Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 329
3:12–4:11
M atthe w
317
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the
chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the
threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff
with never-ending fire.”
Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.
But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized
by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”
But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God
requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.
After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were
opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling
on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who
brings me great joy.”
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there
by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very
hungry.
During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of
God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point
of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the
Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord
your God.’”
Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed
him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,”
he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’”
Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.
