John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3This 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.' "
4John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7But 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? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And 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. 10The 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. 12His 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."
The Baptism of Jesus
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"15Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
My first question when reading this chapter was about the act of Baptism. Was their such a tradition of Baptism prior to John the Baptist? I spoke with my pastor and he explained that there was indeed ceremonial bathing rituals symbolizing a rebirth.
ReplyDeleteVerse 9 refers to God raising up descendants of Abraham out of the stones. I was initially confused by this but after further research and speaking with my pastor I realized that Jesus was telling the Jewish establishment that they no longer should feel privileged or worthy of heaven simply because of their lineage with Abraham. Verse 10 goes on to refer to to an ax at the root of the tree and that all of this tradition was about to be cut down in favor of a new way. This is HUGE because the Jews believed they were the chosen ones. No wonder they killed Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what he is saying in verse 12.
ReplyDeleteVery quickly in the new testament, the role of Baptism in a relationship with God is defined. In verse 15 Jesus states that baptism is done to fulfill all righteousness. Does this mean it is essential for entry into the kingdom of Heaven? What does this word righteousness mean in this context?
ReplyDeleteDo we know anything about where John the Baptist received this motivation to preach about the coming Messiah and baptism?
ReplyDelete