| 3:1 | While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called "the Baptizer," was preaching in the desert country of Judea. |
| 3:2 | His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: "Change your life. God's kingdom is here." |
| 3:3 | John and his message were authorized by Isaiah's prophecy: Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God's arrival! Make the road smooth and straight! |
| 3:4 | John dressed in a camel-hair habit tied at the waist by a leather strap. He lived on a diet of locusts and wild field honey. |
| 3:5 | People poured out of Jerusalem, Judea, and the Jordanian countryside to hear and see him in action. |
| 3:6 | There at the Jordan River those who came to confess their sins were baptized into a changed life. |
| 3:7 | When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? |
| 3:8 | It's your life that must change, not your skin! |
| 3:9 | And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. |
| 3:10 | What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire. |
| 3:11 | "I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama--compared to him I'm a mere stagehand--will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. |
| 3:12 | He's going to clean house--make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to be burned." |
| 3:13 | Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. |
| 3:14 | John objected, "I'm the one who needs to be baptized, not you!" |
| 3:15 | But Jesus insisted. "Do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism." So John did it. |
| 3:16 | The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God's Spirit--it looked like a dove--descending and landing on him. |
| 3:17 | And along with the Spirit, a voice: "This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life." |
Matthew 3 - The Message Bible
