The Gospel writer Luke, having anchored the events of Messiahs' coming in history and in the prophetic scriptures, now presents details of John the Baptist's ministry as the forerunner of the Christ. He describes his exhortations to specific groups within Jewish society and their need for repentance. He tells of the coming ministry of the Christ who will cast the winnowed chaff away to be burned up. And so Messiah's baptism will be not just with water, but with the Holy Spirit and fire. The context lends strong support to the fact that the Christ will come to bring judgment by fire on the unbelievers and unrepentant. The Messiah's judgment by fire, the coming wrath of God against sinners, should not be overlooked in our gospel message. This is in reality "good news" because it forces us to own up to the inevitable judgment to come, but also to the accompanying truth of God's provision of a substitutionary sacrifice who would absorb the wrath of God in his own person on Calvary's cross in behalf of his people.
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Jeff Gregory has been pastor of Good Shepherd Community Church in Dallas, TX, since 1995. During most of that time he worked as an ESL instructor at El Centro Community College in downtown Dallas. He attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and graduated with an M.Div....
