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| 1 And in those days cometh John the Baptist, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, |
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| 2 and saying, 'Reform, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens,' |
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| 3 for this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths.' |
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| 4 And this John had his clothing of camel's hair, and a girdle of skin round his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and honey of the field. |
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| 5 Then were going forth unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about the Jordan, |
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| 6 and they were baptized in the Jordan by him, confessing their sins. |
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| 7 And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming about his baptism, he said to them, 'Brood of vipers! who did shew you to flee from the coming wrath |
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| 8 bear, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation, |
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| 9 and do not think to say in yourselves, A father we have Abraham, for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise children to Abraham, |
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| 10 and now also, the axe unto the root of the trees is laid, every tree therefore not bearing good fruit is hewn down, and to fire is cast. |
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| 11 'I indeed do baptize you with water to reformation, but he who after me is coming is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to bear the sandals, he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire, |
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| 12 whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and will gather his wheat to the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.' |
Fan – "Winnowing fork" - Strong's 4425 (Darby, ISV, Weymouth, NASB)
His floor – His threshing floor. This is where the stalks of wheat was broken up to where the wheat and chaff were separated from the stalk.
Unquenchable fire – The Greek word "unquenchable" here (according to the Wescott and Hort text) is "asbestos." |
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| 13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee upon the Jordan, unto John to be baptized by him, |
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| 14 but John was forbidding him, saying, 'I have need by thee to be baptized and thou dost come unto me!' |
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| 15 But Jesus answering said to him, 'Suffer now, for thus it is becoming to us to fulfill all righteousness,'
then he doth suffer him. |
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| 16 And having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and lo, opened to him were the heavens, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him, |
The heavens were opened unto him – The knowledge of Spiritual things. This is the same phrase used to describe what takes place with the followers of the Lord when they make full consecration of themselves to Him. see Mal. 3:10
Matthew 5:19
Shall break one of these least commandments – Rotherham translates this as: "shall relax one of these commandments, the least.."
Matthew 5:22
Without a cause – These words are not found in the oldest Greek MSS. This makes our Lord's words even more searching. This then suggests that if we are angry with our brother, even if there be a legitimate cause, we are placing ourselves in danger.
Raca – Worthless one.G4469
ῥακά
rhaka
rhak-ah'
Of Chaldee origin (compare [H7386]); O empty one, that is, thou worthless (as a term of utter vilification): - Raca.
Matthew 5:23
Therefore – Because, as just described, the standard is not what you do outwardly but rather what is in your heart (Prov. 23:7) ..
Matthew 5:39
Smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also – Apparently quoting from Lam. 3:30. |
| 17 and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, 'This is My Son the Beloved, in whom I did delight.' |
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