Before Jesus started his ministry He was baptized by John the Baptist. John was his cousin, son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, relatives of Mary the Mother of Jesus. He came to prepare the way for Jesus. He came to convict the people of their sins, and to baptize them for repentence, and to prepare the way for the Lord .
Matthew 3:3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' " 3:11 "I baptize you with water for repentence. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
J. Vernon McGee of ttb.org and Thru the Bible, a five year bible study that takes you through the whole Bible in five years, says about this verse. Quoting from Matthew vol.1 page 43: John is saying, "I baptize with water. But 'He' is coming, and when He comes, he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." That "and" is already over nineteen hundred years long (2011 now). You and I are living in the age of the Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit in this present age. He will baptize with fire when He comes the second time, and fire means judgment. This distinction needs to be made... continue page 44 ....Again, the baptism of fire will take place at the second coming of Christ. In this age of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes upon every believer. Not just some, but every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit, which means that the believer is identified with the body of Christ; that is, he becomes part of the body of Christ. This is one of the great truths in the Word of God. End quote.
3:12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire" The dictionary describes winnowing as a step in the processing of grain whereby the grain is separated from inedible parts. The stalks are thrown into the air, and the wind blows away the chaff and the straw, letting the heavier pure grain fall back to the ground. This is judgment. The chaff is a picture of the unsaved who cannot come into the kingdom of God. The chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire. Unquenchable suggests a neverending fire. Or hell. Meanwhile, the pure grain or the forgiven sinners, are fit for the kingdom of God, or, as the verse says, are taken into the barn. Jesus is coming soon. Ask yourself, which am I, pure grain or chaff?