Matthew 3
The Voice
Nazarene means, “tender, green, or living branch.” Jesus is the living Branch, the branch of David that extends the reach of the tree of Israel eventually to foreigners and outsiders.
3 Around the same time, a man called John[a] began to travel, preach, and ritually wash people through baptism in the wilderness of Judea. John preached a stern but exciting message.
John: 2 Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is near.
3 John’s proclamation fulfilled a promise made by the ancient prophet Isaiah, who had said, “There will be a voice calling from the desert, saying,
Prepare the road for the Eternal One’s journey;
repair and straighten out every mile of our God’s highway.”[b]
4 John wore wild clothes made from camel hair with a leather belt around his waist—the clothes of an outcast, a rebel. He ate locusts and wild honey.
Sometimes when people see John they are reminded of the last time God’s people had wandered in a wilderness—after the exodus from Egypt. John is all about wilderness. He preaches in the wilderness, and he wears clothes just like the prophet Elijah had worn. They think perhaps John is inaugurating a new exodus. Actually, that is a pretty good way to think of it. The Anointed One, whose way John comes to prepare, will call humanity away from comfort and status; He will call His followers to challenge their assumptions and the things they take for granted.
5 People from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and indeed from all around the river Jordan came to John. 6 They confessed their sins, and they were baptized[c] by him in the Jordan.
But John is not exactly warm to all those who come to him seeking cleansing.
7 He told some Pharisees and Sadducees who came for the ritual baptism,
John: You children of serpents! You brood of vipers! Did someone suggest you flee from the wrath that is upon us? 8-9 If you think that simply hopping in the Jordan will cleanse you, then you are sorely mistaken. Your life must bear the fruits of turning toward righteousness. Nor are you correct if you think that being descended from Abraham is enough to make you holy and right with God. Yes, the children of Abraham are God’s chosen children, but God can adopt as daughters and sons anyone He likes—He can turn these stones into sons if He likes.
To be made right with God, one must truly repent. It means to turn completely away from sin and completely toward God.
10 Even now there is an ax poised at the root of every tree, and every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and tossed into the fire. 11 I ritually cleanse you through baptism[d] as a mark of turning your life around. But someone is coming after me, someone whose sandals I am not fit to carry, someone who is more powerful than I. He will wash[e] you not in water but in fire and with the Holy Spirit. 12 He carries a winnowing fork in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor; He will gather up the good wheat in His barn, and He will burn the chaff with a fire that cannot be put out.
13 And then, the One of whom John spoke—the all-powerful Jesus—came to the Jordan from Galilee to be washed[f] by John. 14 At first, John demurred.
John: I need to be cleansed[g] by You. Why do You come to me?
Jesus: 15 It will be right, true, and faithful to God’s chosen path for you to cleanse Me with your hands in the Jordan River.
John agreed, and he ritually cleansed Jesus, dousing Him in the waters of the Jordan. 16 Jesus emerged from His baptism;[h] and at that moment heaven was opened, and Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him, alighting on His very body.
Voice from Heaven: 17 This is My Son, whom I love; this is the Apple of My eye; with Him I am well pleased.
Footnotes
- 3:1 Literally, John who immersed, to show repentance
- 3:3 Isaiah 40:3
- 3:6 Literally, immersed, to show repentance
- 3:11 Literally, immerse, to show repentance
- 3:11 Literally, immerse, in a rite of initiation and purification
- 3:13 Literally, immersed, to show repentance
- 3:14 Literally, immersed, in a rite of initiation and purification
- 3:16 Literally, after being immersed, Jesus came up from the water.
Matthew 3
Living Bible
3 While they were living in Nazareth,[a] John the Baptist began preaching out in the Judean wilderness. His constant theme was, 2 “Turn from your sins . . . turn to God . . . for the Kingdom of Heaven is coming soon.”[b] 3 Isaiah the prophet had told about John’s ministry centuries before! He had written,
“I hear[c] a shout from the wilderness, ‘Prepare a road for the Lord—straighten out the path where he will walk.’”
4 John’s clothing was woven from camel’s hair and he wore a leather belt; his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People from Jerusalem and from all over the Jordan Valley, and, in fact, from every section of Judea went out to the wilderness to hear him preach, 6 and when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many Pharisees[d] and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he denounced them.
“You sons of snakes!” he warned. “Who said that you could escape the coming wrath of God? 8 Before being baptized, prove that you have turned from sin by doing worthy deeds. 9 Don’t try to get by as you are, thinking, ‘We are safe for we are Jews—descendants of Abraham.’ That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into Jews![e]
10 “And even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised to chop down every unproductive tree. They will be chopped and burned.
11 “With water[f] I baptize those who repent of their sins; but someone else is coming, far greater than I am, so great that I am not worthy to carry his shoes! He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 He will separate the chaff from the grain, burning the chaff with never-ending fire and storing away the grain.”
13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized there by John. 14 John didn’t want to do it.
“This isn’t proper,” he said. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you.”
15 But Jesus said, “Please do it, for I must do all that is right.”[g] So then John baptized him.
16 After his baptism, as soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God coming down in the form of a dove. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with him.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:1 While they were living in Nazareth, literally, “In those days.”
- Matthew 3:2 is coming soon, or “has arrived”; literally, “is at hand.”
- Matthew 3:3 I hear, implied. See Isaiah 40:3.
- Matthew 3:7 Pharisees, Jewish religious leaders who strictly followed the letter of the law but often violated its intent. Sadducees, Jewish political leaders.
- Matthew 3:9 God can change these stones here into Jews, literally, “God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”
- Matthew 3:11 With water . . . with the Holy Spirit, or “In water . . . in the Holy Spirit.”
- Matthew 3:15 do all that is right, literally, “fulfill all righteousness.”
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.