THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST - Part 3
Matt. 3:11-12 “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Matthew quotes John the Baptist in this passage of Scripture. You will notice that John uses the personal pronoun “I.”
John says, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance . . .” John says, “I want to say something further about my ministry.” In the Greek pronouns are attached to the verb. In other words, you do not have to use a personal pronoun separate from the verb unless you want to emphasize it. The “I” here is the translation of “ego” and is a personal pronoun that is placed there for emphasis. John is going to contrast his ministry with that of Jesus. The word “baptize” translates “baptizo” and means “ to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk), to overwhelm.” Sometimes a word is illustrated by its use in the Bible. This is true of the word “baptize.” Paul says in Romans 6:4: “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” The word buried” translates “sunthapto” and means, “to bury together with.” He says this burial is by “baptism” which translates “baptisma” and means “immersion.” It is not the purpose of this meditation to straighten anyone out on the subject of baptism. It is simply my desire to aid you in your understanding of what the Bible actually says. What you do with the truth after I help you to understand it, is strictly between you and your Lord. Baptism has never been and is not now a condition to salvation.
The word “baptize” is also a verb and is in the present tense. This means, “I indeed keep on baptizing you with water unto repentance.” The words “keep on” is an explanation of the present tense which is a continuous action verb. John is talking about his present practice, i.e., the present tense referring to the time he spoke these words. I baptize you with water, not in vegetable beef soup! Water was used to cleanse the priests and vessels in the Temple. The people to whom John spoke knew what the water represented. So water is the proper element. The word “unto” is the preposition “eis” and means “with reference to.” The word “repentance” is the translation of “metanoia” and means “a change of mind.” Have you ever been wrong about something and someone or something changed your mind? And when you changed your mind, your change of mind became evident in your talk on that subject and your actions with regard to that subject. God sent John to preach and baptize those who believed the message. as an expression of their identification with him and his message, they were baptized.
Next John says, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” The words “but he that cometh after me” means “he who follows after me.” John was a forerunner. He came to “prepare the way” for the Lord. John knew what his job was. He did not allow visions of greatness to deter him. He did not try to “develop his full potential!” He came (was sent; Jn. 1:6) to do a job and did it. That was what success was to John. I thank God for the day I learned that it was not up to me to be great. What ever God wants to make of me is His business. I ceased to listen to the voices a long time ago who tried to tell me what God wanted me to accomplish for Him. Have you ever heard the, “I’m doing it and you can also” routine? Or, “Come and hear me and I’ll tell you how to do it.” Now I’m not saying you can’t get help from another.
