Hi everyone. Welcome back to the Daily Gospel Exegesis podcast. We're continuing to look at the gospel

reading from today's Mass as we do every single day. We're wanting to give you a deeper

understanding of the text. So as with most days in Advent, we're focusing on John the Baptist.

And today's reading is a really interesting one. There's a whole lot of stuff going on

behind the scenes that may not be obvious when you first read it. And that's why it's really good

and really useful to dive

into the text in the way that we do on this podcast to help you think about the things

that the original readers might have picked up on that we miss. So Matthew chapter 3 verses 1 to 12.

In due course John the Baptist appeared. He preached in the wilderness of Judea, and this was his message.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven, is close at hand. This was the man the prophet Isaiah spoke of when he said,

A voice cries in the wilderness, prepare away for the Lord, make his paths straight.

This man John wore a garment made of camel hair with a leather belt round his waist,

and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Then Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him,

and as they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, they

confessed their sins. But when he saw a number of Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism,

he said to them, brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the retribution that is coming?

But if you are repentant, produce the appropriate fruit,

and do not presume to tell yourselves, we have Abraham for our father. Because I tell you, God

can raise children for Abraham from these stones. Even now the axes laid to the roots of the trees,

so that any tree which fails to produce fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire.

I baptize you in water for repentance, but the one who follows me is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to carry his sandals.

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