And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” (vv.32-34)
God gave John the Baptist the sure sign to know the Messiah. He would be the one on Whom the Holy Spirit descended upon from heaven. John was a reliable witness regarding Jesus, because he had confirming evidence from God. The solemn testimony of John the Baptist was that Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Son of God in the sense shown in John 1:18 – the One who perfectly declares the nature and personality of God the Father.
What is clear from the gospel of John, is that his writing emphasized John’s role as a witness, not a baptizer. That John was not the One who was to come, but a forerunner to Messiah, a reliable witness to God's new order - who knew who Jesus was because of: what he saw, God's anointing on Him with his own eyes, and what he heard, He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
John remained steadfast in his witness and his ministry of "declaring the way of the LORD" until his death.
The Truth: "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him." (Matthew 3:16)
