October 28, 2021
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Luke? Here’s today’s reading:
Luke 3 (NIV)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 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— 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 country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins..........Continue Reading
John the Baptist is preparing the people for Jesus by calling them to repentance and not just a “sorry” but rather turning away from old ways and living life differently. Jesus will ultimately provide the needed sacrifice to make us right before God but it doesn’t leave us off the hook to live a good life. The works don’t make us forgiven but yet flow from the redemption He provides.
Also cool to see the lineage of Jesus connecting back to so many blessed of God and another reminder of the detail and careful weaving of God’s plans that surpass our understanding!
John certainly isn’t a very comforting “feel good” kind of preacher: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”
I had never thought about this before, but having in mind the difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God, when John says, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” this is addressed to the Jews regarding the coming of Christ as ruler and judge. John tells them to bear fruit or they will be “cut down”, and not to rely on lineage, claiming Abraham as their father, because God can raise up children from stones. It is interesting that Luke mentions this because God does raise up children, from the Gentiles.
Luke 3
Luke is such a good writer. He packs so much information in a given chapter that it is difficult to pick something out to comment on. I have to say though, that John the Baptist is one of my favorite people in the Bible. I guess I just love that faithful “sidekick” thing, not to mention what he is saying.
The Genealogy: Goes from Jesus all the way back to God. Luke is probably stating that salvation through Jesus is available to all people.
John the Baptist is such a compelling Bible character. He is so full of conviction and passion for the things of God and doesn’t mince his words regardless of who he is talking to. He knows his role fully and does not hesitate to make it clear who he is and who he is not. May we all be as dedicated to the ways and will of God as John was…..wiling even to take a back seat when his job was done.
And much can be said about the difference between Luke’s genealogy here and Matthew’s. There is robust discussion amongst scholars and I have found credible explanations of apparent differences. Many believe that it is actually Mary’s genealogy that is given here, while Matthew gives Joseph’s.
Luke 3
John the Baptist. Awesome. You brood of vipers!!! Love it!! See so many people even today thinking their Religious status is enough. Jesus certainly let them know how he felt. Empty cups. All clean in the outside. Without repentance theirs no change. These leaders would never repent. To much religious pride. Jesus bring baptized by John?? Feels wrong someone without sin to be baptized. Like to think of Jesus being in his eternal sovereign place. Not as human. But he was even to be crucified for me and all!! The spirit is jumping inside me!! What an awesome God. I have no words!!!!!
Its interesting to note the differences between the genealogy here and the one in Matthew. Many of the names do not line up giving us a supposed contradiction. Right off the bat the name of Joseph’s father is different! However, scholars have figured that this genealogy is the line through Mary’s father and Matthew’s genealogy is through Joseph’s father. The language does not contradict this theory, because Joseph could be reffered to as the son of Mary’s father through marriage. They also did not have a word for “father-in-law” in order to make a distinction here.
This not only helps us understand why the genealogies are different, but is also important in reassuring us of Jesus’ identity. If we had only Joseph’s lineage coming from David (fulfilling prophecy) some may say it doesn’t count because Joseph is not Jesus’ biological father. If this genealogy is Mary’s then we can know that Jesus is biological related to David, not just legally related through Joseph.