The Messiah’s Herald

1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,a while Pontius •Pilate was governor of Judea,b •Herod was tetrarchc of Galilee,d his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Itureae and Trachonitis,f and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,g 2during the high priesthood of Annash and Caiaphas,i God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.j 3He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,k preaching a baptism of repentancel for the forgiveness of sins,m 4as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

Prepare the way for the Lord;

make His paths straight!

5Every valley will be filled,

and every mountain and hill will be made low;n

the crooked will become straight,

the rough ways smooth,

6and everyoneo will see the salvation of God.p, q

7He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!r Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?s 8Therefore produce fruitt consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’u for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 9Even now the ax is ready to strikev the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”w

10“What then should we do? ”x the crowds were asking him.

11He replied to them, “The one who has two shirtsy must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”z

12Tax collectorsaa also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do? ”ab

13He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”

14Some soldiers also questioned him: “What should we do? ”

He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.”

15Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their mindsac whether John might be the •Messiah.ad 16John answered them all,ae “I baptize you withaf water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you withag the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing shovelah, ai is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn,aj but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.”ak 18Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. 19But Herod the tetrarch,al being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother’s wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done,am 20added this to everything else — he locked John up in prison.an

The Baptism of Jesus

21When all the people were baptized,ao Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying,ap heaven opened,aq 22and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven:

You are My beloved Son.

I take delight in You!ar

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

23As He began His ministry, Jesus was about 30 years old and was thought to beas the

son of Joseph,at sonau of Heli,

24son of Matthat, son of Levi,

son of Melchi, son of Jannai,

son of Joseph, 25son of Mattathias,

son of Amos, son of Nahum,

son of Esli, son of Naggai,

26son of Maath, son of Mattathias,

son of Semein, son of Josech,

son of Joda, 27son of Joanan,

son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel,av

son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,

28son of Melchi, son of Addi,

son of Cosam, son of Elmadam,

son of Er, 29son of Joshua,

son of Eliezer, son of Jorim,

son of Matthat, son of Levi,

30son of Simeon, son of Judah,

son of Joseph, son of Jonam,

son of Eliakim, 31son of Melea,

son of Menna, son of Mattatha,

son of Nathan, son of David,

32son of Jesse,aw son of Obed,ax

son of Boaz, son of Salmon,ay

son of Nahshon, 33son of Amminadab,

son of Ram,az son of Hezron,

son of Perez,ba son of Judah,

34son of Jacob, son of Isaac,

son of Abraham,bb son of Terah,

son of Nahor, 35son of Serug,

son of Reu, son of Peleg,bc

son of Eber, son of Shelah,

36son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad,

son of Shem, son of Noah,bd

son of Lamech, 37son of Methuselah,

son of Enoch,be son of Jared,

son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan,

38son of Enos, son of Seth,

son of Adam, son of God.