Matthew — Chapter 3
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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.
1And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying,
2Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight.
4Now John himself had his raiment of camel`s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about the Jordan;
6and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of 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 even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11I indeed baptize you in 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 in the Holy Spirit and [in] fire:
12whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.
13Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
14But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [it] now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffereth him.
16And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him;
17and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
1In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness of Judea proclaiming,
2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
3For he is the one about whom the prophet Isaiah had spoken: “The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’”
4Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.
5Then people from Jerusalem, as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him,
6and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
7But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
8Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance,
9and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!
10Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11“I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am—I am not worthy to carry his sandals! He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire!”
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River.
14But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”
15So Jesus replied to him, “Let it happen now, for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John yielded to him.
16After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.
17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my one dear Son; in him I take great delight.”
1In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
2“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
3For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.”
4Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
5Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him.
6They were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance!
9Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
10“Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.
11I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
14But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?”
15But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.
16Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him.
17Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Summary
John the Baptist appears in the wilderness preaching repentance to prepare the way for the Messiah, and Jesus is baptized as the Father and Spirit confirm His identity from heaven.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Wilderness of Judea: The arid, rocky region east of Jerusalem descending toward the Dead Sea. John the Baptist preached here.
- Jordan River: Flows from the Sea of Galilee south to the Dead Sea. John baptized in the Jordan, likely near Bethany beyond the Jordan (Bethabara), east of Jericho.
- Jerusalem and Judea: People came out from the city and surrounding region to hear John and be baptized (v.5).
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik examines John's appearance and its connection to Elijah, the meaning of "fruits meet for repentance," why Jesus was baptized, and the Trinitarian significance of the baptism scene.
- Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "Repentance unto Life" on v.2 (MTP Vol. 7, No. 380) "Repent — not merely feel sorry, not merely resolve to do better. Repent — turn. Change direction. The Greek 'metanoia' means a change of mind so complete that it changes everything else. It is not a feeling; it is a revolution." Sermon: "The Baptism of Jesus" on vv.13-17 (MTP Vol. 22, No. 1274) "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased — spoken before one miracle, before one sermon. The Father's approval was not earned by performance; it was declared over identity. That is grace."
Reflection
- 1. John's message was "Repent" — not "improve," not "try harder," not "be more religious." Repentance is a complete change of direction. Is there an area of your life where you've been trying to improve rather than genuinely repent? What would true repentance look like there?
- 2. John told the Pharisees to "bring forth fruits meet for repentance" (v.8). Fruit is the evidence of genuine change. What fruit in your life shows that your repentance is real? What fruit is still missing?
- 3. The Father said "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" before Jesus had done anything publicly. God's approval of you in Christ is based on identity, not performance. Do you live like a man who is approved by God, or are you still trying to earn it?
- 4. John consistently pointed away from himself to Jesus (v.11). His entire ministry was about making Jesus bigger and himself smaller. Who are you pointing people to in your daily life?
- 5. John called the Pharisees and Sadducees a "generation of vipers" (v.7) — religious leaders who came to his baptism without genuine repentance. Is it possible to participate in religious activities — church, baptism, communion — without genuine heart change? How do you guard against that in your own life?
- 6. John said "God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham" (v.9). Religious heritage and family background mean nothing without personal faith. What are you trusting in besides Christ alone for your standing before God?
- 7. Jesus was baptized to "fulfil all righteousness" (v.15) — identifying fully with sinful humanity even though He had no sin. What does it mean to you that Jesus entered fully into the human condition — including its rituals, its limitations, its suffering?
- 8. The Trinity appears together at Jesus' baptism — Father, Son, Spirit. How does the reality of a Triune God — three persons in perfect relationship — shape your understanding of what God is like and what He invites you into?
- 9. John's ministry was in the wilderness — outside the religious establishment, outside the city, outside the comfortable. God often works at the margins. Where is God working outside your comfort zone right now, and are you willing to go there?