King James Version
Matthew 3
17 verses with commentary
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
John the Baptist appears 'in those days' after approximately 30 years of silence since chapter 2, introducing Jesus' public ministry. His preaching 'in the wilderness of Judaea' fulfills Isaiah 40:3 and deliberately evokes memories of Israel's wilderness formation as God's people. The wilderness setting symbolizes separation from religious establishment and call to genuine repentance.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
III.
(1) **John the** **Baptist.**—For the birth and early life of the forerunner of the Christ, see Notes on. Luke 1. The manner in which he is mentioned here shows that his name was already well known to all readers of the Gospel. So, in like manner, Josephus names him as popularly known by the same title (*Ant.* xviii. 5, § 2), and describes his work as that of a preacher of repentance in nearl...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. But when Herod was dead--**Miserable Herod! Thou thoughtest thyself safe from a dreaded Rival; but it was He only that was safe from thee; and thou hast not long enjoyed even this fancied security. See on Mt 2:15.
**behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt--**Our translators, somewhat capriciously, render the same expression "the angel of the Lord," Mt 1:20; 2:1...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
John 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,...
Read full commentary →And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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KJV Study Commentary
The message 'Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' introduces the Gospel's central demand and promise. 'Repent' (Greek: metanoeō) means to change one's mind/direction, not mere regret. 'Kingdom of heaven' (Matthew's Jewish-sensitive substitute for 'kingdom of God') represents God's sovereign rule breaking into history. 'At hand' means imminent arrival, creating urgency.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Repent.**—Etymologically, the word “repent,” which has as its root-meaning the sense of pain, is hardly adequate as a rendering for the Greek word, which implies change of mind and purpose. In the Greek version of the Old Testament, the word is used of divine rather than human repentance, *i.e.,* of a change of purpose implying pity and regret (1Samuel 15:29; Jeremiah 4:28; Jeremiah 18:8). I...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel--**not to the land of Judea, for he was afterward expressly warned not to settle there, nor to Galilee, for he only went thither when he found it unsafe to settle in Judea but to "the land of Israel," in its most general sense; meaning the Holy Land at large--the particular province being not as yet indica...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
John 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,...
Read full commentary →For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
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KJV Study Commentary
Matthew identifies John as fulfilling Isaiah 40:3—'The voice of one crying in the wilderness.' In Isaiah's context, this prepared for Israel's return from exile; Matthew shows John preparing for the greater exodus from sin through Christ. The call to 'prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight' demands removing obstacles to receiving the Messiah.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **This is he.**—The words are those of the Evangelist, not of the Baptist, though the latter also used them to describe his own office (John 1:23). In each case the reference shows how strongly the great second part of Isaiah had impressed itself on the minds of men. To the Baptist, brooding over the sins of his people, and the long-expected consolation of Israel, there had come “the word of t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel--**intending, as is plain from what follows, to return to Bethlehem of Judea, there, no doubt, to rear the Infant King, as at His own royal city, until the time should come when they would expect Him to occupy Jerusalem, "the city of the Great King."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
John 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,...
Read full commentary →And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
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KJV Study Commentary
John's austere lifestyle demonstrated prophetic separation from worldly comforts and identification with the wilderness prophets like Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). His camel's hair garment and locust diet symbolized repentance from luxury and conformity to the world. This prophetic symbolism called Israel to remember the wilderness wanderings and return to covenant faithfulness. John embodied his message ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **His raiment of camel’s hair.**—The dress was probably deliberately adopted by the Baptist as reviving the outward appearance of Elijah, who was “a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather” (2Kings 1:8); and the “rough garment,” that had been characteristic of the prophet’s life even at a later period (Zechariah 13:4), as contrasted with the *“*long garments” of the Pharisees (Mark 12:38)...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod--**Archelaus succeeded to Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; but Augustus refused him the title of king till it should be seen how he conducted himself; giving him only the title of ethnarch [Josephus, Antiquities, 17.11,4]. Above this, however, he never rose. The people, indeed, recognized him as his father's succe...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
John 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,...
Read full commentary →Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
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KJV Study Commentary
The widespread response to John's ministry demonstrates God's sovereign work in preparing hearts for Christ. The geographic breadth—Jerusalem, Judea, Jordan region—shows the Spirit's powerful drawing despite John's unconventional appearance and harsh message. True spiritual awakening creates hunger for God's Word regardless of the messenger's status or the message's difficulty.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **All the region round about Jordan.**—This would include the whole length of the river-valley, and would therefore take in parts of Peræa, Samaria, Galilee, and Gaulonitis.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth--**a small town in Lower Galilee, lying in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun, and about equally distant from the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Sea of Galilee on the east. Note--If, from Lu 2:39, one would conclude that the parents of Jesus brought Him straight back to Nazareth after His presentation in the temple--as if there had be...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
John 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,...
Read full commentary →And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
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KJV Study Commentary
The act of baptism signified repentance and cleansing, but confession of sins was equally crucial. True repentance involves specific acknowledgment of sin, not merely general admission of human imperfection. John's baptism was preparatory, pointing to Christ's superior baptism with the Holy Spirit. The public confession demonstrated the social dimension of repentance—sin is not merely private but ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Were baptized.**—The Greek tense implies continual succession. Crowd after crowd passed on, and still they came *confessing their sins*—*i.e.,* as the position of the word implies, in the closest possible connection with the act of immersion. The Greek word (sometimes used for “confessing” in the sense of “praising,” as in Luke 12:8), always implies public utterance, and included, as the plu...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 3
Chapter Outline
John 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,...
Read full commentary →But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
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KJV Study Commentary
John's denunciation of religious leaders as a 'generation of vipers' strips away their pretense of covenant privilege. The serpent imagery recalls Genesis 3 and Satan's deception, suggesting these leaders were the devil's children despite their religious pedigree (John 8:44). His question about who warned them implies their presence was insincere—fleeing future wrath without true repentance. This ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Pharisees and Sadducees.**—It is desirable to give, once for all, a sufficient account of these two sects to explain their relation to each other and to the teaching of our Lord. (1.) THE PHARISEES. Singularly enough, the name appears for the first time in the Gospel history. Josephus, who tells us most about them, being presumably later, if not than the Gospels in their present form, yet, a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 3 Mt 3:1-12. Preaching and Ministry of John. ( = Mr 1:1-8; Lu 3:1-18).
For 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 ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadd...
Read full commentary →Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: meet: or, answerable to amendment of life
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KJV Study Commentary
John demands 'fruits worthy of repentance,' emphasizing that genuine conversion produces moral transformation. The Greek 'axios' (worthy/consistent with) indicates that fruit must correspond to the root. This anticipates Jesus' teaching that trees are known by their fruit (Matthew 7:16-20). True repentance is not merely emotional or verbal but produces obedient action flowing from a changed heart.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Fruits** **(better, *fruit**) meet for repentance.*—The English version is ambiguous and not happy, suggesting the thought of the “fruit” as preparing the way for repentance. The thought is, however, “by coming to the baptism you profess repentance; bring forth, therefore, fruit *worthy of repentance—i.e.,* of a changed heart and will.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. And saying, Repent ye--**Though the word strictly denotes a change of mind, it has respect here (and wherever it is used in connection with salvation) primarily to that sense of sin which leads the sinner to flee from the wrath to come, to look for relief only from above, and eagerly to fall in with the provided remedy.
**for the kingdom of heaven is at hand--**This sublime phrase, used in ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadd...
Read full commentary →And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
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KJV Study Commentary
John attacks the foundational error of Judaism—presuming that Abrahamic descent guarantees salvation. His radical statement that 'God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham' demonstrates that true Abrahamic sonship is spiritual, not merely physical (Romans 9:6-8). God's sovereign election, not ethnic privilege, determines covenant membership. This principle undergirds Paul's lat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **We have Abraham to (better, *as**) our father.*—The boast seems to have been common, as in John 8:33-39, and was connected with the belief that this alone, or taken together with the confession of the creed of Israel “the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4), would be enough to ensure for every Jew an admission into Paradise. The “bosom” of Abraham was wide enough to receive all his c...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying--**(Mt 11:3).
**The voice of one crying in the wilderness--**(See on Lu 3:2); the scene of his ministry corresponding to its rough nature.
**Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight--**This prediction is quoted in all the four Gospels, showing that it was regarded as a great outstanding one, and the predicted f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadd...
Read full commentary →And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
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KJV Study Commentary
The imagery of the axe at the tree's root emphasizes the imminent nature of God's judgment and the urgency of repentance. The present tense 'is laid' indicates judgment is not distant but immediately impending. Trees that fail to produce good fruit will be 'hewn down'—covenant language for divine rejection (Jeremiah 11:16-17). The fire represents eternal judgment, not merely temporal discipline. T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Now.**—Rather, *already.* The present of an act no longer future.
**The ax is laid unto the root of the trees.**—The symbolism which saw in “trees” the representatives of human characters, of nations, and institutions, had been recognised in Isaiah’s parable of the vine (Isaiah 5:1-7), in Jeremiah’s of the vine and the olive (Jeremiah 2:21; Jeremiah 11:16), and the Baptist’s application of ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair--**woven of it.
**and a leathern girdle about his loins--**the prophetic dress of Elijah (2Ki 1:8; and see Zec 13:4).
**and his meat was locusts--**the great, well-known Eastern locust, a food of the poor (Le 11:22).
**and wild honey--**made by wild bees (1Sa 14:25, 26). This dress and diet, with the shrill cry in the wilderness, would r...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadd...
Read full commentary →I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
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KJV Study Commentary
John's baptism 'with water unto repentance' was preparatory and symbolic, pointing forward to the Messiah who 'shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.' The Holy Spirit baptism represents regeneration and empowerment (Acts 2), while fire suggests both purification and judgment. John's confession 'whose shoes I am not worthy to bear' demonstrates humble recognition of Christ's infinite...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **With water** **unto repentance.**—The “I” is emphasized, as also the baptism with water, as contrasted with that which was to follow. The result of John’s baptism, even for those who received it faithfully, did not go beyond the change of character and life implied in “repentance.” The higher powers of the unseen world were to be manifested afterwards.
**He that cometh after me.**—The words...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan--**From the metropolitan center to the extremities of the Judean province the cry of this great preacher of repentance and herald of the approaching Messiah brought trooping penitents and eager expectants.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadd...
Read full commentary →Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
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KJV Study Commentary
The winnowing fork imagery depicts Christ's separating work at judgment. Wheat represents the elect who will be gathered into God's barn (heaven), while chaff represents the reprobate who will be burned with 'unquenchable fire'—emphasizing the eternal, irreversible nature of hell. This agricultural metaphor was readily understood and highlights both election (the gathered wheat) and reprobation (t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Whose fan is in his hand.**—The scene brought before us is that of the large hardened surface which was the “threshing-floor” of the East, the sheaves of corn thrown over it, the oxen treading on them, the large winnowing fan driving on them the full force of the strong current of air, leaving the wheat in the middle, while the chaff is driven to the outskirts of the field to be afterwards ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins--**probably confessing aloud. This baptism was at once a public seal of their felt need of deliverance from sin, of their expectation of the coming Deliverer, and of their readiness to welcome Him when He appeared. The baptism itself startled, and was intended to startle, them. They were familiar enough with the baptism of proselytes f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-12**
To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadd...
Read full commentary →The Baptism of Jesus
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' arrival from Galilee to Jordan 'to be baptized of John' shows His identification with sinful humanity despite His sinlessness. This inaugurates His public ministry at about age 30 (Luke 3:23). Jesus' willingness to undergo John's baptism of repentance demonstrates His substitutionary role—standing in for sinners throughout His ministry culminating at the cross.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Then cometh Jesus.**—We are brought here face to face with the question which the legend just quoted sought to answer, and cannot altogether turn aside from it: Why did the Lord Jesus come to the baptism of John? The Sinless One had no sin to confess, no need of repentance. We cannot even ascribe to Him that consciousness of evil which weighs upon the hearts of the saints of God almost in e...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them--**astonished at such a spectacle.
**O generation of vipers--**"Viper brood," expressing the deadly influence of both sects alike upon the community. Mutually and entirely antagonistic as were their religious principles and spirit, the stern prophet charges both alike with being the poisoners of the n...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Christ's gracious condescensions are so surprising, that even the strongest believers at first can hardly believe them; so deep and mysterious, that even those who know his mind well, are apt to start objections against the will of Christ. And those who have much of the Spirit of God while here, see that they need to apply to Christ for more. Christ does not deny that John had...
Read full commentary →But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
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KJV Study Commentary
John's protest reveals his understanding of Christ's superiority and sinlessness. His statement 'I have need to be baptized of thee' shows recognition that Jesus, unlike all others, did not need repentance baptism. This creates a theological problem: why would the sinless one undergo a baptism signifying repentance? The answer lies in Christ's representative role—He identifies with sinners He came...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **John forbad him.**—Better, *sought to hinder Him.* Here again we have a question which we cannot fully answer. Did John thus forbid Him, as knowing Him to be the Christ? If so, how did that knowledge come? Had they known each other before, in youth or manhood? Or did a special inspiration reveal the character of Him who now drew near? The narrative of St. Matthew seems to imply such knowled...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. Bring forth therefore fruits--**the true reading clearly is "fruit";
**meet for repentance--**that is, such fruit as befits a true penitent. John now being gifted with a knowledge of the human heart, like a true minister of righteousness and lover of souls here directs them how to evidence and carry out their repentance, supposing it genuine; and in the following verses warns them of their ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Christ's gracious condescensions are so surprising, that even the strongest believers at first can hardly believe them; so deep and mysterious, that even those who know his mind well, are apt to start objections against the will of Christ. And those who have much of the Spirit of God while here, see that they need to apply to Christ for more. Christ does not deny that John had...
Read full commentary →And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus' explanation that baptism 'fulfills all righteousness' indicates He came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it perfectly (Matthew 5:17). His baptism inaugurates His public ministry and identifies Him with the sinners He came to save, though He Himself had no sin. This demonstrates the active obedience of Christ—His perfect law-keeping on behalf of His people. 'It becometh us' includes bot...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Suffer it to be so now.**—The “now” is emphatic, at the present time, in contrast with what was to follow. Hereafter, John should be the receiver and not the giver, but as yet there was a fitness in each retaining his position (the words “it becometh *us*” seem to refer to both, not to the speaker only). The word and the thought are the same as those of Hebrews 2:10. Even He had to pass thr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father--**that pillow on which the nation so fatally reposed, that rock on which at length it split.
**for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham--**that is, "Flatter not yourselves with the fond delusion that God stands in need of you, to make good His promise of a seed to Abraham; fo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Christ's gracious condescensions are so surprising, that even the strongest believers at first can hardly believe them; so deep and mysterious, that even those who know his mind well, are apt to start objections against the will of Christ. And those who have much of the Spirit of God while here, see that they need to apply to Christ for more. Christ does not deny that John had...
Read full commentary →And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
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KJV Study Commentary
The phrase 'Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water' indicates full immersion. The heavens being 'opened unto him' signals divine revelation and approval. The Spirit of God descending 'like a dove' visibly confirms Jesus' anointing for ministry. This is a profound Trinitarian moment—Father, Son, and Spirit all present and active.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **The heavens were opened.**—The narrative implies (1) that our Lord and the Baptist were either alone, or that they alone saw what is recorded. “The heavens were opened to *him”* as they were to Stephen (Acts 7:56). The Baptist bears record that he too beheld the Spirit descending (John 1:33-34), but there is not the slightest ground for supposing that there was any manifestation to others. ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. And now also--**And even already.
**the axe is laid unto--**"lieth at."
**the root of the trees--**as it were ready to strike: an expressive figure of impending judgment, only to be averted in the way next described.
**therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire--**Language so personal and individual as this can scarcely be understood o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Christ's gracious condescensions are so surprising, that even the strongest believers at first can hardly believe them; so deep and mysterious, that even those who know his mind well, are apt to start objections against the will of Christ. And those who have much of the Spirit of God while here, see that they need to apply to Christ for more. Christ does not deny that John had...
Read full commentary →And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
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KJV Study Commentary
The Father's voice declares: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' This combines Psalm 2:7 (messianic king) and Isaiah 42:1 (suffering servant), defining Jesus' mission as both royal and redemptive. The present tense 'am well pleased' shows eternal satisfaction, not conditional approval based on baptism. This divine affirmation before ministry begins demonstrates grace preceding wor...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **A voice from heaven.**—The words were heard, so far as the record goes, as the sign was seen, by our Lord and the Baptist only. It was a testimony to them, and not to the multitude. The precise force of the latter clause, *in whom I was well pleased,* points (to speak after the manner of men) rather to a definite divine act or thought, than to a continued ever-present acceptance. He who sto...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance--**(See on Mt 3:6);
**but he that cometh after me is mightier than I--**In Mark and Luke this is more emphatic--"But there cometh the Mightier than I" (Mr 1:7; Lu 3:16).
**whose shoes--**sandals.
**I am not worthy to bear--**The sandals were tied and untied, and borne about by the meanest servants.
**he shall baptize you--**the emphatic...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-17**
Christ's gracious condescensions are so surprising, that even the strongest believers at first can hardly believe them; so deep and mysterious, that even those who know his mind well, are apt to start objections against the will of Christ. And those who have much of the Spirit of God while here, see that they need to apply to Christ for more. Christ does not deny that John had...
Read full commentary →