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Matt. 3
How does John describe the one coming after him? What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire? John called out the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to see what he was up to. His message to them was that lip service, lineage, and going through the motions was not enough. If they were to escape the coming wrath they needed to, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matt. 3:8). It is in this context that he said, “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.” (Matt. 3:11).
Regarding John’s part in the process, I always focus on the “I baptize you with water” part of his statement. This morning, however, I noticed the “for repentance” part. Given the context of John’s message to the Jewish religious leaders, I hear John telling them that there is no real power in the water baptism. It is merely an external indication of one’s desire to repent and be changed. But it isn’t our repentance that makes us righteous. It is the work of Christ that does that.
That brings us to Jesus’ part in the process. He baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire. It is the Holy Spirit that gives the power to change a repentant heart. And it is the fire that tests the heart to see if it is sincere. If repentance, as indicated by water baptism, is sincere, then the Holy Spirit will, “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” within us so the unquenchable fire of God’s righteous wrath will not burn us up as chaff.
Is. 39-40
How was King Hezekiah short-sighted? Where have you thought only of yourself and not those who come after you? I have to be honest. Looking at the state of the world these days, if God sent a messenger to tell me something similar to what Isaiah told Hezekiah, it would be a struggle for me to not have the same response. If I knew that I would live out the rest of my life in peace and security and that God’s wrath would fall on the evil that abounds after I’m gone, I would be sorely tempted to raise a hallelujah. Somehow, though, I don’t think that’s the response God desires of us.
Instead, I think about King Josiah in 2 Kings 22-23. When he became aware of Israel’s failure and God’s pending wrath, he threw himself into producing that fruit of repentance that John the Baptist spoke of in Matthew 3. And it wasn’t just himself he was concerned about. He made every effort to turn as many as he could to repentance throughout the entire land of Israel. How, then, should I respond to the evil I see all around me? Should I seek peace and security in the here and now for myself? Or should I seek to turn myself and anyone within my reach to the God who saves before it is too late, no matter what it costs me here and now? I believe the answer to that question is what they would call a “no brainer”.