GOSPEL OF SAINT LUKE

09 – Baptism in the Jordan

RECAP FROM LECTURE 08

The Infancy narrative insists on

1. The divinity of Jesus

2. The humanity of Jesus

3. The humanity of Mary (she did not understand, she pondered

things in her heart)

4. The centrality of Mary in the mission of Jesus foreshadowing the

Church

5. Jesus loves his mother with the same love he has for his Bride the

Church

6. Jesus’ obedience to the Father through his obedience to his parents

7. Salvation is to come to Israel and the Gentiles

PLAN OF THIS STUDY

1.Reading of Luke 3:1-22

2.Historical setting of John’s ministry

3.Eschatological, Moral and Messianic

Teaching

4.Jesus’s Baptism

OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO LUKE 3:1-22

LUKE 3:1-7

1. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiber'i-us Caesar, Pontius Pilate being

governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip

tetrarch of the region of Iturae'a and Trachoni'tis, and Lysa'ni-as tetrarch of

Abile'ne,

2. in the high-priesthood of Annas and Ca'iaphas, the word of God came to John

the son of Zechari'ah in the wilderness;

3. and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of

repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

4. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of

one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths

straight.

5. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low,

and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made

smooth;

6. and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

7. He said therefore to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "You

brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

LUKE 3:8-14

8. Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, `We

have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to

raise up children to Abraham.

9. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does

not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

10. And the multitudes asked him, "What then shall we do?"

11. And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who

has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

12. Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall

we do?"

13. And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you."

14. Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them,

"Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your

wages.“

15. As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts

concerning John whether he was the Christ

LUKE 3:16-22

16. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than

I is coming, the thong 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 granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

18. So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people.

19. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Hero'di-as, his

brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done,

20. added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

21. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been

baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,

22. and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a

voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well

pleased."

LUKE 3:1-7

1. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiber'i-us Caesar, Pontius Pilate being

governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip

tetrarch of the region of Iturae'a and Trachoni'tis, and Lysa'ni-as tetrarch of

Abile'ne,

2. in the high-priesthood of Annas and Ca'iaphas, the word of God came to John

the son of Zechari'ah in the wilderness;

3. and he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of

repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

4. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of

one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths

straight.

5. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low,

and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made

smooth;

6. and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

7. He said therefore to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "You

brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

John’s prophetic mission occurs within human history and impacts human history.

God works within history and history is his story

Plausible connection with the Essen community: Isaiah 40 is quoted in their Rule

Book and “to enter the Covenant” was for them “to enter into water” (1QS 5:8,13)

For the Essenes, contact with outsiders, even Palestinian Jews not of their own

community, was a source of defilement (Josephus J.W. 2,8,10)

A. N. Sherwin-White (Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament, 166)

states that the “internal coherence of the lengthy [synchronistic] formula… cannot

be challenged for accuracy.”

When Herod’s son Archelaus was deposed (A.D. 6), Judea and Samaria came under

the direct control of Roman officials. Pilate was appointed the sixth prefect of Judea

by Sejanus, Tiberius’ anti-Jewish adviser, and he held the prefecture from AD. 26-36

LUKE 3:1-7 / 1

Herod tetrarch of Galilee: Herod Antipas, younger son of Malthace and Herod the

Great,. He ruled until 39 A.D. when Caligula deposed and exiled him for seeking to

make the courtesy title of him into a real title. “Tetrarch” originally meant one who

rules over a fourth of an area but by the time of the gospel, it had become a

stereotyped title for a petty prince.

Philip was the son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra of Jerusalem. He ruled east of

the Jordan, to the north, bordering on Syria, south of Damascus. He ruled from 4 B.C.

until A.D. 34 hen he died.

Lysanias ruled the territory northwest of Damascus, surrounding the town of Abila at

the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon range. This may indicate that Luke was Syrian

from Abilene or that Theophilus, to whom the gospel is addressed is from that

region.

LUKE 3:1-7 / 2

High priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas: Annas, son of Seth, was appointed high priest

by the Roman governor, P. Sulpicius Quirinius in A.D. 6 and held this position until he was

deposed in A.D. 15. He was then succeeded by Ishmael, son of Phiabi (A.D. 15), Eleazar,

his own son (16-117), Simon, son of Camith (17-18), and eventually by his son-in-law,

Joseph, called Caiaphas. The latter held the post of high priest from A.D. 18 through 36.

Dueal Pair like…. Abiyathar and Ahimelek, his father

A message came from God to John: John is called like Jeremiah in Jer. 1.1 “The word of

God which was directed to Jeremiah son of Hilkiah”.

John belongs to the period of Israel; he is the last of prophets.

In the desert: The importance of silence, contemplation, and the will to seek the Lord are

important elements in the prophetic and Christian life. John is itinerant.

He preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins: metanoia –repentance,

literally a change of mind – conversion, reform of life.

LUKE 3:1-7 / 3

To the Essenes, it was useless to enter the waters unless one were willing to turn

from evildoing.

As it is written: Saint Luke shows that Saint Johns fulfills the words written in the Book

of Isaiah, chapter 40:3-5

Note that the Manual of Discipline of the Essenes relies on the same text to explain

why they chose to live in the desert.

Make ready the way of the Lord: The restoration of the Kingdom of Israel has begun

and it begins with repentance. Similar to making ready the way of a King.

All the flesh shall see the salvation of God: Again, the assertion that salvation is to

extent beyond Israel to the entire world

Brood of Vipers: three samples of John’s preaching are given: eschatological, ethical

and messianic

LUKE 3:1-7 / 4

Verses 7-9 are eschatological. They are meant to show Israel that God plays no

favorite and the wrath of God is real

Verses 10-14 turns Saint John’s attention to ethical conduct: selfless concern for

others. Assistance, honesty, equity.

Saint John manifests a real concern for others but does not seek to upset the social

order. He does not even tell soldiers who are in the case mercenaries to quit, but to

be content with their pay.

Verses 15-18 is messianic and it is the most important section. Saint John defines his

role vis-à-vis the Messaiah, the One who is to come, the more powerful one.

LUKE 3:1-7 / 5

LUKE 3:8-14

8. Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, `We

have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to

raise up children to Abraham.

9. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does

not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

10. And the multitudes asked him, "What then shall we do?"

11. And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who

has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

12. Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall

we do?"

13. And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you."

14. Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them,

"Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your

wages.“

15. As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts

concerning John whether he was the Christ

Brood of viper: This expression is not found in the Old Testament.

Wrath to come: Saint Luke uses this expression here and in 21:23. It refers to a future

manifestation of God’s wrath. This is associated with “The Day of the Lord” in Isa

13:9, Zeph 1:14-16, Ezek 7:19.

Jewish apocalyptic made much use of this expression, depicting God doing battle

with his angles on the side of the “sons of light”.

Bear Fruits that Befits Repentance: Show by your actions and conduct that an inner

change has taken place. Fruits: The virtues. The three theological virtues: Faith,

Hope, Charity. And the Moral virtues: Justice, Temperance, Prudence, Fortitude. The

Seven Cardinal virtues.

We have Abraham as our Father: Refers to the Blessing of Abraham (Gen: 12-13).

Various rabbinical literature played on Israel’s physical descent from Abraham as

protection against God’s wrath.

If Abraham is their father, then they are Abraham’s sons…. And ?

LUKE 3:8-14 / 1

God can raise children to Abraham: God can renew Israel (faithfulness to covenant)

without the Israelites. Also pun in the Aramaic: benayya (sons) from abnayya

(stones)

Axe is laid to the root: Urgency, depth of depravity.

Any tree that fails to produce good fruit: Parable of the fig tree (Luke 13:6-9)

Tax-collector: More accurately, perhaps, is toll-collectors: Jews responsible for the

collection of indirect taxes: (tolls, tariffs, imposts, and customs).

Soldiers: Not Roman soldiers, most likely Jewish men enlisted in the service of

Herod Antipas (Josephus Ant. 18.5,1), as well as mercenaries

LUKE 3:8-14 / 2

LUKE 3:16-22

16. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than

I is coming, the thong 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 granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

18. So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people.

19. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Hero'di-as, his

brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done,

20. added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

21. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been

baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,

22. and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a

voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well

pleased."

Baptizing you with water: Indicates intent, not power

He who is mightier than I is coming: (see Malachi 3:1,23)

The thong of whose sandals I am unfit to untie: Indicates the position of a slave, forbidden

by the rabbis in later tradition as a service to be done by a disciple to his master

Baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire: Reference to exodus – Baptism of Judgment

(See wrath beforehand).

Winnowing fork: used to toss threshed grain to the wind to separate the light chaff from

the heavy kernels, which would fall in a heap (see Isaiah 30:24).

Unquenchable fire: God’s reign is for ever.

LUKE 3:16-22 / 1

Adam ���� Noah Moses ���� Joshuah

Abraham ���� Isaac Elijah ���� Alisha

Jacob ���� Joseph John the Baptist ���� Jesus

Beloved Son: Not a messianic title.

We already know that Jesus is “Savior, Lord, and Messiah” (Luke 2:11). We know he is

the Son (Luke 1:32,35) What is the knew is the overshadowing of the Spirit.

Why did Jesus submit to the Baptism of John?

Jesus is conscious of sin, yet recognizing in John’s call for repentance an opportunity for

personal conversion

Jesus approves of John’s ministry

Jesus is a disciple of John

Symbolic anticipation of his passion and the expiatory significance that it would have.

Jesus obeys (Jesus too was baptized) and Jesus sanctifies because he is the only one that

can live-up to John’s calling. The unclean when touched shall be made clean.

LUKE 3:16-22 / 2

Thou art my beloved (agapetos) Son; with thee I am well pleased. Psalm 2: You are my

son, today I have begotten you: an enthronement psalm for some heir of the Davidic

throne.

I am well pleased -- Servant -- I have taken delight. See Isa 42:1 Beginning of the

first Servant Song.

LUKE 3:16-22 / 3

John the Baptist announces a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins

To repent and to be forgiven, we need the Grace of God flowing from the Cross.

Thus, Saint John tells those who hear him what they need to do. If convicted of their

sins, they will realize their need for forgiveness and thus will be ready to listen to

Jesus.

Saint John reminds us of the “Wrath to come.” God is the final judge of our lives and

our action orient us towards heaven or hell.

Saint John tells us he is not worthy to untie the thongs of His sandals. Do we say the

same?

LET’S RECAP

FOR NEXT WEEK

Read Luke 3:23-38

Some points of meditation

What is the purpose of a genealogy?

Are there names you recognize? How many?

What of the names you do not recognize? Are they

important? Are they important for you and me?

How does this genealogy compares to the genealogy in

Matthew chapter 1?