Luke 3

Luke 3:1

Luke: The Man Christ Jesus The Birth of Jesus and the Beginning of his Work An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Luke 1:1 to 4:13

www.easyenglish.info Ian Mackervoy This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 3 John the *Baptist *preaches – Luke 3:1-20 v1 It was the 15th year during the rule of the *emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate was ruler of Judea. Herod ruled Galilee, and his brother Philip ruled Iturea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. v2 Annas and Caiaphas were the *Jewish chief priests. At that time, God spoke his word to Zechariah’s son John, who lived in the desert. v3 So, John went all over the area near the Jordan River and he spoke to the people. He told them to *repent of their *sins.

Then he would *baptise them to show that God had forgiven their *sins. v4 As the *prophet Isaiah wrote in his book, ‘A voice cries out in the desert. “Prepare the way for the *Lord. Make straight paths for him. v5 Make every valley level. Make every mountain and hill low. Make straight the roads that curve. Make the rough roads smooth. v6 And everyone will see how God saves people from their *sins.” ’

v7  Many people came to John for him to *baptise them. He spoke to them, ‘You are like young poisonous snakes. I want to know who warned you to run away from God’s anger.

v8  You need to *repent. You must show that it is real. Do not begin to say among yourselves, “Abraham is our father.” I tell you that God can make children for Abraham from these stones! v9  The axe is already at the root of the trees. The axe will cut down every tree that does not produce good fruit. And fire will burn that tree.’

v10 The people asked John, ‘What should we do then?’

v11  John answered them. ‘If you have two shirts, give one away. Give it to a person who does not have a shirt. If you have food, share it with other people.’

v12 Even some men who collected taxes came for John to *baptise them. They asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ v13 He told them, ‘Do not collect anything more than is due.’

v14 Some soldiers asked John, ‘What about us? What should we do?’ John said to them, ‘Do not force people to give you money. And do not tell lies about them. Let the pay that you get satisfy you.’

v15 The people expected the *Christ to come. So, they asked themselves whether John might be the *Christ. v16 John answered everyone, ‘I *baptise you with water. But there will come someone who is stronger than I. I am not important enough to be the servant who undoes his *sandals. He will *baptise you with the *Holy Spirit and fire. v17 He will come as one ready to clean completely the yard where he prepares his wheat. He will gather the wheat grains into his store. But he will burn the rubbish in a fire that nobody can put out.’

v18  With many other words, John encouraged the people. And he explained the good news to them. v19 But John spoke against the ruler Herod because Herod had married Herodias, his brother’s wife. Also, John spoke against Herod because of all the evil things that he did. v20 So Herod carried out another evil deed in addition. He put John in prison.

Verses 1-2 Tiberius was the *emperor of Rome. He became *emperor in 14 *AD. But he ruled with Augustus for two years before he became the *emperor. He ruled in Rome for 23 years and he died in 37 *AD. So, the date that the *Lord sent John to speak to the people was either about 28 *AD or about 26 *AD.

Pontius Pilate was *Roman, and he governed Judea from 26 *AD to 36 *AD. Some people accused him of serious crimes. Therefore, he had to return to Rome. But before he arrived there in 37 *AD, Tiberius died. Soon after this, Pilate killed himself.

Herod Antipas ruled in Galilee from about 4 *BC. The *emperor Caligula, who came after Tiberius, removed Herod in 39 *AD. Philip ruled in some territories to the north of Israel from about 4 *BC until his death in 33 *AD or 34 *AD. Both Herod and Philip were sons of Herod the Great. We know nothing about Lysanias.

Iturea was to the north of Israel and to the east of the Jordan River. Trachonitis was to the east of Iturea. And Abilene was to the north of Trachonitis.

Annas was the *Jewish chief priest from 6 *AD to 15 *AD . Five (5) of his sons later became chief priests. The first of these sons was Eleazar, who was chief priest in 16 *AD to 17 *AD. Annas continued to be powerful through the time when Caiaphas was the chief priest. Annas was the father of Caiaphas’ wife. Caiaphas was the chief priest from 18 *AD to 36 *AD.

John the *Baptist lived in the desert. At this time, God spoke to him.

Verses 3-4 Then John came from the desert to the Jordan River. Here he spoke to the people about their *sins. He told them to *repent of their *sins. The meaning of *repentance is a change of mind. It includes to be sorry for *sins and a change of life. As people *repented, John *baptised them in the Jordan River.

John was the ‘voice’ about whom Isaiah wrote. John’s task was to prepare people for the time when the *Christ came (Isaiah 40:3). He warned people to be ready because the *Christ would come soon.

Verses 5-6 When a king approached, the people would clear all the roads ahead of him. They would remove all that could delay him. They would make the rough roads smooth and straight. Luke uses this *prophecy to show that people must prepare for the *Christ. John’s task was to make people ready to receive the *Christ. The *salvation that the *Christ brings is for all the world. People in all places will see this *salvation.

Verses 7-8 Crowds of people came to John for him to *baptise them. Among those crowds were *Pharisees and *Sadducees. These men were the leaders of the *Jewish religion. But many of them were not sincere. So John spoke these hard words to them (Matthew 3:7). He said that they were like poisonous snakes. And they could not escape the anger of God by *baptism.

*Baptism alone cannot save people from their *sins. There has to be true *repentance and real belief in Christ. The proof of *repentance will be the change in the life of the person.

Many *Jews thought that they were safe. God would accept them because they were *descendants of Abraham. But they were wrong. The real *descendants of Abraham are those people who believe in the *Christ (Galatians 3:29).

If a fruit tree does not have fruit, the gardener will cut it down. He will burn it with fire. So, God will not save people unless they *repent of their *sins. God as the judge is like the gardener who is ready with his axe.

Verses 10-14 John had told the people to show that they had *repented. They asked him what they should do. He gave to them some examples of the kind of things that they should do. People who *repent should do good deeds to the poor. They should share their goods with people who have nothing. God very much wants us to do good deeds. He cares about poor people, so we should care about them too.

Some men who collected taxes asked John the same question. They collected taxes for the *Roman government. But they were able to take more money than was due from the people. In this way, they robbed the people and they often became wealthy. John told them to collect only the tax that was due and nothing more.

Next, there came some soldiers with the same question. These men were probably *Jewish soldiers rather than *Roman soldiers. John told them that they should not use unnecessary force. They should not use their strength to get money from the people. They should not tell lies when they accuse someone. Their wages, which included other benefits, should satisfy them.

Such good deeds are the effect of *repentance. They are not works to achieve *salvation.

Verses 15-17 The sudden appearance of this *prophet from the desert caused people to ask who he was. They knew from the *Old Testament that God would send the *Christ. At that time, the *Jews expected that the *Christ would come soon. Maybe John was the *Christ whom God had promised to send.

John knew their thoughts. He told the people that he was not the *Christ. But he taught them that the *Christ would come soon. And he told them something about the nature of the *Christ.

The *Christ is superior to John in every way. John felt that he was not good enough to do such a small thing as to undo the *Christ’s *sandals. A servant would do this task for his master. John *baptised with water. But the *Christ will *baptise with the *Holy Spirit and fire. This is what happened on the day of *Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). The *disciples of Jesus received power from the *Holy Spirit. This was so much greater than John’s *baptism with water.

Then John spoke about the work of the *Christ. John used the language of agriculture to explain this. The *Christ will test people as the farmer tests his grain. The farmer beats his grain to separate the good grain from the husk (the grain’s outer skin). Then he throws it all into the air. The good grain falls straight to the ground. The farmer puts the good grain in a safe store. But the husks blow a bit further away in the wind. The farmer gathers this rubbish and he burns it with fire. So, the *Christ will be the judge of all people. He will separate the people who belong to him from other people. His people will go to the safety of heaven. But he will punish the people who oppose him, as with fire.

Verses 19-20 Herod Antipas divorced his first wife and he married Herodias. She was the wife of one of his brothers. This was one of many *sins of Herod. He was an evil man. John the *Baptist was bold enough to speak against Herod. So, Herod put John in prison. John *baptises Jesus – Luke 3:21-22 v21 When John *baptised all the people, he *baptised Jesus too. While Jesus prayed, heaven opened. v22  And the *Holy Spirit came down on Jesus in the physical form of a *dove. And a voice from heaven said, ‘You are my Son. I love you and you please me very much.’

Verses 21-22 Jesus came to John and asked for *baptism. Matthew’s *Gospel tells us more about this event. John recognised that Jesus was superior to him. So, he said that Jesus ought to *baptise him. Jesus insisted that John should *baptise him. John’s *baptism was a *baptism of *repentance. But Jesus had no *sins and therefore he did not need to *repent. He asked John to *baptise him because it was the right thing to do (Matthew 3:15). In this, he chose to be like the people whom he came to save. He was truly humble.

As Jesus came out of the water, he prayed. He saw heaven open and the *Holy Spirit of God came down upon him (Mark 1:10). Also, John the *Baptist saw the *Holy Spirit as he came down like a *dove. By this means, John the *Baptist knew that Jesus was the *Christ (John 1:33-34).

Then a voice spoke from heaven. It was the voice of God the Father. God said to Jesus, ‘You are my son. I love you and you please me very much.’ God declared that Jesus is his Son. The family history of Jesus – Luke 3:23-38 v23  Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his work. People called Jesus the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son  of Heli.

v24 Heli was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. Levi was the son of Melki. Melki was the son of Jannai. Jannai was the son of Joseph. v25 Joseph was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Amos. Amos was the son of Nahum. Nahum was the son of Esli. Esli was the son of Naggai. v26 Naggai was the son of Maath. Maath was the son of Mattathias. Mattathias was the son of Semein.

Semein was the son of Josech. Josech was the son of Joda. v27 Joda was the son of Joanan. Joanan was the son of Rhesa. Rhesa was the son of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the son of Neri. v28 Neri was the son of Melki. Melki was the son of Addi. Addi was the son of Cosam. Cosam was the son of Elmadam. Elmadam was the son of Er. v29 Er was the son of Joshua.

Joshua was the son of Eliezer. Eliezer was the son of Jorim. Jorim was the son of Matthat. Matthat was the son of Levi. v30 Levi was the son of Simeon. Simeon was the son of Judah. Judah was the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Jonam. Jonam was the son of Eliakim. v31 Eliakim was the son of Melea. Melea was the son of Menna. Menna was the son of Mattatha. Mattatha was the son of Nathan.

Nathan was the son of David. v32 David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was the son of Obed. Obed was the son of Boaz. Boaz was the son of Salmon. Salmon was the son of Nahshon. v33 Nahshon was the son of Amminadab. Amminadab was the son of Ram. Ram was the son of Hezron. Hezron was the son of Perez. Perez was the son of Judah. v34 Judah was the son of Jacob.

Jacob was the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham. Abraham was the son of Terah. Terah was the son of Nahor. v35 Nahor was the son of Serug. Serug was the son of Reu. Reu was the son of Peleg. Peleg was the son of Eber. Eber was the son of Shelah. v36 Shelah was the son of Cainan. Cainan was the son of Arphaxad. Arphaxad was the son of Shem. Shem was the son of Noah.

Noah was the son of Lamech. v37 Lamech was the son of Methuselah. Methuselah was the son of Enoch. Enoch was the son of Jared. Jared was the son of Mahalaleel. Mahalaleel was the son of Cainan. v38 Cainan was the son of Enosh. Enosh was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was the son of God.

Verses 23-38 Jesus began his special work for God when he was approximately 30 years old.

To the *Jews, family history was very important. God had promised to send the *Christ who would be from David’s family. It was necessary to show that the *Christ was a *descendant of David. So, both Matthew and Luke record the family history. Here is an explanation for the two different family lists.

Matthew gives the legal list of names from Abraham to Joseph. In *Jewish law, Joseph was the father of Jesus but in fact, he was not. Matthew starts with Abraham and comes forward in time (Matthew 1:2-16). This shows that Jesus as a man comes from the *Jewish nation. Jesus was the *Christ that God promised to *Israel.

Luke shows that Jesus is not in fact a son of Joseph. So, he gives the list of Mary’s *ancestors. Joseph was the son of Jacob (Matthew 1:16). Heli was his father-in-law (the father of Joseph’s wife Mary). Mary was the daughter of Heli. Probably Luke used the name of the male, Joseph, as it was the custom of the *Jews at that time. The *Jews would not usually end or start the family list with a woman. They would give the name of her husband instead.

Luke shows the family list from Joseph and he goes back in time to Adam. This shows the man Jesus as a relative of all people and not just of the *Jews. God promised Adam that his *descendant would defeat *Satan (Genesis 3:15). This *descendant was Jesus.

© 2010, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

November 2010

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