3 1 John preacheth. 4 His apparel and meat. 5 He baptizeth. 8 The fruits of repentance. 10 The axe at the root of the trees. 12 The fan and the chaff. 13 Christ is baptized.
1 And (A)in [a]those days, [b]John the Baptist came and preached in the [c]wilderness of Judea,
2 And said, [d]Repent: for the [e]kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he of whom it is spoken by the Prophet Isaiah, saying, (B)The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord: [f]make his paths straight.
4 (C)And this John had his garment of camel’s hair, and a girdle of a skin about his loins, his meat was also [g]locusts and wild honey.
5 (D)Then went out to him [h]Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan,
6 And they were baptized of him in Jordan, [i]confessing their sins.
7 [j]Now when he saw many of the Pharisees, and of the Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, (E)O generation of vipers, who hath forewarned you to flee from the anger to come?
8 [k]Bring forth therefore fruit worthy amendment of life,
9 [l]And [m]think not to say [n]with yourselves, (F)We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able even of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And now also is the axe put to the root of the trees: (G)therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 (H)[o]Indeed I baptize you with water to [p]amendment of life, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear, he will baptize you with the holy Ghost, and with fire.
12 [q]Which hath his fan in his hand, and will [r]make clean his floor, and gather his wheat into his garner, but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
13 ¶ (I)[s]Then came Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him.
14 But John earnestly put him back, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 Then Jesus answering, said to him, Let be now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill [t]all righteousness. So he suffered him.
16 And Jesus when he was baptized, came straight out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened unto [u]him, and John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and [lighting] upon him.
17 [v]And lo, a voice came from heaven, saying, (J)This is my beloved Son, in whom I am [w]well pleased.
Footnotes
- Matthew 3:1 Not when Joseph went to dwell at Nazareth, but a great while after, about the space of 15 years: for in the 30 year of his age was Jesus baptized of John: therefore by those days is meant, at that time that Jesus remained as yet an inhabitant of the town of Nazareth.
- Matthew 3:1 John, who through his singular holiness and rare austereness of life caused all men to cast their eyes upon him, prepareth the way for Christ following fast on his heels, as the Prophet Isaiah foretold, and delivereth the sum of the Gospel, which in short space after should be delivered more fully.
- Matthew 3:1 In a hilly country, which was notwithstanding inhabited, for Zechariah dwelt there, Luke 1:40, and there was Joab’s house, 1 Kings 2:34; and besides these, Joshua maketh mention of six towns that were in the wilderness, Josh. 15:62.
- Matthew 3:2 The word in the Greek tongue signifieth a changing of our minds and heart from evil to better.
- Matthew 3:2 The kingdom of Messiah, whose government shall be heavenly, and nothing but heavenly.
- Matthew 3:3 Make him a plain and smooth way.
- Matthew 3:4 Locusts were a kind of meat which certain of the East people use, which were therefore called devourers of Locusts. . . .
- Matthew 3:5 The people of Jerusalem.
- Matthew 3:6 Acknowledging that they were saved only by free remission and forgiveness of their sins.
- Matthew 3:7 There is nothing that stoppeth up the way of mercy and salvation against us so much as the opinion of our own righteousness doth.
- Matthew 3:8 True repentance is an inward thing which hath its seat in the mind and heart.
- Matthew 3:9 The faith of the fathers availeth their unbelieving children nothing at all: and yet for all that God playeth not the liar, nor dealeth unfaithfully in his league which he made with the holy fathers.
- Matthew 3:9 Think not that you have any cause to be proud of Abraham.
- Matthew 3:9 In your hearts.
- Matthew 3:11 We may neither dwell upon the signs which God hath ordained as means to lead us unto our salvation, neither upon them: but we must climb up to the matter itself, that is to say, to Christ, who inwardly worketh that effectually, which is outwardly signified unto us.
- Matthew 3:11 The outward sign putteth us in mind of this, that we must change our lives and become better, assuring us as by a seal, that we are engrafted into Christ; whereby our old man dieth and the new man riseth up, Rom. 6:4.
- Matthew 3:12 The triumphs of the wicked shall end in everlasting torment.
- Matthew 3:12 Will cleanse it thoroughly, and make a full riddance.
- Matthew 3:13 Christ sanctified our baptism in himself.
- Matthew 3:15 All such things as it hath appointed us to keep.
- Matthew 3:16 To John.
- Matthew 3:17 Christ’s full consecration and authorizing to the office of mediatorship, is showed by the father’s own voice, and a visible sign of the holy Ghost.
- Matthew 3:17 The Greek word betokeneth a thing of great account, and such as highly pleaseth a man. So then the Father saith, that Christ only is the man whom when he beholdeth, look what opinion he had conceived of us, he layeth it clean aside.
Cross references
- Matthew 3:1 : Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3
- Matthew 3:3 : Isa. 40:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23
- Matthew 3:4 : Mark 1:6
- Matthew 3:5 : Mark 1:5; Luke 1:7
- Matthew 3:7 : Matt. 12:34
- Matthew 3:9 : John 8:39; Acts 13:26
- Matthew 3:10 : Matt. 7:19
- Matthew 3:11 : Mark 1:8; Luke 5:16; John 1:26; Acts 1:5; Acts 2:4; Acts 8:17; Acts 19:4-5
- Matthew 3:13 : Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21
- Matthew 3:17 : Col. 1:13; 2 Pet. 1:17