Bible Study Series: Luke 3:1-6. Luke records that John came from God and confirmed by Bible prophecy, and Luke then situates the Baptist-prophet in his own historical context.
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In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 3:1-6
1 In the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar, the governorship of Pontius Pilate over Judea, the tetrarchy of Herod over Galilee, the tetrarchy of his brother Philip over Iturea and the region of Traconitis, and the tetrarchy of Lysanias over Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert. 3 He went into all the surrounding region of the Jordan River, preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it had been written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the path of the Lord,
To make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill shall be levelled,
And the crooked [paths] shall be straight,
And the rough paths smooth.
6 And all people shall see the salvation of God.’” [Is. 40:3-5] (Luke 3:1-6)
Comments:
1:
You can google those rulers, but here are some basics to orient you.
Tiberias: he succeeded August Caesar (Octavian) in A.D. 14. The fifteenth year of his reign can be dated A.D. 28-29. After the death of Herod the Great in 4 B.C., his kingdom was divided between his sons:
Archelaus: he ruled over Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. After he died in A.D. 6, Roman prefects were assigned to those regions. Pontius Pilate took over Judea from A.D. 26 to 36. An inscription confirms that he ruled over Judea.
Herod: He was tetrarch of Galilee in the north, who was also Herod the Great’s son and was co-named Antipas. He ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C. to A.D. 30. Herod was curious and confused about Jesus (Luke 9:7-9). The Pharisees used Herod’s name to spook Jesus to run away, but the Lord would have none of it, calling him a fox (Luke 13:31-32). Herod was in Jerusalem during the Passover during Jesus’ trial. Pilate sent Jesus to him because he found out Jesus was a Galilean and under Herod’s jurisdiction (Luke 23:6). He plied him with many questions, hoping to see a sign, but Jesus did not answer (23:9). Herod and his soldiers ridiculed him, dressed him in an elegant robe, and sent him back to Pilate (23:10).
Philip: He was Philip II, another son of Herod, and half-brother to Antipas, and was tetrarch over Iturea and Traconitis from 4 B.C. to 36 A.D.
Lysanius: he was not a son of Herod and was known only from this verse and an inscription with this name as a local ruler, during the reign of Tiberias Caesar.
Pontius Pilate: The Christian creeds remember him as the governor under whom Jesus Christ suffered (1 Tim. 6:13) (see the Apostles Creed). The NT calls him governor while other sources call him prefect (his official title). Pontius was his nomen (tribal name) and Pilate was his cognomen (family name). His praenomen (personal name) is nowhere recorded. He came to power in A.D. 26. He was an anti-Semite. He brought into Jerusalem the insignia of the Roman military bearing the image of Caesar. He planted armed Roman soldiers, disguised as civilians, among the populace. This may have been the historical occasion for Luke 13:1, which says that Pilate mingled Galilean blood with their sacrifices. It is surprising then that he felt pressure from the Jewish authorities to put Jesus to death. However, he could have believed his position in the empire was precarious; John 19:12 says that if he released Jesus he would be no friend of Caesar. The NT writers were eager to show that he was innocent in regards to Roman law. Yet the only way the Jewish Council could convict Jesus was to accuse him of claiming to be king. Pilate’s name does not appear in Judea after A.D. 36/37, and this indicates he was removed shortly after he slaughtered Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim (Holman’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary).
Luke is eager to show that these events were not hidden away in a corner. Paul to Festus: “For the king understands these matters, to whom I have been boldly speaking, for I am persuaded he has not missed anything, for this has not happened in a corner” (Acts 26:26). Christianity has an historical context. That’s why Luke names these rulers. Pagan religions of the day omit the historical contexts, or the historical context is unclear. Luke, who actually lived at a time when people believed in Zeus and Apollo and Isis and built temples for them, knew that these gods were detached from such earth-bound things like these rulers whom he names. Luke says no. Historical context is important for the veracity of Christianity. Later creeds will also name Pontius Pilate as the governor when Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead. Competing pagan religions did not care about such mundane facts. Christianity is different.
2:
“Annas and Caiaphas”: They were the high priests and were from the ruling class of the priestly families, overseeing the temple and sacrifices and offerings. They also belonged to the Sanhedrin, the highest court and council of Israel. Annas (Luke 3:2; John 18:13, 24; Acts 4:6) ruled from A.D. 6-15 and succeeded in getting his five sons appointed chief priests and son-in-law Joseph Caiaphas (high priest from A.D. 18-36/37). Some have criticized Scripture because Luke 3:2 says because Annas and Caiaphas were joint high priests. In reply, however, the Romans deposed Annas, even though the high priest ruled for life. So it is best way to answer the question is that Annas was the power behind his son-in-law. Another explanation is that Annas was given the title of high priest out of respect, since he should have ruled for life. Finally, Ananias, one of Annas’s sons, was the high priest when Paul was brought before the him (Acts 23:2; 24:1). Family connections had their privileges, and these families ruled over the lucrative temple (Holman’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary).
“The list of rulers in Luke 3 reveals that two ways of ruling the world will come head-to-head. They rule through violence and fear; Jesus’ way shows the power of powerlessness and love” (Garland, p. 161).
“The word of God came to John”: this wording connects him to other OT prophets, who also received words from God (Jer. 1:2; Hos. 1:1; Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1; Zeph. 1:1; Zech. 1:1).
3:
“baptism”: In Greek the noun baptism means to the dipping or plunging of an object, like a cloth in wine or to cool metal in water. See v. 7, for the verb.
“repentance”: it is the noun metanoia (pronounced meh-tah-noi-ah), and it literally means “change of mind.” But it goes deeper than mental assent or agreement. Another word for repent is the Greek stem streph– (including the prefixes ana-, epi-, and hupo-), which means physically “to turn” (see Luke 2:20, 43, 45). That reality-concept is all about new life. One turns around 180 degrees, going from the direction of death to the new direction of life.
“forgiveness”: it comes from the Greek noun aphesis (pronounced ah-feh-seess), which means “release” or “cancellation” or “pardon” or “forgiveness.” Please read these verses for how forgiving God is:
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (Ps. 103:10-12)
And these great verses are from Micah:
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea. (Mic. 7:18-19, ESV)
“sins”: it comes from the noun hamartia (pronounced hah-mar-tee-ah). A deep study reveals that it means a “departure from either human or divine standards of uprightness” (BDAG, p. 50). It can also mean a “destructive evil power” (ibid., p. 51). In other words, sin has a life of its own. Be careful! In the older Greek of the classical world, it originally meant to “miss the mark” or target. Sin destroys, and that’s why God hates it, and so should we. The good news: God promises us forgiveness when we repent.
Bible Basics about Sin: Word Studies
Human Sin: Original and Our Committed Sin
4-6:
“words”: it is the Greek noun logos (pronounced loh-goss and is used 330 times in the NT). Since it is so important, let’s explore the noun more deeply, as I do in this entire commentary series.
The noun is rich and full of meaning. It always has built into it rationality and reason. It has spawned all sorts of English words that end in –log-, like theology or biology, or have the log– stem in them, like logic.
Bottom line: Just study Scripture with Bible helps and walk in the Spirit, as they did in Acts. Combining Word and Spirit is the balanced life.
Luke quotes Is. 40:3-5, and chapter 40 in Isaiah turns a corner. Chapter 40-55 proclaim God grace and promises for deliverance. Is. 53 is clearly about Jesus the Messiah. I believe Isaiah saw a vision or special knowledge of the suffering of Jesus. “Moreover, using the language of Isaiah 40:3, Luke later describes the church as ‘the Way’ (Ac 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22)” (Liefeld and Pao, comments on vv. 4-6).
In any case, this is another passage about the Great Reversal (see Luke 1:52-56; 2:34). The kingdom of God overturns society and your own life. Jesus would cause the fall of the mighty and the rise of the needy, and the rich would be lowered, and the poor raised up. It is the down elevator and up elevator. Those at the top will take the down elevator, and those at the bottom will take the up elevator.
“shall be lowered”: it is the standard Greek verb for humbling people, too.
“salvation”: Luke quotes Isaiah. Since the theology of salvation (soteriology) is so critical for our lives, let’s look more closely at the noun salvation, which is sōtēria (pronounced soh-tay-ree-ah and used 46 times) and at the verb sōzō (pronounced soh-zoh and used 106 times).
Greek is the language of the NT. BDAG, which is considered by many to be the authoritative lexicon of the NT, defines the noun sōtēria as follows, depending on the context: (1) “deliverance, preservation” … (2) “salvation.”
The verb sōzō means “save, rescue, heal” in a variety of contexts, but mostly it is used of saving the soul. BDAG says that the verb means, depending on the context: (1) “to preserve or rescue from natural dangers and afflictions, save, keep from harm, preserve,” and the sub-definitions under no. 1 are as follows: save from death; bring out safely; save from disease; keep, preserve in good condition; thrive, prosper, get on well; (2) “to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction, save or preserve from ‘eternal’ death … “bring Messianic salvation, bring to salvation,” and in passive mood it means “be saved, attain salvation”; (3) some passages in the NT say we fit under the first and second definition at the same time (Mark 8:5; Luke 9:24; Rom. 9:27; 1 Cor. 3:15).
As noted throughout this commentary on Luke-Acts, the noun salvation and the verb save go a lot farther than just preparing the soul to go on to heaven. Together, they have additional benefits: keeping and preserving and rescuing from harm and dangers; saving or freeing from diseases and demonic oppression; and saving or rescuing from sin dominating us; ushering into heaven and rescuing us from final judgment. What is our response to the gift of salvation? You are grateful and then you are moved to act. When you help or rescue one man from homelessness or an orphan from his oppression, you have moved one giant step towards salvation of his soul. Sometimes feeding a hungry man and giving clothes to the naked or taking him to a medical clinic come before saving his soul.
All of it is a package called salvation and being saved.
What Is the Work of Salvation?
How Do We Respond to God’s Salvation?
GrowApp for Luke 3:1-6
1. John proclaimed the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. How has forgiveness of sins changed your life?
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3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
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