Matthew 3:1-12
Chapter 3
John the Baptist
In those days, John the Baptist appeared in the desert of Judea, proclaiming:“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was about him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice is shouting in the desert,
‘Prepare a way for the Lord;
make his paths straight!’
John wore a leather belt around his waist and a cloak made of camel’s hair; his food was locusts and wild honey.
The people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire Jordan Valley were going out to him,
and they were baptized by him in the Jordan as they confessed their sins.
When he saw several Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them:
“Brood of vipers! Who told you that you could escape the punishment that is to come?
Make it clear that you are serious about your conversion;
and do not think: ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that God can raise children for Abraham from these stones!
The ax is already at the roots of the trees; any tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I baptize you with water for a change of heart, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am; in fact, I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
He has the winnowing fork in his hand, and he will clear out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with inextinguishable fire.”
Commentaries
John the Baptist.
After several decades of Jesus’ life spent in hiddenness and anonymity, which the evangelists do not specify, Matthew resumes his account with a broad temporal phrase, introducing John as “the Baptist.”
The portrait he paints of himself is striking, both for his wild attire, ascetic diet, and the desert setting of his preaching, and for the powerful nature of his message: repentance as a fundamental life change and the necessity to face God’s judgment—the avenger of injustices. His primary focus is on the leaders of the people, who are directly responsible for corruption and decadence: the Pharisees and Sadducees, “brood of vipers” (7). In this indirect way, Matthew also mentions Jesus’ fiercest enemies.