With immense care Matthew records the first dramatic action of Jesus' ministry - his baptism at the hands of John. An approaching change of venue is telegraphed by 3:11, where John the Baptist's words predict Jesus' impending appearance on the scene. While Matthew continues to use his unobtrusive third-person voice to describe these events, he vividly colors the story of Jesus' baptism by switching the underlying theme of these verses from one of rejection (the theme which deepened the hue of Matthew's birth narrative) to one of acceptance. Without stepping out from behind his third person voice, Matthew shifts the mood from the stark shortcomings of humanity to the accepting obedience of Jesus.

Galilee was not a great place from which to hail. It housed too many different kinds of people …