33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
John the Baptist was like one of the Old Testament prophets in several ways. For example, he received messages from God Himself and preached that the Children of Israel should repent. When he saw the Lord Jesus as he rose up from being baptized, John saw the Spirit of God in the shape of a dove upon him. John was told by God that Jesus is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. The King James Version uses the title “Holy Ghost”, but I definitely prefer the word “Spirit” over “ghost” simply because of our modern English language and the cultural implications of the word “ghost.” If we take the word all the way back to its original language, Greek, we find out that it is “pneuma” and can see that the word most accurately means “breath, wind, or breeze.” It is the same as the word “ruakh” in Hebrew. The word for “holy” actually means “set apart for a specific (or sacred) purpose.” So, we could interpret the Holy Spirit as the set-apart breath of God.
We know from the Creation account that God “breathes” upon or into human beings to give life. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is the Person of God who breathes eternal life into those who believe. As he breathes upon us, he also heals us and empowers us with the Fruits of the Spirit in this temporal world for his own purposes. Jesus is the one who baptizes those who are his with the Breath of the Holy One. That Breath, that Spirit, is both Fire and Water.
He purifies us as fire burns away impurities and also as water washes away dirt, cleansing everything. He also creates us anew that we may become sons and daughters of God.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
It is always important to recognize the culture and language of the Gospels so that we may fully understand what is being expressed by the writers who were inspired within their own context. When we think of the term, “the Son of God,” we automatically assume that the only thing which is meant is that Jesus is begotten of God the Father. This is completely true and is attested to throughout the rest of the New Testament. The Divine Son of God who will rule the earth was also the view of Jewish Dead Sea Scrolls community as can be read in Dead Sea scroll 4Q246.
However, it is important to note that the title did not just connote Divinity to John the Baptist’s audience. The son of God was actually a title of the Anointed King of Israel. God told David regarding his son Solomon that “I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.” (2 Samuel 7:14-15).
So, when John the Baptist claimed and affirmed that Jesus was the “Son of God” he was saying two things and combining them into one just as the Dead Sea Scrolls community at Qumran had done:
That Jesus was the Messiah (Anointed King of Israel) who bares the title of Son of God, the rightful Anointed King from the line of King David.
That Jesus was the only begotten Divine Son of God who was destined to rule and reign over the whole world.
According to John the Baptist, the Divine Son of God who was also physically from the line of King David has the power to baptize with the Holy Spirit and create sons and daughters of God.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for revealing yourself to me as my God and my King. I ask you to help me live in this reality, that you have created me, you enliven me, you baptize me with the power of the Holy Spirit, you cleanse me and purify me. Thank you for continuing to fill my lungs with the breath of life and for granting me eternal life as well. I ask for a full measure of the power of the Holy Spirit, that your works may be done in me and through me within my everyday life.
Amen
“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.” – Proverbs 8:11
All Bible Verses are from the KJV Unless Otherwise Noted
All images used are in the public domain from Pixabay
