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But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance; and do not think that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’! For I tell you that from these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 Already the axe is laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire!

11 “As for me, I immerse you in water for repentance. But the One coming after me is mightier than I am; I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will immerse you in the Ruach ha-Kodesh and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He shall clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn; but the chaff He shall burn up with inextinguishable fire.”[a]

The Heavens Open at Yeshua’s Mikveh

13 Then Yeshua came from the Galilee to John, to be immersed by him in the Jordan. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be immersed by You, and You are coming to me?”

15 But Yeshua responded, “Let it happen now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” So John yielded to Him.

16 After being immersed, Yeshua rose up out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Ruach Elohim[b] descending like a dove and coming upon Him. 17 And behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased!”[c]

Overcoming Temptation with God’s Word

Then Yeshua was led by the Ruach into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are Ben-Elohim, tell these stones to become bread.”

But He replied, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”[d]

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on the highest point of the Temple. “If You are Ben-Elohim,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written,

‘He shall command His angels concerning you,’[e]
and ‘upon their hands they shall lift you up,
so that you may not strike your foot against a stone.’”[f]

Yeshua said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put Adonai your God to the test.’”[g]

Again, the devil takes Him to a very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

10 Then Yeshua says to him, “Go away, satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship Adonai your God, and Him only shall you serve.’” [h] 11 Then the devil leaves Him. And behold, angels came and began to take care of Him.