 IS JOHN THE CHRIST? - As mentioned in the overview,
in this part of John the Baptist’s message (verses 15-18), Luke seeks to clarify
Jesus as being the Messiah over against John. Like John’s Gospel, so Luke raises the
question in many minds: Is John the Christ? The two are distinguished in three ways: 1)
John is not worthy even to be a slave of the mightier one; 2) the Messiah will not baptize
with water but with the Holy Spirit and fire-anticipating Pentecost; 3) and the Christ
will bring judgment.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND FIRE - this could be a double entendre of Luke’s, for pnuema
could also refer to wind, e.g. wind and fire-both symbols of the powerful presence of God.
What follows is a scene right out of 1st century agriculture: farmers poured wheat from
one container to another on a windy day or tossed the wheat into the air with a fork or
shovel so that the chaff would be blown away, leaving the grain clean.
THE SPIRIT UPON Jesus - The coming of the Spirit upon Jesus commissioned and empowered
him for his ministry. The voice from heaven was another common feature of apocalyptic
literature. The rabbis taught that the Spirit had departed from the earth with the last of
the prophets of Israel, but that on occasion God caused a voice to come forth from heaven.
This voice was not to be regarded as a continuation of the revelation in the Torah or the
Prophets or as a substitute for the Holy Spirit.
 The role of John the Baptist,
though clearly a lesser light, was nonetheless significant in the introduction of Jesus to
public ministry. Who have been "John the Baptists" in your life-people who
planted seeds that grew into the good soil of the gospel?
If you asked John the Baptist, "what should we do?" How would he answer you?
What one specific action might demonstrate fruit that confirms your intention to follow
Christ more fully?
 You might consider raising the
confusion about John the Baptist and Jesus that both Luke and also John’s Gospel
raises.
Yet, rather than use John as a straw figure to elevate the stature of Jesus, honestly
look at John’s contribution to Jesus’ ministry.
Look for John the Baptist’s in your life, in the life of your community and
town/city. How has that person or group helped the rest to better prepare themselves?
Look for personal JB’s in your life-persons who moved you closer to Christ, who
encouraged you, who modeled the extraordinary life that Christians can live and
experience.
Finally, move to the Messiah as the one who even our best John the Baptist’s
defer.
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[1] Fred Craddock, Interpretation Series: Luke (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1990),
page 49.
[2] Ibid, page 49.
[3] The New Interpreter’s Bible IX (Nashville: Abingdon Press,1995), page 91.
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