CHAPTER 3

The word of God came to John the Baptist that launched his public ministry in the Wilderness of Judea. The public ministry of John was the beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah. Like the prophet Elijah, John lived a simple life. He wore clothes made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey

John began his ministry in Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River. But moved by the Holy Spirit, he went throughout the Wilderness of Judea declaring that the kingdom of God has arrived! He proclaimed that people must “Repent and turn to God!” He preached a water-baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. His ministry fulfilled what is written in Isaiah 40:3-5, “A voice of one calling in the wilder- ness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for him. Every valley will be filled in. Every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads will become straight. The rough ways will be made smooth. And all people will see the salvation of God.’”

John came as a witness to tell the people about the light, so that through him all people might believe. John was not the light, but he came only as a witness to the light. For the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. And his name was Jesus. Jesus was in the world, and even though the world was created through him, the world did not know him. He came to his own people, but his own people did not receive him. But whoever did receive him—whoever believed in his name—he gave the right to become children of God— children spiritually born of God and not of human blood.

While John was ministering in the Wilderness of Judea, large crowds of people from Jerusalem, the region of Judea, and the Jordan River went out to him, confessing their sins and being water-baptized by him in the Jordan River. The crowds of people asked John, “What should we do?” John said, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with a person who does not have one, and anyone who has food should share with the person who has nothing to eat.”

Although Jewish tax collectors were despised for their partnership with the Romans, they also came to be water-baptized by John. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” John told them, “Don’t collect any more taxes than you are required to collect.” Even Jewish soldiers came to be water-baptized by John. They asked John, “What should we do?” John said, “Don’t take money by force and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with what you are paid.

Many people of Israel thought John the Baptist might be the Messiah, and so they were waiting with great expectancy. But John said to them: “After me comes the one who is much greater and more powerful than me. I am not worthy to bow down and untie the straps and remove his sandals. I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one coming after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His pitchfork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and separate the wheat from the waste. He will gather the wheat into his barn, and the waste will be burned up with unending fire.”

And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news of God to them.

When John saw crowds of Jewish religious leaders from Jerusalem coming to be water-baptized, he shouted to them: “You are a generation of snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming wrath of God? You must turn to God and live a life that produces fruit worthy of re- pentance. You must live a life that shows that you have repented of your sins and stop saying that Abraham is your father. For I tell you the truth: God is able to raise up descendants of Abraham from the rocks on the ground. Even now the ax is ready to cut the root of the tree, for every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

The religious leaders sent temple priests from Jerusalem to ask him who he was. Without hesitating, John confessed openly, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Are you Elijah?” John said, “No, I am not.” They asked, “Are you the Prophet that Moses spoke of?” John said, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Tell us! We must give an answer to those who sent us. Tell us who you are.” John answered them by quoting Isaiah 40:3, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord.” Now the religious leaders who had been sent asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John said to them, “I baptize with water, but one is living among you that you do not know. He is the one coming after me, and I am not worthy to untie the straps of his sandals.”

At that time when all the people were being water-baptized by John, Jesus walked from Nazareth in Galilee to be baptized by John in Bethany on the eastern side of the Jordan River. When Jesus arrived, John tried to stop him from being baptized. John said to Jesus, “Why do you come to me? I need to be baptized by you.” Jesus said to him, “Let me be baptized, for it is good for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Finally, John did as he was asked and baptized him in the Jordan River. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, he began to pray and im- mediately John saw heaven open up, and the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus in the form of a dove and remained on him. Then a voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son, who I love; with you I am very pleased.

Now Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his public ministry.

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit after his water-baptism, and immediately the Holy Spirit sent him into an isolated place in the Wilderness of Judea to be tempted by the devil. Jesus fasted for about six weeks—40 days and nights. Because he did not eat the whole time, Jesus became very hungry. He lived with wild animals around him, and angels came and ministered to him.

First, the devil—the tempter—approached Jesus and said, “If you are the Messiah, the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.” Jesus said, “It is written in Deuteronomy 8:3, ‘Humans do not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Second, the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem, and had him stand on the highest point of the temple complex. Satan said to Jesus, “If you are the Messiah, the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written in Psalm 91:11-12, ‘God will command his angels to protect you. They will lift you up in their hands, and you will not strike your foot against a rock.’” Jesus said to Satan, “It is also written in Deuteronomy 6:16, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’”

And finally, the devil led Jesus to a very high mountain, and showed him the glory of all the kingdoms of this world. The devil said to him, “I will give you all the power and glory of the kingdoms of the world for their authority has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. You can have it all! All you need to do is bow down and worship me.” Jesus said, “Satan, away from me! For it is written in Deuteronomy 6:13, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

After Satan had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until another opportune time. Then angels came and ministered to Jesus.

After being tempted in the wilderness, Jesus returned to Bethany east of the Jordan River where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus walking toward him, and said to his disciples, “Look! It is Jesus the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I told you about when I said, ‘The one who comes after me is much greater than me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was so that he would be revealed to Israel. I saw the Holy Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and remain on him. And I did not know him, but God who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Holy Spirit descend from heaven and remain, this is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I am an eyewitness to what has happened, and I tell you that Jesus is the Son of God, God’s Chosen One!”

The next day John the Baptist and two of his disciples saw Jesus walking by them. John turned and said to his disciples, “Look! Jesus, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard John say this, they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned around and saw them following him and said, “What do you want?” They said to him, “Teacher, where are you staying?” Jesus said, “Come and you will see.” So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they spent that day with him.

Andrew was one of the two disciples who heard what John had said and followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Peter and said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” Andrew took him to meet Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, but now you will be called Cephas” (in Aramaic), which means Peter (in Greek). The names Cephas and Peter mean “rock.”

The next day Jesus decided to walk back to Galilee in northern Israel. When he was about to leave, Jesus found Philip and said to him, “Follow me!”

Then Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth.” Nathanael said to Philip, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see for yourself.” When Jesus saw Nathanael walking toward him, he said, “Look! Here is an Israelite with a clean heart!” Nathanael said to Jesus, “How do you know me?” Jesus said, “I saw you under a fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Teacher, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!”

Jesus said to him, “You believe in me because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater acts of God than that. I tell you the truth: You will see heaven open, and God’s angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”