Baptizes with the Holy Spirit

Lesson #16

In lesson 15 we saw water baptism as an indication of changed lives as a result of the witness of John. In the line of people coming to John for baptism was Jesus. He came to be baptized to fulfill John’s prophecy of the coming of the Chosen One of God and to enter the focus of the people that John had been establishing through his preaching and baptisms. As the two men meet, John declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 ESV). John baptizes him, “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven [saying], “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”” (Mark 1:10 – 11 ESV). The dove was used as a descriptive comparison to help us understand that the Spirit came from heaven in some bodily representation and stayed with Jesus. The coming of the Holy Spirit and the Father speaking of his Son was a powerful witness of God’s triune presence and an indication that God was beginning to do something that would challenge the minds of people beyond their natural ability. This is not some made up story, but a well-documented historical event that was moving mankind toward a pivotal event of all history.

John the Baptist is being so careful to minimize himself and what he is doing so as not to distract from the one he is introducing to the people of Israel. John makes it clear that he is a mere man whose assignment is to point to the one who is the God-man. Here stands God’s Messiah, empowered by the Spirit of God with the task of drawing people to him in belief.

What is the significance of being baptized with the Holy Spirit? At the baptism of Jesus the Spirit came and remained with Jesus. Jesus is therefore the one who gives the Spirit to those who come to him in belief. To be baptized means to be immersed into. When giving the Spirit, Jesus will immerse the spiritually dead person in the Spirit, filling that person with spiritual life. Having the Spirit living in us will have a profound effect on us. We will consider those effects in our next lesson.

Prayer

Father, It overwhelms me to consider the assignment Jesus was given. He had to live a perfect life, suffer and die on the cross, drinking the cup of the wrath of God in our place. He also had the overwhelming job of trying to replace the system of animal sacrifice for sin with himself. How do you convince sinful people to abandon their life long religion and replace it with a relationship with himself? Father, I realize that you don’t. It is a work that the Spirit does from the inside out. Father, thank you for choosing me to enjoy a relationship with you through your beloved Son.