Matthew 3:11
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Study Note
Study Note
John the Baptist's self-comparison — 'I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear' — deploys the master-servant relationship at its most servile level (carrying sandals was too menial for Jewish disciples to perform for their teachers) to express maximal christological subordination. The contrast between water-baptism and Holy Spirit-and-fire baptism has been interpreted as referring to the Pentecostal outpouring (Acts 1:5; 2:1–4) and also as describing a single eschatological event of judgment-and-renewal in the messianic age. Luke 3:16 preserves the same saying, and Acts 1:5 has Jesus quote it as about to be fulfilled, making the Baptist's prediction a formal christological charter for the Spirit's Pentecostal coming. The verse stands at the center of all historical-critical and theological discussions of the relationship between John's baptism and Christian initiation.
Other Translations
I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire:
`I indeed do baptize you with water to reformation, but he who after me is coming is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to bear the sandals, he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,
Truly, I give baptism with water to those of you whose hearts are changed; but he who comes after me is greater than I, whose shoes I am not good enough to take up: he will give you baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire:
Cross References
When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood …
For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my …
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my …
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will …
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like …
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and …
And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy …