JOHN THE BAPTIST PREPARES THE WAY FOR CHRIST
So far everything we have been considering in Luke's gospel has been Jewish. The third chapter continues this theme up to verse 20. The Jew had a great advantage over the Gentile in that God had committed the Holy Scriptures unto them Rom. 3:1,2,1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. (Romans 3:1‑2) —which told them of the coming of a suffering Messiah— if they would read them. Instead they sinned against God so that when their Messiah came they were under Gentile rule and the priesthood was in disorder. Herod ruled over Judaea as king at the pleasure of the Roman Empire. As to the priesthood, we find that Annas and Caiaphas are together mentioned as the high priest. Actually the Romans had deposed Annas leaving Caiaphas his son-in-law as high priest. But Annas continued to share the duties of the office. In the midst of these troubled conditions we find that God still has a remnant— a hard core of godly people in Israel who refused to give up because of the difficulties. In God's eyes this remnant really represented the nation. If you are a Christian today and distressed about things, take courage from this truth. The opening events in Luke center around the godly in Israel. Those who opposed them, directly or indirectly, are also noted— Tiberias Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Tyranias, Annas and Caiaphas— seven men. But there are seven on God's side too— of whom the world was not worthy— Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, and John the Baptist. Christ always divides men.
John the Baptist is a grown man now, with the span between his birth and maturity passed over. His father Zacharias had been a priest and his mother was of the daughters of Aaron; Joseph and Mary, of King David's royal line, are in poverty at Nazareth. Since both the priesthood and kingdom are in ruins, John is not found in Jerusalem, where all is moral ruin, but in the wilderness. Here the Word of God comes upon him for nobody will listen to it at Jerusalem.
The Ministry of John the Baptist—3:1-20
John the Baptist's ministry began in the fifteenth year of Tiberias Caesar. Luke adds the names of important public figures here to give us a chronological fix. But again he emphasizes what is moral rather than historical. The beginning of John's ministry is important only because it is an indication that the Messiah must soon appear, for John was to go before His face. It was because of the imminence of the Messiah's coming that John preached to the Jews the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. To call upon Jews rather than Gentile proselytes to be baptized was an unheard of thing and implied what he later taught— that the privileges conferred on the Jews were of little value unless accompanied by holiness of life. Thus was John the prophet of the Most High. At a time when Israel was expecting the Messiah, John denied that he himself was the Messiah. He came to fulfill Scripture and was only a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord and make straight His paths. This is clearly proved in Acts 19:3-53And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. 4Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 19:3‑5) where the disciples who had been baptized "to the baptism of John" also had to submit to Christian baptism. John's baptism was a public recognition of the need for repentance in Israel, in view of two things— their low state, and the coming of their Messiah. Personal change and a giving up of the spirit of selfishness, disregard for others, covetousness, and opulence— these were the points John was making. Repentance reaches the conscience by judging the springs of self will and its evil fruit. John made this call because the people had utterly failed to keep the law by ignoring its grand principle manwards: "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" and they had rejected the prophets. God therefore had sent His Son. Now they should confess their sins in view of the coming of the Christ who alone could forgive them. The baptism of repentance for the remission of sins looked forward to the death of their Messiah on the cross. On no other ground could God offer man the remission of sins. At this point some might wonder why the Lord Jesus allowed John to baptize Him. It is an important point because we must clearly understand that He did no sin 1 Peter 2:2222Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: (1 Peter 2:22)— He knew no sin 2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)— and in Him sin is not 1 John 3:55And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (1 John 3:5). The Lord Jesus submitted to John's baptism simply to identify Himself with the godly in Israel who were rallying around John. It was an act of pure grace on His part.
In Luke's account of the imprisonment of John the Baptist, we are given another insight into the "method" he wrote about in his preface. Obviously, Luke has reversed the historical order in order to emphasize the moral order. The proof of this statement is that John's baptism of Jesus— verses 21, 22— had to precede John's imprisonment. For the same reason, Luke does not tell us here that John baptized Jesus, nor the story— of John's death. Instead he rounds out the history of John's ministry by telling us how it came to an end by imprisonment. It is a fitting end to his testimony. Fearless, he testifies to a man in authority of the need for repentance as he had earlier done to his subjects, for he represents a God who is no respecter of persons.
The fate of John the Baptist at Herod's hands is typical of what those who followed the Christ he preached were to suffer later. Even men of the world know that there is a penalty attached to following Christ. This was strikingly brought home to the writer in a conversation with an Englishman who held several responsible positions in his lifetime. Our conversation commenced by a stray remark he made about "our ape-man ancestors." "You won't find that in the Word of God," I replied. "Oh," he said, "do you believe the Bible is the Word of God?" When I replied in the affirmative, he said he would like to go over these matters with me later. At a mutually agreed on time, I presented the gospel to him privately. When I finished, his only remark was that Christianity had always been a minority religion in the world, and persecuted. Translated, what he meant was that fear of the world's frown was keeping him back from Christ. Then he added, "my wife is a believer." This man eventually confessed Christ to me. In later life we became fast friends and he often remarked that he could now go to Church without feeling that he was a hypocrite. But the great lesson from this story must not be lost— Satan would anchor us to this world by its favor or its wrath. John the Baptist ignored its smiles and incurred its displeasure. He secured what was of lasting value— a personal commendation from the Lord Himself that of those born of women there was not a greater than John the Baptist.
The Teaching of John the Baptist
John's teaching is given to us in principle in verses 5-6; in detail later. "Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low" indicates a common leveling of both base and exalted men in the presence of the coming Messiah, and of Jew and Gentile. The exalted Jews could no more boast that Abraham was their father, for God was able of these stones— the lifeless Gentiles— to raise up children unto Abraham. Through grace, God has done just this, for Abraham is the father of those justified on the principle of faith— Rom. 4. "The crooked shall be made straight" applied to the publicans who came to John to be baptized verses 12, 13. "The rough ways shall be made smooth" applied to the soldiers who were normally not satisfied with their pay but did violence to other men. They were not to make false accusations either. Thus John denounced sin, which always manifests itself in one of these three forms— corruption, violence and lying, although the root of it is the will.
Then John pointed ahead to Christ— "He will thoroughly purge His floor"— Israel was His threshing floor. The wheat should be gathered into the barn, but the chaff burned. Needless to say, this is future, for John carefully distinguishes the effects of the first and second comings of Christ. The effect of His first coming was the baptism of the Holy Spirit; of His second coming— fire —that is judgment, the burning of chaff. While the baptism of the Holy Spirit looked forward to the Church, everything else here is Jewish.
The Connection Between the Lord's Baptism and His Genealogy—3:21-38
Luke alone gives us Jesus praying at His baptism, for he is painting a moral picture of a truly dependent Man. Luke often describes Christ as praying— here when He receives the Holy Spirit like a dove, all night before choosing the twelve Apostles, and when He was transfigured.
In the second chapter we saw that Jesus was a Nazarite as to His Person 2:49; here as to His office, He is shown to be the Christ. The Father declares His infinite delight in His Son as Man. The Spirit alights on Jesus in the form of a dove as a witness that He is the Christ. Thus the Spirit anoints Him for service as Samuel had once anointed David. He is great David's greater Son. His genealogy follows— with words which confirm the commencement of His service— "Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age." This was the age for beginning divine service with the Jews. The Father had owned Him as His divine Son at His baptism— now His humanity must also be demonstrated, for this is the gospel of the Son of Man. That is why Luke reserves Christ's genealogy for this moment, unlike Matthew who starts with it. Just as Christ's genealogy begins with a statement implying that He was at the age to commence divine service, so it ends by tracing Him back to Adam. But, while doing this, it carefully guards against any thought that He inherited anything of Adam's fallen nature.
At once the divine wisdom of inserting the genealogy here becomes apparent. The first man Adam was tempted by Satan and —as we all know— failed. Now Christ has come into the world as Son of Man. He must be tempted by Satan too, for He has been shown by His genealogy to be a Man also, although God's Son. That is why the Lord's temptation by Satan is the subject which commences the next chapter. But when Adam failed, God promised a Deliverer to crush the serpent's head. This great Deliverer was to be not the seed of the man, but the seed of the woman Gen. 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15). This Christ was, being conceived in the womb of the virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit. "When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son made of a woman." Gal. 4:44But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (Galatians 4:4). In the next chapter we will see how Christ, the woman's seed, and the Last Adam, overcame the wicked one who through the power of death held the Adam race in bondage. Luke's order is beautiful. The proof that the Lord was a real Man was His genealogy. This is then connected with His temptation by Satan. Here is another Adam, but One whom Satan cannot overcome. All His associations with man, now that He has been proved Man— although of another order— will be based not on law, but on the new principle of grace which from now on will characterize Luke's gospel.