Luke 3

John the Baptist Begins His Ministry

1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, [when] Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

2 in the time of the high priest Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

3 And he went into all the surrounding region of the Jordan, preaching 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 will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled, and the crooked will become straight, and the rough road [will become] smooth,

6 and all flesh will see the salvation of God.'"

7 Therefore he was saying to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham [as] father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

9 And even now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

10 And the crowds were asking him, saying, "What then should we do?"

11 And he answered [and] said to them, "The one who has two tunics must share with the one who does not have [one], and the one who has food must do likewise."

12 And tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what should we do?"

13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than {what you are ordered to}."

14 And those who served in the army were also asking him, saying, "What should we also do?" And he said to them, "Extort from no one, and do not blackmail [anyone], and be content with your pay."

15 And [while] the people were waiting expectantly and all were pondering in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he might be the Christ,

16 John answered them all, saying, "I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than I [am] is coming, of whom 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 [is] in his hand, to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

18 So with many other exhortations also he proclaimed good news to the people.

19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him concerning Herodias, his brother's wife, and concerning all the evil deeds that Herod had done,

20 added this also to them all: he also locked up John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

21 Now it happened that when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and [while he] was praying, heaven was opened,

22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

23 And Jesus, [when he] began [his ministry], was himself about thirty years [old], being the son (as it was believed) of Joseph the [son] of Eli,

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 Josech, the [son] of Joda,

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 Elmadam, the [son] of Er,

29 the [son] of Joshua, 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 Jonam, the [son] of Eliakim,

31 the [son] of Melea, the [son] of Menna, 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 Sala, the [son] of Nahshon,

33 the [son] of Amminadab, the [son] of Admin, the [son] of Arni, 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 Enosh, the [son] of Seth, the [son] of Adam, the [son] of God.

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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "the emperor Tiberius"
• [b]. *Here "[will become]" is an implied repetition of the verb earlier in the verse
• [c]. A quotation from Isa 40:3-5
• [d]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("answered") has been translated as a finite verb
• [e]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [f]. Literally "what is ordered to you"
• [g]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [h]. *Here "[while]" is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle ("were waiting expectantly")
• [i]. Or "Messiah"
• [j]. *Here "[while]" is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle ("was praying")
• [k]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("began") which is understood as temporal
• [l]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [m]. Greek "Sala"