Luke
Chapter
3
Luke
3:1-14
1 Now
in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being
governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis,
and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high
priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill
shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough
ways shall be made smooth;
6 And all flesh shall see the
salvation of God.
7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be
baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the
wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and
begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to
our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to
raise up children unto Abraham.
9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees:
every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good
fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
10 And the people asked him, saying, What
shall we do then?
11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to
him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto
him, Master, what shall we do?
13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is
appointed you.
14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely;
and be content with your wages.
During the 15th year of Tiberius rule as the
Roman Emperor while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod, the son of
Herod the Great, ruled Galilee. That is a date that is exact. Tiberius became the Emperor in 14A.D., so simple math tells us that John began public his
ministry in 29A.D.
Herod’s brother, Philip, ruled the territory of Iturea and Trachonitis. That area
is Northeast of Judea. Many refer to it as Palestine. However, that word did
not come into existence until 135 A.D.
Also at the time of Philip, Lysanias
was ruler of Abilene, and Annas and Caiaphas were
High Priests in the Temple.
It was during that time that the word of God came to John,
son of Zechariah, while he was in the desert. And so, John traveled throughout
the Jordan River area preaching, “repent, be baptized, and God will forgive
your sins.”
Isaiah, the Prophet wrote, “The voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every
valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made
smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God!”
Crowds of Jews came out to hear John and to be baptized by
him! But to some John said, “You snakes! Who warned you escape from the wrath
to come?”
Those he warned, “Do the things that show that you have
turned from your sins! And, don't brag about being Abraham’s children!
“I tell you that God can raise up
these rocks to be descendants of Abraham! The ax is ready to cut down the trees
at the very roots! Every tree that does not bear good fruit shall be cut down
and thrown into the fire.”
Those who came to John asked, “What shall we do?”
He told them, “Whoever has two coats must give one to the
man who has none! And, whoever has food must share it!”
That is not as many ignorant people teach an admonishment to
give all away to the poor! God is not
the author of the modern welfare state where all are dependent on the human
government. That is Communism/Marxism
under which the government takes over the role of God, forming a God-less
society!
Even tax collectors came to John to be baptized! John’s baptism was a regenerational mikvah or baptism! It is now invalid, although still
performed by Catholics and all true Protestant Churches!
John told them, “Do not collect more taxes than what is
legal!”
Some Jewish soldiers (Gr. strateuomai-στρατεύομαι) from the Temple guard came to John and asked, “What shall
we do?”
John told them, “Don't take money from anyone by force, and be
content with your wages.”
John did not counsel Gentiles! He did not baptize Gentiles!
John the baptist taught under the Old Covenant! His
message was given to Judah!
Luke
3:15-20
15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused
in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed
baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose
shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire:
17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into
his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire
unquenchable.
18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto
the people.
19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias
his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
The hopes of those who came to John were raised! In fact, many of them thought that John may
be the Messiah!
In response to that notion, John spoke directly saying, “I
indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, the latchet
of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: He shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost and with fire, Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly
purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into His garner; but the chaff He
will burn with fire unquenchable.”
John preached as much of the Good News as was available for
Him to preach. He did not take the message given him to Gentiles! In that
respect, Jesus was a transitional figure preaching to mostly Jews with a few
Gentiles being called to listened to the Good News. Paul’s message was to both
Jew and Gentile on what may be called an even plain!
As part of His message, John criticized Herod! Herod had
become illegally married Herodias, his brother's wife, plus doing other things
considered evil. As a result of John’s public reprimands Herod imprisoned John.
Luke
3:21-38
21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass,
that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove
upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in
thee I am well pleased.
23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age,
being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
24 Which was the son of Matthat,
which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the
son of Joseph,
25 Which was the son of Mattathias,
which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli,
which was the son of Nagge,
26 Which was the son of Maath,
which was the son of Mattathias, which was the
son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph,
which was the son of Juda,
27 Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son
of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel,
which was the son of Neri,
28 Which was the son of Melchi,
which was the son of Addi, which was the
son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,
29 Which was the son of Jose, which was the son
of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat,
which was the son of Levi,
30 Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son
of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which
was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,
31 Which was the son of Melea,
which was the son of Menan, which was the
son of Mattatha, which was the son of
Nathan, which was the son of David,
32 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son
of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the
son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,
33 Which was the son of Aminadab,
which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares,
which was the son of Juda,
34 Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son
of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,
35 Which was the son of Saruch,
which was the son of Ragau, which was the
son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber,
which was the son of Sala,
36 Which was the son of Cainan,
which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the
son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,
37 Which was the son of Mathusala,
which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was
the son of Maleleel, which was the son
of Cainan,
38 Which was the son of Enos,
which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the
son of God.
During one of the baptismal ceremonies, Jesus went into the
water to be baptized. That baptism consisted of a complete dunking and not just
a sprinkling as many now incorrectly teach!
When Jesus came up out of the water and while He was
praying, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon Him in bodily form
in the manner of a dove. A voice came from heaven saying, “You are My beloved Son. With You, I am well pleased.”
Beginning in verse 23, we have Christ Jesus’ genealogy as
given through His mother, Mary. The
Matthew genealogy is given through His legal earthly father, Joseph!