And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased"

 

Dove of the Holy Spirit, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1660.  St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

 

 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

 

- Luke 3:15–22 

 

Yesterday we began reading in Luke chapter 3:  Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"  Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, 'Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do them?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

 

Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  In Israel at this time, John cuts such a great holy figure that the people reasoned whether he was the Christ or not.  But it is very important to note about the character of John that he immediately establishes he is not, and compares himself to the "One mightier than I," and "whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  My study bible explains John's use of fire in this context as having the primary meaning of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is given to the world at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), and which in our recent readings from John's Gospel, Jesus repeatedly promised the disciples in His Farewell Discourse (John 14 - 16) and spoke of in His High Priestly Prayer, praying for unity and love (John 17).  My study bible says that John's use of "fire" also declares the judgment of Christ, in which the faithless will burn (see 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2:8).   It is most essential that we understand this fire is one and the same.  It is the same Power and the same Spirit which both enlivens the faithful and destroys the faithless.  

 

 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.  Herod had divorced his own wife, and married his brother Philip's wife, Herodias, while Philip was still living.  John the Baptist denounced this as contrary to Jewish Law.

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."  My study bible comments here that Jesus Himself doe snot need baptism.  In being baptized, our Lord accomplished several things, it says.  Among them, He affirmed John's ministry.  Moreover, He was revealed by the Father and the Holy Spirit to be the Christ, God's beloved Son.  He also identified with His people by descending into the waters with them.  In addition, He prefigured His own death, which gives baptism its ultimate meaning.  And as He entered the waters, He sanctified the water itself.  This act of baptism also fulfilled the many "types" which are given in the Old Testament, such as when Moses led the people from bondage through the Red Sea (Exodus 14), and when the ark of the covenant was carried into the Jordan so the people could enter the Promised Land (Joshua 3, 4).  Finally, Christ opened heaven to a world which was separated from God through sin.  

As I mentioned above, there is a tie between today's reading and the readings we completed in John's Gospel earlier this week, and last week.  That tie is the presence and introduction of the Holy Spirit.  Importantly, the Holy Spirit makes a prominent appearance at this event, the Baptism of Jesus, which is considered to be the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.  The Holy Spirit is such a marker of the times that Jesus initiates through His ministry that it seems inescapable we should mention the words from John's Gospel.  In His Farewell Discourse to the disciples, He said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11).  This powerful moment of Baptism is a hallmark for the appearance of the Holy Spirit -- and indeed of the Holy Trinity.  (For this reason, it is called Theophany in the Orthodox tradition, meaning a manifestation of God.)   In the earliest years of the Church, and to this day in the Armenian Apostolic Church, this "birth" of Jesus' public ministry was celebrated together with Nativity, before the date of the Feast of the Nativity was moved to December 25th.  But it is most important that my study bible observes John's discussion of the "Holy Spirit and fire" as the distinction of the Christ, the Messiah, and what Christ will bring into the world.  In the quotation from John 16, we find Jesus' words elaborating the mission and role of the Holy Spirit in the time we have lived since then.  But also it is essential that we understand these words in the context of the explanation that the fire of the Spirit, such as was experienced by Moses at the burning bush, for example (Exodus 3:1-6), is the same fire described as the experience of hell.  For it is the Holy Spirit which will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment; the same Spirit of truth that exposes both what is holy and what is not, which burns away that which is contrary to God, and enlivens that which is good and holy.   What we might experience as burning might be a burning away of what we don't need, or a quickening of energy that is telling us something moving and powerful, affirming the good.  An expression of the latter one might call the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, when they asked, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32).  So let us take this beginning of Christ's ministry with the important observations we can make about it, and tying it to the work of the Holy Spirit, so crucial to Jesus' parting words about the time of the world He was initiating until His Return.  For John the Baptist, let us regard him in light of his stature in the spiritual history of humanity, for he is the last and greatest of the prophets.  His radical poverty mirrors his humility before God, and his praise of Christ.  He still serves as a model for all of us, faithfully playing his role as friend of the Bridegroom and servant of God.