways straight.'"

⁴ So John the Baptizer came, and was in the Desert proclaiming a baptism of the penitent for forgiveness of sins. ⁵ There went out to him people of all classes from Judaea, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem of all ranks, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, making open confession of their sins. ⁶ As for John, his garment was of camel's hair, and he wore a loincloth of leather; and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁷ His announcement was, "There is One coming after me mightier than I--One whose sandal-strap I am unworthy to stoop down and unfasten. ⁸ I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

¹ Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being Governor of Judaea, Herod Tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip Tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias Tetrarch of Abilene, ² during the High-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the Desert. ³ John went into all the district about the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of the penitent for the forgiveness of sins; ⁴ as it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying aloud! 'In the Desert prepare ye a road for the Lord: make His highway straight. ⁵ Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mountain and hill levelled down, the crooked places shall be turned into straight roads, and the rugged ways into smooth; ⁶ and then shall all mankind see God's salvation.'"

⁷ Accordingly John used to say to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, "O vipers' brood, who has warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Live lives which shall prove your change of heart; and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our forefather,' for I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. ⁹ And even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees, so that every tree which fails to yield good fruit will quickly be hewn down and thrown into the fire."

¹⁰ The crowds repeatedly asked him, "What then are we to do?"

¹¹ "Let the man who has two coats," he answered, "give one to the man who has none; and let the man who has food share it with others."

¹² There came also a party of tax-gatherers to be baptized, and they asked him, "Rabbi, what are we to do?"

¹³ "Do not exact more than the legal amount," he replied.

¹⁴ The soldiers also once and again inquired of him, "And we, what are we to do?" His answer was, "Neither intimidate any one nor lay false charges; and be content with your pay."

¹⁵ And while the people were in suspense and all were debating in their minds whether John might possibly be the Anointed One, ¹⁶ he answered the question by saying to them all, "As for me, I am baptizing you with water, but One mightier than I is coming, whose very sandal-strap I am not worthy to unfasten: He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing-shovel is in His hand to clear out His threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat into His storehouse; but the chaff He will burn up in fire unquenchable." ¹⁸ With many exhortations besides these he declared the Good News to the people. ¹⁹ But Herod the Tetrarch, being repeatedly rebuked by him about Herodias his brother's wife, and about all the wicked deeds that he had done, ²⁰ now added this to crown all the rest, that he threw John into prison.