The Baptism of Christ
An Orderly Account: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 3:15-22
The Text
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Grab Their Attention
The baptism of Christ is like a giant kaleidoscope.
Just like a kaleidoscope takes a hundred different pieces of colored glass and reflects and refracts them, the baptism of Christ takes a hundred different passages of Scripture and combines, reflects and refracts them.
So, when you read Christ’s baptism, you see glimpses of Genesis 1 and the creation story. You see Genesis 8 and the flood. Exodus 14 and the Red Sea crossing. You see Revelation, and the new creation at the end of the age.
And that’s because all of these stories find their unity in Jesus Christ. In fact all of the Bible finds its unity in Jesus Christ, and his baptism in Luke 3 is the public introduction of Jesus.
Raise the Need, State the Destination, Signposts
Jesus’ Baptism teaches us:
- Who He Is
- What He Brings
- What He Receives
- What We Receive Through Him
- Who He Is
At the very top of the passage we see there’s a question over the identity of John. Is he the Christ? And by the end of the passage we are focused on the identity of Jesus. We’re told who he is. As Jesus goes down into the Jordan river to be baptized by John, the other two person of the Holy Trinity appear: the Father speaks from heaven, and the Spirit of God descends upon Jesus.
Consider what’s happening here. All three persons in the triune Godhead are present and manifest themselves at the baptism of Christ.
Though God the Father does not have a body, he nonetheless manifests himself in a voice and he publicly owns Jesus Christ. He acknowledges Christ before the crowds. And he confirms his pleasure in the Son.
Can I just tell you—this is what all of us are looking for: to hear the eternal Father claim us as his child and bestow upon us his pleasure. Each of us, because we are made in the image of God, long to know him and be known by him. We long to hear his assuring voice calling us his child, giving us cosmic assurance.
Just this week we heard about the death of the Gene Hackman, the famous actor. And an old Inside the Actors Studio interview of Gene began making the rounds online. In the video Gene, who is 78 at the time, begins talking about when his father left the family when Gene was only 13 years old.
He was playing in the street with friends, his dad drove by and waved, and that was it. In the interview Gene is so overcome that he chokes up, can’t answer any questions, and as he nears the edge of crying, in an effort to try and laugh off the pain, says, “Excuse me. It’s only been 65 years.”
What’s going on? Even as an accomplished man, Gene Hackman was a little child who needed his father to claim him.
Similarly, the novelist Julian Barnes who was a longtime atheist, began his novel The Sense of an Ending with these words: “I don’t believe in God. But I miss him.”
What’s he saying? “Even though I don’t believe in God, I still find myself longing for cosmic assurance and love. I want to know that outside the walls of the world, is a loving Father who knows my name, who knows where I came from and where I’m going. Who knows my fears, my insecurities, and who welcomes me into his arms.”
You see, in Christ’s baptism, we see who he is: he isn’t just the divine Son—he is the welcomed one who has the Father’s name, his pleasure, his embrace.
But notice as well, the presence of the Holy Spirit who descends like a dove. Why a dove? The symbolism here reminds us of two other Scripture passages. First, in Genesis 1, when God was creating the world, we’re told that the Spirit of God hovered over the chaotic waters. Then, in Genesis 8, when God destroyed the earth with the waters of the flood, it was a dove that came to Noah with an olive leaf, letting him know that the waters of judgment had subsided.
And now, in Luke 3, the Holy Spirit flutters over the waters of baptism like a dove. In other words, God is saying, here in Christ is the new beginning, the new creation for all humanity. Just as the Spirit of God was present in creation, and just as the dove symbolized the cleansing of fallen creation in the flood, now, in Christ God will begin the ultimate renewal, the ultimate baptism, the ultimate cleansing.
Not only does the Spirit’s descent remind us of the new creation, it’s also a reminder that Jesus is appointed for a mission for God. In the Old Testament, any time a king or prophet was appointed, they were anointed. Anointing oil was poured on them and they were empowered by God’s Spirit for their appointed mission.
This is who Jesus is. He is the fully divine Son of God, in and through whom God will affect the new creation. That’s who he is. Now, let’s see what he brings.
- What He Brings
As people wonder whether or not John is the Christ, John removes all doubt. He is not the Christ. In v. 16, John begins to explain who he is and who Jesus is. There are similarities between John and the Christ. They are both baptizers. John came baptizing, and so would Jesus Christ. But that’s as far as the similarities went. Look at v. 16:
16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance and cleansing. It was a baptism of preparation to meet the Messiah. But John says that when Christ comes he will bring a different baptism. His baptism will be a baptism of judgment. It will not be a baptism of water, but a baptism of fire.
There it is. He comes to bring fire. This judgment, this fire becomes recuring theme in Jesus’ ministry.
- Matthew 7:19 – Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
- Matthew 13:40 – Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
- Luke 12:49 – I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!
Do you hear the words of Christ?
And in case there is any doubt as to the nature of this baptism, John adds this in v. 17:
17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
In the ancient world, after you cut your wheat field you had to divide the kernel of wheat, which could be ground and turned into flour, from the outer husk called the chaff. The winnowing fork was like a pitchfork used to toss the wheat into the air. The heavier kernel fell back to the earth and the chaff was blown away.
What is John saying? Jesus Christ is the great sifter. He’s the great divider of people. The winnowing fork is in the hand of Jesus. He is the great separator. The great separator of humanity isn’t rich or poor, black or white, Republican or Democrat. It’s Jesus Christ.
Listen: he comes to bring division and fire. He comes to separate and burn. He’s not simply a great teacher, or a moral exemplar, or a friend to those in need. He is those things, but he is more, and any avoidance of Jesus Christ as the judge who brings fire is a rejection of the only Jesus who exists.
So many people love my preaching of Jesus right up until I get to this point. They love the moral teachings of Jesus. They love the sacrifice of Jesus. But they are utterly repulsed and offended that Jesus Christ comes to cast fire on the earth. So, they turn away.
But listen to what Luke says about John’s preaching of fire and judgment in v. 18:
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.
Luke says that John’s message of division, separation, and fire was the preaching of the good news. This is the gospel. Christ divides. He separates. He comes to bring fire.
And you say, “How can this possibly be good news? How can it be good news that Jesus brings fire. To understand why this is good news let’s also learn:
- What He Receives
Jesus Christ says he comes to bring a baptism of fire. And earlier we heard from Luke 12:49. This is where Jesus said, “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!”
But then, in the very next verse, Jesus says this:
“50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
In Mark’s gospel, two of the disciples say to Jesus, “Let us sit next to you in your glory.” And Jesus responds: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (Mark 10:38)
What’s going on? Midway through the gospels, Jesus stops talking about the baptism he’s come to give, and begins talking about the baptism he’s come to receive. He stops talking about the fire he brings and he begins talking about the fire that’s coming down on him. What’s the cup he mentions? It’s the cup of divine judgment that he has to drink.
Remember in Gethsemane, the night of his betrayal? There he is, alone in the garden. The disciples have fallen asleep. Luke tells us that in agony, he prayed earnestly and his sweat became like great drops of blood. What was he praying? “Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” The baptism. The fire. The cup. The cross.
Jesus Christ, the eternal Word who brings the fire of judgment also comes to receive it for his people in his suffering and death. The one who is the great separator is somehow himself being cut off from the Father.
At his baptism of water in Luke 3, the Father pronounces a blessing on the Son. At the baptism of fire at the cross the Father places the curse of sin on the Son.
At the baptism of water, the Father owns and claims the Son. At the cross, he is disowned, cast out, and forsaken.
In the cross, the Son of God both brings the fire, and he receives the fire.
Is God full of wrath? Absolutely. God is so just and desirous to judge sin that Jesus had to die.
Is God loving? Yes. He is so loving and desirous of our salvation that Jesus was glad to die.
Do you see what the cross really is? Many people know there needs to be a final judgment. There needs to be a final accounting at the end of history in which wrongs are made up for and evil is conquered.
And basically everybody understands there news to be a new creation in which human community with God is restored, and the good, the true, and the beautiful are forever secured.
And the cross of Jesus Christ is the inbreaking of the last judgment into history. At the cross, the fiery judgment that would have come down on us for our sins has already come down on Jesus.
And, the cross of Jesus Christ is the inbreaking of the new creation into history. This is why Christians say they have been “born again.” This is why Paul says, “If you are in Christ, you’re a new creation.” Because of the cross, those who have put their trust in Christ, though they continue to live in this age, they have already partaken of the life of the age to come.
The fire that is coming at the end of the age to cleanse, purify, and renew… Christ has already gone into that fire with our sin so that we can be made new right here, right now.
Friend, believe in Christ. Look to Jesus Christ on the cross. See the fire of judgment come down on your sin, and believe.
We’ve seen who he is, what he brings, and what he receives. Finally, let’s consider:
- What We Receive
If you are in Christ by faith alone… if you have been united with Christ… though this passage in Luke 3 does not tell you what you gain from that union, it certainly points forward to the rest of the New Testament.
Just as Luke 3 tells us who Jesus Christ is, it also prefigures who we can become through him. Specifically, in and through Christ we become beloved children and empowered workers.
Beloved Children
At the baptism of Christ, the Father says, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” And because we are united with Christ by faith, we become beloved children of the Father. If you are in Christ, you have cosmic assurance. You have a Father who knows your name, knows where you come from and where you are going, who knows your fears, your insecurities, and who welcomes you in to his arms.
Romans 8 tells us that God hasn’t made us slaves, but adopted sons, and that if we are in Christ, his Spirit bears witness with us that we are the children of God.
Listen… if you are in Christ by faith, the Father is as pleased with you as his child as he is pleased with Christ. When the Father looks on you, he smiles.
Do you know what else this means? It means you have access. A slave doesn’t have access, but a child does. In the middle of the night, my youngest began to cry. And you know what I did? I welcomed her into our bed, gave her a blanket, and assured her that everything was ok. Only a child has that kind of access… if you are God’s child, you have it. Are you taking advantage of the access you have to go to your Father? To speak to him?
Luke 3 foreshadows the access, the acceptance, the love you have through Christ.
Empowered Workers
Lastly, Luke 3 tells us that in and through Christ we become empowered workers.
Remember what I said about anointing? At his baptism, Jesus Christ as true man receives the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Why does he receive the Spirit? In order that he might give the Spirit and the Spirit’s anointing to us.
The book of Acts was also written by Luke and in Acts 2 Luke tells us that the disciples “were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.”
Do you see what this is? A baptism of the Spirit and fire. But it’s no longer a fire that destroys. It’s no longer a fire of judgment. It’s a fire of joy that strengthens and empowers. The rest of Acts, indeed the rest of church history is the story of Christians going forward in the world with the anointing of the Spirit of God.
Listen: if you are in Christ by faith, then you have received the same Spirit as Christ did in his baptism. You have been anointed to work for Christ in this world.
Here’s what that means: you are no longer relying on your own strength. You are supplied with strength and power that comes from outside of yourself. You have access to wisdom that is outside yourself as you read the Scriptures. You have the ability to mortify sin that cannot come from you.
Listen: if you are in Christ—spiritual growth is possible. There is no wound so deep in your life that it can’t be healed. There is no habit so binding that you can’t be freed from it. There is no calling that God has given you that cannot be fulfilled.
- Has he called you to be a spouse? Then his Spirit is with you, empowering you to that calling.
- Has he called you to be a parent? Then his grace, supplied by the Spirit, is sufficient for you.
- Has he called you to teach the Bible? His Spirit is also with you, teaching alongside you.
There is not a circumstance he will lead you to that his Spirit is insufficient to lead you through. There is no calling he will give to you that his Spirit is inadequate to equip you for. All that he asks of you, he supplies to you.
Church, the baptism of Christ shows us what we receive in Christ: cosmic assurance and acceptance, power from on high to live out our calling here below on earth.
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