15 Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.16 John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. (Luke 3:15–16a) After inquiring how they might prepare themselves for coming judgment, now, they ask whether John is the Messiah. Green [180] notes: “Recognizing in John’s mission the first hints of eschatological consolation (Isaiah 40; cf. Luke 3:4–6), they wonder if he is God’s agent of salvation. For them, the meaning of “Messiah” is manifestly fluid at this point; hope is present but ill defined. They do not know if John and the anticipated messianic figure fit the same profile, and this allows John to begin the process of outlining what to expect of the Messiah. At the same time, he is able to identify his own relationship to the coming one. According to the narrator, John’s answer is to all the people; everyone receives the invitation to accept his baptism and receive the baptism ‘with the Holy Spirit and fire.’” Continue reading →

7 He said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:7–9) Continue reading →

“…the crowds who came out to be baptized by him.” (Luke 3:7)

At this point in the narrative there are no baptismal actions, but there is an emphasis on the interpretation of the ritual action itself. As Joel Green [173] notes: “ baptism is seen as an initiatory rite of passage as people (1) come away from their normal lives to participate in John’s ministry through baptism, (2) undergo a repentance-baptism signifying their (re)new(ed) allegiance to God’s purpose, and (3) return to their normal lives having accepted the challenge to reflect in their lives ways of living appropriate to true children of Abraham. John’s proclamation ensures that his baptism is understood as an assault on the status quo, that to participate in his baptism is to embrace behaviors rooted in a radical realignment with God’s purpose.” Continue reading →