But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
Parallel translations
- WEB But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?”
- BSB But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
- NKJV And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
- NASB But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?”
- NLT But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John tries to prevent it, saying he needs to be baptized by Jesus. He recognizes Jesus' superiority.
Overview
John rightly perceives that Jesus is the greater One and that the roles seem reversed. His protest highlights both his humility and his recognition of Jesus' sinlessness and authority. The exchange underscores the unique nature of what Jesus is about to do.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- John 3:3–7Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
- John 13:6–8Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
- Acts 1:5–8For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
- Gal 4:6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
- Eph 2:3–5Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
- Luke 1:43And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
- Gal 3:22But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
- Rom 3:25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
- Gal 3:27–29For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
- John 1:16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
- Rom 3:23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
- Rev 7:9–17After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 3:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.