Luke 3

The Mission of John the Baptist

1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ¹

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, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

5 Every valley shall be filled in,

6 And all humanity will see God’s salvation.’” ^[a]

7 Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

8 Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

9 The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”

11 John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13 “Collect no more than you are authorized,” he answered.

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John could be the Christ.

16 John answered all of them: “I baptize you with water, ^[b] but One more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. ^[c] He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ^[d]

17 His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

18 With these and many other exhortations, John proclaimed the good news to the people.

19 But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done,

20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened, ²

22 and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

The Genealogy of Jesus

23 Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. ³

24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi,

25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum,

26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,

27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel,

28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,

29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim,

30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,

31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha,

32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,

33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, ^[e] the son of Arni, ^[f]

34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,

35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg,

36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,

37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared,

38 the son of Enosh, ^[g] the son of Seth, the son of Adam,

Luke 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

John the Baptist's ministry. (1-14) John the Baptist testifies concerning Christ. (15-20) The baptism of Christ. (21,22) The genealogy of Christ. (23-38)

Verses 1-14 The scope and design of John's ministry were, to bring the people from their sins, and to their Saviour. He came preaching, not a sect, or party, but a profession; the sign or ceremony was washing with water. By the words here used John preached the necessity of repentance, in order to the remission of sins, and that the baptism of water was an outward sign of that inward cleansing and renewal of heart, which attend, or are the effects of true repentance, as well as a profession of it. Here is the fulfilling of the Scriptures, ( Isaiah 40:3 ) , in the ministry of John. When way is made for the gospel into the heart, by taking down high thoughts, and bringing them into obedience to Christ, by levelling the soul, and removing all that hinders us in the way of Christ and his grace, then preparation is made to welcome the salvation of God. Here are general warnings and exhortations which John gave. The guilty, corrupted race of mankind is become a generation of vipers; hateful to God, and hating one another. There is no way of fleeing from the wrath to come, but by repentance; and by the change of our way the change of our mind must be shown. If we are not really holy, both in heart and life, our profession of religion and relation to God and his church, will stand us in no stead at all; the sorer will our destruction be, if we do not bring forth fruits meet for repentance. John the Baptist gave instructions to several sorts of persons. Those that profess and promise repentance, must show it by reformation, according to their places and conditions. The gospel requires mercy, not sacrifice; and its design is, to engage us to do all the good we can, and to be just to all men. And the same principle which leads men to forego unjust gain, leads to restore that which is gained by wrong. John tells the soldiers their duty. Men should be cautioned against the temptations of their employments. These answers declared the present duty of the inquirers, and at once formed a test of their sincerity. As none can or will accept Christ's salvation without true repentance, so the evidence and effects of this repentance are here marked out.

Verses 15-20 John the Baptist disowned being himself the Christ, but confirmed the people in their expectations of the long-promised Messiah. He could only exhort them to repent, and assure them of forgiveness upon repentance; but he could not work repentance in them, nor confer remission on them. Thus highly does it become us to speak of Christ, and thus humbly of ourselves. John can do no more than baptize with water, in token that they ought to purify and cleanse themselves; but Christ can, and will baptize with the Holy Ghost; he can give the Spirit, to cleanse and purify the heart, not only as water washes off the dirt on the outside, but as fire clears out the dross that is within, and melts down the metal, that it may be cast into a new mould. John was an affectionate preacher; he was beseeching; he pressed things home upon his hearers. He was a practical preacher; quickening them to their duty, and directing them in it. He was a popular preacher; he addressed the people, according to their capacity. He was an evangelical preacher. In all his exhortations, he directed people to Christ. When we press duty upon people, we must direct them to Christ, both for righteousness and strength. He was a copious preacher; he shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God. But a full stop was put to John's preaching when he was in the midst of his usefulness. Herod being reproved by him for many evils, shut up John in prison. Those who injure the faithful servants of God, add still greater guilt to their other sins.

Verses 21-22 Christ did not confess sin, as others did, for he had none to confess; but he prayed, as others did, and kept up communion with his Father. Observe, all the three voices from heaven, by which the Father bare witness to the Son, were pronounced while he was praying, or soon after, Lu. 9:35 ; Joh. 12:28 . The Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and there came a voice from heaven, from God the Father, from the excellent glory. Thus was a proof of the Holy Trinity, of the Three Persons in the Godhead, given at the baptism of Christ.

Verses 23-38 Matthew's list of the forefathers of Jesus showed that Christ was the son of Abraham, in whom all the families of the earth are blessed, and heir to the throne of David; but Luke shows that Jesus was the Seed of the woman that should break the serpent's head, and traces the line up to Adam, beginning with Eli, or Heli, the father, not of Joseph, but of Mary. The seeming differences between the two evangelists in these lists of names have been removed by learned men. But our salvation does not depend upon our being able to solve these difficulties, nor is the Divine authority of the Gospels at all weakened by them. The list of names ends thus, "Who was the son of Adam, the son of God;" that is, the offspring of God by creation. Christ was both the son of Adam and the Son of God, that he might be a proper Mediator between God and the sons of Adam, and might bring the sons of Adam to be, through him, the sons of God. All flesh, as descended from the first Adam, is as grass, and withers as the flower of the field; but he who partakes of the Holy Spirit of life from the Second Adam, has that eternal happiness, which by the gospel is preached unto us.

Cross References

• 1. (Isaiah 40:1–5; Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; John 1:19–28)
• 2. (Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; John 1:29–34)
• 3. (Ruth 4:18–22; Matthew 1:1–17)

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally And all flesh will see God’s salvation; Isaiah 40:3–5 (see also LXX)
• [b]. Or in water
• [c]. Cited in Acts 13:25
• [d]. Or in the Holy Spirit and in fire
• [e]. BYZ and TR Aram; others Ram; see Ruth 4:19 and Matthew 1:3–4.
• [f]. WH, BYZ, and TR do not include the son of Arni.
• [g]. Greek Enōs, a variant spelling of Enosh; see Genesis 5:6.