I baptize you with water for 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. John distinguishes his baptism from the baptism of the coming one: his is water for repentance; the one who follows baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire. The Spirit-and-fire baptism points to the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4, where the Spirit came with tongues of fire) and to the ultimate purifying judgment of the age. The one who comes after is so much greater that John is not worthy to carry his sandals — a task normally assigned to the lowest servant in a household. John's greatness, which Jesus will affirm in Matthew 11:11, consists partly in his accurate self-assessment: his function is entirely preparatory.

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