Luke 3:15–17 (ESV)
John the Baptist
15
As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals
I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 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.”
John is speaking with authority, and so much so, that they are wondering if John is the Christ. John answers their questions with what he is doing. “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier
than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” While John has no problems baptizing, he is not worthy to be the Christ. He is not walking in the shoes of Christ. Christ is more.. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire. Christ is so much bigger, John is in his shadow.
While I lived in Fort Wayne, IN, I loved driving out around the town of Grabill, which has a lot of Amish farmers. I loved
their simple life. I would see the farmers out threshing the wheat. They would take these wooden pitchforks and toss the wheat up in the air. The chaff would blow away and the wheat kernels would fall to the ground. This is the picture
example that John is crafting when he states: “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.” Jesus is the real Messiah,
the Christ, and he has come to save the world. I pray: O Lord, help me to always remember that I have been baptized and my sins have been washed away. Help me to point others to Jesus and not draw attention to myself. You are my Savior
and Redeemer. Help me to serve you and to bring others to their baptism. Amen.