Matius 3:1-8

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness ¹  of Judea proclaiming, 3:2 “Repent, ²  for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3:3 For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ³ 

“The voice ⁴  of one shouting in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ⁵  his paths straight.’” ⁶ 

3:4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. ⁷  3:5 Then people from Jerusalem, ⁸  as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 3:6 and he was baptizing them ⁹  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹⁰  and Sadducees ¹¹  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8 Therefore produce fruit ¹²  that proves your ¹³  repentance,

[3:1]  ¹ tn Or “desert.”

[3:2]  ² tn Grk “and saying, ‘Repent.’” The participle λέγων (legwn) at the beginning of v. 2 is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[3:3]  ³ tn Grk “was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legonto") is redundant and has not been translated. The passive construction has also been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:3]  ⁴ tn Or “A voice.”

[3:3]  ⁵ sn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[3:3]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[3:4]  ⁷ sn John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8). Locusts and wild honey were a common diet in desert regions, and locusts (dried insects) are listed in Lev 11:22 among the “clean” foods.

[3:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “Then Jerusalem.”

[3:5]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:7]  ¹⁰ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ¹¹ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[3:8]  ¹² sn Fruit worthy of repentance refers to the deeds that indicate a change of attitude (heart) on the part of John’s hearers.

[3:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “fruit worthy of.”