The Life of Jesus Christ - Chapter 2 - John the Baptist and Jesus begin their work - Part 3
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An online Bible Study course by Barrie Wetherill about the life of Jesus. This book is in EasyEnglish Level B. Use the links below for other online Bible Study books and commentaries that will help you. Or go to the Word List, which explains words with a *star.
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John said that the *Messiah would come soon. This was a joyful message. But John would not have been a popular *preacher today. He warned some people about the way that they lived. He wanted to help people. People should have the right kind of fear of God. God’s *kingdom has some essential things. John knew these things. God’s kingdom is a *kingdom of *righteousness. God’s *kingdom can have nothing evil in it God must destroy anything that is evil.
God would *judge the people of Israel. John knew this. They would have to *repent. The *Pharisees and *Sadducees came to John. They asked for *baptism. They probably did this because John was very popular. John’s message was hard. But people liked him. The *Pharisees and the *Sadducees controlled the people. They did not want to lose control. John spoke hard words to these leaders of the Jewish religion.
Matthew 3:7 You are like snakes! You do not deserve to escape God's anger.
Later (Matthew 3:10) John said this: God will destroy many people. Some people will not obey him. He will destroy those people. John continued:
Matthew 3:11, 12 I *baptise you with water. This will show that you have *repented. But there is someone more powerful than me. He will come after me. I am not important enough to be his servant. He will *baptise you with the *Holy Spirit and with fire. A farmer keeps his good wheat. But he burns the straw. And this powerful person, who is coming, will be like that. He will keep good people safe. But he will punish wicked people severely.
God will *judge the world. That is what John was saying. God is good. And he will *judge everyone. We know that nobody is good by nature. The only way to avoid God’s anger is to *repent. John spoke often about this when he *preached. He told the people to *repent. Then they would change. They would live in a different way. They would think in a different way (Luke 3).
John was not sure about the *Pharisees and *Sadducees. That is clear. They only wanted people to admire them. This can happen today. Some people do not *repent completely. You may pretend to *repent. Perhaps you think that you have *repented. Other people, and even yourself, think that you have *repented. But it is not true. God gives us good things. You will not have all these good things. He gives us these things when we trust Jesus.
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