Luke 3:1-38
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
The Ancestors of Jesus
23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph 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, 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, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala,[j] son of Nahshon,33 son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, 34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor, 35 son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah,36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech,37 son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, 38 son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.
What does the passage say?
V.1-6 Luke shares the setting of John the Baptist starting his ministry. Later, John ends up in jail, because he shares a message with Herod, who didn’t want to listen.
The message John proclaim is the message of Jesus Christ. How Jesus will come to establish the kingdom and make things straight. John is preparing the way
V. 7-20 John then condemns the people, especially the Israelites for not living according to God’s will. So people come to John and ask how they ought to live. John says, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (v. 8 NIV)
V. 21-22 Baptism of Jesus Christ. The version of this story in Luke seems to be simplified. However, the most important part is the same. God says, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (v. 22 NRSV) Remember that I believe that this is what happens when we are baptized.
V. 23-38 Geneology of Jesus Christ. The difference between the genealogy described in Luke, compared to Matthew, is that Luke goes all the way up to Adam and God, while Mattew starts at Abraham. As I mentioned, Matthew wrote the Gospel for the Jewish converts, while Luke wrote it for the Gentiles. Therefore it is natural for Matthew to start at Abraham, the father of Israel, while Luke starts from God, the Father of the universe.
What does the passage say to you and me?
When the people come to John, asking how they should live, John suggests some ways of living. It is, to be honest in what they do and not living a selfish life. However, does it end there?
We seem to live in a world where many people try to live a ‘righteous life.’ It that it? Does that solve the problem? Do we see the kingdom come? We need to remember that what John is suggesting is only a first step. John is only preparing for Jesus to step in.
He says, “I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house – make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.” (v. 16-17 The Message)
As mentioned in the verse, Jesus comes to transform, set the order straight, and clean up the slate. Therefore, living a righteous life does not end how we should live. It should go beyond, to see Jesus building the Kingdom of God in our lives, and see how God invites us to God’s mission.
Let’s Pray
Lord, be with us today. Help us to live a life that is righteous, but at the same time help us the see Jesus transforming our life, from the inside out.
In Christ, we pray, AMEN
What are your thoughts?
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