“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11)

St John the Baptist was the last prophet of the Old Testament. At the time when he met Jesus, he made the prophecy that “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”(John 20:22) As a matter of fact, when Jesus was dying on the cross with his last breath, he cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46) and at that time, the Holy Spirit continues the job of sanctifying the world.

When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they were accompanied by a fire pillar. The new people of the kingdom of heaven formed by Jesus were also accompanied by the Holy Spirit. After Jesus left this world, the first redemptive work of the Holy Spirit happened on the centurion who said, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:54)

The prophet Isaiah also made the following prophecy : “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:1) On the cross, Jesus gave this spirit of wisdom to us. When we boldly face the truth, like the criminal who was crucified by the side of Jesus, this centurion and Saul who would persecute Jesus’ followers, we will enter into the path of salvation.