Luke 3 Commentary
Chapter 3 begins with a rich historical background. John’s preaching is set within the lifetime of real personalities, Emperor Tiberius, Governor Pilate; rulers Herod, Philip, and Lysanias. Annas and Caiaphas were high priests. Some of these characters would combine in one way or the other in the killing of both Jesus and John. But we have material to look at before these two sad events.
John’s preaching is simple. Abraham’s children are living and behaving badly – contrary to the covenant. Repentance is required urgently, otherwise, the axe is ready. They don’t have many options.
John’s instructions to the tax collectors and the soldiers are instructive. Don’t overstep your duty boundaries. But this is water baptism. It doesn’t help much. Only the baptism by the Messiah is good enough to help the tax collectors and the soldiers. It purifies the individual. Then John’s instructions can flow smoothly.
The difference between the two baptisms is in the way they treat uncleanliness. Baptism by fire purifies completely. Baptism by water is simply a shadow of the baptism by fire, which is the real object. But don’t forget, every object has a shadow! Repentance precedes the filling of the Spirit. It is part of the process!
Baptism by water comes with repentance. Repentance involves the renunciation of hatred, as an example – which is great by itself. But it does nothing until love is installed within the heart of the individual. Love is the fruit of the Spirit, represented by fire. By demanding that the people produce the fruit of repentance, John is pointing them to the LORD Jesus Christ who, alone, can give the Spirit to the believer.
It is impossible to love without the Spirit of God as love, peace, and self-control, among others, are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Of course, we can have imitations.
Many receive John’s message gladly and seek repentance. Not Herod. His wicked and adulterous marriage to Herodias comes under John’s scrutiny. It fails the holiness test. Herod is rebuked. Herod adds more to his mountain of wickedness by locking up John the Baptist.
The last section deals with the genealogy of the man Jesus. “He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph.” See how Luke dismisses the thought that Jesus was the son of Joseph. But let’s keep things simple. So we have the genealogy and his supposed earthly father Joseph. It does make sense as it traces the ancestry of Jesus to David. He is the son of David. But it goes further by tracing Jesus’ ancestry to Adam – the man Adam. He is the son of man (Adam).
But Adam is the son of God; therefore, Jesus is the son of God. The titles, “Son of Man” and “Son of God” are used frequently. At his Baptism, God calls Jesus, “My Son”. Jesus would call himself the “Son of Man” several times. They all reveal an intricate web or threads of prophecy – the grand plan of Heaven.
Jesus never travels light! No single title fits the description or definition of Jesus. One title comes close – the I AM God, Yahweh.
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