Read the Bible

John the Baptist Blazes a Trail for Jesus

¹ Durin' this time, John the Baptist was preachin' in the dry country of Judea ² and tellin' folks, "Make right your minds, for God's Green Pasture is near." ³ John is who Isaiah was talkin' about when he said, "The dry country will have a voice, 'Blaze a trail for the Lord and make it true and straight.'"

⁴ John's duds were made out of animal hair, and his belt was made of good leather. He made meals out of locusts with wild honey for dessert. ⁵ Cowboys and cowgirls came from all over to see him. ⁶ These cowboys and cowgirls told God about everything they'd done wrong and John baptized them in Jordan Creek.

⁷ When John saw the real religious folks ride over the hill followed by a bunch of no-account politicians, he hollered at them, "You den of rattlesnakes! Who told you to ride as fast as you could from the comin' anger? ⁸ You gotta change the way you live your life if you want what God is offerin' folks here! ⁹ Don't even try to make the excuse that Abraham was your father. God can make these rocks become Abraham's children if that's what he wants to do. It don't mean nothin'. ¹⁰ God's axe is already at the bottom of your tree. If you don't change the way you live your lives, your tree will end up in the BBQ pit.

¹¹ "I dunk folks in water as a symbol that they want to change the way they think and live. But there's a cowboy comin' whose boots I ain't fit for carrying. He's gonna dunk you with the Holy Ghost and flame. ¹² His pitchfork is in his hand and he's gonna separate the good stuff from the moldy. This useless trash will be thrown in the fire that can't go out."

¹³ Then Jesus rode in from Galilee to be dunked in the Jordan by John. ¹⁴ Old John balked at the idea and said, "It's the other way around! I need to be dunked by you."

¹⁵ But Jesus told him, "Nope. This is the way we're gonna do it so everything will be made right with God." John shook his head in disbelief but agreed to do it Jesus's way.

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus had come up out of the creek, heaven's gate was thrown wide open. The Spirit of God came out of that gate in the form of a dove and landed on Jesus. ¹⁷ Out of heaven a voice said, "This is my Son who I love. I am pleased with everything that he is."