Luke 3

Luke 3:1

In the eyes of the world, the one emperor, one governor, three tetrarchs, and two high priests were important indeed. But the Word of the Lord did not come to the emperor, to the tetrarchs, or even to the high priests. It did not come to Rome or Jerusalem. It came to a camel-skin-clad man in the wilderness. Therefore, I encourage you who are going through dry times and desert experiences to take hope and listen for the Word of the Lord coming to you.

Luke 3:3

Fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, was baptizing in preparation for the Messiah. This blew the Jews away because the idea of baptism of anyone other than Gentiles who wanted to convert to Judaism was foreign to them. Here John was calling the Jewsthe very sons and daughters of Abrahamto acknowledge they were sinners in need of a Savior. John’s baptism was in preparation for Jesus. Ours is a proclamation that Jesus did indeed come to die for our sins.

Luke 3:7

“Let’s get to the root of the problem,” declares John. “You’re sinners in need of a Savior. You can’t hide in your religiosity, in your denomination, or in your heritage.”

Luke 3:9

“In preparation for the coming of Messiah, start showing your sincerity. Give away your excess. Help others in need.”

Luke 3:12

Because tax collectors of the day had a certain amount of money they were required to raisean amount not published among the peopleand because they could keep whatever money they raised above this, they were notorious for ripping off the people.

Luke 3:14

In the margin of your Bible, “do violence to no man” might be more correctly rendered, “Put no man in fear.” Maybe the Lord has blessed you with a high degree of intelligence. Or maybe He has blessed you with physical strength or financial means. Don’t intimidate people with those “weapons.” Don’t take pride if people quake in their boots when you come near. That’s not the way of the Lord. Jesus spoke the world into existence. Talk about power and authority! Yet people marveled not at His strength, but at His grace (Luk_4:22).

Luke 3:16

John preached a message of severity in order that Jesus might come and present a message of serenity. John called for holiness in order that Jesus could give a message of hopefulness. John shone a convicting light in order that Jesus might share comforting love. In other words, John embodied the purpose of the law by showing people they were sinners in need of a Savior.

Luke 3:21

Of the Gospel writers, only Luke tells us that heaven opened when Jesus prayed. “I’m not hearing from God,” you might be saying. “I have no feeling of God. I have no sense of His will.” Are you praying? Luke makes it clear that Jesus communed with His Father through the same channel available to us: prayer.

Luke 3:22

Those who deny the Trinity have a tough time with this passage, for here we clearly see the Son being baptized, the Spirit descending in the form of a dove, and the Father speaking from heaven.

Luke 3:23

The Book of Numbers tells us that thirty years of age was the time the priests began their ministry. It was also the age at which David became king of Israel. Only two of the Gospels contain genealogies. Matthew has a genealogy because he presents Jesus Christ as Kingand a king must have the proper pedigree to claim the throne. Mark presents Jesus as a Servantand no one cares about the genealogy of a servant. Luke presents Jesus as the Son of Manand it is helpful to know from whence a man comes. And John presents Jesus as the Son of Godrendering a genealogy impossible. Verses Luk_3:31-38 of Luke’s account are the same as Matthew’s account because Mary and Joseph were both descendants of David. But Luke’s account from verses Luk_3:23-31 differs from Matthew’s because Matthew traces the line through David’s son, Solomon, to Coniah, or Jeconiaha man upon whom God pronounced a curse (Jer_23:28-30). Therefore, although Joseph was technically in line to take the throne if indeed there was a throne being given, spiritually he couldn’t do so because his line had been cursed. So what happens? The term “son of” can either mean “son of” or “son-in-law of.” Therefore, Luke’s account is actually Mary’s genealogy. And, as seen in verse Jer_23:31 before us, Mary’s genealogy is traced not from David through Solomon, but through Solomon’s brother, Nathanan un-cursed line. This means that he who traced the royal line legally, ignoring the curses of the Old Testament, would have to conclude that Jesus had a right to the throne because He was supposedly the son of Joseph. But he who believed the curses of the Old Testament could find that in Luke’s account, Mary’s genealogy bypassed the curse altogether. Therefore, whether legally or spiritually, both genealogies lead to Jesus of Nazareththe only Person in all of history who could possibly fulfill both lines. In addition to this, within forty years after Jesus’ crucifixion, when the temple was burned in A.D. 70, all records of Jewish genealogies were destroyedrendering all Jews unable to trace their genealogies. Thus, no oneincluding the upcoming Antichristcan claim with integrity to have a genealogical right to the kingdom. Jesus is Lord uniquely, exclusively, absolutelyof this we can be sure completely.