2 Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.
3 He went all over the area around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of changed hearts and lives for the forgiveness of sins.
4 As it is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet:“This is a voice of onewho calls out in the desert:‘Prepare the way for the Lord.Make the road straight for him.
5 Every valley should be filled in,and every mountain and hill should be made flat.Roads with turns should be made straight,and rough roads should be made smooth.
6 And all people will know about the salvation of God!’ ”
7 To the crowds of people who came to be baptized by John, he said, “You are all snakes! Who warned you to run away from God’s coming punishment?
8 Do the things that show you really have changed your hearts and lives. Don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘Abraham is our father.’ I tell you that God could make children for Abraham from these rocks.