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In those days John the Baptist came and preached in the Desert of Judea. 2 He said, ‘Turn away from your sins! The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 3 John is the one Isaiah the prophet had spoken about. He had said, ‘A messenger is calling out in the desert,
“Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make straight paths for him.” ’ (Isaiah 40:3)
4 John's clothes were made out of camel's hair. He had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea. They also came from the whole area around the River Jordan. 6 When they confessed their sins, John baptised them in the Jordan.
7 John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising. He said to them, ‘You are like a nest of poisonous snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming of God's anger? 8 Live in a way that shows you have turned away from your sins. 9 Don't think you can say to yourselves, “Abraham is our father.” I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones. 10 The axe is ready to cut the roots of the trees. All the trees that don't produce good fruit will be cut down. They will be thrown into the fire.
11 ‘I baptise you with water, calling you to turn away from your sins. But after me, someone is coming who is more powerful than I am. I'm not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His pitchfork is in his hand to clear the straw from his threshing-floor. He will gather his wheat into the storeroom. But he will burn the husks with fire that can't be put out.’
3:1–12 John the Baptist was the messenger who came before the Messiah. In many ways he was like the prophets from long ago. He wore clothing like the prophet Elijah had worn (2 Kings 1:8). His message was also like Elijah's message. He told people how to prepare for the Lord to come. Also like Elijah, John went out into the desert and then to the River Jordan. One person after another turned away from sin and was baptised because of John's preaching. Yet John the Baptist's work wasn't only about individual people. He was preparing the community for God's arrival. He expected the Messiah to come and to bring judgement and salvation.
13 Jesus came from Galilee to the River Jordan. He wanted to be baptised by John. 14 But John tried to stop him. So he told Jesus, ‘I need to be baptised by you. So why do you come to me?’
15 Jesus replied, ‘Let it be this way for now. It is right for us to do this. It carries out God's holy plan.’ Then John agreed.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptised, he came up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened. Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. 17 A voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.’
3:13–17 Jesus hadn't sinned, so John the Baptist didn't expect to baptise him. Jesus was baptised to show that he was one of the people of Israel. It also showed that he agreed with John the Baptist's message. At Jesus' baptism, God made himself known as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These are the three persons of the Trinity. The Spirit of God came down as a dove. This was a sign of the peace that the Messiah was offering. Then the Father announced the truth about Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God and God loves him. These signs helped Jesus prepare to do his work for God and others.