I was a kid in the late seventies and the early eighties. At the time, Sears was a popular department store. This long-standing company sold a brand of children’s pants called “Toughskins,” named so for their sturdy fabrication, especially at the knees. Like many kids who wore Toughskins, I did my best to test their durability by falling out of trees and sliding into home base. I consistently wore the knees out. So my Mom would iron patches onto the knees to get a few more months out of them. Despite all the protection Toughskins afforded, I still came home with abrasions—red, tender, and filled with dirt. When my Mom would spray on disinfectant, there was the predictable sting, which I always figured was the chemical killing the germs. She always said it was necessary to apply disinfectant to allow the abrasion to heal properly.
Getting to the Bottom of the Wound
John the Baptist did not mince words. He never hesitated to tell people exactly what they needed to hear. John said this of Jesus:
His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire. (Luke 3:17)
The Lord sent John the Baptist ahead of Christ to let the people know their dire and urgent circumstances without Jesus. Following a harvest, gatherers would use winnowing forks to separate the wheat from the chaff. The wheat was saved and stored in barns. The chaff was burned. Taking in the counsel of the entire Word of God, we understand John to mean that those who are forgiven through faith in Jesus will be saved. Those who die without faith in Christ will suffer eternal hell.
Like disinfectant poured on an abrasion, John wanted to get to the bottom of the people’s sin so he could lead them to understand that they, as sinners, are not merely broken people in need of repair. Rather, they are annihilated, lost, and without hope. Having done this, John could then point them to the solution, Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” as John stated in John 1:29.
People, even Christians, struggle to grasp the gravity and severity of sin. We tend to soften and minimize our transgressions. Instead of the term sin, we use mistake, error, or poor judgment. We claim that it is only human to mess up. Recently, I heard a Christian singer assert in a song that, were it not for our sins, we would never have known the love of God. This is a misguided effort to find use and meaning in sin. The truth be told, Adam and Eve knew the love of God fully before they fell into sin. Our sins are wicked offenses to an almighty and fully righteous God. The wages of sin is death, both physically and eternally.
The Holy Spirit and Fire
John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16)
John is referring to Jesus Christ. At this time and place in history, feet were considered the most vile part of the human body. The task of untying and removing someone’s shoes was reserved for slaves and servants. This statement is John’s expression of humility before Jesus. John was Jesus’ herald, but he never wanted to compete with the Lord.
In this verse, John also prophesies Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the post-resurrection Christians gathered in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit was manifested in a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire that alighted on each one of those Christians. By the Spirit’s giving, those present were able to speak the languages of people living throughout the Roman Empire.
Baptized for Us
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21–22)
A Christian under my spiritual care once asked me why Jesus had to be baptized. On one hand, Jesus never had to be baptized. Jesus is God and man, sinless both in His human and divine natures. On the other hand, Jesus had to be baptized for our sake. In a nutshell, Jesus was baptized in order that His work for our salvation would be infused into the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. In other words, so that in our own Baptism we would receive the benefits of what He did. As a human being, Jesus lived a sinless life, atoning for our sinful lives. He suffered and died on the cross, enduring the punishment that we deserved. Christ rose to new life, showing us our future resurrection. In Baptism, we receive Christ’s innocent life and we are forgiven for the sake of His work on the cross. We have died to sin in Jesus. God declares us righteous in His Son. Like Jesus, when He returns on the last day, we will rise to new life.
Unlike sewn patches on pants and applications of disinfectant, Baptism is not something we need to repeat. Instead, we return to our Baptism, repenting of sins, drowning the Old Adam, and rising to new life in Christ each day.
Start a Bible Study with a small group that focuses on water and Baptism in the Bible with The Baptismal River: Studying the Sacrament Throughout Scripture.
