0010101 Ministry of John the Baptist – Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:1-8, Luke 3:1-18, John 1:1-18, A.D. 24–26 Wilderness of Judea
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life and that life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
There came a man, having been sent from God, and his name was John. He came as a witness that he might testify about the light and that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came that he might testify about the light. He who was the true light, who enlightens every man, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, but those who were His own did not receive Him. However, as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us. And we have seen His glory, a glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John testified about him, and he cried out saying, “This was He of whom I was saying, ‘The One coming after me has preceded me because He was before me.’” For from His abundance, we have all received grace on top of grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son of God, who is at the side of the Father, he has made him known.
In the fifteenth year of the the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
And then in those days, John came baptizing in the wilderness of Judea and he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John the Baptist came preaching saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of the heavens has drawn near!” For this is the one who was spoken of, as it has been written in the book of the words of and through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
“See now, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way.”
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
prepare the way of the Lord.
Make His paths straight.”
“Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low.
The crooked will become straight,
and the rough ways into smooth.
And all flesh will see the salvation of God.’”
Now John himself had his clothing made and was clothed with camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
And at that time all those people there from Jerusalem came out and were going out to Him, including all the region of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan. They were being baptized in the Jordan river by Him, confessing their sins. Now, therefore, when He saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to His baptism, He said to them and He was saying to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “Offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit, therefore, worthy of repentance! And do not presume and begin to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Also, even now the axe lies at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
And the crowds were asking him saying, “What then should we do?” And answering, he said to them, “The one who has two coats, let him give to the one who has none. And the one who has food, let him do likewise.” Then tax collectors also came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher what should we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what has been appointed to you.” Soldiers were also asking him saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Extort from no one nor accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”
Then as the people were in expectation and were all wondering in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered, and he was preaching, saying to them all, “I indeed baptize you in and with water for repentance, but there comes the One who is mightier than I. He who comes after me is stronger than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry, and of whom I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen the strap of His sandals. I baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His threshing fork and His fan are in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, and He will gather His wheat into the barn. But He will burn up the chaff with an unquenchable fire.” Therefore, indeed, with many other exhortations, he was preaching the good news to the people.