18.
John The Baptist Preaches And Baptizes
(Location:
Bethabara, The Desert Region Of Judea By The Jordan River)
MATTHEW 3:
1 In those days John the
Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and
saying, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." 3 This
is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice
of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make
straight paths for Him.'" 4 John's clothes
were made of camel's hair, and 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 and the whole region
of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they
were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where
he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who
warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce
fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not
think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'
I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for
Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of
the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be
cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 "I
baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one
who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His
winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing
floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff
with unquenchable fire."
MARK 1:
1 The beginning of the
Gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 It
is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger
ahead of you, who will prepare your way" 3 "a
voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for Him.'" 4 And so
John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism
of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The
whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out
to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the
Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of
camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate
locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his
message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the
thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I
baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit."
LUKE 3:
1 In the fifteenth year
of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor
of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch
of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene-- 2 during
the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to
John son of Zacharias in the desert. 3 He went
into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As is
written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A
voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for Him. 5 Every valley
shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked
roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And
all mankind will see God's salvation.'" 7 John
said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You
brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce
fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to
yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that
out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The
ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does
not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the
fire." 10 "What should we do
then?" the crowd asked. 11 John answered,
"The man with two tunics should share with him who has none,
and the one who has food should do the same." 12 Tax
collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they
asked, "what should we do?" 13 "Don't
collect any more than you are required to," he told them. 14 Then
some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He
replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people
falsely--be content with your pay."
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their
hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. 16 John
answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more
powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not
worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with
fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in His hand to
clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn,
but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18 And
with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the
good news to them.
= The Words of Jesus
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