"The Holy Spirit and fire"

Read Luke 3:15-20

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John dismissed the inevitable speculation that he himself might be the long-awaited Messiah (15) by insisting that the Messiah’s work would be far greater than his own (16; Jn.3:28-30), as indicated even by the nature of his baptism.

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John baptised people with water as an outward sign of repentance but Jesus will baptise “with the Holy Spirit” (16) – he is the one who will bring the promised new age of the Spirit (Ezk.36:25-28; Joel 2:28; Jn.7:39). Christian baptism is a baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus, so that through faith in him “we may live a new life” by his Spirit within us (Rom.6:4).

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This baptism is also “with fire” (16) and the context indicates that this is the fire of judgment. The idea of fruitless branches being thrown into the fire (3:9) is expanded into a fuller harvest metaphor which speaks of the wheat being gathered in (17; Mt.13:36-43). So judgement is itself part of God’s good news (18). All who love justice should rejoice that, through Jesus, a day will come when God’s righteous judgement will be carried out, all evil dealt with, and all wrongs put right (Acts 17:31). But not everyone will welcome such a message (19-20; Jn.3:20).