Matthew 3:1

Matthew 3:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
• New International Version (NIV)In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
• English Standard Version (ESV)In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
• New King James Version (NKJV)In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

Context of Matthew 3:1

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3The prophet Isaiah was speaking about 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!’”

Matthew 3:1 word by word

Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς ἸουδαίαςRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• ·δέde · thenG1161
• Inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• thoseἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
• daysἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• cameπαραγίνομαιparaginomai · to comeG3854
• JohnἸωάννηςIōannēs · JohnG2491
• the BaptistΒαπτιστήςBaptistēs · one who baptizesG910
• preachingκηρύσσωkērussō · to preachG2784
• the wildernessἔρημοςerēmos · desertedG2048
• of JudeaἸουδαίαIoudaia · JudeaG2449

Cross-references for Matthew 3:1

• Luke 3:1It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene.
• Matthew 11:11“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!
• Matthew 14:2he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”
• Matthew 16:14“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
• Matthew 17:12But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”
• Matthew 21:25“Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?” They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John.
• Mark 1:4This messenger was John the Baptist. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.
• Mark 6:16When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.”
• Luke 1:13But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.
• Luke 3:2Annas 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.
• John 1:6God sent a man, John the Baptist,
• John 3:27John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.
• Acts 1:22from the time he was baptized by John until the day he was taken from us. Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”
• Acts 13:24Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized.
• Acts 19:3“Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
• Isaiah 40:3Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!

Commentaries on Matthew 3:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1John the Baptist - John, surnamed The Baptist, because he required those to be baptized who professed to be contrite because of their sins, was the son of a priest named Zacharias, and his wife Elisabeth, and was born about A. M. 3999, and about six months before our blessed Lord. Of his almost miraculous conception and birth, we have a circumstantial account in the Gospel of Luke, chap. 1: to which, and the notes there, the reader is requested to refer…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1In those days - The days here referred to cannot be those mentioned in the preceding chapter, for John was but six months older than Christ. Perhaps Matthew intended to embrace in his narrative the whole time that Jesus lived at Nazareth; and the meaning is, “in those days while Jesus still dwelt at Nazareth,” John began to preach. It is not probable that John began to baptize or preach long before the Saviour entered on his ministry; and, consequently…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1John the Baptist, His preaching, manner of life, and baptism. (1-6) John reproves the Pharisees and Sadducees. (7-12) The baptism of Jesus. (13-17) Verses 1-6 After Malachi there was no prophet until John the Baptist came. He appeared first in the wilderness of Judea. This was not an uninhabited desert, but a part of the country not thickly peopled, nor much enclosed. No place is so remote as to shut us out from the visits of Divine grace. The doctrine he…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1John the Baptist announced the arrival of Jesus (see Mark 1:1–11; Luke 3:1–22; John 1:6–8, 19–34). John helped people get ready to welcome him (Matt 3:3). John drew large crowds (3:5) and gathered a group of followers (9:14). This group continued for a short time as a movement, even after the Christian church began (see Acts 18:24–28). John lived in the Judean wilderness. This was symbolic because the wilderness linked to God giving the law (see Exodus…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-12For the proper introduction to this section, we must go to Lu 3:1, 2. Here, as Bengel well observes, the curtain of the New Testament is, as it were, drawn up, and the greatest of all epochs of the Church commences. Even our Lord's own age is determined by it (Lu 3:23). No such elaborate chronological precision is to be found elsewhere in the New Testament, and it comes fitly from him who claims it as the peculiar recommendation of his Gospel, that "he…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 3:1

• John
• Judea

In the dictionaries

• John the Baptist
• Judea
• Judaea, or Judea
• Judea, Judah
• Judah, Tribe of
• Kingdom
• Meet
• Please
• Region
• Repentance

Commentaries on Matthew 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings