Mark recorded by THE SPIRIT in chapter 1:
6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
7 And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.
8 I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John the Baptist clearly differentiated the two baptisms: water versus The Holy Spirit.
One would be done by man but the other would be through Jesus and done by way of
The Holy Spirit.
After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Mark also recorded in chapter 16:
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
What baptism is Jesus referring to? Isn’t He speaking of being baptized in The Holy Spirit as John prophesied in Mark 1?
19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Jesus made it clear that He would confirm their preaching with signs including: cast out demons, speak with new tongues, take up serpents without fear of being bitten, drink anything without fear of being hurt by the content, and heal the sick Why was the important to Jesus to confirm The Word? Wasn’t it enough for the Disciples to simply testify of being a witness to Jesus’ ministry? The unsaved would require indisputable evidence that The Word was from The Lord God Almighty and not from men’s philosophies, traditions, or ideas. Has mankind changed one iota in their requirement for such confirmation today?
What part of the Great Commission is generally missing from the preaching today? The confirming signs. The church has embraced water baptism on a widespread basis but Jesus was focusing on being baptized in The Holy Spirit thus He directed the disciples to go to Jerusalem and tarry. On the Day of Pentecost, 3,000 souls were saved as it recorded by THE SPIRIT in Acts chapter 2:
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Has Jesus changed His mind in His message to us who are maturing as Sons and Daughters?