Scripture Passages

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”
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. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
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? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 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. 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.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 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.”

• Matthew 2:1-12

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way”—
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 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. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

• Mark 1:1-8

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—during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.  He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
    every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
    the rough ways smooth.
And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
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?  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.  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.”
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
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.”
The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.  John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  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.”  And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

• Luke 3:1-18

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.  He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.  He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

• John 1:19-28

Chronological Study Bible Notes

John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:1-8, Luke 3:1-18. John 1:19-28)

“The description of John the Baptist in Matthew and Mark (Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:6) resembles that of Elijah in 2 Kin. 1:8. There were popular expectations of an Elijah-like figure who would prepare for the coming of the Messiah, and both Gospels explicitly report that Jesus identified John as the fulfillment (Matt. 11:14; 17:10–13; Mark 9:11–13). But according to the Fourth Gospel, John himself denied this identification (John 1:21, 25). Possibly the Baptist did not realize the true significance of his role. He could only describe himself as a herald preparing the way for the Lord’s coming (John 1:23).
Luke dates the beginning of John’s ministry as the 15th year of the Roman emperor Tiberius (Luke 3:1). Tiberius had a 2-year coregency with Augustus, his adoptive father, before Augustus died. Depending on whether Luke refers to the beginning of the coregency or of Tiberius’s independent rule, the 15th year would be A.D. 26 or 28. Pontius Pilate was the Roman procurator (or governor) of Judea from A.D. 26 to 36. Caiaphas was the Jewish high priest from A.D. 18 to 36.”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

Culture and Society (Matthew 3:1, 4)

“John the Baptist’s rough appearance probably reminded his hearers of Elijah (2 Kin. 1:7, 8). The camel hair of John’s garb was more rustic than linen or wool. His visible isolation and independence correspond to his spiritual and ethical independence. Thus he was preaching his message in the wilderness, not in the town (Matt. 3:1, 4; 11:7–9).”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

John’s Baptism of Repentance (Mark 1:4)

“Some people who claimed to be especially holy lived in the wilderness. Also, Jewish people anticipated a new exodus through the wilderness (Is. 40:3), so many who claimed to be prophets or messiahs gathered followings in wilderness areas. Only there were they usually safe from interference by the established Jewish and Roman authorities. Thus John the Baptist began his ministry ‘in the wilderness’ (Mark 1:4).
“Like other ancient peoples, Jewish people had many symbolic rituals involving water. They washed themselves before festivals and after contact with anything they considered impure. A washing ritual was also performed when a person was initiated into a wilderness sect like the Essenes (who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls). But John’s baptism was different from these ritual washings; it was a once-for-all baptism, like the kind Gentiles experienced when they converted to Judaism.
“In John’s day, Jewish people had special ways to practice baptism. Normally a person would strip naked, step down into the baptismal pool, and dunk himself or herself completely under water. But John’s baptisms were different. The persons baptized did not perform the rite on themselves, and so presumably did not strip naked. Jewish people generally detested nakedness, and public nude baptisms would have been scandalous.
“John had a message for those who came for baptism: water alone could not change them; they needed genuine repentance. This was also true for baptisms of Gentiles into Judaism and baptisms of Jews becoming Essenes; both required a pure heart as well as water. Yet while Jewish people often spoke of ‘repentance’ as a regular act each time one sinned, John preached a special repentance, a turning from sin to God. John thus expected from his own people the kind of repentance they expected of Gentiles who converted to Judaism (Matt. 3:8, 9).”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

Other Commentary

John the Baptist (John 1:23)

John the Baptist was thought by some to be the prophet Isaiah (see Isa 40:3), while others believed he was Elijah. The Jews believed that Elijah would appear on earth before the Messiah would come, and John resembled Elijah. He dressed like a prophet; he was rugged; he lived in the wilderness; and, like Elijah, he was a prophet. Jesus praised John as a great prophet, and he was popular among the Jews of his day. His ministry began near the Jordan River around AD 26. He was sent as a ‘voice’ to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah.

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Ann W. Bowman, Gospels and Acts contributor)

“it is written” (Mark 1:2)

A phrase commonly used in the NT to introduce OT quotes (cf. 7:6; 9:13; 14:21, 27; Matt. 2:5; 4:4, 6, 7; Luke 2:23; 3:4; John 6:45; 12:14; Acts 1:20; 7:42; Rom. 3:4; 8:36; 1 Cor. 1:31; 9:9; 2 Cor. 8:15; 9:9; Gal. 3:10; 4:22; Heb. 10:7; 1 Pet. 1:16). in the Prophets. The better Gr. manuscripts read ‘Isaiah the prophet.’ Mark’s quote is actually from two OT passages (Is. 40:3; Mal. 3:1), which probably explains the reading ‘the Prophets’ found in some manuscripts. The Gospels all introduce John the Baptist’s ministry by quoting Is. 40:3 (cf. Matt. 3:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23). My messenger. John was the divinely promised messenger, sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. In ancient times, a king’s envoys would travel ahead of him, making sure the roads were safe and fit for him to travel on, as well as announcing his arrival.

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My Thoughts

John the Baptist – Prophet

John the Baptist, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, was the voice, crying out in the wilderness.

All four gospels quote Isaiah 40:3.  But only Matthew and Mark mention that his attire was camel’s hair clothing with a leather belt.  Those two authors also mention that his diet was locusts and wild honey.  In looking at the clean and unclean animals, locusts and three other flying insects are the only clean flying insects.

John the Baptist – His Message

His message was that he was making the way for the coming Messiah.  He was not the One, but he pointed the way.  He called for the people to confess their sins, repent, and a cleansing by water by being baptized.

In Luke, there are small details added:

• Don’t brag about being a descendant of Abraham.  The One who comes could raise stones to be children of Abraham.
• Those who have two shirts should give one to the person with none, and the same went for food.
• John told tax collectors to not take more than what was necessary.
• John told soldiers to not extort money, do not accuse falsely, and be content with their pay.

John the Baptist – Confrontation with Religious Leaders

The Gospel of Mark speaks of no confrontation with religious leaders.  Matthew states that John called out to the crowd regarding “you brood of vipers.”  In Luke, John specifically targeted the Pharisees and Sadducees in calling out the “brood of vipers.”  And in John, the discussion with the Jewish leaders was an explanation that someone would come who would baptize with the Holy Spirit, beyond John’s water baptism.  And John was unworthy to even tie his shoes.

These small detail differences are common among eyewitness accounts.  For one thing, the eyewitnesses may have been there on different days.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.