St Matthew 3 Now in those days John the Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”… 11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
13 Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him. 16 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, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Jesus will come and will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire … In the OT reading in Malachi 3 we read of Jesus’ coming,
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
The advent of Jesus is also the advent of baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire which signifies the purification and restoration of God’s people. Who may abide the day of His coming? Who shall stand when He appears? The Messiah is like a refiner’s fire … He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver. … ** The sons of Levi are the priests that serve in the Temple. Religious decline begins with the failure of the priesthood to show the requisite fear and reverence due Jehovah. Judgement always begins with the household of God.** … Jesus comes baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire. He comes with a winnowing fork in His hand, separating the wheat from the chaff — Jesus is appointed for the fall and rise of many (Luke 2:34).
In His advent, Jesus comes to the threshing floor … The threshing floor imagery has many meanings in Holy Scripture. It is the place where the Bride seeks her husband: Ruth sought her husband, Boaz, on the threshing floor (Ruth 3). The threshing floor is a place of worship. The Temple was built on the threshing floor on Mt Moriah (Mt Zion) that David purchased from Ornan (I Chronicles 21). The Temple/threshing floor is where Israel seeks her husband, Jehovah, where the Church, the Bride, seeks her husband Jesus (cf Ephesians 5). The threshing floor is where God separates the wheat from the chaff, the wheat from the tares, the Bride of Christ from her sins. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
At Jesus’ baptism three things happened:
The heavens were opened … “And, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him” (KJV). The heavens, which Adam’s sin had closed, are now opened unto Jesus, and in Jesus, the heavens are opened unto us who have been baptized. For we have been baptized into Jesus Christ (Romans 6).
The Spirit of God as a dove descended upon Jesus … The Holy Spirit descended upon the waters of baptism and remained upon Jesus, anointing Him for His work as the Christ, “the anointed One.” The Holy Spirit’s descent signifies and prefigures the new creation that the sacrament of Christian baptism confers upon believers when the Spirit comes down upon the waters (cf Genesis 1:2f) and remains upon those who were baptized.
The voice from heaven declares “This is my beloved Son” … All those who are baptized into Jesus Christ are declared to be the beloved children of God.
JSH+