“Who is Jesus?” That’s the critical question for all of us. His own disciples didn’t understand Him at first, but John the Baptist was different. Before John was even born, he leapt in his mother’s womb for joy when Jesus’ mother came for a visit (Luke 1:41). And in today’s passage, before Jesus began His earthly ministry, before He had accomplished any of His mighty miracles or delivered any of His authoritative teaching, John recognized Him as the promised Messiah. John even knew that he needed Jesus to baptize him.

And John also knew the kind of baptism he really needed. He knew that the waters with which he washed the people who came to him were simply symbolic of the spiritual cleansing their hearts needed. John knew we all need what the waters of baptism point to: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us, filling us from the inside out with God Himself, burning away all sin from within us.

But however much he knew about Jesus, John still didn’t have the whole picture. Verse 12 indicates that John thought much of what Jesus will accomplish in His second coming would happen immediately. Like Jesus’ disciples, John thought Jesus had come to bring perfect justice to the world then and there, separating the righteous from the wicked, and destroying all wickedness forever.

So John must have been amazed when, instead of marching to Jerusalem to assume His earthly power, Jesus headed out into the desert for 40 days to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). In fact, Jesus didn’t even start His earthly ministry until after John had been arrested (Matthew 4:12). So, because John would die in prison at the hands of a wicked despot, he would never see the justice he so confidently predicted in verse 12. And we may not see things work out in our lives the way we think they should, either.

But that’s why it’s all the more important for all of us to cling to John’s confession that Jesus is in fact the Messiah of God. And that’s why we all need to remember that God Himself also testified to Jesus’ identity: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” No, the self-sacrificial way Jesus lived on this earth may not make sense to us. The way Jesus loved those who denied Him and rejected Him may seem foolish to us. But if God the Father was pleased with Jesus, who are we to insist that we know better?

So, while we wait with John for Jesus to bring perfect justice to this world, let’s pray that Jesus would baptize us, filling us with His Holy Spirit. For it is only in the power of the Spirit that we will be able to follow Jesus, living and loving as He calls us to do.

Matthew 3:11-17 (NASB)

11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12 “And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.
14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.
16 And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him,
17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”