The Messiah’s Herald
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, y Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, z his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas a and Caiaphas, b God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. c 3 He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, d proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, e 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way for the Lord;
make his paths straight!
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low;
the crooked will become straight,
the rough ways smooth,
6 and everyone will see the salvation of God. ,f
7 He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! g Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? h 8 Therefore produce fruit i consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ j for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” k
10 “What then should we do? ” l the crowds were asking him.
11 He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.” m
12 Tax collectors n also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do? ” o
13 He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”
14 Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do? ”
He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
15 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. p 16 John answered them all, q “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel r is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn, s but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.” t 18 Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch u because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done, v 20 Herod added this to everything else—he locked up John in prison. w
The Baptism of Jesus
21 When all the people were baptized, x Jesus also was baptized. As he was praying, y heaven opened, z 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.” a
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
23 As he began his ministry, Jesus was about thirty years old and was thought to be the
son of Joseph, b son of Heli,
24 son of Matthat, son of Levi,
son of Melchi, son of Jannai,
son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias,
son of Amos, son of Nahum,
son of Esli, son of Naggai,
26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias,
son of Semein, son of Josech,
son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan,
son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, c
son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,
28 son of Melchi, son of Addi,
son of Cosam, son of Elmadam,
son of Er, 29 son of Joshua,
son of Eliezer, son of Jorim,
son of Matthat, son of Levi,
30 son of Simeon, son of Judah,
son of Joseph, son of Jonam,
son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea,
son of Menna, son of Mattatha,
son of Nathan, son of David,
32 son of Jesse, d son of Obed, e
son of Boaz, son of Salmon,
son of Nahshon, 33 son of Amminadab,
son of Ram, son of Hezron,
son of Perez, f son of Judah,
34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac,
son of Abraham, g son of Terah,
son of Nahor, 35 son of Serug,
son of Reu, son of Peleg, h
son of Eber, son of Shelah,
36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad,
son of Shem, son of Noah, i
son of Lamech, 37 son of Methuselah,
son of Enoch, j son of Jared,
son of Mahalalel, son of Cainan,
38 son of Enos, son of Seth,
son of Adam, son of God.
C. The Baptist’s ministry: Preparation for the Lord (3:1–20). 3:1–6. The historical introduction in 3:1 signifies the real beginning of the gospel story (cf. Ac 10:37). Luke is the only Gospel writer who clearly sets the events into the context of world history. Tiberius’s reign extended from AD 14 to 37. The reference to Tiberius’s fifteenth year is not definitive, because there were different ways of calculating chronology in the ancient world. One possible date is AD 28/29, though AD 26/27 could be correct as well. Pontius Pilate ruled as the prefect of Judea from AD 26 to 36. Herod the tetrarch of Galilee is Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great; he reigned over Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to AD 39. Philip was also a son of Herod the Great and reigned from 4 BC to AD 34. Very little is known about Lysanias.
3:7–9. Verses 7–18 can be divided into three subsections: John preaches on (1) eschatology (3:7–9), (2) ethics (3:10–14), and (3) the Messiah (3:15–17). In verses 7–9 John warns that baptism without a change of lifestyle is worthless (3:8a). Neither can the Jews rely on their heritage, for being a child of Abraham does not matter if one does not partake of the character of Abraham (3:8b). John’s ominous reference to “the coming wrath” (3:7) confirms these warnings, for the ax of judgment is ready to fall. What is the “good fruit” (3:9) one should produce before judgment falls?
3:10–14. Luke gives us a sample of John’s ethical teaching. John does not call people to imitate his ascetic lifestyle, nor does he upset the existing social order, for he does not ask tax collectors or soldiers to leave their present jobs. Instead, he counsels those who are in these professions to be honest and content with their wages (3:12–14). The soldiers described here are probably not Romans but the soldiers of Herod. The common people are counseled to share their food and clothing with others (3:10–11).
3:15–17. John’s preaching on imminent judgment and his powerful ethical message stimulate the people to consider whether or not he is the Messiah (3:15). John clearly shows that he is not the Messiah (3:16): (1) one is coming who is “more powerful” than John; (2) John is not even worthy to untie the thongs of his sandals, a task that was usually performed by non-Jewish slaves in Palestine; (3) John’s baptism is only in water, but the coming one will baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Luke is thinking of the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost (Ac 2:1–4), and “fire” may refer either to the refining of the righteous or to judgment on the recalcitrant (3:17).
3:18–20. Since Luke wants to focus on Jesus, he completes the story of the Baptist’s ministry here (3:18) and briefly relates the story of his imprisonment (3:19–20). Luke will return to the Baptist again for other reasons (cf. 7:18–35; 16:16).
D. Jesus: Endowed by the Spirit for ministry (3:21–4:13). 3:21–22. Luke is not as interested in the actual baptism of Jesus as he is in the events that accompany it. It is characteristic of Luke to mention that Jesus was praying (3:21). The descent of the Spirit (3:22) indicates that Jesus is being anointed for his ministry (cf. Ac 10:37–38). The descent of the dove in bodily form, the opening of heaven, and the voice from God point perhaps to the inauguration of the new creation (Gn 1:2; 8:8–12) and the reality of the Spirit’s descent. The words of the heavenly voice contain allusions to Ps 2:7; Is 42:1; and Gn 22:2, indicating that Jesus is God’s Son and servant. This passage is not teaching that Jesus was adopted as God’s Son, for Lk 1:35 shows that Luke considers Jesus to be God’s Son from the beginning.
3:23–38. The inclusion of the genealogy of Jesus here is explained by Luke’s desire to give Jesus’s ancestry before the onset of his ministry. Luke’s genealogy is distinctive in that it ends not with a human being but with God (3:38; cf. 3:22). Obviously, the genealogy is not attempting to prove that Jesus is the Son of God in a physical sense, but Luke is making a literary and theological point. Indeed, the very first verse of the genealogy urges the reader to ask about the identity of Jesus’s father, since Joseph is not really his father (3:23). The genealogy does not contradict the virgin birth, as 3:23 makes clear.