John’s Witness to Israel’s Leaders

3 In those days, John the Immerser came proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, ² “Turn away from your sins, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” ^{[a] 3} For he is the one Isaiah the prophet spoke about, saying,

⁴ Now John wore clothing from camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts^[c] and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were being immersed by him in the Jordan River.

⁷ 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? ⁸ Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance; ⁹ 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.”^[d]

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^[e] 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!”^[f]