G.W. North emphasizes the significance of John the Baptist's proclamation that Jesus is the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, noting that while John called people to his baptism for forgiveness, he did not direct them to Christ for it. This indicates John's understanding of Jesus' mission as far greater than mere forgiveness; He came to remove sin entirely. North highlights that the Gospel writers focused on this aspect of Jesus' ministry, suggesting a divine emphasis on the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. The absence of references to the cross in John's message points to a deeper spiritual reality that should not be overlooked. This sermon challenges believers to recognize the profound implications of being baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Three other facts ought to be noted here also: (1) three of the four Gospel writers, when speaking of John Baptist, made no reference to the statement by him [mentioned on the previous page]; (2) they did not in any other way, at that time, refer to the Lord's death on the cross; (3) all four of them published the fact that the Baptist proclaimed Jesus Christ as the Baptizer in the Spirit. There must be some special reason for this; seeing that the Holy Ghost is the inspirer of these great truths of scripture, this ratio of three to one points a lesson that we do ill to neglect. Pursuing our examination further, it emerges that although John commanded his hearers to come to himself and his baptism for forgiveness, he never once gave anyone directions to go to Christ for it. It seemed natural common sense to him that Jesus was going to do a far vaster thing than forgive people. He had come to take away the sin of the world; to remove it utterly. Jesus, John said, was going to thoroughly purge His floor and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. That is a most challenging and important fact which should be of great significance to us all. Coupled with that, he never once spoke directly of the cross, or mentioned the blood, or salvation or justification, or the many other similar connected doctrines, but referred almost exclusively to the baptism that Jesus Would administer to men.