The Coming of the Messenger of the Promise

3 “I’m going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way ahead of me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the promise ^[a] will come. He is the one you want,” says the Lord of Armies.

² But who will be able to endure the day he comes? Who will be able to survive on the day he appears? He is like a purifying fire and like a cleansing soap. ³ He will act like a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify Levi’s sons and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will bring acceptable offerings to the Lord. ⁴ The offerings from Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the past, as in years long ago.

¹⁸ This is true because Christ suffered for our sins once. He was an innocent person, but he suffered for guilty people so that he could bring you to God. His body was put to death, but he was brought to life through his spirit. ¹⁹ In it he also went to proclaim his victory to the spirits kept in prison. ²⁰ They are like those who disobeyed long ago in the days of Noah when God waited patiently while Noah built the ship. In this ship a few people—eight in all—were saved by water. ²¹ Baptism, which is like that water, now saves you. Baptism doesn’t save by removing dirt from the body. Rather, baptism is a request to God for a clear conscience. It saves you through Jesus Christ, who came back from death to life. ²² Now Christ has gone to heaven where he holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the throne. Angels, rulers, and powers have been placed under his authority.

⁷ Crowds of people were coming to be baptized by John. He would say to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God’s coming anger? ⁸ Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don’t say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. ⁹ The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

¹⁰ The crowds asked him, “What should we do?”

¹¹ He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who doesn’t have any. Whoever has food should share it too.”

¹² Some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³ He told them, “Don’t collect more money than you are ordered to collect.”

¹⁴ Some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He told them, “Be satisfied with your pay, and never use threats or blackmail to get money from anyone.”

¹⁵ People’s hopes were rising as they all wondered whether John was the Messiah. ¹⁶ John replied to all of them, “I baptize you with water. But the one who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing ^[a] shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor.^[b] He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out.”

¹⁸ With many other encouraging words, he told the Good News to the people.

¹⁹ John spoke out against the ruler Herod because Herod had married his own sister-in-law, Herodias. He also spoke out against Herod for all the evil things he had done. ²⁰ So Herod added one more evil to all the others; he locked John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus^(A)

²¹ When all the people were baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit came down to him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you.”