1614 | Matthew 3:4
who was spo ken of through the proph et Isa iah :
“ A voice of one calling in the wilderness ,
‘ Prepare the way for the Lord , make straight paths for him .’ ” a q
3:3 q Isa 40:3 ; Mal 3:1 ; Lk 1:76 ; Jn 1:23 3:4 r 2Ki 1:8 s Lev 11:22
3:7 t Mt 12:34 ; 23:33 u Ro 1:18 ; 1Th 1:10 3:8 v Ac 26:20 3:10 w Mt 7:19 ; Lk 13:6-9 ; Jn 15:2 , 6
11 “ I bap tize you with b wa ter for re pentance . But af ter me comes one who is more pow er ful than I , whose san dals I am not wor thy to car ry . He will bap tize you with b the Holy Spir it x and fire . y 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand , and he will clear his thresh ing floor , gath er ing his wheat into the barn and burn ing up the chaff with unquenchable fire .” z
4 John ’ s clothes were made of cam el ’ s
hair , and he had a leath er belt around his waist . r His food was lo custs s and wild honey . 5 Peo ple went out to him from Je rusa lem and all Ju dea and the whole re gion of the Jor dan . 6 Confessing their sins , they were bap tized by him in the Jor dan Riv er .
7 But when he saw many of the Phari sees and Sad du cees com ing to where he was bap tiz ing , he said to them : “ You
3:11 x Mk 1:8 brood of vipers ! t Who warned you to flee y Isa 4:4 ; Ac 2:3 , 4 from the com ing wrath ? u 8 Pro duce fruit
3:12 z Mt 13:30
in keeping with repentance . v 9 And do not 3:13 a Mk 1:4 3:16 b Isa 11:2 ; think you can say to your selves , ‘ We have
42:1
Abra ham as our fa ther .’ I tell you that out 3:17 c Mt 17:5 ; Jn 12:28
of these stones God can raise up chil dren d Ps 2:7 ; for Abra ham . 10 The ax is al ready at the 2Pe 1:17 , 18 e Isa 42:1 ; root of the trees , and ev ery tree that does
Mt 12:18 ; 17:5 ;
not pro duce good fruit will be cut down Mk 1:11 ; 9:7 ; and thrown into the fire . w Lk 9:35 a 3 Isaiah 40:3 b 11 Or in
The Baptism of Jesus 3:13-17pp — Mk 1:9-11 ; Lk 3:21,22 ; Jn 1:31-34
13 Then Jesus came from Gal i lee to the
Jor dan to be bap tized by John . a 14 But John tried to de ter him , say ing , “ I need to be bap tized by you , and do you come to me ?”
15 Jesus re plied , “ Let it be so now ; it is
prop er for us to do this to ful fill all righteousness .” Then John con sent ed .
16 As soon as Jesus was bap tized , he
went up out of the wa ter . At that mo ment heav en was opened , and he saw the Spir it of God b de scend ing like a dove and alighting on him . 17 And a voice from heav en c said , “ This is my Son , d whom I love ; with him I am well pleased .” e
3:4 leather belt . It evokes Elijah ( 2Ki 1:8 ), who was to prepare the way for God ’ s coming ( Mal 4:5 – 6 ). See note on Mk 1:6 . 3:7 brood of vipers . Many people in antiquity thought that vipers were born by hatching inside their mother , then gnawing their way through their mothers ’ wombs — killing their mothers in the process . Comparing people to a “ brood of vipers ,” then , was analogous to calling them “ parent-murderers ” — one of the most reprehensible offenses conceivable . 3:9 Abraham as our father . Many Jewish people believed that Israel as a whole would be saved because God chose Israel in Abraham . Prophets , however , sometimes challenged Israel ’ s dependence on their chosenness ( Am 3:2 ; 9:7 ). stones . . . children . Sometimes in the OT stones were used to symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel ( Ex 28:21 ; Jos 4:8 ; 1Ki 18:31 ). In Hebrew and Aramaic , “ children ” and “ stones ” sound very similar ; prophets often made wordplays ( note examples in the Hebrew texts of Jer 1:11 – 12 [ see NIV text note ]; Am 8:1 – 2 ; Mic 1:10 – 15 [ see NIV text notes ]). 3:10 ax is already at the root of the trees . Cutting down or burning a tree could symbolize a nation ’ s judgment ( Ps 80:14 – 16 ; Jer 11:16 ; Eze 31:10 – 18 ; Da 4:23 ). The image here probably involves dead trees or small trees , the kind that could be felled easily by most farmers ’ axes . Fruit trees that yielded no fruit typically served best as firewood . 3:11 baptize you with water . Many people , including Jewish people , had ritual washings ; some Jewish sects required ritual immersion to purify those entering their sect , and Gentiles converting to Judaism were immersed to cleanse them from the impurity of idolatry ( see the article “ Baptism ,” p . 1686 ). sandals . . . to carry . Handling sandals was the sort of servile task that only a servant would normally perform ; the prophets were “ servants of God ” ( 2Ki 9:7 ; Jer 7:25 ; 26:5 ; 29:19 ; 35:15 ; 44:4 ), but John considers himself unworthy even for this role . Clearly he envisions himself as preparing for the coming of God himself ( see notes on vv . 3,4 ). baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire . Biblically only God could pour out his own Spirit , as he promised to do at the time of the coming restoration ( Isa 32:15 ; 44:3 ; Eze 39:29 ; Joel 2:28 ). In contrast to the Spirit , the “ fire ” here presumably signals end-time judgment ( see notes on vv . 10,12 ). 3:12 gathering his wheat . . . burning up the chaff . After harvest farmers had to separate the edible wheat from the inedible chaff . They would toss the grain into the air so that the wind could blow out the chaff , which was lighter . Scripture often used “ chaff ” as an image for the worthless that God would destroy ( e . g ., Ex 15:7 [ stubble ]; Ps 1:4 ; Isa 17:13 ; 29:5 ; Hos 13:3 ). Indeed , “ Elijah ’ s ” mission ( see note on 3:4 ) was to prevent the nation from becoming like burned chaff ( Mal 4:1,5 ). Real chaff burns too quickly to be good fuel ; the chaff here , however , burns with “ unquenchable ” fire ( cf . Isa 66:24 ). Jewish people had various views of Gehinnom ( or Gehenna ), or hell : the wicked would burn up instantly ; they would be tortured for a year and then either released or destroyed ; or they would burn forever . In his message to the religious elite ( v . 7 ) John sides with the harshest option articulated by his contemporaries . 3:14 I need to be baptized by you . Given John ’ s expectation that the coming one would be divine and baptize in the Spirit ( see note on v . 11 ), that John feels unworthy to baptize Jesus makes sense . 3:16 heaven was opened . The heavens could be opened for revelations from God ( Eze 1:1 ). dove . Doves had various symbolic functions in ancient sources ; perhaps the most widespread and relevant for Jewish hearers would be the dove ’ s role as a harbinger of a new world in Ge 8:8 – 12 . 3:17 Sometimes God spoke with a voice from heaven ( e . g ., Ge 22:15 – 18 ). Later Jewish teachers called this means of God speaking a bat qol ; though they felt that it was an inferior substitute for prophecy , the prophet here also recognizes Jesus ’ identity ( v . 14 ). The voice here seems to blend allusions to two Biblical texts ; the first is Ps 2:7 , a promise to the Davidic line especially applicable to the promised , end-time Davidic ruler . For Mark ( 1:11 ), the second might be Ge 22:2 , but Matthew probably intends an