Matthew 3:1-12
3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 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.’”[a]
4 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. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with[b] 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[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
11 “I baptize you with[b] 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[c] the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew 3:11
The Message of John the Baptist was simple: repent and be baptised. For John baptism was not a gateway into the Kingdom of Heaven so much as a spiritual bath. He believed that God wants us to live lives full of goodness and that we would be judged by the fruit of our lives. However, he recognised that his baptism was limited and pointed people towards the Messiah who would baptise with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Some would be drenched in life and others would be removed from the kingdom and destroyed.
This stark warning is the context given to Jesus’ ministry. He came to bring justice and judgment. But he also came to bring lasting change and life. The Holy Spirit would transform us from the inside out. John’s baptism was with water but Jesus’ would be with the Holy Spirit. God wants to transform us all the way through so that our hearts and our hands reflect the goodness, freedom and love of the Kingdom of Heaven.
What is interesting is that this warning is not given to sinners or foreigners but to the Pharisees and Saducees who were watching him as he baptised people. Over the course of Jesus’ ministry the greatest source of conflict and trouble was not spiritual. He had two battles with Satan and overcame them fairly easily. It was not with the lost or broken, he had plenty of encounters with sinners and they all seemed to love him. His greatest conflicts all came from the Pharisees.
If you look back in the history books, the Pharisees were once a passionate revival movement, they were the people who were calling people back to God, telling them to repent and return to God. They loved God, wanted to please him and be in his presence and favour. However, within a couple of generations, passionate zeal for God has become dry religiosity. They looked good from the outside but their hearts were unholy. The wanted the presence of God and started to judge and control others.
God is calling us to live holy and just lives. He gives us the Holy Spirit to fill us and to transform us. He leads us to encounter God, to become more like Christ and to do what Jesus did. The filling of the Holy Spirit is not a one off event, it is like a shower. We need to be filled again and again. We invite him to pour upon us and to drench us in his presence. We have no desire for dry religion but a living encounter with God that transforms us and leads us to doing good in the world in which we live.
Holy Spirit, come and fill me afresh today. From the inside out, make me more like Jesus. Help me to love like Jesus and to live like Jesus. Show me anything you want to do in me and empower me for what you want to do around me. Come, Holy Spirit. Amen
