Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Psalms 19-24
     New Testament Reading: Luke 3

Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.” Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done, Herod added this to everything else—he locked up John in prison (Luke 3:15-18).

John the Baptist was a humble servant who knew his place in the Kingdom of God. When asked if he was the Messiah they had so eagerly waited for, he plainly stated that he was not. Someone after him was coming that was so far above him, so much more powerful than he was, that John would not even be worthy to untie His sandals.

John baptized with water, the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. As important as water baptism is, any human can perform it. I fondly remember the wonderful opportunity I had baptizing both of my sons. As special as it is to baptize someone, millions of other people have done the same over the years. It doesn’t make you (or John) any more important than any other human. But only the Messiah, the Son of God, can perform the far superior, far more important task of baptizing a person, immersing them, in the Holy Spirit if they believe in Him. Or carrying out judgment, the baptism of fire, if they do not.

Yet John was not degrading himself with these words. He wasn’t saying, “I’m nobody, I’m just the dirt under the toenail of the body of Christ”. Quite the opposite! John said of himself, quoting the prophet Isaiah, that he was a voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord. If you know your Old Testament, you know that was somebody important!

John’s ministry was to prepare the hearts of the people and introduce them to Jesus. John was the best man at the wedding. Jesus would be the bridegroom. John faithfully completed his God-given ministry, proclaiming the good news, instructing the people to repent of their sins, and then he got out of the way. John said, He must increase, but I must decrease. John knew who he was. Who made him who he was. And he gave God the glory for it. What a great example of a humble servant of God he was for all of us to imitate.