Why would the fire-baptizer seek baptism like an ordinary mortal? Whereas John recognizes Jesus' superiority, Jesus humbly identifies himself with John's mission: It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness (Meier 1980:26-27). Although John undoubtedly recognized the Spirit's empowerment in his own ministry (Lk 1:15-17), he recognized that Jesus had come to bestow the Spirit in fuller measure than even he as a prophet had received, and he desired this baptism (Mt 3:11; compare 11:11-13).

Various schools of thought today dispute exactly what the New Testament writers meant by Spirit baptism; some think the term refers to conversion only, and others only to a subsequent experience. It may be that John applied the expression to the entire sphere of the Spirit's work in our lives, including both conversion and subsequent experiences of empowerment (see Keener 1996:17-78), in which case both main schools of thought would be correct. But regardless of our view about the specific meaning of his language, most of us fail to grasp the power God has provided us. If Jesus has bestowed on us even more spiritual power than he bestowed on John and the Old Testament prophets, today's church should be trusting God for a much deeper empowerment in our life and witness than most of us currently experience.