(Please post any comments or questions about this chapter or anything else in the Bible)
Matthew Chapter 3
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,
2“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.a”
3The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,
“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’”b
4John’s
clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt
around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.
5People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John.
6And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
7But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize,c he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath?
8Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.
9Don’t
just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of
Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of
Abraham from these very stones.
10Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.
11“I baptize withd
water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is
coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy
even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and with fire.e
12He
is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork.
Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his
barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.
14But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”
What I like most about his chapter is reading about Jesus being baptized. He says that it was so that the scriptures could be fulfilled. I wanted to know what scripture in the Bible that He was referring to so I looked it up and found Isaiah 11:2 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations."
ReplyDeleteThe second thing that really stood out to me was verse 8. This verse reminds me of the scripture "by their fruits you will know them." As a believer my life should reflect the love of God and what I read should provoke actions from His Word. This verse really touched me to make sure that I am walking out the word everyday!