约翰传道

¹It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler#3:1a Greek Herod was tetrarch. Herod Antipas was a son of King Herod. over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler#3:1b Greek tetrarch; also in 3:1c. over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. ²Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. ³Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. ⁴Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!Clear the road for him! ⁵The valleys will be filled,and the mountains and hills made level.The curves will be straightened,and the rough places made smooth. ⁶And then all people will seethe salvation sent from God.’”#3:4-6 Isa 40:3-5 (Greek version). ⁷When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? ⁸Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. ⁹Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” ¹⁰The crowds asked, “What should we do?” ¹¹John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” ¹²Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.” ¹⁴“What should we do?” asked some soldiers.John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.” ¹⁵Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah. ¹⁶John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with#3:16a Or in. water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.#3:16b Or in the Holy Spirit and in fire. ¹⁷He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” ¹⁸John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people. ¹⁹John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee,#3:19 Greek Herod the tetrarch. for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done. ²⁰So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.