Day 12

Luke 3:1–20 (NIV)

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 desert. ³ He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

⁴ 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. ⁵ Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. ⁶ And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’ ”

⁷ 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? ⁸ 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. ⁹ The ax 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.” ¹⁰ “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. ¹¹ John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” ¹² Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” ¹³ “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. ¹⁴ 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.”

¹⁵ The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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.” ¹⁸ And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them. ¹⁹ But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, ²⁰ Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage

Read the Passage

Who is in the passage?

What action verbs do you see?

What other words stick out in your mind

Helpful Information

vs 14 Soldiers- They were not Roman soldiers, but the forces of Herod Antipas, stationed in Peraea (possibly including non-Jews, like his father’s army), or perhaps Jewish auxiliaries used in Judaea for police duties; they may have been employed to assist the tax-collectors in their duties

vs 17 The picture is that of threshing. The grain was taken to the threshing floor and there cleaned. The grain was tossed in the air with a shovel so that the wind could separate the wheat from the chaff , i.e. the mixture of husks and straw. The shovels were then used to carry away the grain to the barn while the chaff was burned

Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Gospel of Luke : A commentary on the Greek text. The New international Greek testament commentary. Exeter [Eng.: Paternoster Press.

vs 19 The marriage was objectionable on at least two grounds. Both Herod Antipas and Herodias left previous marriages to enter into this marriage. But in addition, Herodias had been married to a half-brother of Herod, also known as Herod. (Herod Antipas had been married to the daughter of Aretas IV of Nabatea.) Thus, not only were two marriages destroyed in the remarriage, but Herod Antipas ends up marrying the wife of a near blood relative in violation of Lev. 18:16 and 20:21

Bock, D. L. (1994). Luke Volume 1: 1:1-9:50. Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books

Questions

What was John’s baptism about?

Was the baptism itself enough? What more was expected?

How is baptism today similar to John’s and how is it different?

How did John see the coming Christ? What would Christ do?

Notes

The first couple of verses set the stage for the time John preaches

vs 4-6 From Isaiah 40:3-5 Time has come to make your decision. Every obstacle between you and God needs to be done away with. No matter how big or how hard it may be. Have I done away with those obstacles in my life?

Thoughts about Baptism of John

· Definitely Not interested in numbers alone (wants to make sure they understand no playing games) vs 7

· Understands his baptism doesn't cause the change. It is the Holy Spirit based on what Jesus will do vs 16

· Baptism about asking forgiveness for sin vs 3

· baptism should produce a lasting change vs 8-14

· God does not play favorites, everyone needs it vs 8

· it is good news vs 18

Who was Jesus in John's Message

· God's Salvation vs 6

· Baptizer of Holy Spirit vs 16 - God's presence in us

· more powerful vs 16

· completely different in terms of holiness . John not worthy of being his lowest servant

· Going to clear- judge of good and bad vs 17

· gather into his barn- those judged forgiven will be with him vs 17

· burn up - unrepentant will face his holy wrath vs 17

Note: already there is a tension between those who think they are good enough (vs 8) and those who understand they need forgiveness; the "What should we do?" people vs those in vs. 10, 12 ,14

vs 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance john not interested in what you have done. (tax collectors and soldiers often used their position for bribes and overcharges) He is interested in how you respond to the good news of forgiveness. Response should be not only religious action but also a holy lifestyle. True baptism will change you vs 8-14 How has my belief changed me?

Vs 11-14 Note how issues have to do with how we treat money and people. Times haven't changed