The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Matthew 3:13-14
Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”
Matthew 3:15
Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So, John agreed to baptize him.
Matthew 3:16
After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.
Baptism is declaring the superiority of the Spiritual over the material. The power of Spirit over the weakness of the flesh. And something else is being declared as well...
Matthew 3:17
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly beloved Son, who brings me great joy.”
...and there we have it, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The triune God. And in that baptism the union is made, God and man unified. Rebirth and recreation.
Matthew chronicles the lineage and birth of Jesus, and then he bypasses the childhood memories that might have been shared with him by others, possibly in discussions with his mother Mary, or maybe his siblings, or people who knew Jesus the young boy. Matthew instead picks up the story after a gap of several years, a couple decades and then some. And the first thing he tells is the rebirth of Jesus, his baptism. John the Baptist declares Jesus is the one who is coming, and sure enough he does. But this coming isn't business as usual, Jesus isn't just a prophet, as some religious sects believe, he's not a politician and warlord, as the Jews mistakenly anticipated. Jesus comes instead with blessing and judgment, unchanging love and grace. Jesus is The Word of God. God from in the beginning. He's from everlasting to everlasting. And by faith we believe he has no beginning and no end. He is the Creator and King of The Universe. Not just a man, someone different.
John proclaimed to his followers that this one who is coming will bring with him the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That he will pour out his Spirit on his community of believers. But more than that, this baptism is spirit for some and fire for others. The baptism by the Holy Spirit will enable his people to participate in the community of believers, and the baptism by fire will dispense eternal judgment for those who reject that Spirit (the unforgiveable sin).
Oftentimes I'll hear the objections of the unbelievers saying, "if your God is real, let him show himself".
God gave his own real-time testimony about the Lordship of Jesus in Matthew 3:17. His heavenly voice declared, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
And it is his Son Jesus that has come, so that God is showing himself in him. He was begotten, conceived by the Holy Spirit, for that purpose (see Matthew 1:18-25). And it is he who reveals The Father.
Matthew 11:27
“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
That revealing is the baptism of The Holy Spirit. If you're eyes see him, and your heart is transformed by him, and your faith is in Him, that is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. And you are the recipient of Agape Love.
And if not? There is a day appointed for baptism by fire.
John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus by John is included here by Matthew so that the readers are warned not to fall into the trap of rejection and unbelief. It's a critical beginning for Jesus' earthly ministry and a critical turning point for all people who hear the good news. John calls out to them to "repent", turn away from your unbelief and rebellious behavior. And John encourages them to hear Jesus, he alone who has the rest they all need.
Some will reject the Spirit and Jesus' offer of rest because the revelation is hidden from them. They are blinded by their flesh. Their spiritual wellbeing is sin-sick. They are those who choose to place their trust in the wisdom of this world. And so, God is revealing to them, but they're not receiving it. It's not getting delivered. Their spiritual antennas are twisted by the flesh. They are too busy attempting to find rest in their own human endeavors, by their own strength. And so, God leaves them to their business, he has decided that they should have things the way they want, they are free to choose their own destiny for what it's worth. And he'll deal with them on the day that he has already appointed.
John's job wasn't to make the good news, his job was to deliver the good news. Jesus' job was to do both. Jesus is the good news. And those who reject sole reliance on worldly wisdom (and depend on God) receive The Spirits understanding, and they are, in turn, then equipped to deliver that good news to every person in every nation. It's meant to be shared.
When I was a kid, the "thing" then was the Schwinn stingray bike. Often these bikes were modified into "choppers" by expanding the front wheel forks. Some kids put playing cards in their spokes, but serious bike enthusiasts got into welding and making their stingrays into a real chopper.
Everyone wanted one.
I wanted one.
I didn't get one. My dad bought me a really awesome turquoise blue ten-speed bike and I loved it, but I still wished I had the stingray, even now.
All my friends had bikes and of course I had to have one, but my main reason for wanting a bike was so I could deliver newspapers more effectively. The neighborhoods I had to deliver were a pretty good hike on foot, so an awesome ten-speed made that work much easier. And most everyone I knew who delivered newspapers had a stingray or some other knockoff version of the banana bike.
At any rate I'm thankful for my first ten-speed, it was great on the hills, and I was tall enough that I probably would have been very uncomfortable on a stingray. I was equipped better, my father made sure of that. I loved my bike, and it went everywhere I went. I even rode that bike to school when I was kicked off the school bus (that's a story for another time).
When I think about delivering the word of God, I'm reminded about those days delivering newspapers. And I'm thankful that God The Father sends The Holy Spirit to equip his children. I don't know where I'd be if he hadn't revealed his Son to me. I'm thankful I don't have to imagine life outside of God's love. And I'm thankful for that baptism of The Holy Spirit, for that spiritual guidance and ongoing encouragement.
I never got the bike I thought I wanted, but I got what I needed.
Praise be to God.