John the Baptist (cont'd)

2) John prepared the people for the Messiah’s purpose – Read Luke 3:15-17. a) The Messiah will bring a new, more powerful baptism – the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. What is the difference between John’s baptism and the coming Messiah’s baptism? John’s baptism by water – symbolized the repentant one’s decision to turn from their sinful life and to walk the path of righteousness. However, problem is water does not enable one to continue on the path of righteousness. When one is faced with the choice to obey or disobey God, the water does not convict you/teach you to choose righteousness. Water does not teach you the will of God/mold you in the spiritual image of God. The Messiah’s Baptism of Holy Spirit and fire – Holy Spirit 1) convicts sin leading to repentance; 2) Gives the repentant the power to overcome sin so that they can stay on the path of righteousness. 3) Fire is a symbol of judgment associated with the Holy Spirit that relates to judging and punishing the wicked.

Illustration: Baptism – Greek word is baptizo – to immerse. An ancient Greek recipe for making pickles says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable (say a cucumber) should first be dipped into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizo) in a vinegar solution. The first dipping is temporary. The cucumber is still a cucumber. The second, the act of baptizing (immersing) the vegetable, produces a permanent change – the cucumber is a pickle. Just as the dipping of the cucumber into the boiling water did not produce a pickle, John’s baptism did not have the power to produce a permanent change in the life of the repentant one. Just as the dipping of the cucumber into the vinegar solution produced a pickle, the baptism of the coming Messiah would produce a permanent change.

b) Take away sin from the world – Read John 1:29-30; How did John refer to the Messiah? As a king or a military leader? No. A Lamb … a baby sheep – the most timid of creatures; a fragile animal. Poses a threat to no one. Not the type of Messiah the Jews was expecting. By referring to the Messiah as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin from the world, what was John saying about how the Messiah would accomplish this? In the Old Testament, a spotless lamb with no blemishes or defects was sacrificed to take away the sins of the people. The lamb died to pay the penalty for the sins of the people. According to John the Baptist, the Messiah’s purpose was to die to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world NOT to lead the Jews in revolt against Rome, restore the greatness of Israel, and exact vengeance on the Gentiles.

The Baptism of Jesus by John - Read Matthew 3:13-17. A huge moment in history. Jesus comes to be baptized by John the Baptist. Steps into the Jordan River and stands before John to be baptized. What was John’s reaction? I am not worthy to baptize you. You should be baptizing me. Paraphrase what Jesus said to John – “This is the right thing for us to do.” What did Jesus mean by this? Jesus allowed Himself to be baptized by John not as a sign of repentance because Jesus had no sins to repent. The purpose of His baptism was to 1) confirm Jesus as the Messiah and as the Son of God. 2) affirm/validate John’s ministry which was to prepare the way for the Messiah. John the Baptist’s ministry led up to this moment. It was all about this moment – the revelation of the Messiah. How did God reveal Jesus to be the Messiah through His baptism by John? Read verses 16-17. Heaven split open and the Holy Spirit descended as lightly as a dove upon Jesus and God the Father spoke from heaven telling John – “This is My Son whom I love and am very proud of.” God expresses His approval and pride to His Son’s act of righteousness. This is one of only two times that God the Father speaks in the New Testament. It is also the first time we see the Holy Trinity together. In John chapter 1, John the Baptist says this event confirmed for him that Jesus was the one he had prophesied about. As far as we know, only Jesus and John the Baptist witnessed this miraculous event.

Afterwards, Jesus leaves to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness. John the Baptist continues to preach repentance and baptize. In Mark 6:14-29, John the Baptist confronts Herod about his affair with his brother’s wife. The confrontation leads to John’s death.