The people expected much from John and were pondering in their hearts whether he was the Christ. John told them, "I baptize y'all with water, but one who's more important than me is coming. I am not worthy to take off his shoes! He'll baptize y'all with the Holy Spirit and fire, for he's bringing his combine and swather to clean up his field. He will gather the grain and put it in his elevator, but the straw he will burn with an unstoppable fire."
While all the people were coming to John to be baptized, Jesus also came. After he was baptized and was praying, heaven tore open and the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove, and a voice came from heaven: "You are by beloved son, with you I am well pleased."
Notes on this Passage
For city folk:
Combines are the large machines used to harvest grains. The harvest is moved from the combine into a grain truck and then taken into the elevator.
Swathers are the pull-behinds used to pile the stalks in rows before they get rolled into hay bails.
The descent of the Spirit was a violent action.
In this account, only Jesus hears the voice from heaven, which happens after he's baptized by John and off praying. As a result, John doesn't know who he's baptized.
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