John the Baptist was understandably confused. Here was the Lamb of God, the One whose sandals John was not worthy to untie, asking to be baptized. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. But Jesus had no sins to confess, no guilt...
When Jesus arrived at the Jordan River, He had a choice. He could have stood with John up on the bank, calling sinners to repentance. That would have made sense. After all, He was the sinless Son of God. He had every right to stand apart, to keep His distance from the...
It is easy to read past this verse as a mere geographic footnote. Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan. But consider what this means: Jesus traveled approximately 70 miles to reach John the Baptist. This was no casual stroll or accidental encounter. Jesus made a...
After exposing false refuges and calling for genuine repentance, John points to the only true refuge: the One who is coming after him. John’s baptism was with water, a symbol of repentance. But the One coming would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. He would...
John called for repentance, but what does genuine repentance look like? One helpful definition describes it this way: “The penitent man has a sense of the filth and danger of sin. True repentance looks inward at one’s sinfulness and outward at the harm...
