Luke 3: Jesus Baptised

 

Luke 3: Jesus Baptised

v1-20  Ministry of John and The Baptism of Jesus 

Luke went ahead 18 years later, when Jesus was 30 years old. At this time, it was the fifteen year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, who succeeded his stepfather Augustus, who we saw in Luke 2.  Tiberius rules from AD 14 to 37. Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea and Herod was the tetrarch of Galilee.

The Herod mentioned here is not Herod the Great, who ordered the killing of 2 year old male infants in Bethlehem during the time when Jesus was born, for the wise men told him a king had been born. and he felt threatened. Herod the Great was the Roman-appointed king of Judea from 37BC to 4BC. After he died, he divided his kingdom among his three sons, Herod, Philip, and Lysanias.  Herod was the governor of Galilee.

When Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests, the word of God came to John in the wilderness. Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas. Note that in the Torah, there can be only one high priest at a time. Caiaphas was the actual high priests, but Annas was the real influence among the priestly class. (v1-2)

John went around the region of Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (v3-6) The disciples, including Luke recognized that he is the one said by Isaiah 40:3-5

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway (way) for our God. (v3)

Every valley shall be exalted (lifted) And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places (ways) smooth; (v4)

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall (see the salvation of God) see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (v5)

The bold words are used by Luke, and the underlined words are found only in Isaiah 40:3-5. However, the general purpose is the same. The words symbolize the situation of men and their situation:

Valley - representing those who feeling low due to their lives circumstances - they will be lifted up in their emotion and spirit;  Mountains - representing proud people, who will be humbled.  Crooked places refer to people practicing wrong things or sinful ways, and rough places refers to people who are persecuted or confused, whom will be comforted and set clear. 

John gave the crowds some harsh words, saying "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"  He told them to bear fruits if they repent, and do not be haughty by thinking Abraham as their father. God can raise the stones to be children for Abraham. He warned them that judgement in near, and any tree that do not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (v7-9)

He told them to share whatever they have to those who is in need, and told the tax collector not to collect more than what was authorized, and the soldiers not to exhort money but be content with their wages. (v10-14) These are pre-ludes to the teaching of Jesus Christ. 

The people thought that John could be the Messiah, but John told them that he baptized them with water, but he is not worthy to untie the sandals of the one who is coming. He will baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. He will gather the wheat into His barn, but will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. John continued to preach the good news to the people. (v15-18)  

Jesus will bring the Holy Spirit into our lives who will purify us from our sinful habits like gold was purified by fire. He will also save the believers, and throw the unbelievers into eternal fire. 

Jesus was also baptized by John. At first, John refused for he knows who Jesus is, but Jesus told him to to it to fulfill all righteousness. (Matt 3:13-17). When he was raised up from the water, he prayed, and the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him, like a dove, and a voice from heaven said: "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." (v21-22)

Herod was criticized by John for marrying Herodias, who was his niece and was married to his brother, Philip. Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21 had forbid a man for having sexual relationship with his brother's wife. Because of this, Herod locked John in prison, fearing that John may convince many people to hate him. (v19-20)

Observation

Note that John was murdered by Herod before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Mark 6:27-29)  At that time, some of John's disciples did not know much about receiving Christ, even during or after the Pentecostal day in Acts. This explains why they did not receive the Holy Spirit in Acts 19:1-7. Paul had to explain to them that they were baptized with a baptism of repentance, but John was pointing to Jesus Christ to whom they should believe. After hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and receive the Holy Spirit.

Application

1. God wants everyone - whether they are rich or poor, whether they are proud or humble, whether they live a happy life or a depressing live, saints or sinners, those who are confident or those who are confused, to come and hear the gospel of God's coming kingdom, brought by Jesus Christ. 

v23-38  Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Most people just bypass the genealogy of Jesus in Luke, as well as in Matthew. There was one Korean pastor, the late Rev. Abraham Park, specialised in genealogy and wrote several books on it. Two of the books I brought from him were "The Genesis Genealogies" from Adam to Abraham, and the book "The unquenchable Lamp of the Covenant" which covers Abraham to David. I did not buy the book that covers David to Jesus, I'll go an look for it someday. There are so much details when you study the meaning of their names and what they represent in God's redemption plan. 

The basic difference between Luke's and Matthew's genealogy are the following:

1. Luke's ascending genealogy (i.e. from Joseph to God) lists has 77 generations (including God), while Matthew had 41 generations in descending manner (from Abraham to Christ). When you count Matthew's names there are 42, because David was listed twice. 

2. Luke's line was through Mary, while Matthew's was through Joseph. Some people (like me) was confused why Luke started with Joseph, and then says "the son of Heli"; Whereas Matthew said the father of Joseph was Jacob (aka Matthan).  It turns out that Heli was the father of Mary, but Mary wasn't mentioned and this is because women's names in genealogies was not the common practice. Joseph is also considered the son of Heli, due to his marriage to Mary. 

3. The genealogy was the same from Abraham to David. However, Matthew then follows the line of Solomon; whereas Luke follows the line of David's other son, Nathan. From David onwards all the names are different. We know who Solomon was. Nathan was an older brother of Solomon and one of several of Bathsheba’s children born to David. (2 Sam 5:14; 1 Chron 3:5; 14:4). David' son, Nathan, should not be confused by the prophet Nathan of David's court in 2 Samuel 7.  They are different people, and not much was said about David's Nathan. 

4. Matthew's audience was towards the Jewish people. He traced Jesus back to David and Abraham, to highlight Jesus' royal lineage and legal right to the Davidic throne. It proves that Jesus is the Messiah, as He is connected to Abraham and Davidic Covenant. 

5. Luke's audience includes the Gentiles. His emphasis in universal salvation and redemption. Going back to Adam emphasized that both Jews and Gentiles came from the same source - God and Jesus. 

One important thing that is similar among the two genealogies is that they both affirm Jesus' legitimacy as the Messiah. 

Some scholars and Bible enthusiasts have noted that the meanings of the names in the genealogy from Adam to Noah in Genesis form a message that they believe points to the Messiah. Here are the names along with their meanings:

Adam: Man

Seth: Appointed

Enosh: Mortal

Kenan: Sorrow

Mahalalel: The Blessed God

Jared: Shall Come Down

Enoch: Teaching

Methuselah: His Death Shall Bring

Lamech: The Despairing

Noah: Comfort or Rest

When these meanings are put together, the resulting phrase can be read as: "Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching; His death shall bring (the) despairing comfort (or rest)."

This interpretation suggests a hidden message of hope and redemption, which many see as a prophetic foreshadowing of Jesus, the Messiah, who brings comfort and salvation to mankind.