Luke the physician wrote how multitudes came to be “baptized” by John, and “as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not. John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I comes, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire”, and in chapter three and verse seventeen of his book Luke shared how John said of the one coming, “whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner” where we read:
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor,
and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
The verse reads, “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor,” Luke began with the words, “Whose fan is” or “who has a winnowing shovel or fork” “in his hand” which means “within the one coming's physical hand”, “and he will thoroughly purge” or “the one coming will perfectly cleanse” “his floor” which means “the place in the field of the one coming will be made hard after the harvest by a roller where grain was threshed out”. Luke shared how John said the one coming after him would be like a “wheat” thresher with his winnowing fan in his hand to cleanse his threshing “floor”.
The verse continues, “and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.” Luke added the words, “and will gather” which means “and will draw together, collect and assemble” “the wheat into his garner” or “the grain which was usually wheat grain into the storehouse or granary of the one coming”; “but the chaff” which means “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding the stalk of grain from which the kernels have been beaten out or the straw broken up by the threshing” “he will burn” or “the one coming will wholly consume by burning” “with fire unquenchable” which means “with the use of fiery fire that is not extinguished, perpetual and never to be quenched”. Luke shared how John said the one coming would assemble his “wheat” into his storehouse, but he would “consume with perpetual fire” the “stalks or straw” which are leftover.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn part of the mission of the “one coming” of whom John spoke. The Messiah, Jesus, of whom John was not, would come to “assemble” His “grain” or “fruit” which represents people who rely upon, cling to and trust in Him. Those who do not put their faith and trust in Jesus will be like the “chaff” which will be “burned with an eternal fire” which cannot be extinguished. God shared these things through John so people would be aware of them and “escape” the pending judgment of “eternal damnation”. God loves people, and when they yield their lives to His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”, they become His “good grain” that He will “gather together” and take them to His storehouse in “heaven”. Let all who read these words know and understand the importance of being “good grain” in His field.
Next time Luke shares, “many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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