A frequent misinterpretation is equating John's baptism of repentance with Christian baptism, suggesting it alone confers salvation or the Holy Spirit without the necessity of explicit faith in Jesus Christ; others wrongly assume John's followers were already complete believers, ignoring Paul's correction that they needed to believe on Christ and be baptized in His name to experience the Spirit's power, or view repentance as standalone salvation apart from Christ.
Acts 19:4
King James Version (1769)
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Paul explains to John's disciples that John's baptism was one of repentance, intended to prepare people by directing them to believe in the coming Messiah, whom he identifies as Christ Jesus, highlighting the progression from John's preparatory ministry to the fulfillment in personal faith in Jesus as the essential step for receiving the Holy Spirit and full Christian initiation.