Luke 3:1 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 the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
As John the Baptist begins his ministry, Luke ties the event in to verifiable history. Luke points out at least seven anchors; Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Lysanias, Caiaphas, and Zacharias, to substantiate the truthfulness of the Word of God. Luke is not telling a fairy tale or a children’s fable. Luke recounts and anchors his story to actual historical events.
Luke 3:3 He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord.
Make his paths straight.
5 Every valley will be filled.
Every mountain and hill will be brought low.
The crooked will become straight,
and the rough ways smooth.
6 All flesh will see God’s salvation.’” Isaiah 40:3-5
Approximately eight hundred years before John began to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah had prophesied:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord.
Make his paths straight.
5 Every valley will be filled.
Every mountain and hill will be brought low.
The crooked will become straight,
and the rough ways smooth.
6 All flesh will see God’s salvation.’” Isaiah 40:3-5
One thousand four hundred years earlier Israel had stood on the opposite side of the Jordan River waiting for God to fulfill his promise, allowing them to enter the Promised Land. After consecrating themselves and pledging to honor and follow the Lord, God miraculously stopped the flow of the Jordan River so that all of Israel could cross into their new homeland on dry ground. Joshua 3 Over the ensuing years, despite their pledge to be faithful to God, Israel and her leaders frequently slipped into apostasy, not only ignoring God but also pursuing and worshiping worthless false gods.
In preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah, John took the people back to their roots, the Jordan River, where he led a renewal movement. Like Joshua before him, John called for the people to repent of their sins and to consecrate themselves, recommitting themselves to their God in preparation for the arrival of God’s New Covenant Kingdom.
What was John’s message?
Luke 3:7 He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones! 9 Even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.”
In what is clearly an affront to the Church’s modern “seeker-friendly” ears, John told the undiluted truth. The people had grown comfortable with their sinful lifestyles and had even constructed excuses to justify their many sins. After all, they reasoned, “We have Abraham as our father, surely God won’t judge us.” In fact He is pleased with us. John pierced through their comforting delusions by reminding them that the wrath of God is real. He will come to judge His wayward sinful people, and, in fact, the ax of God’s judgment will cut down every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit.
This is the message that every generation, including our generation, desperately needs to hear. Our friends and neighbors may try to suppress the truth about God by concocting comforting excuses and delusions: God is pleased with me, God will never judge me. But God says: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” Romans 1:18-19 Our excuses will do nothing to negate the reality of the God that we will face.
It is truly an evil to be full of faults; but it is a greater evil to be full of them and unwilling to recognize them, since that is to add further fault of a voluntary delusion.
(Blaise Pascale, Pensees, Penguin Classics)
We must be bold like John and never be ashamed of the truth that God has revealed to us. Remember, we are never speaking on our own authority rather we are simply explaining to people the revealed Word of God. As such, we must never suppress the truth out of fear or embarrassment. When we are willing to be bold we will find that many people are actually unhappy and unfulfilled in their sinful lifestyles. This is because the promises of Satan are lies that are ultimately unfulfilling. People are looking for the truth and some may actually ask, “What then must we do?”
The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?”
11 He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”
13 He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.”
14 Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?”
He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.” John 3:10
John advises the people to repent of their sins against their Creator and then to live lives consistent with repentance. If you have an abundance, don’t hoard your possessions, but rather share what you have with others. At your job, deal honestly with everyone. Do not resort to violence or lying. Practice gratitude, being content with what God has provided for you.
Luke 3:15 As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ, 16 John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, 17 whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
18 Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people, 19 but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done, 20 added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison. 21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came from heaven, saying “You are my beloved Son. In You I Am well pleased.”
John’s message was so powerful and rang so true that the people coming to him seeking renewal began to speculate that he was, in fact, the Messiah. John answered their speculations by saying that his was only a baptism of renewal, but the One coming after him would bring a baptism of transformation: He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. And, in fact, after John baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on Him; and a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are my beloved Son. In You I Am well pleased.”
Luke, adding yet another historical reference, notes that after John chastised Herod for committing adultery with his brother’s wife, Herod threw John into prison. We should never refuse to speak the truth but that doesn’t mean that those in power who want to suppress the truth will not take their wrath out on us. But God is pleased to use our faithfulness to accomplish His purposes.
Luke 3:23 Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Aram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Honestly, when we come across genealogies in the Bible we frequently skip over them not taking the time to understand their relevance. But here’s the thing: the genealogies are the framework for the most unique, exciting, and comforting story ever told. In fact, it is so amazing that it is beyond imagining. Luke’s retelling of the genealogy of Jesus traces through all of human history, how God worked through sinful and flawed people to fulfill his Promise to Adam and Eve. The Promise that our ancestors longed to see and understand has been fulfilled. Jesus, the Christ, the promised Messiah, born of woman, has come to earth.
And skipping ahead in the story, through Jesus, Satan will be defeated. Death will be defeated. The grace that God had planned to give us before time began will be made available to us. We will be granted life. We will be granted the immortality that our first parents lost in their rebellion. We will be offered adoption as sons and daughters into God’s eternal family. Or as the Apostle Paul would explain:
He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ’s Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. 1 Timothy 1:9-10