establish His own Kingdom that would be without end. Four kingdoms had successfully risen on the earth
from the days of Daniel. They were the Babylonian, Medea-Persian, Greek and Roman Empires. In another
prophecy (Dan 9:24-27), Daniel had foretold the time of the Messiah‘s coming as being approximately four
hundred years after the return of Nehemiah and Ezra. That time was here.
Luke 3:16a: When we look at the term, ―baptise with fire‖, most people think Y‘shua is talking about the
baptism of the Holy Spirit. We associate this with the ―cloven tongues of fire‖ on the Day of Shavuot
(Pentecost). But the fire being spoken of here by Yochanan is the fire of judgment—and directly translated
from the Greek, it says: ―submerged in fire‖. People are going to be judged according to how they respond to
the words of Y‘shua. The consequences for those who ignore His words (Torah) will be terrible.
3:13- 16 Y‟shua‟s baptism―(13) Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (14) But John forbad
him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (15) And Jesus answering said
unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. (16)
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened
unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:‖
(9) ―And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized
of John in Jordan.
(10) And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove
descending upon him:
(11) And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased‖.
(Mark 1:9-11)
(21) Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and
praying, the heaven was opened,
(22) And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from
heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased‖. (Luke 3:21-22)
Messianic baptism is different because with it we are identifying ourselves with the death, burial and
resurrection of the Messiah. The meaning of the act is identification. But the type of identification is
determined on what kind of baptism it is. Proselyte baptism is identification with Judaism. Yochanan‘s
baptism was identification with his ―back to YHWH‖ or Repentance movement. Y‘shua‘s baptism is still yet
another identification. The basic meaning of the word is immersion. Any other kind of baptism is not Biblical
baptism. Immersion was the Jewish mode and also the mode of the early church. Later in church history, it
was changed to pouring; and then still later, to sprinkling. These two modes are not Biblical. See the
segment, ―The Hebraic roots on Baptism‖ for more information.
The purpose of baptism (ritual immersion), according to Jewish Law even to this day, was for the forgiveness
of sins and spiritual cleansing into a right relationship with YHWH. Y‘shua had a need to be baptised, but it
was not because He had sin in His life. In Mal 4:2, the Messiah is called the ―sun of righteousness who would
come with healing in His wings‖. According to Ezek 34:11-16, the salvation that the Messiah would bring was
in four ways:
- He would seek out the lost;
- Return them to the fold;
- Heal the sick; and
- Strengthen the weak.
In other words, He would usher in the Kingdom of YHWH. The reason that Y‘shua was so insistent on being
baptised was ―to fulfil all righteousness‖ so that He might be the ―sun of righteousness‖. The importance of
this will be demonstrated later on in another segment.
In Jewish literature, the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Babylonian Hag. 15a commentary on
Gen 1:2, where the Spirit of YHWH moved upon the waters, says the Spirit of YHWH hovered like a dove
over her young without touching them. The Babylonian Ber. 3b connects the Bat Kol from heaven with the
Holy Spirit.
3:17 My beloved son – the fourth of the Jewish Lifecycle customs
―And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased‖.
―And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased‖.
(Mark 1:12)