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John the Baptist Prepares the Way
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was subject to them, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and people.
3Luke
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,a when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee, Philip (Herod’s brother) was tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 and Annas and Caiaphas were the chief priests,b the word of God came to John (son of Zechariah) in the wilderness. 3 He traveled all around the region of the Jordan River, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 This was to fulfill the words writtenc in the book of the prophet Isaiah:d “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord; make his pathways straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled; every mountain and hill brought low. Crooked roads will become straight, and rough roads will become smooth. e 6 And everyonef will see the salvation sent from God. ’ ”g 7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 So produce fruit consistent with repentance, and don’t think that you are special, telling yourselves, ‘We’re the children of Abraham. ’h For I say to you, God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9 And the ax is already aimedi at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not produce good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire. ”
a About AD 29. b Annas was the high priest emeritus, having served from AD 6–15. c Literally, “As the words written. ” d See Isaiah 40:3–5. e Verse 5 is a metaphor meaning that all obstacles will be removed so that verse 6 can become true. f Literally, “all flesh. ” g Literally, “the salvation of God. ” h Literally, “We have Abraham as our father. ” i Literally, “laid,” depicting a woodcutter laying his ax at his target before his stroke.
