The evangelists want to make it very clear that the Baptism of Jesus is different from the Baptism of John. They should not be confused. The Baptism of Jesus does not consist in getting his followers into the water. Jesus submerges his disciples in the Holy Spirit!
The Gospel of John makes this very clear. Jesus has the plenitude of the Spirit of God and, therefore, he can communicate this plenitude to his own. The great news is that Jesus is the “Son of God” who can “baptize with the Holy Spirit.”
This baptism of Jesus is not an external bath, similar to the one that some had already known in the Jordan waters. It is an “interior bath”. The metaphor suggests how Jesus communicates His Spirit in order to penetrate, soak and transform a person’s heart.
The Holy Spirit is presented by the Evangelists as the “Spirit of Life.” Hence, allowing ourselves to be baptized by Jesus means receiving the Spirit as source of new life. His Spirit can create in us a more vital union with Him. He can take us to a higher level of Christian existence, a new Christianity more faithful to Jesus.
The Spirit of Jesus is a “Spirit of Truth.” Allowing ourselves to be baptized by Him
will bring truth into our Christianity, not letting ourselves to be fooled by false promises. It also means to recover, time and time again, our unshakable identity of followers of Jesus. It means, finally, refusing to follow ways that deviate us from the gospel.
The Spirit of Jesus is “the Spirit of Truth”, capable of liberating us from the cowardice and egoism of going on living and thinking only in our own interests and wellbeing. Being baptized by Him means surrendering to His selfless love which is gratuitous, and compassionate.
The Spirit of Jesus is a “Spirit of Conversion” to God. When we are baptized by Jesus, we let ourselves to be slowly transformed by Him. It also implies that we will live according to his criteria, attitudes, heart and his reactions to anything that dehumanizes the children of God.
The Spirit of Jesus is a “Spirit of Renewal.” Being baptized by Him means accepting his invitation to His creativity. Jesus can awaken in us the best that is in the Church today, and give us a “new heart”, with a greater capacity to be faithful to His Gospel.