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Matthew 3

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Quick answer

John the Baptist prepares the way, and Jesus is baptized as the Father speaks and the Spirit descends.

John the Baptist is the prophesied voice calling for repentance. At Jesus' baptism the whole Trinity appears — Son in the water, Spirit as a dove, Father's voice — publicly inaugurating his ministry.

Part of John the Baptist and the Baptism📖 Matthew introduction

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1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, ✦ 2And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ✦ 3For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. ✦ 4And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. ✦ 5Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, ✦ 6And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. ✦ 7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ✦ 8Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: ✦ 9And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. ✦ 10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ✦ 11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: ✦ 12Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. ✦ 13Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. ✦ 14But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? ✦ 15And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. ✦ 16And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: ✦ 17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

In this chapter

Person / place John the BaptistPerson / place The Jordan RiverConcept Baptism

Where this chapter connects

Luke 3 ·15Mark 1 ·14John 1 ·13Matt 13 ·11Luke 1 ·8Matt 11 ·7John 3 ·7Matt 21 ·6

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical

    A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.

  • ★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • DocumentaryHolyLandSiteHolyLandSite · Free · evangelical

    Free on-location videos tying biblical events to the actual sites in Israel — the Temple Mount, Galilee, Capernaum, and more.

  • ApologeticsCold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)J. Warner Wallace · Free · evangelical

    A cold-case homicide detective examines the Gospels' reliability — forensic faith for skeptics and seekers.

Pastoral

  • SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed

    Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)

  • DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical

    Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

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