Matthew 3:1-2

The Ministry of John the Baptist

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness ¹  of Judea proclaiming, 3:2 “Repent, ²  for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matthew 3:6

3:6 and he was baptizing them ³  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Matthew 3:11

3:11 “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am – I am not worthy ⁴  to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ⁵ 

Luke 3:2-3

3:2 during the high priesthood ⁶  of Annas and Caiaphas, the word ⁷  of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ⁸  3:3 He ⁹  went into all the region around the Jordan River, ¹⁰  preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ¹¹ 

John 3:23

3:23 John ¹²  was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, ¹³  because water was plentiful there, and people were coming ¹⁴  to him ¹⁵  and being baptized.

Acts 10:37

10:37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ¹⁶ 

Acts 13:24-25

13:24 Before ¹⁷  Jesus ¹⁸  arrived, John ¹⁹  had proclaimed a baptism for repentance ²⁰  to all the people of Israel. 13:25 But while John was completing his mission, ²¹  he said repeatedly, ²²  ‘What do you think I am? I am not he. But look, one is coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet!’ ²³ 

Acts 19:3-4

19:3 So Paul ²⁴  said, “Into what then were you baptized?” “Into John’s baptism,” they replied. ²⁵  19:4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, ²⁶  that is, in Jesus.”

[3:1]  ¹ tn Or “desert.”

[3:2]  ² tn Grk “and saying, ‘Repent.’” The participle λέγων (legwn) at the beginning of v. 2 is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[3:6]  ³ tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[3:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

[3:11]  ⁵ sn With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.

[3:2]  ⁶ sn Use of the singular high priesthood to mention two figures is unusual but accurate, since Annas was the key priest from a.d. 6-15 and then his relatives were chosen for many of the next several years. After two brief tenures by others, his son-in-law Caiaphas came to power and stayed there until a.d. 36.

[3:2]  ⁷ tn The term translated “word” here is not λόγος (logos) but ῥῆμα (rJhma), and thus could refer to the call of the Lord to John to begin ministry.

[3:2]  ⁸ tn Or “desert.”

[3:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:3]  ¹⁰ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[3:3]  ¹¹ sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it (Luke 3:10-14).

[3:23]  ¹² sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[3:23]  ¹³ tn The precise locations of Αἰνών (Ainwn) and Σαλείμ (Saleim) are unknown. Three possibilities are suggested: (1) In Perea, which is in Transjordan (cf. 1:28). Perea is just across the river from Judea. (2) In the northern Jordan Valley, on the west bank some 8 miles [13 km] south of Scythopolis. But with the Jordan River so close, the reference to abundant water (3:23) seems superfluous. (3) Thus Samaria has been suggested. 4 miles (6.6 km) east of Shechem is a town called Salim, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Salim lies modern Ainun. In the general vicinity are many springs. Because of the meanings of the names (Αἰνών = “springs” in Aramaic and Σαλείμ = Salem, “peace”) some have attempted to allegorize here that John the Baptist is near salvation. Obviously there is no need for this. It is far more probable that the author has in mind real places, even if their locations cannot be determined with certainty.

[3:23]  ¹⁴ tn Or “people were continually coming.”

[3:23]  ¹⁵ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[10:37]  ¹⁶ tn Or “proclaimed.”

[13:24]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “John having already proclaimed before his coming a baptism…,” a genitive absolute construction which is awkward in English. A new sentence was begun in the translation at this point.

[13:24]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the context for clarity, since God is mentioned in the preceding context and John the Baptist in the following clause.

[13:24]  ¹⁹ sn John refers here to John the Baptist.

[13:24]  ²⁰ tn Grk “a baptism of repentance”; the genitive has been translated as a genitive of purpose.

[13:25]  ²¹ tn Or “task.”

[13:25]  ²² tn The verb ἔλεγεν (elegen) has been translated as an iterative imperfect, since John undoubtedly said this or something similar on numerous occasions.

[13:25]  ²³ tn Literally a relative clause, “of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of his feet.” Because of the awkwardness of this construction in English, a new sentence was begun here.

[19:3]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:3]  ²⁵ tn Grk “they said.”

[19:4]  ²⁶ sn These disciples may have had their contact with John early on in the Baptist’s ministry before Jesus had emerged. This is the fifth time Luke links John the Baptist and Jesus (Acts 1:5; 11:16; 13:25; 18:25).