1 Years later, Johnthe Baptist started preaching in the desert of Judea. 2 Mt 4.17;Mk 1.15.He said, "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven3.2 kingdom of heaven: In the Gospel of Matthew "kingdom of heaven" is used with the same meaning as "God’s kingdom" in Mark and Luke.will soon be here."3.2 will soon be here: Or "is already here."
3 Is 40.3 (LXX).John was the one the prophet Isaiahwas talking about, when he said,
"In the desert someone
is shouting,
‘Get the road ready
for the Lord!
Make a straight path
for him.’ "
4 2 K 1.8.Johnwore clothes made of camel’s hair. He had a leather strap around his waist and ate grasshoppers and wild honey.
5 From Jerusalemand all Judeaand from the Jordan RiverValley crowds of people went to John. 6 They told how sorry they were for their sins, and he baptized them in the river.
7 Mt 12.34;23.33.Many Pharisees and Sadducees also came to be baptized. But John said to them:
You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? 8 Do something to show you have really given up your sins. 9 Jn 8.33.And don’t start telling yourselves that you belong to Abraham’s family. I tell you that God can turn these stones into children for Abraham. 10 Mt 7.19.An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into a fire.
11 I baptize you with water so you will give up your sins.3.11 so you will give up your sins: Or "because you have given up your sins."But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals.3.11 carry his sandals: This was one of the duties of a slave.He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 Ws 5.14,23.His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks.3.12 His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks: After Jewish farmers had trampled out the grain, they used a large fork to pitch the grain and the husks into the air. Wind would blow away the light husks, and the grain would fall back to the ground, where it could be gathered up.He will store the wheat in a barn and burn the husks in a fire that never goes out.
John the Baptist, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, preached repentance in the wilderness, baptized Jesus in the Jordan, and was beheaded by order of Herod (Matthew 3:1).
Judea is the land where Bethlehem is located, the town where Jesus was born during the time of King Herod. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and there the Jews sought to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:1).
Isaiah, son of Amoz, was the prophet who had a vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He sent King Hezekiah the Lord’s answer to the prayer about Sennacherib king of Assyria (2 Kings 19:20).
John the Baptist, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, preached repentance in the wilderness, baptized Jesus in the Jordan, and was beheaded by order of Herod (Matthew 3:1).
Jerusalem is the city of the house of God, where children of Judah and Benjamin lived; the Babylonian army broke down the walls of the city (2 Kings 25:10).
Judea is the land where Bethlehem is located, the town where Jesus was born during the time of King Herod. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and there the Jews sought to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:1).
The Jordan is the river in the middle of which Joshua set up twelve stones, where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant had stood. The boundary of the land went down along the river to the Salt Sea (Joshua 4:9).
Abraham, called by God, left his country for Canaan, received the promise that he would be the father of many nations, and fathered Isaac, the son of promise (Genesis 12:1).
Abraham, called by God, left his country for Canaan, received the promise that he would be the father of many nations, and fathered Isaac, the son of promise (Genesis 12:1).