The One Mightier than John

Perhaps the most startling aspect of John the Baptist’s ministry, at least for many Jews, was his insistence that the baptism of repentance was required for the Jewish people. In the first century, Jews would administer a washing to those who had been born gentiles but who later came to worship the God of Israel and took on the yoke of the Mosaic law. This signified the passage of these converts from the status of being unclean and outside the covenant to being holy members of God’s people. Except in some tiny Jewish sects, however, such a washing was not administered to those who had been born Jews, although some washings existed in mainstream Judaism for restoring ritual purity (e.g., Lev. 12:1–8). In demanding that the Jews repent and be baptized, John was telling them that they were not, in fact, holier than the gentiles. Many Jews thought they were in a right relationship with God simply because they were physical descendants of Abraham (Matt. 3:9), trusting in their family lineage and neglecting the Old Testament’s frequent calls for faith and repentance. They they were not ready for the Lord’s coming, and John preached repentance so that they would escape divine judgment.

As we see in today’s passage, John’s preaching of judgment led many people to wonder if he was the “Christ”—that is, the Messiah, the Anointed One (Luke 3:15). Their thinking makes sense when we consider that Jews were expecting the Messiah to come and set all things right, judging evildoers such as the tax collectors and Roman soldiers who oppressed God’s people and exalting the children of Israel over the nations (see Mal. 4:1–3). John, however, told them that he was not the Christ. He was unworthy to untie the strap of the sandals of the Messiah who would come after him, a striking picture of Jesus’ superiority, since the Jews believed that even Hebrew slaves were above such a menial task as loosing a master’s sandals. Jesus will be so great that John will not be sufficiently worthy in comparison even to do the job of a slave (Luke 3:16).

The Messiah would come baptizing not with water like John but with fire and the Holy Spirit to separate the good kernels of wheat from the useless chaff (Luke 3:16–17). The image is one of judgment and purification. Jesus’ ministry will draw a line: those of faith will be purified and brought into God’s eternal storehouse of blessing, but those who reject Christ will be burned up and separated from His grace and favor forever (Isa. 27:12–13; Hos. 13:1–3; Mic. 1:3–5).