Introductory remarks:
In chapter two we left Mary pondering doctrine about her Son Jesus in her heart. Mary was bewildered by His answer to her worrying about Him, not realizing that God would never let anything happen to His beloved Son. Jesus was in the temple confounding the rabbis with His questions and answers; Christ was only twelve years old and already wiser than any man on earth. From chapter two Luke takes us to the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist. One thing we must keep in mind as we study Luke's Gospel is that he does not present things in a chronological manner; we will see this as we study. The Scriptures are silent regarding the life of Christ from His birth to the incident in chapter two in the temple when He was twelve; and than from twelve until His earthly ministry at thirty-years of age we only know that He worked in Joseph's carpenter shop. There are some far-fetched stories in the apocryphal gospels about His causing clay pigeons to have life and fly away; and His causing a young lad to die because of his blasphemous statements and cruel treatment of Him. Of course, only the Catholic Church and gullible people accept such foolish reports.
This chapter may be outlined as follows: The preaching of John the Baptist vv. 1-20; the baptism of Jesus vv. 21-22; the genealogy of Jesus vv. 23-38.
The Preaching of John the Baptist
(Matt. 3:1-12; Mk. 1:1-8; John 1:19-28)
Verse 1, "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, 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."
LGT "Now in [the] fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother being tetrarch of Ituraea and [the] region of Trachonitus, and being tetrarch of Abilene and Lysanius."
Luke does pay strict attention to details in this historical account, however to the average reader, these are just a bunch of names that have little, if no importance at all. These names may not be of importance to us, however the state of people at large will give us a good background to this Gospel, and Shepherd gives a good description:
"The times were ripe. The crisis had been reached in the history of the Roman Empire, which held absolute sway over the whole known world. Rome had reached her highest pinnacle of development under Augustus and was now on the downward road of decline. Two philosophies, Epicureanism and Stoicism, contended for the supremacy; but the former led to sensuality, the latter to pride, and both to despair; and in the end Atheism prevailed largely among the philosophers. All religions of all the subject peoples were tolerated in Rome, but none satisfied the deeply felt needs of the times. Slavery abounded, and indescribable cruelty everywhere marked the treatment accorded the slave. The sacredness of marriage had disappeared and nameless abominations remained instead. Oriental religions with the vilest of rites were substituted in the place of the ancient religion of Rome. Worship of the Emperors led to promiscuous deification accompanied with the vilest lusts. Might was substituted in the place of right and justice fled from the land. The degenerated taste of the people ran to unlawful public amusements, in which the emperor would butcher thousands in the arena to make a Roman holiday. Charity disappeared and honest manual labor was looked on with contempt. The current philosophies offered no relief but only led to deeper degeneracy."
Verse 2, "Annas and Caiaphas being high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness."
LGT "In [the] high-priesthood of Annas and Caphias, [the] Word of God came upon John, the son of Zacharias in the wilderness."
"The synoptists introduce him under different titles. Here, the son of Zacharias; Matthew, the Baptist; Mark, the Baptizer" (Vincent). These two high priests were puppet-priests. "Why were there two high priests? Two high priests reveal the power of Rome over the religion of Jerusalem in that day. Annas was the power behind the throne, but Caiaphas was the one Rome put out in front" (McGee).
Fairbairn describes John thus:
"The growth of Jesus was not hurried and forced, but slow and natural. For more than thirty years He tarried at Nazareth, waiting till His strength had matured and His manhood was complete. Then His hour was struck in tones audible to Himself and His people. The tongue that told it came from the banks of the Jordan and the waste places about the Dead Sea. There a New Prophet had appeared, ancient in manners and spirit, modern in speech and purpose. No sleek scribe, no pompous priest, or courtier clad in soft raiment was he; but a son of the desert, clad in garments of coarse camel's hair, bound round him by a leathern girdle, seeking his food from the rock where the wild bee left its honey, and the locust came - a man full of the stern spirit of solitude and the thoughts of God speaks to the soul that can dare to be alone. He called himself a Voice, but he was not like the still small voice the Prophet had heard in his mountain cave; he was rather like the wind and the fire that broke in pieces the rocks, heralds as they were of the low sweet voice that was to come out of the silence they left. People from the banks of the Jordan crowded to hear him. His fame reached Jerusalem, and Sadducees and Pharisees, scribes and priests, publicans and sinners, went forth to listen, and be awed into a passing reverence and faith. West and east, south and north, the tidings spread, reached remote Nazareth, and woke great emotions in the home of the Carpenter there. He who had become, since Joseph was not, the head and breadwinner of the little family, knew that His hour was come, and went forth, the son of Joseph, to return the Messiah of God."
Verse 3, "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."
LGT "And he went into all [the] country around the Jordan, preaching [the] baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."
This Baptism of John was not a washing away of sin, as some mistakenly believe, but it was a preparation for the Jew to accept the redemption that Christ was to present.
Plummer notes:
"It has been discussed whether baptism into . . . [eis] remission of sins means that forgiveness was the immediate effect of the baptism, or that it was an ultimate result towards which the rite was preparatory. Was it a symbol that the baptized person was then and there forgiven, or a pledge that he would be forgiven? The latter seems to be correct. Cyril of Jerusalem, in comparing John's baptism with the Christian rite, says that the former bestowed only the remission of sins. But there is nothing in Scripture to show that it did as much as that. Tertullian points out that baptism for the remission of sins refers to a future remission, which was to follow in Christ. The expression of Ambrose, that one is the baptism of repentance and the other baptism of grace, leaves the question of forgiveness open. But, if John had professed to forgive sins, would not that have been challenged, as it was in our Lord's case (Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21, 7:49) [this was one of the reasons they crucified our Lord, that He professed to be able to forgive sins; this made Him equal to God, for the Jew said that only God can for give sins, and rightly so]? And if it had been generally understood that John's baptism was a washing away of sins, would our Lord have submitted to it? Its main aspect was a preparation for the Kingdom, and as such it fitted well into the opening of the Messiah's ministry. To every one else this preparation was an act of repentance. The Messiah, who needed no repentance, could yet accept the preparation. John's rite consecrated the people to receive salvation; it consecrated the Messiah to bestow it."
Verse 4-6, "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 path 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"
LGT "As it has been written in [the] book of [the] words of Isaiah the prophet,
[The] voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight His paths;"
Every valley shall be filled up,
And every mountain and hill shall be made low,
And the crooked shall become straight,
And the rough ways into smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
This quotation by Luke is from Isaiah 40:3-5. "In 1845 when the Sultan visited Brusa the inhabitants were called out to clear the roads of rocks and to fill up the hollows. Oriental monarchs often did this very thing. A royal courier would go ahead to issue the call. So the Messiah sends His herald (John) before Him to prepare the way for Him. Isaiah described the preparation for the Lord's triumphal march and John used it with great force. All flesh refers to the entire human race. The salvation of God describes the saving act of God. This phrase aptly describes Luke's Gospel, which has in mind the message of Christ for all men. It is the universal Gospel" (Robertson).
Verse 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?"
LGT "He said therefore to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, Offspring of vipers, who forewarned you to flee from the coming wrath?"
Matthew gives this account as John addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees, but here Luke gives his address simply to the crowds, but it was obvious from the other accounts that he was speaking to the religious leaders of the day in his reference to them as an offspring of vipers.
Edersheim writes:
"The account given by St. Luke bears, on the face of it, that it was a summary, not only of the first, but of all John's preaching. The very presence of his hearers at this call to, and baptism of, repentance, gave point to his words. Did they who, notwithstanding their sins, lived in such security of carelessness and self-righteousness, really understand and fear the final consequences of resistance to the coming Kingdom? If so, theirs must be a repentance not only in profession, but of heart and mind, such as would yield fruit, both good and visible. Or else did they imagine that, according to the common notion of the time, the vials of wrath were to be poured out only on the Gentiles, while they as Abraham's children, were sure of escape - in the words of the Talmud, that the night (Isa. 21:12) was only to the nations of the world, but the morning to Israel"?
Verse 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."
LGT "Produce, therefore, fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say in yourselves, We have Abraham [for] father. For I say unto you that God is able out of these stones to raise up children to Abraham."
"John's message was one of repentance. That is not exactly our message today, although repentance is included in faith. Paul said to the Thessalonian believers that they had . . . turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9). You can't turn to God without turning from something. (When you turn to anything, you turn from something else.) When you turn to God, you turn from sin - and that is repentance. When you accept Christ as your Savior, you are going to turn from the things of the world. Perhaps you have heard about the love of God, but you have not been moved by it and you have wondered why. You need to hear that voice crying in the wilderness, Repent. Repentance is a part of saving faith. Repentance is not the message of the hour; we preach the grace of God, but if you have been a recipient of God's grace and have turned to Him, you are going to have to turn from your sins. If you do not turn from your sins, you have not really turned to God. Repentance is involved in salvation, but today God's message is, . . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31)" (McGee).
Verse 9, "And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the tree: every tree therefore which bringeth forth not good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."
LGT "But the axe is already also applied to the root of the tree: every tree therefore not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into [the] fire."
The nation Israel, God's chosen people to be a witness in this world, had not produced good fruit as they were designed to do. "Mere flesh and blood relationship avails not in the kingdom of the Messiah. He warns them that the axe of judgment of the Messiah is laid in readiness already at the root of the tree, whether individual or national, and the unproductive would be hewn down and cast into the fire. Thus, His moral indignation flamed forth in violent and vivid images, stirring that oriental population to the point almost of hysterics" (Shepherd - The Christ)
Verse 10, "And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?"
LGT "And the crowds kept asking him, saying, What then are we to do?"
The verb "asked" is in the imperfect tense meaning they kept on asking Him. The Jews knew exactly what the Lord was saying, and they were very disturbed by His words.
Verse 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."
LGT "And answering he says to them, The one having two tunics let him give to him that has not, and the one who has victuals [foodstuff] likewise let him give."
John was telling the Jews that they were a selfish lot, and that they should share what they had with the needy. John was telling them that they should live the life worthy of their confession of repentance.
Verse 12, "Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?"
LGT "And tax-gatherers came also to be baptized, and said to him, Teacher, what shall we do?"
Vincent writes about these publicans:
"The publicans were collectors of Roman imposts. The Romans farmed out the direct taxes and custom-duties to capitalists, on their payment of a certain sum in publicum, into the public treasury, whence they were called publicani, publicans. Sometimes this sum, being greater than any one person could pay, was sold by a company. Under these were the submagistri, living in the provinces; and under these again the portitores, or actual custom-house officers, who are referred to by the term telonai in the New Testament. They were often chosen from the dregs of the people, and were so notorious for their extortions that they were habitually included in the same category with the harlots and sinners. If a Jew could scarcely persuade himself that it was right to pay taxes, how much more heinous a crime must it have been in his eyes to become the questionably honest instrument for collecting them. If a publican was hated, how still more intense must have been the disgust entertained against a publican who was also a Jew (Farrar, Life of Christ). The word publican as a popular term of reproach, was used even by our Lord (Matt. 18:17). Even the Gentiles despised them. Farrar cites a Greek saying, All publicans are robbers."
Verse 13, "And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you."
LGT "And he said to them, Nothing more than what is appointed to you exact."
"The change of the word exact by the RV to extort is unfortunate. The word is used of legal tribute, and excessive exaction is expressed by the following words: John would hardly have commanded them to extort in any case" (Vincent).
Verse 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."
LGT "And asked him also those who were soldiers, saying, And what shall we do? And he said to them, Oppress no one nor accuse falsely, and be satisfied with your wages."
Some of these soldiers became ruthless in their treatment of the Jews, and John was telling them that "might is not right" with Jesus. They were warned not to extort money or to accuse any falsely, and that they were to be satisfied with what the government paid them, and that they were not to be bullies. McGee adds: "This is a practical message John gave to these people who came from different classes and conditions. My friend, if you are a printer, you reveal that you are a Christian by the way you print. If you are a soldier, you reveal your Christianity by the way you soldier. If you are a housewife, you reveal your Christianity by the way you are a housewife. You reveal what you are. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Matt. 7:21)."
Verse 15, "And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not:"
LGT "But as the people were in expectation, and all were reasoning in their hearts concerning John, whether or not he might be the Christ:"
The Jews were waiting expectantly for the Messiah, and John's message of repentance moved them to such a degree that they were reasoning in their hearts whether or not John himself was the Messiah.
Verse 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:"
LGT "John answered all, saying, I indeed baptize you with water: but He who comes is mightier than I, of whom I am not fit to loose the thong of His sandals: He will baptize with [the] Holy Spirit and with fire;"
John did not succumb to the flattery of the crowd, but kept his perspective and pronounced to the crowd that He that is coming is mightier than he. This is one of the verses that convince me that water baptism is no longer to be practiced, now that we have the Perfect Word of God. "This bold Messianic picture in the Synoptic Gospels [Matthew, Mark and Luke] shows that John saw the Messiah's coming as a judgment upon the world like fire and the fan of the threshing-floor, and with unquenchable fire for the chaff (Luke 3:17 = Matthew 3:12). But he had the spiritual conception also, the baptism in the Holy Spirit which will characterize the Messiah's Mission and so will far transcend the water baptism which marked the ministry of John" (Robertson). Even with this bold admission, Robertson could not go as far as to say that water baptism is not necessary for the Church today in this age of Grace, for he was a Southern Baptist, and we know that they stress water baptism extremely.
Pentecost adds:
"John was widely recognized because of his baptism. Baptism was so associated with John's ministry that it became his identifying sign. It caused him to be known as John the Baptist. But this sign was external. Israel in the course of her history had had peculiar identifying signs previously. Circumcision was the external sign that one was rightly related to Abraham and to his covenant. Sabbath observance was the sign that one was rightly related to Moses and his law. Now the sign that one was rightly related to John and his message was submission to the external rite of water baptism. All these external signs were given to the nation Israel.
When Messiah comes, He will have a new sign by which to identify God's people. It had been promised in Joel 2:28 and Ezekiel 36:25-27 that God would give His Holy Spirit as a gift to all those in Messiah's kingdom. John promised that when Messiah came, He would Baptize you with the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16). The One who would give the Spirit as an identifying sign of relationship would be to the true Messiah - not the one who gave the external preparatory sign. Messiah's baptism would not be external. Whereas any external sign could be duplicated by men, the work, which Messiah would do in giving the Holy Spirit to believers, could not be duplicated by men. Such baptism would identify the true Messiah and also be a true identification of those who belong to Him.
John gave a second part of the baptizing work of the Messiah when he said, He will baptize you . . .with fire. Fire was associated with judgment just as the winnowing fork of Matthew 3:12 was a sign of judgment. When Messiah comes to rule, He will remove all that is worthless, useless, and lifeless; He will accept into His kingdom only what has life - the life which men have received from Him. It is significant that John, in denying that he was Messiah and introducing the true Messiah, appealed to the Old Testament Scriptures. The concept of Messiah was well established in the Judaism of John's day; so it was scarcely necessary to describe Him."
Verse 17, "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."
LGT "Of whom the winnowing fan [is] in His hand, He will thoroughly purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into His granary, but the chaff He will burn with fire unquenchable."
"The picture is of a farmer at his threshing-floor, the area of hard-beaten earth on which the sheaves are spread and the grain trodden out by animals. His fan, that is his winnowing-shovel or fork, is in his hand, and with it he throws up the mingled wheat and chaff against the wind in order to separate the grain" (Vincent).
His floor represents the nation Israel; the wheat represents those who will accept the Messiah, whom John is introducing to them; the chaff represents those who will reject the Messiah; the wheat He will gather into His kingdom, whereas the Christ rejecters will go into hell, into the unquenchable fire where the worm does not die.
Verse 18, "And many other things, in his exhortation, preached he unto the people."
LGT "And therefore many other exhortations, he announced glad tidings to the people."
John's message prepared the people to receive the promised Messiah.
Verse 19, "But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and all the evils which Herod had done."
LGT "But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him concerning Herodias the wife of his brother, and concerning all [the] evils which Herod had done,"
Herod is described as doing evil; Satan is the evil one, therefore, Herod was just obeying his father the devil that is, doing what comes natural for the unbelieving natural man. Unbelievers are unable to do anything but evil, because there is no Light in them at all.
Verse 20, "Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison."
LGT "Added also this to all, [and] he shut up John in the prison."
Herod was a wimp, because he not only had John put in prison because of the fact that Herodias was impassioned by John's reproof of Herod marrying his brother Philips wife, that she also eventually had him beheaded. Herod also was motivated politically to have John imprisoned, because he feared an insurrection from the people, for John was very popular among the masses.
The Baptism of Jesus
(Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11)
Verse 21, "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,"
LGT "Now it came to pass, all the people having been baptized, and Jesus, having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,"
This verse does not mean that all the people were baptized; it means that Jesus was baptized at the same time as the people were being baptized. We have already studied the reason Jesus was baptized; it was not for the remission of sins, but that He would fulfill all righteousnesses of the Jews. The heavens were opened while Jesus was praying, not because He was praying.
Verse 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."
LGT "And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon Him, and a voice came out of heaven, You are My Son, the Beloved One, in You I have found delight."
The Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form is peculiar to Luke. The voice came out of heaven saying, You are My Son, the Beloved One, in You I have found delight. This verse is a sounding evidence of the Trinity. We see Christ being baptized, the Holy Spirit in bodily form, and God the Father speaking from heaven.
The Genealogy of Jesus
(Matt. 1:1-17)
Verse 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,"
LGT "And Jesus Himself beginning [to teach], about thirty years [old], being, as was supposed, a son of Joseph, of Heli,"
The rest of this chapter is dealing with genealogy of Mary, not Joseph. "The word son as it is used in this genealogy is not in the better manuscripts. Joseph was not the son of Heli. The word son is added to indicate the lineage through the father (the man) who was the head of the house. In other words, the genealogy is listed according to the man's name. In Matthew, where it is giving the genealogy through Joseph, it states that Jacob begat Joseph".
Verses 24-38 (See the Genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17).
"Matthew traces the line of Christ through David's son, Solomon. That is the royal line. Luke traces the line of Christ through David's son, Nathan. Mary had the blood of David in her veins. Jesus Christ is the Son of David.
Luke reveals Jesus Christ as the Son of Man and the Savior of the world. His line does not stop with Abraham, but goes all the way back to Adam who was the first Son of God - the created son of God. But he fell from that lofty position when he sinned. Jesus Christ, the last Adam and the Son of God, is come to bring mankind back into that relationship with God, which Adam formerly had and lost. This relationship is accomplished through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" (McGee).
Pentecost adds:
"It is interesting to note that the Jews were careful to maintain genealogical records, which were preserved in the temple until its destruction in A.D. 70. The Gospel writers had access to these temple records and could accurately trace the genealogy of Jesus from them. In addition, there were genealogical records recorded in the Old Testament, and Luke used these in addition to the records in the temple in compiling his genealogy. It is significant to note that, when Jesus offered Himself to Israel as the Messiah, His claim to Davidic descent was never challenged. The Jews must have consulted the records to see whether the One who made such claims for Himself had the right to make those claims. Had they found any flaw in His descent, they would have been quick to accuse Him of being an imposter. Even though the nation rejected Him, it was not because He was outside the Davidic line and therefore ineligible to claim the Davidic throne. In spite of all the problems that the two genealogies present, we must not lose sight of the fact that they present incontrovertible proof that Jesus is the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, the One through whom God will bring the great covenants He made with Israel to their conclusion. He is the One who has the right to redeem and to reign."
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