An Event of Biblical Proportions

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

 AN EVENT OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS

Luke 3:15-18

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.   16 John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

NIV

Two truths John speaks here. The first is about Jesus baptizing us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The second truth is about the threshing floor which we will deal with as well. But first we should explore this truth about the Holy Spirit and with fire. It would seem absolute this is a one-time event of biblical proportions. We understand for the part about being baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, when we were born again, which in itself is an event of biblical proportions, we seek for Jesus to baptize us with the Holy Spirit. This moment in time does not automatically happen, but is the result of asking for. When Jesus was leaving and he told his disciples to wait and he would send them the Spirit. They were in anticipation of this moment. They were all together in the upper room praying and we have to consider their prayers included waiting for the time Jesus told them what would happen when the Spirit arrived. This is the moment with fire. They burned with power, with greatness of overwhelming enthusiasm they poured out into the streets speaking in tongues praising God. This is our first life lesson. We cannot, should not, that is if we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, walk around in a stupor or with bent over continence. We should be living life with great overwhelming enthusiasm pouring out into society speaking in tongues praising God. As far as the tongues is concerned we witnessed in the Book of Acts the disciples were speaking in the languages that the various foreign speaking Jews spoke who were in Jerusalem for the Passover. The disciples were praising God in the language they could understand. Could it be that we might have this tongues wrong in this sense. Could it be that when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire we pour out into society praising God in a language unbelievers understand? That is not so much in some strange tongue which we ourselves do not understand, but in the vernacular of the unbelievers. It is also true we may very well receive some odd foreign sounding language which allows us to pray in the Spirit which is absolutely in accordance with the will of God. Yet if we go about speaking in this strange foreign tongue, not many unbelievers will hear us praising God. The second truth regarding the threshing floor is clearly about the day when Jesus will separate the believers from the nonbelievers. Those who believe will be gathered into his barn, into heaven and those who refuse to believe will be consumed with fire, as the Greek word implies. This is not burning for all eternity, but will be consumed by the fire, which agrees with the gospel of John when he uses the word, perish. This term or analogy of John the Baptist, of Jesus burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire, shows us the chaff is consumed. No one would ever expect the chaff to remain chaff in the fire, but they would expect the chaff to be completely consumed into nothing. This is that word, perish. We can be exceedingly, overwhelmingly, overjoyed we are the wheat that will be gathered into the barn. We should live accordingly, praising God with our lives, pouring out into the streets of our society telling of his greatness, praising God so people will understand.