⁶ Now John was ^(A)clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he preached, saying, ^(B)“There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. ^8 (C)I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you ^(D)with the Holy Spirit.”

John Baptizes Jesus^(E)

^9 (F)It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ^10 (G)And immediately, coming up ^[a]from the water, He saw the heavens ^[b]parting and the Spirit ^(H)descending upon Him like a dove. ¹¹ Then a voice came from heaven, ^(I)“You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

John Baptizes Jesus^(A)

^13 (B)Then Jesus came ^(C)from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

Greatness Is Serving^(A)

^20 (B)Then the mother of ^(C)Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.

²¹ And He said to her, “What do you wish?”

She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine ^(D)may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”

²² But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink ^(E)the cup that I am about to drink, ^[a]and be baptized with ^(F)the baptism that I am baptized with?”

They said to Him, “We are able.”

²³ So He said to them, ^(G)“You will indeed drink My cup, ^[b]and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”

^5 (A)Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ^6 (B)and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^(C)“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from ^(D)the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,

Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian^(A)

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord spoke to ^(B)Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is ^[a]desert. ²⁷ So he arose and went. And behold, ^(C)a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and ^(D)had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

³⁰ So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

³⁴ So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, ^(I)and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. ³⁶ Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. ^(J)What hinders me from being baptized?”

^37 [b]Then Philip said, ^(K)“If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

And he answered and said, ^(L)“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

³⁸ So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. ³⁹ Now when they came up out of the water, ^(M)the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.