Following after Jesus #15

Yesterday we looked at Mark's brief description of how John the Baptist contrasted Jesus' coming ministry to his own. Today we look in Luke 3:

15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.

John had been preaching and baptizing, calling on people to repent and prepare their hearts for an encounter with the Lord. People were getting excited about what God was going to do. Many who came out to the wilderness to see and hear him wondered if He was the Messiah. John, in his gospel, tells us that the religious leaders sent out and investigative team to find out. But John said: "oh, no; when Messiah comes, His holiness and power will be incomparably greater, and He will have the ability to Judge, to divide wheat and chaff, hearts that seek Him from those that reject Him.  One of the uncanny abilities we will see in Christ is His being able to know what people are thinking and intending in their hearts, to be able to divide sheep and goats. We need that from a Savior; we need someone Who can blow our cover, Who can bring true justice, because He knows what we are going through and He knows what is in us, but He still came to save us. That's why people came to hear John; it was the good news we all need to hear.