John Said: Follow Jesus

Matthew 3:3-4, 11, 13-17

Our true story comes from a part of the Bible called Matthew. Matthew was one of the special helpers of Jesus.

Our story begins with a man named John the Baptist. John lived by himself in the desert. He made his clothes out of camel hair, and John loved to eat honey and bugs called locusts.


The best part about John the Baptist was that he loved God. John would always tell people, "Get ready, everyone! God has said that a very special leader is coming! He is someone we should all follow!"


One day, John was in the water baptizing people because they wanted to show they loved God. All of a sudden, can you guess who John saw?


Yes! John the Baptist saw Jesus! He was so excited to see Jesus because he knew that Jesus was the special leader God had promised. Then Jesus moved into the water where John was. Jesus got in the water to be baptized to show that He loved God.


But John said, "No, I should be baptized by You! But because You are the most special leader, I will do what You say and baptize You."


John lowered Jesus down into the water and brought him right back up. And just then the most amazing thing happened! John heard God say, "This is my Son and I love Him very much."


Jesus is God’s Son. That makes him the best leader—the most important leader we should all follow. Who can you follow? You can follow Jesus!



Bible Paraphrase: "Come and follow me," Jesus said. – Matthew 4:19, NIrV

Text Truth: John told people that Jesus is special.



Family Devotional

This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.


“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.


Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”


Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
– Matthew 3:3-4, 11, 13-17



Our Bible story was about another leader we should follow. He is the best, most special leader ever. Jesus! And John the Baptist wanted everyone to know it. That’s why he told everyone to follow Jesus. Mommies can follow Jesus. Daddies can follow Jesus. I can follow Jesus. You can follow Jesus. Everyone can follow Jesus!

"Come and follow me," Jesus said. – Matthew 4:19, NIrV

 John the Baptist told people that Jesus is special and they can follow Him. With your family, make a list of people you can tell about Jesus so they can follow Him, too.

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. Thank God for sending His Son, Jesus. And thank God that everyone can follow Him. Ask God that (name each family member) will follow Jesus. And ask God that He will help you all tell (read the names in your list) about Jesus so they can follow Him, too. Acknowledge that Jesus is the best leader ever! Thank God for His love. And acknowledge to God your love for Him.

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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence.
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