Luke 3:1-3:38
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. – Luke 3:1-3
As we have seen in previous weeks in this series, Luke establishes the factual nature of his account with details about the leadership and the time of the events. He is telling his audience that the things they have heard about Jesus are not just stories but fact.
Here he comes back to talking about John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Recall what the angel Gabriel had said of John before his birth:
He will be a joy and delight to you [Zechariah], and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. – Luke 1:14-17
Zechariah himself was later filled with the spirit and prophesied about his baby John, saying:
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. – Luke 1:76-77
Based on the details of the beginning of Luke chapter 3, we know that nearly 30 years have passed since the events of chapter 1. Of this time, all we are told of John is that:
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel. – Luke 1:80
What was this desert? The Greek word refers to not just a desert but a lonely place. What was it like to live there? He was a hermit, someone who learned to live off the land. Matthew describes him as by saying:
John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. – Matt. 3:4
Try to contrast this with the flowing robes that were the standard dress back then. This was a man who did not care if his clothing was in style, and someone who was willing to eat even things considered disgusting by civilized people. In fact, John was not “civilized” – he had spent very little time in civilization.
And in the desert, “the word of God” or “the word of the Lord” had come to him. This phrase describes God’s coming to many of the Old Testament prophets: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Jonah, Micah, and Zephaniah. And in fact, we should think of John as an Old Testament prophet – the last such prophet. And we know from other passages that he came in the role and spirit of Elijah. In fact, the very last verses of the Old Testament (in Malachi) say:
See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse. – Mal. 4:5-6
Even the clothing was in the style of Elijah. Consider this passage:
The king [Ahaziah] asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?" They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite." – 2 Kings 1:7-8
It is Matthew who draws attention to these things, not Luke, because Matthew is the one with the Jewish audience who knows Old Testament scripture. Luke, instead simply tells us what happened after the “word of God came to John in the desert.” Going back to our main passage, it says that John went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
What does this mean? What is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins? The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, a turning, or change of mind. It does not mean simply a sense of guilt. And it does not mean a sorrow for getting caught. It is an actual change of mind. John was going around the country around the Jordan saying you must change! Repent! Turn! John was saying that they were sinners.
Now was John teaching that if they had a change of mind, and they agreed they were sinners, and they then went into the water and were baptized, that they were forgiven? I don’t believe so. We need to think about this wording carefully: a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Here are some questions to think about. Was there any place in the Old Testament where baptism caused the forgiveness of sins? No. In fact, little is said about baptism at all. Baptism was a ritual used at this time, but it wasn’t for Jews at all, but for Gentiles who wished to convert to Judaism. It was a ceremony symbolic of turning from their old Gentile life to the new life as a Jew. It was actually quite offensive what John was doing, asking Jews to submit to this ritual. And in fact that was exactly John’s point, as we will see. He was trying to drive home the fact that simply being of Jewish heritage has nothing to do with whether you are in good standing with God. I am sure it was tempting to think “Hey, we are the people of God’s promise! He has to bless us, or he will be violating his covenants with Abraham and the later patriarchs.” One of John’s messages, as we shall see, was that this was very wrong and very dangerous thinking.
So now that we understand baptism as a symbolic ceremony used by John to signify a changed or turned life, we see that it in and of itself did not impart forgiveness. So again, what is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins? Perhaps our clause “for the forgiveness of sins” is modifying the wrong noun! Was there any place in the Old Testament where repentance resulted in the forgiveness of sin? Absolutely! There are countless examples where when people repented, God withdrew the punishment He had warned about. Perhaps the most dramatic example is in the book of Jonah where the entire city of Ninevah repented and they were all spared from God’s judgment.
But this is important: Does repentance guarantee the forgiveness of sins? No! John was not saying that if they repented that God would certainly forgive them of everything. He could say that if they didn’t repent, God would punish, but beyond this, he could only say that their only hope for forgiveness would be if they repented. Those that agreed they were sinners, and desired to change, and would do all they could do to change, were invited to be baptized to signify this “new beginning” as a Jew. I think a good analogy is when someone who has been unfaithful to their spouse goes through a second wedding ceremony as a symbol of a new beginning.
Can you see how, after Christ’ death and resurrection, John’s message became incomplete? There were people mentioned in the book of Acts who only knew of John’s message but not of Christ’s work on the cross. People who turn (or repent) to God with faith in Jesus are guaranteed the forgiveness of all of their sins. We do not have to hope things work out with God. We can have 100% certainty that our sins are forgiven and that we will spend eternity with God in heaven. This is the gospel – the good, good news of Jesus Christ!
I have jumped way ahead of the story, so to speak, but I felt like we needed to discuss all this so that we can understand John’s ministry properly in context and not misapply it to our lives. Continuing on with the passage:
As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "– Luke 3:4-6
Here Luke quotes Isaiah because the voice calling in the desert was John’s voice. This was his message: Prepare the way for the Lord – The King is coming! Turn from your old ways so that you can commit to Him when He comes!
How is “turning,” repentance, like making a smooth highway in the mountains? Look at the picture below. A lot of work went into making this highway smooth! Explosives were used to blow off a chunk of this mountain. In general, a smooth highway is one in which there are no impediments or obstructions to the one who is to come.
Preparing the way for the Lord, then, is to take away your roadblocks against Him. It is to agree that you are a sinner, to agree that you need to change. It is not the doing of the change, though. It is the agreement that it needs to happen. Again, briefly getting ahead of ourselves, it is the King Jesus Himself who enables us to change. But He won’t begin this work until we take away the roadblocks.
And notice the last verse: All mankind will see God’s salvation. Luke reminds us that salvation was not just for the Jews, but for all who would turn to Jesus.
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? Produce fruit 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. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." – Luke 3:7-9
Nobody can accuse John of being politically correct. “You brood of vipers!” The picture below shows what John was talking about: a Palestinian viper, pretty common in the desert where John had lived. They were poisonous and deadly. Someone bitten could die within hours.
In the event of a coming fire, snakes (as well as other animals) flee the area. John is saying to them, “I see you have somehow determined that a fire is coming, and like the vipers you are, you have fled here to try to escape the fire.” As the crowds became large, there were no doubt those who came with a sincere desire for repentance but others who simply came for curiosity or for entertainment. His words were probably meant for those who were insincere.
He warns them that if they intend to repent, there should be fruit forthcoming that shows they meant it. And he warns them against thinking that because of their status as children of Abraham, they are somehow safe from the coming fire. God can simultaneously fulfill His covenant promise to Abraham and destroy those who do not truly repent.
"What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." – Luke 3:10-11
In the crowd were those who genuinely wanted to change, to avoid God’s wrath. “What should we do?” they asked. John replies by showing one example of the fruit that should be forthcoming: an end to selfishness and greed and a beginning of helping those who need help.
Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. – Luke 3:12-13
Tax collectors at this time worked in the following way. A chief tax collector would bid on a contract that would give him exclusive rights to collect all taxes in a certain geographical area. He was required to collect a certain amount based on past census information. If he collected more than this amount, he was free to keep the rest. A chief tax collector would hire others to work under him under a similar basis: they must collect a certain (higher) amount for the chief collector, but anything they collect above this amount was free for them to keep. Thus they were paid a combination of salary and what I suppose you could call an “extortion commission.” Tax collectors therefore were highly motivated to collect as much as possible, using whatever methods they could get away with, including threats and intimidation, to help them make more money.
John’s reply to them was to simply collect what they were required to collect and no more. No lying about what was due. No cheating. No threats. No collecting more often than required. Note that John did not tell them they should stop being tax collectors; instead, he said they should be honest ones.
Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay." – Luke 3:14
The Greek word for “extort” is translated “do violence” in the KJV. It actually means both - literally, it means to shake violently, similar to our slang phrase “shake down.” The Greek word for accusing people falsely includes the specific idea of blackmail. In both cases, the idea is that these supposed keepers of the peace are breaking the law through various means to take money that they have no right to – quite similar to the tax collectors. John’s final statement to them is to be content with their pay.
These are bold responses. If there were people not sincere about repentance in the crowd, this would probably make them angry. I have tried to think of some modern examples. If you are a lawyer or someone else who bills by the hour, don’t count your coffee breaks or reading news on the internet. If you are an auto mechanic, on your bill don’t say your part costs more than the retail amount. Or like the subject of the wonderful movie Flywheel, if you are a used car salesman, don’t try to rip off the gullible, but instead make a fair and reasonable profit on every car.
What is especially striking in all three of these groups, the crowds, the tax collectors, and the soldiers, is that their problems are all based on issues relating to money. All three groups struggle at the core with the sins of greed and selfishness and the lust for more. I would say, going deeper, the heart issue is related to trusting God. Do you trust God to provide you with enough? Do you trust Him enough to be willing to give to your needy neighbors? Do you trust Him enough to accept a low salary? Without this trust, you cannot be content.
It also strikes me how seemingly non-spiritual this all is. What about having a proper understanding of God? What about worship? What about prayer? What about reading your Bible every day? John’s message doesn’t speak to any of these things. It is far more practical, and I would say, far more black and white than this. Either you are content with your honest pay for honest work or you are not. Either you are willing to help your neighbor or you are not. Either you are cheating at work or you are not. I would argue that money is a real acid test for genuine spirituality.
The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 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." – Luke 3:15-17
The people wanted to know, “John, are you the Messiah, the anointed one?” John’s answer is blunt. It screams “No!” What type of person would untie a master’s sandals? Not a hired Jewish servant. Only a non-Jewish, foreign slave would do such lowly work. John says, “Compared to the Messiah, I am not even worthy to be His slave.” My baptizing you with water doesn’t even begin to compare to the baptism you are going to get from Him. You have two choices on the baptism he gives you: Holy Spirit baptism or fire baptism. I strongly recommend the former.”
The image John uses is that of gathering wheat. The image at the beginning of this blog entry shows the threshing of wheat. Dried wheat is first threshed, that is, crushed or beaten so that the kernels of grain are separated from the stems and husks. Then a winnowing fork (see the image below) is used to throw the threshed grain into the air so that the grain kernels fall to the ground but the light-as-air chaff scatters some distance away by even the lightest breeze.
This process is repeated until the grain and chaff are completely separated. The dried chaff is useless and highly flammable. If it were to catch fire, nothing could put it out.
John is saying that God will perform this separating process on people. Those who are like the kernels of grain will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and those who are like the chaff will be lit up with the inextinguishable fire. The Greek word for “unquenchable” is asbestos, a mineral believed back then to be inextinguishable when set on fire. The image is that of an eternal fire.
And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them. But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. – Luke 3:18-20
Herod had married his sister-in-law, Herodias, in clear violation of Old Testament law (Lev. 18:16). And that was just the tip of the iceberg with Herod. Think Saddam Hussein and you get a better idea of the type of man Herod was. Now, John was bold, and as I said, politically incorrect. It doesn’t get much more politically incorrect than to call the king and queen evil sinners. John, like many Old Testament prophets before him, did not hesitate to rebuke his leader. And like many Old Testament prophets before him, his leader did not appreciate this and did not repent, but instead threw John into jail.
Luke then steps back a bit chronologically to relate the baptism of Jesus.
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a Voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." – Luke 3:21-22
Matthew gives us additional details of Jesus’ baptism.
But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. – Matt. 3:14-15
Why did He do this? I believe because Jesus, although sinless, was to completely identify Himself with sinful man. It is the same reason He would go to the cross, the punishment for only the greatest sinners, even though He was not guilty of any sin. And as Jesus said, it “fulfilled all righteousness;” in other words, it was a right thing to do. If someone wanted to show that they were fully going to be fully devoted to God from that day forth, being baptized by John was a good thing to do. And this was exactly what Jesus was saying. From this day forward (not that it hadn’t also been true before), Jesus was going to be completely obedient to the Father, even unto death.
And so Jesus was baptized. And then, as Luke records, while Jesus was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And then the Father spoke: You are my Son, whom I love. With You I am well pleased. Notice how the entire Trinity is there at Jesus’ baptism: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Why like a dove? It could have been like a hawk or eagle, for example, but it was like a dove. Was this just a physical description, or was there symbolism God put behind it? I believe the choice of a dove was deliberate and symbolic. What did a dove symbolize? Purity, innocence, and gentleness, or meekness. All these words describe Jesus’ ministry on earth. When Jesus sent out His disciples, He told them to be as innocent as doves. And recall from last week that a dove was used as a sacrifice in the temple when someone was too poor to obtain a lamb. In contrast, an eagle would have symbolized majesty, and although Jesus is the King of kings, He did not come to display His kingship. And a hawk would have symbolized fierceness, decisive military leadership, and Jesus did not come to display these qualities either. When Jesus returns, the eagle and the hawk may be appropriate symbols for His return, but not this first ministry on earth.
The “coming down on Him” nature of the Holy Spirit is an image like the anointing of oil. In the Old Testament, oil was poured over the head of someone whom God had chosen to lead His people. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed in the Old Testament. Jesus is all three: prophet, priest, and king. Compare the images of the oil dripping down and that of a dove’s wings as it is settling down – they are similar. Really, anointing is exactly what is happening here! Jesus’ title as the Christ means “anointed one.”
At an anointing, the one doing the anointing would speak words of blessing to the one being anointed. And so here, since it is God the Father Himself doing the anointing, He is the one who speaks. And when He speaks, He identifies Jesus as His Son, and says He loves Him and is fully pleased with Him. And rather than anointing Him with oil, God anoints Him with Himself, in the form of the Holy Spirit! This is too deep, and too awesome, for me really to comprehend!
Luke then goes on to talk of Jesus.
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph… - Luke 3:23a
And then begins a genealogy of Jesus. The list: Heli, Matthat, Levi, Melki, Jannai, Joseph, Mattathias, Amos, Nahum, Esli, Naggai, Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Josech, Joda, Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel, Neri, Melki, Addi, Cosam, Elmadam, Er, Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi, Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonam, Eliakim, Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, David, Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon, Amminadab, Ram, Hezron, Perez, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor, Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah, Cainan, Arphaxad, Shem, Noah, Lamech, Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalalel, Kenan, Enosh, Seth, Adam, God.
I have just a few things to say about the genealogy. First, it differs from Matthew’s list in several ways – the order (going back in time versus forwards), how far back it goes (all the way back to Adam versus only back to Abraham), and in who is on the lists. The generally accepted explanation from this, and it is hinted in the text itself, is that Matthew’s list goes through Joseph, as is legally correct, since Joseph was, in the Jewish legal sense, Jesus’ father. In contrast, Luke reminds us that Joseph was only the “supposed” father, and takes his genealogy through Mary, something a Jew would not accept, but again, remember that Luke’s audience was different than Matthew’s. Second, the words “the son of” words are not in the actual Greek text. In either text, it is possible and acceptable if certain generations were skipped. There are plenty of other examples of this, both in the Old Testament and in contemporary Jewish writings. Third, there were other examples of genealogies like this at this time. One should not think that to do this was impossible, or that Luke must have made this up. Josephus did this, he says in his autobiography, “from public records.” And the famous Rabbi Hillel proved his descent from David using the “public registers.”
What is the purpose of the genealogy? Again, I think it is to help convince his readers that Luke was a real person. (There are some other reasons, relating to the fulfillment of Scripture regarding the promises of the coming Messiah, but I don’t think this is Luke’s primary point.) I have read that some missionaries have put off talking about the genealogies because they thought they would be seen as boring or be poorly received, but when they have finally done it, the people were astounded and finally believed that Jesus was a real person, with real ancestors, not a made up story. Also, I think Luke is making an important point by going all the way back to Adam, and even beyond this, to God. Jesus is the Son of God in a very special way, as part of the trinity. Adam was the son of God in a special way as well – he too had no earthly father.
Paul makes important comparisons between these two sons of God, Adam and Jesus:
The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second Man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the Man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the Man from heaven. – I Cor. 15:47-49
Praise God for this! If you have put your faith in Christ, you are not just of the earth, but of heaven. And you will not just bear the likeness of Adam, the fallen sinner, but you will bear the likeness of Jesus, the risen Savior. Amen!
I want to talk about applications of this message.
The one area that seemingly screams out to me goes back to the message of John the Baptist. Clearly, we who know the complete gospel, the good news that salvation is found in faith in Jesus, should be showing the fruits of repentance even more than the disciples of John the Baptist. And as John pointed his followers to the cold hard realities of greed, I think we should look here as well, especially since we live in such a materialistic culture. I think the acid test is our hearts – do we find more joy in our possessions, our toys, or in God? Or on the flip side of the coin, do we feel anxious because of our lack of money, thinking that more money will make us feel much better, or do we trust God even in our lack of possessions? Are we tempted to make money in part in ways that are clearly sin? Are we doing this? Are you in a job where it is impossible to not sin? Then maybe you need to look for a different job. I have a friend whose wife is going through this right now. In their case, the new job may force them to have to move, something they do not want to do.
I encourage you to lake a long hard look at yourself from the point of greed versus trusting God. If you think of money as non-spiritual, you are listening to the lies of Satan. Few things are as spiritual as money. Even secular society has a sense of this with their saying, “Put your money where your mouth is.” I entitled this message “Preparing the Way,” because that is what John the Baptist’s ministry was all about. What about you? Have you prepared the way for Jesus to really work in your life? Or are your attitudes and actions involving money keeping Him at a distance? Take a moment now to discuss this with God.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. – Luke 3:1-3As we have seen in previous weeks in this series, Luke establishes the factual nature of his account with details about the leadership and the time of the events. He is telling his audience that the things they have heard about Jesus are not just stories but fact.
Here he comes back to talking about John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Recall what the angel Gabriel had said of John before his birth:
He will be a joy and delight to you [Zechariah], and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. – Luke 1:14-17
Zechariah himself was later filled with the spirit and prophesied about his baby John, saying:
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. – Luke 1:76-77
Based on the details of the beginning of Luke chapter 3, we know that nearly 30 years have passed since the events of chapter 1. Of this time, all we are told of John is that:
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel. – Luke 1:80
What was this desert? The Greek word refers to not just a desert but a lonely place. What was it like to live there? He was a hermit, someone who learned to live off the land. Matthew describes him as by saying:
John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. – Matt. 3:4
Try to contrast this with the flowing robes that were the standard dress back then. This was a man who did not care if his clothing was in style, and someone who was willing to eat even things considered disgusting by civilized people. In fact, John was not “civilized” – he had spent very little time in civilization.
And in the desert, “the word of God” or “the word of the Lord” had come to him. This phrase describes God’s coming to many of the Old Testament prophets: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Jonah, Micah, and Zephaniah. And in fact, we should think of John as an Old Testament prophet – the last such prophet. And we know from other passages that he came in the role and spirit of Elijah. In fact, the very last verses of the Old Testament (in Malachi) say:
See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse. – Mal. 4:5-6
Even the clothing was in the style of Elijah. Consider this passage:
The king [Ahaziah] asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?" They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite." – 2 Kings 1:7-8
It is Matthew who draws attention to these things, not Luke, because Matthew is the one with the Jewish audience who knows Old Testament scripture. Luke, instead simply tells us what happened after the “word of God came to John in the desert.” Going back to our main passage, it says that John went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
What does this mean? What is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins? The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, a turning, or change of mind. It does not mean simply a sense of guilt. And it does not mean a sorrow for getting caught. It is an actual change of mind. John was going around the country around the Jordan saying you must change! Repent! Turn! John was saying that they were sinners.
Now was John teaching that if they had a change of mind, and they agreed they were sinners, and they then went into the water and were baptized, that they were forgiven? I don’t believe so. We need to think about this wording carefully: a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Here are some questions to think about. Was there any place in the Old Testament where baptism caused the forgiveness of sins? No. In fact, little is said about baptism at all. Baptism was a ritual used at this time, but it wasn’t for Jews at all, but for Gentiles who wished to convert to Judaism. It was a ceremony symbolic of turning from their old Gentile life to the new life as a Jew. It was actually quite offensive what John was doing, asking Jews to submit to this ritual. And in fact that was exactly John’s point, as we will see. He was trying to drive home the fact that simply being of Jewish heritage has nothing to do with whether you are in good standing with God. I am sure it was tempting to think “Hey, we are the people of God’s promise! He has to bless us, or he will be violating his covenants with Abraham and the later patriarchs.” One of John’s messages, as we shall see, was that this was very wrong and very dangerous thinking.
So now that we understand baptism as a symbolic ceremony used by John to signify a changed or turned life, we see that it in and of itself did not impart forgiveness. So again, what is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins? Perhaps our clause “for the forgiveness of sins” is modifying the wrong noun! Was there any place in the Old Testament where repentance resulted in the forgiveness of sin? Absolutely! There are countless examples where when people repented, God withdrew the punishment He had warned about. Perhaps the most dramatic example is in the book of Jonah where the entire city of Ninevah repented and they were all spared from God’s judgment.
But this is important: Does repentance guarantee the forgiveness of sins? No! John was not saying that if they repented that God would certainly forgive them of everything. He could say that if they didn’t repent, God would punish, but beyond this, he could only say that their only hope for forgiveness would be if they repented. Those that agreed they were sinners, and desired to change, and would do all they could do to change, were invited to be baptized to signify this “new beginning” as a Jew. I think a good analogy is when someone who has been unfaithful to their spouse goes through a second wedding ceremony as a symbol of a new beginning.
Can you see how, after Christ’ death and resurrection, John’s message became incomplete? There were people mentioned in the book of Acts who only knew of John’s message but not of Christ’s work on the cross. People who turn (or repent) to God with faith in Jesus are guaranteed the forgiveness of all of their sins. We do not have to hope things work out with God. We can have 100% certainty that our sins are forgiven and that we will spend eternity with God in heaven. This is the gospel – the good, good news of Jesus Christ!
I have jumped way ahead of the story, so to speak, but I felt like we needed to discuss all this so that we can understand John’s ministry properly in context and not misapply it to our lives. Continuing on with the passage:
As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "– Luke 3:4-6
Here Luke quotes Isaiah because the voice calling in the desert was John’s voice. This was his message: Prepare the way for the Lord – The King is coming! Turn from your old ways so that you can commit to Him when He comes!
How is “turning,” repentance, like making a smooth highway in the mountains? Look at the picture below. A lot of work went into making this highway smooth! Explosives were used to blow off a chunk of this mountain. In general, a smooth highway is one in which there are no impediments or obstructions to the one who is to come.
Preparing the way for the Lord, then, is to take away your roadblocks against Him. It is to agree that you are a sinner, to agree that you need to change. It is not the doing of the change, though. It is the agreement that it needs to happen. Again, briefly getting ahead of ourselves, it is the King Jesus Himself who enables us to change. But He won’t begin this work until we take away the roadblocks.
And notice the last verse: All mankind will see God’s salvation. Luke reminds us that salvation was not just for the Jews, but for all who would turn to Jesus.
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? Produce fruit 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. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." – Luke 3:7-9
Nobody can accuse John of being politically correct. “You brood of vipers!” The picture below shows what John was talking about: a Palestinian viper, pretty common in the desert where John had lived. They were poisonous and deadly. Someone bitten could die within hours.
In the event of a coming fire, snakes (as well as other animals) flee the area. John is saying to them, “I see you have somehow determined that a fire is coming, and like the vipers you are, you have fled here to try to escape the fire.” As the crowds became large, there were no doubt those who came with a sincere desire for repentance but others who simply came for curiosity or for entertainment. His words were probably meant for those who were insincere.
He warns them that if they intend to repent, there should be fruit forthcoming that shows they meant it. And he warns them against thinking that because of their status as children of Abraham, they are somehow safe from the coming fire. God can simultaneously fulfill His covenant promise to Abraham and destroy those who do not truly repent.
"What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." – Luke 3:10-11
In the crowd were those who genuinely wanted to change, to avoid God’s wrath. “What should we do?” they asked. John replies by showing one example of the fruit that should be forthcoming: an end to selfishness and greed and a beginning of helping those who need help.
Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. – Luke 3:12-13
Tax collectors at this time worked in the following way. A chief tax collector would bid on a contract that would give him exclusive rights to collect all taxes in a certain geographical area. He was required to collect a certain amount based on past census information. If he collected more than this amount, he was free to keep the rest. A chief tax collector would hire others to work under him under a similar basis: they must collect a certain (higher) amount for the chief collector, but anything they collect above this amount was free for them to keep. Thus they were paid a combination of salary and what I suppose you could call an “extortion commission.” Tax collectors therefore were highly motivated to collect as much as possible, using whatever methods they could get away with, including threats and intimidation, to help them make more money.
John’s reply to them was to simply collect what they were required to collect and no more. No lying about what was due. No cheating. No threats. No collecting more often than required. Note that John did not tell them they should stop being tax collectors; instead, he said they should be honest ones.
Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay." – Luke 3:14
The Greek word for “extort” is translated “do violence” in the KJV. It actually means both - literally, it means to shake violently, similar to our slang phrase “shake down.” The Greek word for accusing people falsely includes the specific idea of blackmail. In both cases, the idea is that these supposed keepers of the peace are breaking the law through various means to take money that they have no right to – quite similar to the tax collectors. John’s final statement to them is to be content with their pay.
These are bold responses. If there were people not sincere about repentance in the crowd, this would probably make them angry. I have tried to think of some modern examples. If you are a lawyer or someone else who bills by the hour, don’t count your coffee breaks or reading news on the internet. If you are an auto mechanic, on your bill don’t say your part costs more than the retail amount. Or like the subject of the wonderful movie Flywheel, if you are a used car salesman, don’t try to rip off the gullible, but instead make a fair and reasonable profit on every car.
What is especially striking in all three of these groups, the crowds, the tax collectors, and the soldiers, is that their problems are all based on issues relating to money. All three groups struggle at the core with the sins of greed and selfishness and the lust for more. I would say, going deeper, the heart issue is related to trusting God. Do you trust God to provide you with enough? Do you trust Him enough to be willing to give to your needy neighbors? Do you trust Him enough to accept a low salary? Without this trust, you cannot be content.
It also strikes me how seemingly non-spiritual this all is. What about having a proper understanding of God? What about worship? What about prayer? What about reading your Bible every day? John’s message doesn’t speak to any of these things. It is far more practical, and I would say, far more black and white than this. Either you are content with your honest pay for honest work or you are not. Either you are willing to help your neighbor or you are not. Either you are cheating at work or you are not. I would argue that money is a real acid test for genuine spirituality.
The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 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." – Luke 3:15-17
The people wanted to know, “John, are you the Messiah, the anointed one?” John’s answer is blunt. It screams “No!” What type of person would untie a master’s sandals? Not a hired Jewish servant. Only a non-Jewish, foreign slave would do such lowly work. John says, “Compared to the Messiah, I am not even worthy to be His slave.” My baptizing you with water doesn’t even begin to compare to the baptism you are going to get from Him. You have two choices on the baptism he gives you: Holy Spirit baptism or fire baptism. I strongly recommend the former.”
The image John uses is that of gathering wheat. The image at the beginning of this blog entry shows the threshing of wheat. Dried wheat is first threshed, that is, crushed or beaten so that the kernels of grain are separated from the stems and husks. Then a winnowing fork (see the image below) is used to throw the threshed grain into the air so that the grain kernels fall to the ground but the light-as-air chaff scatters some distance away by even the lightest breeze.
This process is repeated until the grain and chaff are completely separated. The dried chaff is useless and highly flammable. If it were to catch fire, nothing could put it out.
John is saying that God will perform this separating process on people. Those who are like the kernels of grain will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and those who are like the chaff will be lit up with the inextinguishable fire. The Greek word for “unquenchable” is asbestos, a mineral believed back then to be inextinguishable when set on fire. The image is that of an eternal fire.
And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them. But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. – Luke 3:18-20
Herod had married his sister-in-law, Herodias, in clear violation of Old Testament law (Lev. 18:16). And that was just the tip of the iceberg with Herod. Think Saddam Hussein and you get a better idea of the type of man Herod was. Now, John was bold, and as I said, politically incorrect. It doesn’t get much more politically incorrect than to call the king and queen evil sinners. John, like many Old Testament prophets before him, did not hesitate to rebuke his leader. And like many Old Testament prophets before him, his leader did not appreciate this and did not repent, but instead threw John into jail.
Luke then steps back a bit chronologically to relate the baptism of Jesus.
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a Voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." – Luke 3:21-22
Matthew gives us additional details of Jesus’ baptism.
But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. – Matt. 3:14-15
Why did He do this? I believe because Jesus, although sinless, was to completely identify Himself with sinful man. It is the same reason He would go to the cross, the punishment for only the greatest sinners, even though He was not guilty of any sin. And as Jesus said, it “fulfilled all righteousness;” in other words, it was a right thing to do. If someone wanted to show that they were fully going to be fully devoted to God from that day forth, being baptized by John was a good thing to do. And this was exactly what Jesus was saying. From this day forward (not that it hadn’t also been true before), Jesus was going to be completely obedient to the Father, even unto death.
And so Jesus was baptized. And then, as Luke records, while Jesus was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And then the Father spoke: You are my Son, whom I love. With You I am well pleased. Notice how the entire Trinity is there at Jesus’ baptism: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Why like a dove? It could have been like a hawk or eagle, for example, but it was like a dove. Was this just a physical description, or was there symbolism God put behind it? I believe the choice of a dove was deliberate and symbolic. What did a dove symbolize? Purity, innocence, and gentleness, or meekness. All these words describe Jesus’ ministry on earth. When Jesus sent out His disciples, He told them to be as innocent as doves. And recall from last week that a dove was used as a sacrifice in the temple when someone was too poor to obtain a lamb. In contrast, an eagle would have symbolized majesty, and although Jesus is the King of kings, He did not come to display His kingship. And a hawk would have symbolized fierceness, decisive military leadership, and Jesus did not come to display these qualities either. When Jesus returns, the eagle and the hawk may be appropriate symbols for His return, but not this first ministry on earth.
The “coming down on Him” nature of the Holy Spirit is an image like the anointing of oil. In the Old Testament, oil was poured over the head of someone whom God had chosen to lead His people. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed in the Old Testament. Jesus is all three: prophet, priest, and king. Compare the images of the oil dripping down and that of a dove’s wings as it is settling down – they are similar. Really, anointing is exactly what is happening here! Jesus’ title as the Christ means “anointed one.”
At an anointing, the one doing the anointing would speak words of blessing to the one being anointed. And so here, since it is God the Father Himself doing the anointing, He is the one who speaks. And when He speaks, He identifies Jesus as His Son, and says He loves Him and is fully pleased with Him. And rather than anointing Him with oil, God anoints Him with Himself, in the form of the Holy Spirit! This is too deep, and too awesome, for me really to comprehend!
Luke then goes on to talk of Jesus.
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph… - Luke 3:23a
And then begins a genealogy of Jesus. The list: Heli, Matthat, Levi, Melki, Jannai, Joseph, Mattathias, Amos, Nahum, Esli, Naggai, Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Josech, Joda, Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel, Neri, Melki, Addi, Cosam, Elmadam, Er, Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi, Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonam, Eliakim, Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, David, Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon, Amminadab, Ram, Hezron, Perez, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor, Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah, Cainan, Arphaxad, Shem, Noah, Lamech, Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalalel, Kenan, Enosh, Seth, Adam, God.
I have just a few things to say about the genealogy. First, it differs from Matthew’s list in several ways – the order (going back in time versus forwards), how far back it goes (all the way back to Adam versus only back to Abraham), and in who is on the lists. The generally accepted explanation from this, and it is hinted in the text itself, is that Matthew’s list goes through Joseph, as is legally correct, since Joseph was, in the Jewish legal sense, Jesus’ father. In contrast, Luke reminds us that Joseph was only the “supposed” father, and takes his genealogy through Mary, something a Jew would not accept, but again, remember that Luke’s audience was different than Matthew’s. Second, the words “the son of” words are not in the actual Greek text. In either text, it is possible and acceptable if certain generations were skipped. There are plenty of other examples of this, both in the Old Testament and in contemporary Jewish writings. Third, there were other examples of genealogies like this at this time. One should not think that to do this was impossible, or that Luke must have made this up. Josephus did this, he says in his autobiography, “from public records.” And the famous Rabbi Hillel proved his descent from David using the “public registers.”
What is the purpose of the genealogy? Again, I think it is to help convince his readers that Luke was a real person. (There are some other reasons, relating to the fulfillment of Scripture regarding the promises of the coming Messiah, but I don’t think this is Luke’s primary point.) I have read that some missionaries have put off talking about the genealogies because they thought they would be seen as boring or be poorly received, but when they have finally done it, the people were astounded and finally believed that Jesus was a real person, with real ancestors, not a made up story. Also, I think Luke is making an important point by going all the way back to Adam, and even beyond this, to God. Jesus is the Son of God in a very special way, as part of the trinity. Adam was the son of God in a special way as well – he too had no earthly father.
Paul makes important comparisons between these two sons of God, Adam and Jesus:
The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second Man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the Man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the Man from heaven. – I Cor. 15:47-49
Praise God for this! If you have put your faith in Christ, you are not just of the earth, but of heaven. And you will not just bear the likeness of Adam, the fallen sinner, but you will bear the likeness of Jesus, the risen Savior. Amen!
I want to talk about applications of this message.
The one area that seemingly screams out to me goes back to the message of John the Baptist. Clearly, we who know the complete gospel, the good news that salvation is found in faith in Jesus, should be showing the fruits of repentance even more than the disciples of John the Baptist. And as John pointed his followers to the cold hard realities of greed, I think we should look here as well, especially since we live in such a materialistic culture. I think the acid test is our hearts – do we find more joy in our possessions, our toys, or in God? Or on the flip side of the coin, do we feel anxious because of our lack of money, thinking that more money will make us feel much better, or do we trust God even in our lack of possessions? Are we tempted to make money in part in ways that are clearly sin? Are we doing this? Are you in a job where it is impossible to not sin? Then maybe you need to look for a different job. I have a friend whose wife is going through this right now. In their case, the new job may force them to have to move, something they do not want to do.
I encourage you to lake a long hard look at yourself from the point of greed versus trusting God. If you think of money as non-spiritual, you are listening to the lies of Satan. Few things are as spiritual as money. Even secular society has a sense of this with their saying, “Put your money where your mouth is.” I entitled this message “Preparing the Way,” because that is what John the Baptist’s ministry was all about. What about you? Have you prepared the way for Jesus to really work in your life? Or are your attitudes and actions involving money keeping Him at a distance? Take a moment now to discuss this with God.
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