# 22 What A Moment

Joh 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 "This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' 31 "I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." 32 And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 "And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."

What a moment this is in the redemption history of mankind! John had been going about his business of performing the purification rite of baptism, which is among other things, an actual and effectual cleansing from sin.

That baptism was, and is, the necessary God-given punch to wash away sins, and is evident even later on in the  New Testament church as we read in Ac 22:16. Ananias is speaking to the Paul and he says, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

The preaching and baptism of John was his preparatory work that would precede the arrival of the Messiah in accordance with the prophecy of Isaiah found in  Isa 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God”.

We aren’t told when John received his instructions to preach and baptize, only that something very special would happen during his ministry. At some point the Messiah would come to him, and John would actually see the Holy Spirit descend on Him and remain on Him.

This incredible event would look like a dove landing on something. If you’ve ever observed a dove landing on something, you know it is like a gentle fluttering that eventually settles down into a solid landing.

John doesn’t describe the physical appearance of the Holy Spirit for us, only the descent and landing. Personally, I’m inclined to believe this manifestation of the Spirit was more connected to fire than a dove. I say that because of what was said in  Mt 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

And then there’s the  manifestation of the Spirit to the church on that first Pentecost in the New Testament era, and the burning bush incident with Moses. Fire is a common occurrence with the presence of the Spirit of God in the Bible.

Well, let’s not get too caught up in the symbol, rather let’s heed the words of the Baptist to Israel, and to us, found in verse 34: "And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."

Jesus is the Son of God! The Messiah! This is what we really need to know and believe about Jesus. The Messiahship of Jesus was revealed to John and he reveals it to us! It is this revelation that is the foundation of the church. It is the confession of all believers and repeated for us in  Mt 16:16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Believe this and be baptized and you shall be saved! Mr 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.