The Work of John the Baptist^(A)

3 ·About that time [In the course of time; ^LIn those days] John the Baptist began preaching in the ·desert area [wilderness] of Judea. ² John said, “·Change your hearts and lives [Repent] because the kingdom of heaven ·is near [has drawn near; is at hand].” ³ ·John the Baptist [^LFor this] is the one Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said:

⁴ John’s clothes were made from camel’s hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist [^Creminiscent of the prophet Elijah; 2 Kin. 1:8]. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey [^Csignifies living off the land]. ⁵ Many people came from Jerusalem and Judea and all the ·area [region] around the Jordan River to hear John. ⁶ They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.

⁷ Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to the place where John was baptizing people. When John saw them, he said, “You ·are snakes [^Tbrood/offspring of vipers]! Who warned you to ·run [slither; ^Lflee] away from God’s coming ·punishment [wrath; retribution]? ⁸ ·Do the things [^LProduce the fruit] ·that show you really have changed your hearts and lives [that prove your repentance; ^Lof repentance]. ⁹ And don’t ·think you can [presume to] say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father [^Ca claim to be God’s special people].’ [^LFor] I tell you that God could ·make [create; ^Lraise up] children for Abraham from these rocks. ¹⁰ The ax ·is now ready to cut down [already lies at the root of] the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire [^Ca metaphor for judgment].

² as the prophet Isaiah wrote:

⁴ John [^Cthe Baptist] was baptizing people in the ·desert [wilderness] and preaching a baptism of ·changed hearts and lives [turning from sin; repentance] for the ·forgiveness [remission] of sins. ⁵ All the people from Judea and Jerusalem were going out to him. They confessed their sins and were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothes made from camel’s hair, had a leather belt around his waist [^Creminiscent of the prophet Elijah; 2 Kin. 1:8], and ate locusts and wild honey [^Csignifies living off the land].

The Preaching of John^(A)

3 It was the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar [^Cthe Roman emperor, ad 14–37]. ·These men were under Caesar: Pontius Pilate, [^L…when Pontius Pilate was] the ·ruler [or governor; ^Chis official title was “prefect”; Pilate governed from ad 26–36] of Judea; Herod [^CHerod Antipas, son of Herod the Great], the ·ruler [^Ltetrarch; ^Cthe title meant “ruler of a fourth,” but came to be used of any minor ruler] of Galilee; Philip [^Canother son of Herod the Great], the ·ruler [^Ltetrarch] of Iturea and Traconitis; and Lysanias, the ·ruler [^Ltetrarch] of Abilene. ² Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests [^CAnnas was the former high priest and father-in-law of Caiaphas, the official high priest]. At this time, ·the word of [a message from] God came to John son of Zechariah in the ·desert [wilderness]. ³ He went all over the ·area [country; region] around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of ·changed hearts and lives [repentance] for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴ As it is written in the ·book of [^Lbook of the words/oracles of] Isaiah the prophet:

⁷ [^LSo; Therefore] To the crowds of people who came to be baptized by John, he said, “You ·are all snakes [^Tbrood/offspring of vipers]! Who warned you to ·run [slither; ^Lflee] away from God’s coming ·punishment [wrath; retribution]? ⁸ ·Do the things [^LProduce the fruit] ·that show you really have changed your hearts and lives [that prove your repentance; ^Lof repentance]. Don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father [^Ca claim to be God’s special people, since their ancestor Abraham was chosen and blessed by God; Gen. 12:1–3].’ [^LFor] I tell you that God could ·make [^Lraise up] children for Abraham from these rocks. ⁹ The ax ·is now ready to cut down [^Lalready lies at the root of] the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire [^Ca metaphor for judgment against those who disobey God].”

John the Baptist Tells People About Jesus^(A)

¹⁹ Here is the ·truth John told [testimony John gave; witness of John; 1:6] when the ·leaders [Jewish leadership; ^LJews; ^CJohn often uses the term “Jews” to refer to the religious leaders in opposition to Jesus, rather than to the Jewish people generally] in Jerusalem sent ·priests and Levites [^Cthe religious authorities; priests oversaw temple worship; Levites were members of the tribe of Levi who assisted them; 1 Chr. 23:24–32] to ask him, “Who are you?”

²⁰ John ·spoke freely [confessed] and did not ·refuse to answer [deny it]. He said, “I am not the ·Christ [Messiah].”

²¹ So they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” [^CElijah, an OT prophet, was expected to come back before the Messiah; 1 Kin. 17—2 Kin. 2; Mal. 4:5–6.]

He answered, “No, I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?” [^Cthe Prophet like Moses predicted in Deut. 18:15–19] they asked.

He answered, “No.”

²² Then they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to tell those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³ John told them in the words of the prophet Isaiah: