Jesus was revealed to John and his disciples at his baptism in the River Jordan and is made real to us through the Holy Spirit.

Luke’s gospel emphasises the work of the Holy Spirit, and Acts of the Apostles, written by the same author is a continuation, recording the activity of the Holy Spirit in the early church.

John the Baptist, was full of the Holy Spirit from birth, Mary became pregnant with Jesus because the Holy Spirit came upon her and the Holy Spirit rested on Simeon revealing who Jesus was when his parents took him as a baby to the temple.

We need Holy Spirit help to receive the good news of salvation through Christ and be effective in Christian ministry.

Whereas John baptised with water, the one who would come would baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire. He would be more powerful than John. John said he wasn’t worthy to untie the thong of his sandals, be closely associated with him or be his slave.

John had been exhorting his followers to get ready for Holy Spirit fire by repenting of their sins and leading, good, honest, generous lives in which they shared what they had, didn’t take more than was their due and they didn’t intimidate others.

John used an image of wheat being threshed to separate it from the chaff which was burned with fire just as it is in our fields today, to cleanse the soil and make the ground ready for sowing seeds for the next harvest.

The fire was described as unquenchable like the rubbish tip around Jerusalem in the valley of Himnon called Gehenna which was constantly burning.

Both images were terrifying. Those listening must have thought, “If John isn’t good enough, what will happen to me if I slip up?”

Baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire means immersing the whole person in fire so that there is nothing unholy left that is not of God.

The crowd listening would remember Achan and his family, stoned and burned for not keeping God’s commandments, the fire which burnt the sacrifices in the temple and prophecies of the one who would lead his people into battle to defeat God’s enemies.

God is never soft on sin. He still seeks justice and judges the desires and devices of our hearts as well as our actions. He still seeks all of us.

Jesus, listening in the crowd, confounded expectations. He didn’t come as a great, controlling warrior. He acted like the other Jews being baptised that day.

Jesus came as one of us, submitting to being baptised by his cousin. He didn’t need to get his life right for the coming of the Messiah. He was the Messiah. The other gospels say Jesus did it because it was his father’s will.

Jesus identifies fully with us so we might identify fully with him. He experienced all we experience so he might be the means of saving us from judgement to come.

He described his coming death on a cross as a baptism to his disciples when they were still clinging to the image of the warrior King and wanted to be the Kings right hand men in his new kingdom.

Jesus’ baptism meant suffering. The River Jordan was an image of death, a river that had to be crossed before resurrection and glory

Christian baptism is not a sweet naming ceremony. It is a picture of dying to sin and our own death and resurrection to come.

John’s baptism was about cleansing and getting rid of sin through our own efforts. Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit is about becoming holy through Christ. Because Jesus died on the cross and suffered so we can be forgiven, we do not have to suffer the penalty of our sin. When we become one with Christ, God doesn’t look at what we have done wrong, he looks at the righteousness of his son; he sees Christ in us.

But we still have to live out our baptism and die to sin on a daily basis

When Jesus suffered, he suffered the physical effects of the sins of those who hated him and put him there. Like Jesus we will one day suffer the physical deaths of our body. But as Christ was raised through the power of the Holy Spirit and entered glory, so will we be raised.

When Jesus was baptised, Luke, draws our attention to Jesus praying, having fellowship with his heavenly Father. When we pray the distance from heaven to earth no longer exists.

Those watching saw God the father’s seal upon his Son’s ministry for heaven opened. Isaiah prayed “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down” as he called upon God to act in desperate times.

In Jesus, God came down to heal, save and deliver us from evil. God still comes to us in Christ through the Holy Spirit in our desperate situations. He is only a prayer away.

The Holy Spirit descended in bodily form on Jesus, not like a raging fire, but gently, like a dove and a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son. The Beloved, I love you. With you I am well pleased.”

The loveliest thing we can give others is love and affirmation. When we become Christians, we become God’s adopted children. He longs for us to enjoy basking in his love on a daily basis as we spend time with him, praying and listening to his voice.

We are disappointed when our children let us down. Our heavenly Father grieves when we behave badly but he still loves us and longs for us to come to him and ask for forgiveness.

If all those I baptised lived out their baptisms our church would be full. We need Holy Spirit help to live Christian lives. Our church needs passionate Christians empowered by the Holy Spirit, doing the things Jesus did when he was here on earth, speaking God’s words with power, rescuing those held by evil powers, both human and institutional, raising the dead and healing the sick.

Luke encourages us to ask for the Holy Spirit. “If earthly Fathers know how to give good gifts to their children, then how much more our heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

The disciples of Jesus had to wait for this gift which was poured out on the day of Pentecost when tongues of fire were seen on each of their heads. We need to keep being filled with the Holy Spirit. The early church prayed constantly to be filled.

We may be praying Christians who have been drawn to Jesus, convicted of sin, baptised in water who read our Bibles yet still feel something is missing.

The Christians from Samaria we read about in Acts accepted the word of God and were baptised in water into the Lord Jesus. They weren’t lacking the power to witness and share their faith because the baptismal formula wasn’t right. They were lacking because they hadn’t yet received the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit hadn’t yet fallen on any of them indicates that when the Holy Spirit did fall it was obvious. Sometimes, as in the case of Cornelius and his family, they prophesied or spoke in tongues, sometimes they were compelled to go out in the streets and preach, and sometimes the room in which they sat was shaken.

We do not know what happened here. We do know that Peter and John came from Jerusalem, laid hands on them, prayed and they received the Holy Spirit.

Too often we settle for less than what God wants to pour out upon us. He will baptise us with the Holy Spirit and fire if we ask him.

The Holy Spirit gives us our epiphany moments. He draws us to Jesus, convicts us of sin and assures us we are forgiven. He enables us to become one with Christ through baptism, reassures us of God’s love for us in Jesus and enables us to pray in a meaningful way.

This is wonderful, but there is more. The Holy Spirit brings our faith alive, giving us a passion to share it with others. Jesus baptises with the Holy Spirit and fire. The promise is for everyone. May Jesus baptise each of here today as we prayerfully seek him.