Matthew 3:1

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness 1  of Judea proclaiming,

Matthew 3:13

The Baptism of Jesus

3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. 2 

Matthew 11:2

Jesus and John the Baptist

11:2 Now when John 3  heard in prison about the deeds Christ 4  had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: 5 

Matthew 11:4

11:4 Jesus answered them, 6  “Go tell John what you hear and see: 7 

Matthew 16:14

16:14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, 8  and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Matthew 21:26

21:26 But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.”

1 tn Or “desert.”

2 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

3 sn John refers to John the Baptist.

4 tc The Western codex D and a few other mss (0233 1424 al) read “Jesus” here instead of “Christ.” This is not likely to be original because it is not found in the earliest and most important mss, nor in the rest of the ms tradition.

5 tc Instead of “by his disciples” (see the tn below for the reading of the Greek), the majority of later mss (C3 L Ë1 Ï lat bo) have “two of his disciples.” The difference in Greek, however, is only two letters: διὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ vs. δύο τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ (dia twn maqhtwn autou vs. duo twn maqhtwn autou). Although an accidental alteration could account for either of these readings, it is more likely that δύο is an assimilation to the parallel in Luke 7:18. Further, διά is read by a good number of early and excellent witnesses (א B C* D P W Z Δ Θ 0233 Ë13 33 sa), and thus should be considered original.

4 tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

5 sn What you hear and see. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1. Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.

5 sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.