All four gospel writers tell us about the ministry of John the Baptist. He had two main points of focus: first, a baptism of repentance for the confession of sins, and secondly, the promise that the One to come (the Messiah) would baptize with the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, and John 1:33; notice that two of the writers say “the Holy Spirit and fire”!)
As the opening action of His earthly ministry, Jesus came to John to be baptized. John protested, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” (Mt. 3:14) However, Jesus told John it was necessary. “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’” (Mt. 3:16-17)
We might expect that Jesus and John were both excited and overwhelmed and the people around might also be amazed. However, the very next verse unexpectedly says, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Mt. 4:1)! What?! Would we not expect the Holy Spirit to give instant power and miracles, or powerful preaching as the immediate result? But instead, it almost sounds like the Holy Spirit and the devil are working together! Impossible! I agree. The phrasing of Scripture here is interesting, though. The devil isn’t smart enough to know that God can and does override his evil intentions to bring about good! Let’s follow the events here!
Luke is the writer that gives us an interesting insight. Immediately after his account of the temptations of Jesus, he states, “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit …” (Lk. 4:14). The pattern is this: filled with the Spirit, tempted and tested by the enemy, then experiencing the power of the Spirit. Worked for Jesus and will work for you and me, too! Expect it. First, the Holy Spirit convinces us that we are sinners and brings on us feelings of guilt, sorrow, and shame. The result will hopefully be true repentance and the confession of our sins as we ask the Lord to forgive us. His promise is not only to forgive us but to then cleanse us from all that is unrighteous, 1 John 1:9! Then, as the Holy Spirit begins His work in us, we will go through times of testing and temptation. (And by the way, this is not a one-time event; it will happen again and again. Just saying.) The result will be a greater power in our lives, power to conquer temptation, to live godly lives, and to share with others how God is at work in us. Yay!
Are you repentant, forgiven, and ready for God’s power to work in you?
Everything is About God 