The Preaching of John the Baptist

3 Now ^(A)in those days ^(B)John the Baptist *^[a]came, ^[b]preaching in the ^(C)wilderness of Judea, saying, ² “^(D)Repent, for ^(E)the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ For this is the ^(F)one referred to ^[c]by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

⁴ Now John himself had ^[f](I)a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^(J)locusts and wild honey. ⁵ At that time Jerusalem ^(K)was going out to him, and all Judea and all ^(L)the region around the Jordan; ⁶ and they were being ^(M)baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the ^(N)Pharisees and ^(O)Sadducees coming for ^[g]baptism, he said to them, “You ^[h](P)offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^(Q)the wrath to come? ^8 (R)Therefore produce fruit ^(S)consistent with repentance; ⁹ and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘^(T)We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ And the ^(U)axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^(V)every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “As for me, ^(W)I baptize you ^[i]with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^(X)He will baptize you ^[j]with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His ^(Y)winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^(Z)gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^(AA)chaff with ^(AB)unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^13 (AC)Then Jesus *arrived ^(AD)from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him.

^35 [a](A)James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to ^[b]Jesus, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “^[c]Grant that we ^(B)may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(C)to drink the cup that I drink, or ^(D)to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink ^(E)you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. ⁴⁰ But to sit on My right or on My left is not Mine to give; ^(F)but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

The Lord’s Supper

13 Now before the Feast of ^(A)the Passover, Jesus, knowing that ^(B)His hour had come that He would depart from this world ^(C)to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them ^[a]to the end. ² And during supper, ^(D)the devil having already put into the heart of ^(E)Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, ³ Jesus, ^(F)knowing that the Father had handed all things over to Him, and that ^(G)He had come forth from God and was going back to God, ⁴ *got up from supper and *laid His outer garments aside; and He took a towel and ^(H)tied it around Himself.

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

⁵ Then He *poured water into the basin, and began ^(I)washing the disciples’ feet and wiping them with the towel which He had tied around Himself. ⁶ So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, You are washing my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not realize right now, but you will understand ^(J)later.” ⁸ Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “^(K)If I do not wash you, ^(L)you have no ^[b]place with Me.” ⁹ Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰ Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet; otherwise he is completely clean. And ^(M)you are clean—but ^[c]not all of you.” ¹¹ For ^(N)He knew the one who was betraying Him; it was for this reason that He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹⁸ For ^(A)Christ also ^[a]suffered for sins ^(B)once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might ^(C)bring us to God, having been put to death ^(D)in the flesh, but made alive ^(E)in the ^[b]spirit; ¹⁹ in ^[c]which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ who once were disobedient when the ^(F)patience of God ^(G)kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of ^(H)the ark, in which a few, that is, ^(I)eight ^(J)persons, were brought safely through the water. ^21 (K)Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—^(L)not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God ^[d]for a ^(M)good conscience—through ^(N)the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ^22 (O)who is at the right hand of God, ^(P)having gone into heaven, ^(Q)after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.