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God Wants To Calm Our Fears & Teach Us Things
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
(Matthew 17:1-13 ESV)
Today we finish up our study of the transfiguration as recorded by Matthew in His gospel. Three of Jesus’ closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, were lead up to a mountain top by Jesus and once there they had three amazing experiences. They saw Jesus display His true, divine glory. They saw two long-dead Old Testament figures, Moses and Elijah. And they heard the voice of God. That’s some pretty cool stuff.
Upon hearing God’s voice these three disciples fell on their faces and were terrified. Having a relationship with God is a blessing. Those of us who are God’s adopted children have some pretty cool experiences. But having a relationship with God is also very humbling. There are times when we realize just how sinful we are and how holy God is in comparison. We know that we fall well short of God’s standards. Such a realization creates reverential fear born out of humility. It makes us want to hide from God.
Certainly every child of God has experienced this. When we screw up in life our natural reaction is to “hide” from God. We stop praying because we don’t want to face Him. But God knows everything already. And as we’ve learned a few times, God isn’t looking for reasons to whack us over the head when we error. His goal is to teach us to do better next time. This is why God spoke to the disciples in today’s passage. He was correcting Peter’s error.
But notice how Jesus deals with the disciples fear. He came closer to them and touched them. They hid. Jesus approached. Just like in the Garden of Eden [Genesis 3:8]. While those who do not belong to God’s family should fear Him, God wants His children to have no fear of Him.
While coming down the mountain the disciples asked Jesus a question about an Old Testament passage in Malachi 4:5 in which God promised that Elijah would come before judgement day. The disciples were still mistaken about Jesus. They thought He was going to Jerusalem to conquer and that “judgement day” was right around the corner and wonder why Elijah has not preceded Jesus.
But Elijah did come, at least in spirit, in the form of John the Baptist who turned people to God as Elijah did as prophesied to John’s parents [Luke 1:17; John 1:21]. Many believe that Elijah will return to earth physically during the Tribulation as one of the two witnesses (the other being Moses) mentioned in Revelation 11:3-13.
Note that God is also willing to answer our questions. He is never unwilling to teach us. He never gets bothered by our ignorance or silly statements, such as Peter uttered. God is approachable. He will never chastise us for not knowing. He wants to give us answers to our questions.
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The World Does Not Like Having Its Sin Pointed Out
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
(Matthew 14:1-12 ESV)
Today we read another passage by Matthew that depicts a man whose heart is like the soil that is so hard that it cannot accept the seed that is the gospel [Matthew 13:3-4]. Sadly, today’s story is not a parable. It is a true story that is verified by extant historical documents.
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about Jesus. This is a very revealing statement. Jesus had been preaching for well over a year at this point and His fame had spread. Yet the man who ruled over Galilee had not yet heard about Him. Herod was obviously very detached from the people and the events of his jurisdiction.
This Herod was Herod Antipas. He was the son of Herod the Great who had all the baby boys in Bethlehem killed in an attempt to kill Jesus after His birth [Matthew 2:16].
Upon hearing about Jesus this Herod feared that Jesus was really a resurrected John the Baptist, whom he had beheaded some months before. Perhaps Herod was afraid John had come back from the dead to seek revenge.
History tells us that Herod divorced his wife and married Herodias, the wife of his half-brother, Philip. Notice that even though Herod and Herodias were married, the Holy Spirit directs Matthew to call her Philip’s wife. God does not recognize divorce. In God’s eyes Philip was still married to Herodias and Herod was still married to his wife. Not only that, but Herodias was actually Herod’s niece so his relationship with her was incestuous.
Apparently John the Baptist had confronted Herod about all this sin more than once. Finally Herod had him thrown into prison. Herod originally wanted to put John to death. But he feared the people, who considered him to be a prophet. So he had put him in prison. Then in today’s story (which is a flashback), he gets tricked into killing John the Baptist by his wife.
Notice that Herod’s life was ruled by fear. He feared the people. He feared his wife and didn’t stand up to her when he realized he had made a foolish oath. He feared his guests and what they would think about Him if he went back on his oath. He was sorry he made the oath, but not sorry enough to break it. The only one he didn’t fear was God Himself.
The world does not welcome having its sin pointed out. A typical response is to seek revenge against those who present the truth, as Herodias did. The world loves its sin and hates God.
Nevertheless, Christians are to tell others God’s truth so that they can be saved. They won’t like it. But we are not to be afraid of them [Jeremiah 1:8; Ezekiel 2:6].
But like John the Baptist, we are to point people to Jesus. Telling others of their sins does no good if we don’t tell them how to have that sin forgiven.
I certainly didn’t like it when I was an atheist and had my sins pointed out to me. But I’m now glad that someone took the risk and told me and also told me about Jesus. Otherwise, I’d be on my way to hell.
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Some People Will Find Any Excuse Not To Believe
“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
(Matthew 11:16-19 ESV)
Yesterday Jesus praised John the Baptist. But as great as John was, he had his critics. So did Jesus. In today’s passage Jesus exposes the critical nature of the people of His day which prevented them from accepting John and Jesus for who they were. As we study this passage we’ll realize that, sadly, people living today have the same critical tendencies.
Jesus’ opening question, to what shall I compare this generation?, reflects a common Hebrew manner of introducing an illustration. It is the equivalent of saying “How shall I put this?” Jesus is going to explain the attitude of the people of that generation towards the gospel message which both He and John the Baptist had presented.
Jesus compares the general population to children in the marketplace who call to their friends to play a game. Parents who sold wares in the market would have brought their children with them rather than leaving them home unattended. As children will do, they would play with each other while there.
Children like to copy the adult world and evidentially there were two games children played back then: “wedding” and “funeral”. In the “wedding” game some children would play a pretend flute and the other children were expected to dance. In the “funeral” game some children would sing a dirge and the other children would mourn. But in Jesus’ illustration the children did not dance or mourn as expected – they rejected both options.
In a similar manner, Jesus says, the people rejected both John and Him. John lived an ascetic lifestyle (neither eating or drinking) and was criticized for being demon possessed. Jesus, on the other hand, lived just the opposite lifestyle – He mixed with society (eating and drinking). Yet the people also criticized Him for being a glutton and a drunkard and a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
Note that Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But His critics looked upon this with disdain. They used this phrase in an effort to impugn Jesus’ character. Just like the children were not satisfied with a happy game or sad game, the people were not accepting of either John or Jesus.
Some people cannot be satisfied. They have already made up their minds they are not going to believe and will therefore find fault with any presentation of the gospel message. But wisdom is proven by results (deeds).
The results of the gospel speak for themselves in the form of lives changed from despair to hope, from anger to peace, from self-centeredness to humility. Those who reject Jesus will someday find that their decision lacked wisdom.
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No One Enters God’s Kingdom Passively
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
(Matthew 11:7-15 ESV)
Today we come a rather complicated passage in Scripture. Yesterday we saw that John the Baptist was having doubts about Jesus. So he sent two of his own disciples to ask Jesus if He was the Messiah. As usual, there was a crowd around Jesus when this happened.
The crowd had witnessed John the Baptist expressing doubt and therefore may have begun to change their minds about him. So Jesus, through the use of a couple of rhetorical questions, points out that John was not a vacillator (a reed shaken by the wind). Nor was he a man who embraced the world (a man of soft clothing).
John was a prophet. In fact he was more than a prophet. While other prophets had predicted Jesus, John heralded Jesus just as previous prophets, whom Jesus quotes, predicted [Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1]. John the Baptist was the only prophet who was predicted. And he had a very important job – to introduce the world to Jesus.
These words of Jesus are a prime example of something He told us recently: He will acknowledge those who acknowledge Him [Matthew 10:32-33]. John the Baptist acknowledged Jesus’ greatness. Here Jesus acknowledges John’s greatness.
Yet as great as John was he still lived under the law since Jesus had not yet died and taken on the penalty of sin (which He did at the cross). As we’ve learned in our previous studies of Philippians and Ephesians, the law is inferior to grace. Jesus here is foreshadowing the benefits of living in the kingdom of heaven which He brought into the world [Matthew 3:1-2]. It is much better to live under grace, which we do today, than it is to live under the law, as people did in Old Testament times.
This kingdom had suffered violence from the days of John the Baptist. This statement by Jesus is difficult due to the complexity of the original Greek, but perhaps Jesus is referring to the opposition people have had to Him since John first ushered Him onto the world scene.
Alternatively, this statement could refer to the “violent” nature with which people enter the kingdom of heaven. I myself went into Christianity kicking and screaming. I had been a devout and outspoken atheist who did not want to believe the Bible was true. It took a lot out of me when I finally realized I was wrong. No one enters God’s kingdom passively. It requires a complete break – sometimes an emotionally violent break – from what we currently believe.
The last statement by Jesus is very interesting. If the Jews were willing to believe it, John was Elijah (in a spiritual sense) whose return is prophesied by the final Old Testament prophet Malachi [Malachi 4:5]. But the Jews were not willing to believe. Hence John was not Elijah. Isn’t that interesting? Our belief or non-belief has causation.
This means that Elijah has yet to return. Many believe that Elijah will be one of the two witnesses who appear during the Tribulation [Revelation 11:3-12].
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Knowing Our Bible Eliminates Doubt
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
(Matthew 11:2-6 ESV)
Up until this point in his gospel Matthew has focused on specific events in Jesus’ life which corroborate that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. In the next couple of chapters Matthew records the reactions to Jesus starting with John the Baptist’s doubt.
John the Baptist had been thrown into prison earlier [Mark 6:17] but while there had heard about the deeds of Jesus such as His miraculous healings. John had been convinced that Jesus was the Messiah [Matthew 3:13-14] but now was beginning to doubt .
The Jews at this time believed that their Messiah would overthrow the Roman government and reestablish Israel as a free, independent nation. Jesus had not done that. Instead He was healing people which was nice but was not what was expected. John, therefore, had begun to wonder if Jesus was truly the Messiah.
Notice that when John was living freely in the desert he had absolutely no doubt who Jesus was. But now he was in prison. He had lived his entire life in wide-open spaces, breathing fresh air. But now he was confined to a small, dark, dirty cell. Certainly this was not a comfortable situation for him.
Doubt can arise because of our situation. But God is God no matter what we are going through. Our circumstances may change for the worse but God is still the same [Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:7 et. al]. He is still in control. He still loves us. Our circumstances should not affect how we view Him.
We also need to realize that God’s truth almost always contradicts what the world thinks. The Jewish community, including John, had certain expectations of their Messiah. But just because they believed these things didn’t make them true. We should never allow worldly truth to influence how we see God. Rather, God’s truth should dictate how we view and understand the world.
All around us the world talks about evolution as if it were fact. All around us the world celebrates homosexuality. All around us the world tacitly approves of sinful behaviors such as lying and greed. It would be very easy to start to wonder if these things were true or if God’s word is true.
The one and only way we can know God’s truth and have complete confidence in Him no matter what our circumstance and no matter what the world tells us is to know our Bibles. The Bible is the primary way God reveals Himself to us. We need to study our Bibles every day. Sadly, many Christians know more about TV characters than they do about God.
That leads many to be offended when life doesn’t turn out the way they expect. When tragedy strikes they blame God instead of trusting Him. They wonder, as John did, whether what they once knew to be true is in-fact true. And as Adam and Eve found out, doubting God leads to sin.
But the one who trusts God in all situations and does not doubt will be blessed.
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Jesus Lived To Be A Sacrifice For The Poor In Spirit
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
(Matthew 3:16-17 ESV)
A couple of days ago we learned that Jesus was baptized in order to identify with sinners. He went through this ceremony of public declaration conducted by John the Baptist even though he had never committed a sin
While John’s baptism was for those who understood their need to repent as preparation for receiving God’s forgiveness [Matthew 3:11], today people get baptized to demonstrate they are already forgiven and therefore are justified before God.
When we are forgiven of our sins we are “cleansed” – made pure and clean and eligible to enter God’s presence in heaven someday. God no longer sees us as sinners – our sins are 100% forgotten [Isaiah 43:25; Micah 7:19; Hebrews 8:12 et. al]. Baptism is both a symbolic representation of this change as well as a public witness to this fact.
After Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened… and the Spirit of God [descended]… coming to rest on Him. Then a voice from heaven (God’s voice) indicated that Jesus was God’s son and that God was well pleased with Him.
Not only did this fulfill Old Testament prophecy [Isaiah 11:2] but it was a public witness to Jesus being the Messiah, sent by God to take on the penalty of mankind’s sins. It is as if God is commissioning Jesus, after living a normal life for 30 years, to begin His public ministry that will eventually end with His crucifixion.
Notice that this one event involved the entire Trinity: God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. All three persons of the Godhead were working together for the benefit of the human race, just like they have from the beginning [Genesis 1:26].
It’s interesting that the Holy Spirit descended like a dove. Doves were one of the animals offered as sacrifices for sin in the Temple. But whereas bulls and lambs were sacrificed by the wealthy who could afford them, doves were sacrificed by the common people who could not afford to purchase a more expensive animal to sacrifice [Leviticus 5:7].
Three years later Jesus would become, like the dove, a sacrifice for anyone who is willing to become poor in spirit. That is, recognize and admit that they are sinners who cannot pay the penalty for their sins and instead need someone to do that for them [Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8; Psalms 14:3; Ecclesiastes 7:20 et. al]. This takes a great deal of humility.
Not to be overlooked is the humility Jesus had. He was God. Yet He gave up His position in heaven to identify with helpless sinners, allowing His body to be killed despite being perfect and innocent [Philippians 2:5-8].
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God Offers Wisdom To Those Who Are Teachable
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
(Matthew 3:13-15 ESV)
What’s great about the Bible is that every word matters. Every sentence, no matter how short, teaches us something. The verse we’ll study today is only three words long but it contains an important lesson.
Yesterday we read about Jesus’ baptism. Initially John the Baptist didn’t want to baptize Jesus because he recognized Jesus for who He was – the sinless Messiah prophesied about in the Old Testament. In the original Greek, John’s words are very emphatic; He was certain he was right. He thought he knew what he was talking about.
But then Jesus corrected him and then he consented. This brief verse struck me so much that I wanted to spend a day discussing it.
How often do those of us who are God’s children think we know what we’re doing or thinking when it comes to God but really we don’t? It happens all the time.
John the Baptist was not an atheist. He was a believer – a very strong believer. He knew the Bible better than the Jewish religious leaders who did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. For three years these men saw Jesus’ miracles and heard Him speak yet they did not believe He was who He said He was. But John knew exactly who Jesus was the moment he laid eyes on Him – before Jesus even started His public ministry.
Yet John got somethings wrong. He understood a lot. But he didn’t understand all.
Notice how Jesus deals with John’s misunderstanding. He does not condemn. He simply points out that it is right for Him (Jesus) to be baptized at the current time, despite John’s seemingly sensible objections.
This is exactly how God deals with His children. He offers us wisdom [James 1:5]. He wants to teach us [Matthew 11:28-29; John 14:26, 16:13-14]. But for that to happen we must be teachable. We must be in communication with God through prayer.
God is very patient with us. If we think or say or do something that is in error He will not whack us over the head. Instead He will gently correct us by providing us the better way of thinking or doing. But that information does not come in the form of a lightning bolt. It comes through prayer.
We must be willing to listen to God when He speaks to us. He will give us the information we need [Proverbs 5:20-22 et. al]. And when He does our response should be like that of John the Baptist who didn’t continue to argue. He recognized Jesus’ as the supreme authority. When Jesus spoke, John listened and acted in accordance with Jesus’ words.
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God Knows What It Is Like To Live In A Human Body
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
(Matthew 3:13-15 ESV)
Today we read the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Up until this point Jesus had lead a pretty obscure life. The Bible doesn’t tell us anything about His childhood, except for a very brief excerpt when he was twelve [Luke 2:41-51]. The next we see of Him is when He is baptized in this passage at about the age of 30 [Luke 3:23].
Some claim that in these intervening years Jesus spent time in Britain or India. But there is no evidence of this. It is most likely that Jesus simply led a normal life in Nazareth as we see that people recognized Him as being from the area when He began preaching [Mark 6:1-3].
Those who claim Jesus spent time in India like to point out supposed similarities of Jesus’ teachings and Hinduism. But even a rudimentary comparison of these two teachings show they are completely incompatible. For instance, Jesus made it clear that everybody has one and only one life on this earth and when we die He judges our faith [John 5:22]. This is obviously at odds with the Hinduistic teaching of reincarnation and is just one of many incompatibilities between Jesus and Hinduism.
Interestingly, Jesus came (of His own initiative) to be baptized by John. Jesus was God in the flesh and lived without committing a sin. He had no need to participate in an act that testifies to one’s repentance and need for forgiveness [2 Corinthians 5:21]. John recognized this and initially tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized. Jesus seems to agree that for Him baptism was unnecessary but nevertheless appropriate under the circumstances (let it be so now) so as to fulfill all righteousness.
Jesus came into the world to identify with sinners [Isaiah 53:12]. It seems that being baptized, despite being unnecessary for Him, was the first public step in His ministry to redeem mankind. Similarly, Jesus was spent 9 months in His mother’s womb and then lived as an every-day human being for 30 years. None of that was necessary from God’s point of view. God could have easily created Jesus as a full-grown man – similar to Adam – on the spot at the appropriate time.
But God wanted us to know that He identifies with us. That means going through all that we have gone through including gestation, life, and death. There is nothing that we have experienced that Jesus, who was God, did not experience. He knows exactly what it is like to live in a human body on this earth.
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We All End Up Somewhere In Eternity
His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
(Matthew 3:12 ESV)
In an agricultural society, such as the one in which the New Testament took place, farming metaphors painted vivid pictures of reality. And this is just what John the Baptist uses in his final comments to the hypocritical Jewish leaders to describe to them the future actions of the coming Messiah.
Various grain seeds, such as wheat, are encased in husks. The seeds are desirable because they are edible. These husks are undesirable because they are indigestible by humans. So farmers have to separate them using a process known as threshing.
Essentially, this entailed placing the wheat stalks on a threshing floor where the husks could be broken by using animals. The farmer would then use winnowing fork to pick up batches of the wheat and toss them into the air allowing the wind to carry away the broken husk (now known as chaff) but allowing the heavier seed, which the farmer wanted to keep, to fall back down to the ground.
In a similar way Jesus will someday separate those people who belong to Him from those who don’t. This will take place at the end of the world.
Notice John the Baptist used the present tense when talking about Jesus and His metaphorical winnowing fork – is in his hand. Like the prophets of the Old Testament, John the Baptist understood that the Messiah would judge all people. But like these prophets, he failed to understand that the Messiah would first come to be a sacrifice and that He would come back a second time to judge.
When Jesus came to earth 2,000 years ago He did not come to condemn; He came to save [John 3:17]. But He will return a second time [John 14:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17]. When He does He will establish a worldwide government over which He will preside. This government will last 1,000 years during which He will reign with absolute fairness and honesty – the first, and only, ruler ever to do so. After those 1,000 years (which is known as The Millenium) the earth will be destroyed and it will be time for judgement [Revelation 20:1-5; 12].
Notice that Jesus will clear his threshing floor. There will be no one who falls through the cracks. Every human being who ever lived will end up either in the barn or end up burnt with unquenchable fire. Those who think they will end up annihilated, or in purgatory or in some other not-quite-heaven-but-not-so-bad place are mistaken.
Those who belong to Jesus are His and end up in the safety of the metaphorical barn (heaven). The rest, who found Jesus undesirable, and who He in turn will find undesirable, end up removed from the blessing of His presence forever (we call that “hell”), like the chaff carried away by the wind.
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We Can Choose How We Handle The Truth About Ourselves
I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
(Matthew 3:11 ESV)
Over the past few days we’ve been studying the words of rebuke spoken by John the Baptist towards the religious leaders of Israel. John called them out for being filled with pride and self-assurance of their own salvation simply because they were descendants of Abraham. In today and tomorrow’s verses John turns from rebuke to hope.
John tells them that someone is coming whose baptism is more powerful than the one he was performing. John was baptising truly repentant people in water – a symbolic gesture. Jesus, though, would baptize [people] in one of two different ways: either with the Holy Spirit or with fire.
God had promised back under the Old Testament to send His spirit to His people [Joel 2:28; Ezekiel 36:25-26]. After Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after rising from the dead, proving He had paid the penalty for sin, God did fulfill that promise by baptizing the initial believers with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost [Acts 2:1-4].
Since that day every person who truly repents of their sin and accepts Jesus’ death as 100% necessary and complete for the forgiveness of their sins likewise receives (i.e. is baptized with) the Holy Spirit.
The presence of the Holy Spirit in the earthly body of a believer is proof that a person has been freed from the penalty of their sin and is the guarantee that that person will go to heaven [2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5]. Such a person will not have to face judgement for their sins because the penalty for those sins has already been paid-in-full by Jesus.
On the other hand, anyone who sins have not been paid by Jesus – because they refused to repent and accept the forgiveness God offers – will not be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Instead that person will face baptism of fire. That is, they will face God’s judgement.
John the Baptist’s message of truth towards the Pharisees and Sadducees is applicable to everyone living today. We are sinners. We cannot save ourselves through our own so-called good deeds, heredity, or rituals.
Likewise, the choice John the Baptist presented to the Pharisees and Sadducees is also applicable. It is the very same choice every man and woman faces with our own lives.
We can either repent (i.e. agree with God that we are sinners who don’t deserve to be in God’s presence) and escape God’s judgement. Or we can hold onto our pride and our sin and face that judgement.
This would not be a wise decision, however. Anyone whose sins have not been paid for by Jesus will have to face the consequences of their sin which is separation from God for all eternity with no hope of reconciliation. We call that hell.
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Walking Through The Word 