No Comparison (Lk. 3:15-38)
Hear
Last week, we were introduced to John the Baptist's public ministry as the Word of God came to him in the wilderness. The way in which Luke records this event sounds like an insult to the political and religious leaders in power. The Word of God didn’t come to them, it came to the one who had humbled himself under God's mighty hand, resulting in a provocative call for repentance.
I challenged you last week to imagine yourself in that crowd as John preached and baptized, and to think seriously about an area(s) where you sense the Spirit of God calling you to practice repentance and follow through in obedience. Did you take that challenge? Did God reveal anything to you? If so, how are you going to respond to what He said? If not, I strongly encourage you to ask again; we should all make this a regular part of our prayer life.
Today, we return to the Jordan River, near Bethany (Jn. 1:28), where John is still baptizing. He isn't making it easy though. Just stepping into the water isn't enough; the people need "receipts." John’s demanding proof of sincerity: "If you want to be baptized, prove it! Show me something so I can know you’re sincere!" Before John would immerse them, they had to demonstrate evidence of a genuine change of heart and mind that led to a corresponding change in behavior.
Now, picture yourself back at John's baptism, but this time, as you stand in the crowd, consider how you might’ve reacted to Jesus' baptism. Would you have responded with indifference or wonder? Would you have been curious and drawn to Him? What’s your reaction? Well, as you think about it, grab your Bibles and turn with me to Luke 3.
I’ll get us started with verse 15.
Who Are You? (Luke 3:15)
Luke 3:15 NKJV
15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,
All four of the Gospel writers include some version of this encounter, either adding or omitting details. What one writer leaves out, another includes and as we look at each record, we get more pieces to the puzzle until the picture becomes clearer. In this case, Luke doesn’t really tell us why the people were in expectation. The Greek word that is used here, prosdokaō (προσδοκάω), means to wait expectantly. It’s a word of Advent that means to hope. The crowd is leaning in to hear what John is going to say next as they consider whether he is the Messiah.
Now, what would make them think that John might be the Messiah?
Well, do you remember that “brood of vipers” John confronts in Lk. 3:7? Luke writes this as though John is addressing the entire crowd, but Matthew makes it seem as though he is speaking to the religious leaders.
Matthew 3:7 NKJV
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
The Pharisees and Sadducees haven’t come to be baptized by John, that would’ve legitimized his ministry. Instead, they have come to challenge and interrogate him. These details from Matthew’s Gospel fit very well with what we find in the Gospel of John.
John 1:19–22 NIV
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
John 1:24 NKJV
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.
The reason why the people are prosdokaō (προσδοκάω) - in expectation - is because the Pharisees and Sadducees have raised the question about John’s identity. Is he the Messiah or not? John makes it very clear that his identity is not what they should be focusing on. They’ve got the wrong guy.
You’ve Got the Wrong Guy (Lk. 3:16-18)
Luke 3:16–18 NKJV
16 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.
17 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.”
18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.
John’s response to the question about his identity is very important. In the Synoptic Gospels he doesn’t directly deny that he is the Messiah, but in the Gospel of John he does. “I am not the Christ.” And in his message, he gives identifying markers to help those present recognize Who the Messiah actually is.
Let’s look at those markers.
The Messiah is mightier than John.
The Gospel of Mark beautifully brings together the words of Isaiah and Malachi which were spoken about the coming of John.
Mark 1:2–3 NKJV
2 As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”
3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ”
John the Baptist was the moon reflecting the brilliance of the Son as we discovered in the opening chapter of the Gospel of John.
John 1:7–9 NKJV
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
Also, John was a voice crying in the wilderness, but the Messiah is the Word of God in the flesh.
John 1:1–2 NKJV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
John was a messenger, but Messiah is the Message. This is why the Apostle Paul declared,
1 Corinthians 1:23 ESV
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
The Messiah is more worthy than John.
John the Baptist sets the record straight from the very beginning. He doesn’t want to give the people false hope or mislead them in any way. So, he tells everyone, the Messiah will come after me, but He precedes me (Jn. 1:30) and I’m not Him!
See, this is where a lot of today’s preachers get themselves in trouble. They forget that they are the voice and not the Word. As their popularity rises, they are no longer content with being the messenger. They want to be the Message, so they start singing their own praises instead of praising the One Who is greater still!
In Rev. 5:9-10 we are told why Jesus is worthy as a new song is sung in His honor.
Revelation 5:9–10 NIV
9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Now, none of this has happened as of yet in the Gospels, but John already knows that this One Who is more mighty and more worthy than he, is
John 1:29 NKJV
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
The Messiah has a better baptism than John.
This is a great reminder for us that the work God does is far superior to whatever we can contribute of ourselves. It doesn’t matter how well organized you are, it doesn’t matter how good you are at recruiting, it doesn’t matter what types of ministry we have going on in this place, and it doesn’t matter how convincing I am in my preaching, if the Spirit of God is not at work it is inferior to what only God can do and it will not survive.
Pastor Jim Cymbala, in his book Spirit Rising, said,
“We can never do what the Spirit can do. No amount of human talent and exertion of energy will ever grow the spiritual kingdom of Christ.” [1]
So then, what made Jesus’ baptism better than John’s? As I mentioned last week, John’s baptism didn’t remove the people’s sins, it was only preparatory. It was setting the people up for the Great Physician to come and completely heal them of their sinful disease. Luke helps us to understand this point in Acts 19. When asked if they had received the Holy Spirit, the disciples in Ephesus responded to Paul by saying,
Acts 19:2–6 MSG
2 ...“We’ve never even heard of that—a Holy Spirit? God within us?”
3 “How were you baptized, then?” asked Paul. “In John’s baptism.”
4 “That explains it,” said Paul. “John preached a baptism of radical life-change so that people would be ready to receive the One coming after him, who turned out to be Jesus. If you’ve been baptized in John’s baptism, you’re ready now for the real thing, for Jesus.”
5 And they were. As soon as they heard of it, they were baptized in the name of the Master Jesus.
6 Paul put his hands on their heads and the Holy Spirit entered them. From that moment on, they were praising God in tongues and talking about God’s actions.
John’s baptism couldn’t do that! His baptism couldn’t impart the Spirit of God to Believers. And to try and force it on people would’ve been disastrous. This is why we have so many documentaries about churches and pastors who have lost their way. They want so badly to be known as a Spirit-filled church that they make spiritual power their entire focus and mission while the faith of genuine believers is shipwrecked.
I’ll never forget one year during Summer Buddies when Sherri Drwenski was volunteering as a tutor. Every year we had a theme, and I remember us teaching kids about the Fruits of the Spirit, and Sherri made the point that we need to be teaching the kids to trust in Jesus before teaching them the Fruits of the Spirit. The reason was because without a redeeming relationship with Jesus the Holy Spirit doesn’t live in you to produce those fruits. It just becomes about behavior modification. That is wisdom! The Spirit glorifies Jesus (Jn. 16:14) and when people get Jesus, He’ll make sure they get his Spirit.
Spirit and Fire (Lk. 3:16b-18)
Luke 3:16–18 NKJV
16 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.
17 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.”
18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.
Spirit
Let me say a couple quick words about Spirit and fire. First, I don’t think that John was referring to separate baptisms here. As Walter Liefeld argues in his commentary,
“There are no two separate categories of baptism. The single word “with” (en) combines the two (cf. Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8). The coming of the Spirit is to have the effect of fire.[2]
And we can see the two brought together at Pentecost in Acts 2.
Acts 2:3–4 NKJV
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Leon Morris understands Jesus’ baptism of Spirit and fire as,
[A] figure of speech emphasiz[ing] that the Mighty One will give the Spirit in generous measure.[3]
So many people get so caught up with the Promise of the Father for the sake of the power and not for the sake of His Presence! For some of folks, their desire for Holy Spirit power and giftings has made them bedfellows with the Caesars and the Herods and Pilates of John’s day. They are no different than power hungry Annas and Caiaphas and the Pharisees and Sadducees. They want the power promised for the sake of having power, but they do not truly want the Promise keeper! If that’s you my friend, then you are no different than the seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19:11-20).
And Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile says,
The true baptism includes the gift of God himself—the Holy Spirit.[4]
Fire
Here’s the second thing I’ll say about the Spirit and the fire. Fire, we know, served as a tool for purifying and a tool for judging. Malachi tells us that when the Messiah would come this would certainly be the case.
Malachi 3:2–3 NKJV
2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness.
Jesus told His disciples in John 16:5-11 that it was necessary for Him to go away so that the Spirit of God could come. John explained to us why the Holy Spirit had not come as you and I are privileged to know Him today.
John 7:39 NKJV
39 ...for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
But when He did show up He would,
John 16:8–11 ESV
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
And there will come a time when, according to 1 Cor. 3:13
1 Corinthians 3:13 LEB
13 the work of each one will become evident. For the day will reveal it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the work of each one, of what sort it is.
While there may not be a separation between the Spirit and the fire there is a separating outcome as a result of the Spirit’s working.
Luke 3:17 ESV
17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
The chaff, the wheat's outer protective shell, is essential during the grain's growth. However, once the wheat matures, the chaff becomes unnecessary. Historically, farmers separated the chaff from the valuable wheat kernel through a process called winnowing. They would toss the harvested wheat into the air with a pitchfork; the wind would blow the lighter chaff away, while the heavier, usable wheat kernel would fall to the ground. The wheat was preserved because it served multiple purposes—as food, currency, or even an offering to Yahweh. In stark contrast, the useless chaff was merely gathered into piles and burned.
One thing is certain, as we look at these verses, you have one of two options as it concerns the fiery Spirit of the Messiah. You will either be purified by Him as you surrender your will to His or you will be consumed. There is no middle ground!
He’s Him (Lk. 3:21-22)
I mentioned earlier that while John was baptizing an unexpected shift happens as he draws attention away from himself and on to Jesus. As the Pharisees peppered John with questions about his identity and on what authority he is baptizing, he tells them,
John 1:26–27 ESV
26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,
27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
And this is the moment when Jesus steps out from the crowd. Though not a sinner Himself, Jesus stands with the sinners He came to save.
The prophet Isaiah puts it this way,
Isaiah 53:12 NKJV
12 ...He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
There’s a subtle difference between Matthew’s and Luke’s account of Jesus’ baptism. If you read them too fast, you’ll miss it. In both accounts there is a thunderous voice from heaven as the Father tells everyone who Jesus is.
Matthew 3:17 NKJV
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:21–22 NKJV
21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
22 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.”
The Father’s words, in Matthew’s Gospel, are spoken as a confirmation for those who were witnessing Jesus’ baptism, or as a proud parent bragging on their kid. “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” But in Luke’s account, as Jesus comes to, “...fulfill all righteousness” (Mt. 3:15). The Father’s words are more of an affirmation as He tells Jesus, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” In Matthew’s account the Father’s words are communal. We need to know who Jesus is. And as we bear His image in this world, our lives must point to Him. In Luke’s account the Father’s words are personal. This matters because Jesus is about to take His place on the stage of ministry.
It is more important for me that I concern myself with what the Father says of me more than I do with what you say about me. The same is true of you. You must always get your identity from the Father and not from people. The crowd’s opinions of you will change like the colors on the trees, but the Father will always see who you really are and He will love you no matter what.
Respond
So, how would you have responded to this event? Are you unimpressed? You see Jesus as no different from the crowd. Everyone’s there to be baptized. He’s just like everybody else. Or do you recognize the stark contrast between Him and the rest of the world? Does the Father’s confirmation and affirmation of Jesus awaken you to His unique identity as humanities only viable Savior?
If you’re here this morning and you don’t know Jesus personally; you’re not a Christian. If you have not yet discovered that He is mightier than anything you have trusted in for your life; that He is worthy of the highest honor and that no amount of human effort will ever surpass what only He can do, then I want to invite you to come and confess your need for Him by recognizing that 1) you are a sinner. 2) You need a Savior. 3) Jesus is the Answer.
Or maybe you are a Christian, but you desire to know the in-dwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in a more real way. Come and let me pray for you as you trust God for the outcome. I can’t promise you any specific manifestation, that’s for the Father to perform. You just need to trust Him.
Tre Clark
Britton Christian Church
11/30/2025
[1] J. Cymbala, Spirit Rising, p71
[2] Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke, p856
[3] Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 115.
[4] Thabiti Anyabwile, Exalting Jesus in Luke, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2018), 65.
