John the Baptist Preaches and Baptizes Jesus

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 3:1) Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate became governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, (2) Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

As Luke sought to write a truly chronological record of Jesus, some time had passed from the end of chapter 2 that found Jesus as a twelve-year-old boy and the beginning of chapter 3.  He went to great lengths to record the leaders of the day.  It was in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, emperor of Rome, and the third of the Caesars, Julius being the first, then Augustus who was Caesar when Jesus was born, and Tiberius was the third, at this time having been ruler for fifteen years.  It was at that time that Pontius Pilate became governor of Judea.  Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the great, was tetrarch or district ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis, two provinces of Syria, bordering Judea.  Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, another province of Syria.  Annas and Caiaphas, Annas's son-in-law, were high priests.  It was at that time that the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

(3) And he came into all the country around Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,

That word of God that came to John obviously filled him with the Holy Spirit and directed him to start his ministry.  He came out of the wilderness into the parts of the country that bordered the Jordan River and began preaching about repentance and baptism for the remission of sins.

(4) As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.'"

John's coming out of the wilderness to preach was prophesied in Isaiah 40:3, "The voice of him crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'"  John was to be about the business of preparing the way for Jesus, preparing hearts to receive Him when He appeared on the scene.

(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 made smooth. (6) And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Luke continued quoting Isaiah 40:4-5, "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see together.'"  In making straight the way of the Lord, every hindrance would be removed, and all people would be able to see the glory of the Lord and His salvation revealed in the form of Jesus Christ on earth.

(7) Then he said to the multitude that came forth to be baptized by him, "O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"

A multitude of people came out to see John and to be baptized by him.  According to the account in Matthew it was when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees among the people that he spoke to them, calling them a generation of vipers poisoning the people against God and against one another.  However, this could be the message to all who came to him, as all people are poisonous and poisoned by sin.  By the fact that they came out to him to be baptized was evidence that they had heeded his warning to repent and be baptized and be saved from the wrath to come.

(8) "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say within yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."

Fruits worthy of repentance would be those that showed a true and genuine desire to repent of sins before God.  The opposite of that would be a pride in that they descended from Abraham as if that alone was enough to save them.  John told them not to rely on that, as it was nothing special as the Lord could raise up stones as children of Abraham.

(9) "And now also the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore which does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire."

Like when an axe is brought to the root of a tree to begin chopping, so had the time come for repentance; now that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and the gospel was being preached, it was more urgent than ever that sinners come to repentance.  Otherwise, those with no good fruits of true and genuine repentance would be cut down and cast into the fire as in hellfire.  

(10) And the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"

More than just the fruits initially brought that showed a genuine desire to repent, there should be good fruits resulting from a changed heart, which is the meaning of a repentant heart.  The people should lead lives that showed their repentance was genuine.  These were probably the fruits the people were asking about when they asked what they should do to avoid being fruitless and worthy of nothing but being cast into the fire.

(11) He answered and said to them, "He who has two coats, let him impart to him who has none, and he who has food, let him do likewise."

John answered them by telling them to help others less fortunate than they were with all that was in their ability to do.  Basically, they were just to be kind and charitable with whatever they had.

(12) Then publicans also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Master, what shall we do?"

Tax collectors also came to John to be baptized, and they also asked him what they should do.

(13) And he said to them, "Exact no more than what is appointed you."

Note that John didn't tell them to quit their jobs.  As hated as they were, theirs was not a sinful or unlawful profession in and of itself.  However, it seems there were tax collectors who collected more than was required by law in order to pocket some extra for themselves.  John told them not to do that, but to do their work fairly and honestly.

(14) And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, "And what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do violence to no man, nor accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages."

Again John's answer was basically to just do their jobs fairly and honestly, and not use their positions to do harm to anyone, either by violence or by false accusations, and to be content with their wages, not seeking to add to them through extortion or other evil means.

(15) And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, (16) John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water, but One mightier than I comes, the strap of whose shoes I am not worthy to loosen; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."

As the people were expecting their Messiah, men pondered in their hearts whether or not John was the expected Christ.  However, John told the people that while he baptized them with water, there was One coming mightier than he, dispelling their beliefs that he might be the Messiah.  This coming One was so great that John himself was not worthy to even loosen the straps of His sandals, intimating that He would be their long-awaited Messiah.  He added that the coming One would not baptize with mere water, but would baptize with the Holy Spirit to cleanse and purify the heart as with fire.  As water cleaned the outside, fire would purify the inside.

(17) "Whose fan is in His hand and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into His garner, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."

John went on to describe the coming One as having a winnowing fan, cleaning His threshing floor, as all the world was His, separating the wheat from the chaff.  The wheat He would gather to Himself, but the chaff would be burned with unquenchable fire.

(18) And many other things in his exhortations he preached to the people.

John preached many other things to the people regarding the Messiah and the good news and salvation He would bring.

(19) But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, (20) Added also this, above all, that he shut up John in prison.

However, John was eventually imprisoned by Herod because he had reproved him for taking his own brother's wife, Herodias, as his own, not to mention all the other evil Herod had done.  Luke called it the most evil of all that Herod had shut John up in prison.

(21) Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, (22) And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased."

Obviously before John was imprisoned, when he had been preaching and baptizing all the people, Jesus came to him also to be baptized.  It seems that while Jesus was being baptized or very immediately afterward, He was praying, a fact not documented in the other accounts in Matthew and Mark, and the heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove.  A voice came from heaven saying that Jesus was His beloved Son in Whom He was well pleased.

(23) And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph who was the son of Eli,

The sense of the verse is that Jesus came to be, that is, He began His ministry, what He was sent to do, at about thirty years of age.  Dr. John Lightfoot, theologian and greatest Hebrew scholar in England in the 1600's, said that because of the way it was written in the Hebrew, that Jesus was a full twenty-nine years old, entering His thirtieth year.  His ministry was 3 1/2 years long, so He died at 32 1/2 years of age.  What was more amazing to me was the significance of 3 1/2 years that Dr. Lightfoot showed to be symbolic in the Bible.  The heavens were said to be shut up for 3 1/2 years in Elijah's time (Luke 4:25, James 5:17).  Prophesies in Revelation 11:2-3 speak of 42 months, and 1260 days, both equaling 3 1/2 years.  The prophesies in Daniel 12:7 and Revelation 12:14 speak of time, times, and half a time, which is thought to be a year, two years, and half a year, or 3 1/2 years.  Jesus was thought by the people to be the son of Joseph, who is said here to be the son of Eli.  He was actually the son-in-law of Eli, as Mary was the daughter of Eli, and Joseph, the son of Jacob.  Thus begins the genealogy of Jesus through Mary's line.

(24) Who was of Matthat, who was of Levi, who was of Melchi, who was of Janna, who was of Joseph, 

The genealogy of Jesus continues with Eli being the son of Matthat, who was the son of Levi, who was the son of Melchi, who was the son of Janna, who was the son of Joseph.  I will end this post here, as Blogger only allows twenty tags per post, and I feel anyone in Jesus's genealogy is worth a tag, at the very least.  Luke 3 and the genealogy of Jesus will continue in the next post.

Jesus Before Pontius Pilate

Continuing a Bible study of the gospel accounts:

(Matthew 27:1) When the morning had come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had just been betrayed by the kiss of Judas and apprehended and brought before Caiaphas the high priest.  He was found guilty of blasphemy in a mock trial and sentenced to death.  The next morning the chief priests and elders plotted on how they would put Jesus to death.

(2) And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

They bound Jesus again and took Him to Pontius Pilate, the governor appointed by the Romans over Judea.  It is written that the sanhedrin had the power of life and death themselves in everything that concerned religion.  Perhaps their case against Him was not strong enough, or more likely they wanted it taken out of their hands, perhaps because they feared the reaction of the people.  Whatever the reason, they put Him in the hands of a Gentile magistrate, fulfilling Jesus's prophecy in Matthew 20:19 that He would be delivered to the Gentiles.

(3) Then Judas who had betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.

When Judas saw that Christ was condemned to death, he began to feel remorse and brought the thirty pieces of silver back to the chief priests and elders.  Perhaps Judas thought Jesus would have freed Himself through some miracle, and he had just seen a chance to make some money.  Now Judas "repented himself."  It is important to note there is a difference in the original word used here, "metamellomai" and the word more commonly used for repent, "metanoia."  Judas's type of repenting was more of a changing of his mind, perhaps some remorse caused by fear of the consequences of his actions.  It was a self-centered repentance like when we say that a person was not really sorry, only sorry he got caught.  A true godly repentance, "metanoia," represents a changed heart and behavior, a turning from sin to God.

(4) Saying, "I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it."

In changing his mind about his actions, Judas took the money back to the chief priests and elders, telling them he had sinned and betrayed innocent blood.  Once again, there is no evidence that Judas truly repented before God, falling on his face before Almighty God, humbling himself, asking for forgiveness in the realization of what he had done to His Lord.  Remember that God sees the heart and He is always just and righteous, but under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Matthew wrote that Judas was only sorry for himself.  The chief priests and elders declared that was of no concern of theirs.  If he felt he had sinned, he should go take care of that himself.  They had what they wanted, Jesus, and they had condemned Him for blasphemy; they didn't care about Judas's guilt or that he considered Jesus to be innocent of their charges.

(5) And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Judas then threw down the pieces of silver and went out and hanged himself.  There has been much discussion about how Judas actually died, because Peter later stated in Acts 1:18, that "falling headlong, he burst open in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."  Surely both statements are true.  If Judas had hung himself on a tree near a precipitous valley or something like that, the limb could have broken causing him to fall and tumble headfirst and his body dashed to pieces on the sharp rocks.  Matthew stated Judas hanged himself; he didn't say whether or not he actually died at that point.  He may have died, and then fallen; or a limb could have broken before he died and he died grotesquely upon the rocks.

(6) And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood."

The chief priests picked up the pieces of silver Judas had thrown down, but said it was not lawful to put them in the temple treasury because it was blood money.  It is remarkable that they were so scrupulous about the source of the money in their treasury, but not so when condemning innocent blood, as Judas had told them.

(7) And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field in which to bury strangers.

They consulted together and decided to use the pieces of silver to buy the potter's field, which was probably so called because the earth had been dug for pottery, and it was probably now used up and good for nothing.  They were able to buy it for just thirty pieces of silver and used it as a cemetery for strangers.

(8) Therefore that field was called the Field of Blood to this day.

Matthew declared that that potter's field had been called the Field of Blood, because it had been purchased by the price of blood, ever since then and up to the day he wrote that scripture.

(9) Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him who was valued by the people of Israel, (10) And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me."

That prophecy was actually spoken by Zechariah:

And I said to them, "If you think it good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed out for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, "Cast it to the potter, a goodly price at which I was priced by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. (Zechariah 11:12-13)

It is believed by the older commentators I study that a subsequent copyist probably mistakenly added the name of the prophet, as Matthew's usual mode of writing was to say only, "by the prophet" (Matthew 1:22, Matthew 2:5, Matthew 2:15, Matthew 13:35, and Matthew 21:4).  Many early manuscripts omitted the name, and that is most likely how Matthew wrote it.  Matthew's point was not about who made the prophecy, but that prophecy had been fulfilled.

(11) And Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "You say."

Probably thinking their claim of blasphemy would not matter to Pilate, the chief priests and elders most likely had told him that Jesus professed to be king to incite anger and judgment by the government.  Therefore, Pilate asked Jesus point blank if He was the King of the Jews.  Jesus answered only, "You say," which was not really an admission or a denial.  The account in John 18:36 went on to say that Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world, so He admitted that He had a kingdom, but not a worldly kingdom that would have rivaled Caesar.

(12) And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.

Evidently, the chief priests and elders then had their turn to spout all their accusations before Pilate and in front of Jesus, but He said nothing.  There was really no use.  They were false claims, but He knew they intended to kill Him regardless, so He did not try to answer.  This fulfilled another prophecy by Isaiah, in Isaiah 53:7, "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He didn't open His mouth; He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth."

(13) Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they witness against You?" (14) And He answered him not a word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Pilate, pressing Jesus to defend Himself, asked Him if He had heard all the things of which the chief priests and scribes had accused Him.  Jesus did not answer him, and that amazed Pilate.  It was at this point that Luke added that Pilate asked Jesus if He was a Galilean.  Probably wanting an excuse to free Him, Pilate was likely relieved that being a Galilean made Jesus under Herod's jurisdiction.  He sent Him to Herod, who saw no cause for death in Him, and sent Him back to Pilate.

(15) Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the people a prisoner, whomever they wished.

It appears that at the Passover Feast the governor had a custom of releasing one prisoner of the people's choosing.  It was not law, but a custom that may have originated in an effort for the Romans to show some bit of respect for the Jews.

(16) And they had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas.

At that time Pilate had an infamous prisoner named Barabbas imprisoned.  Being notable, he was a known criminal; he was either a repeat offender or had done a horrific thing to be so well known.  The account in Luke states that he had been guilty of sedition and murder.

(17) Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Who do you want me to release to you? Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?" (18) For he knew that out of envy they had delivered Him.

When the people were gathered together, Pilate asked them who they wanted released to them, Barabbas, the notable criminal, or Jesus whose only "crime" was that He was called the Christ.  The account in Luke states that Pilate found Jesus to be innocent and not worthy of death and had planned to release Him at the feast.  He was most likely certain the people would choose to release Jesus rather than the infamous Barabbas.  Pilate knew it could only be envy that made the chief priests and elders want to kill Jesus, for there was no fault in Him.

(19) When he was sat down on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him."

While Pilate was on his judgment seat, his wife sent a message to him asking him not to involve himself with condemning whom she called a just Man.  She had had dreams about Him, and was convinced of His innocence or perhaps feared the judgment that might come upon her family if Pilate condemned Jesus.

(20) But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

Now that the decision to kill Jesus was out of their hands, the chief priests and elders urged the people to ask for Barabbas.  They probably incited a riot of excitement in the people, for how else could people who had so recently led a procession for Him, crying "Hosannah!" now be persuaded to call for His death?

(21) The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!"

The governor responded to the crowd by asking which of the two prisoners they wanted released to them.  Unbelievably, the crowd answered Barabbas.  This was surely done because of the instigation of the chief priests and elders.  It shows the danger of wicked church elders who can easily persuade their flocks, and the danger of a mob mentality.

(22) Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" All said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"

Pilate, probably incredulous, asked the people what then would they have him do with Jesus, a Man he had judged as innocent.  The crowd shouted to crucify Jesus!  Pilate, if he had indeed found Jesus innocent and not worthy of death, should have released Him after his finding.  However, it was God's will that Jesus die on the cross.  

(23) And the governor said, "Why? What evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, "Let Him be crucified!"

Pilate asked the multitude why they should call for Jesus's crucifixion; what evil had He done?  Instead of answering his question, the crowd just shouted all the more to crucify Him.

(24) When Pilate saw that he could not prevail, but rather a tumult had developed, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person; you see to it."

Pilate had lost control of the mob, and therefore took water and washed his hands before the crowd declaring his innocence of the blood of this just Jesus.  If the crowd wanted Him crucified, then it was up to them to have it done.

(25) Then all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and our children."

The people declared it would be their responsibility, and they even decided for their children!  They had no idea what they were asking for, nor what a prophetic statement they had made.

(26) Then he released Barabbas to them, and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

Pilate did what the people asked and delivered free Barabbas to them.  He then scourged Jesus.  If he considered Him innocent, why did he have to do that?  He then delivered Jesus to be crucified.  Why?  Because he had no power over the people?  I have long pondered over Pilate's actions.  Was he innocent or not?  At the very least, he was a very weak ruler, letting the people rule over him.  It seems he found Jesus innocent from the beginning, but was happy to have someone else make the decision when he sent Jesus to Herod.  When it came time to release a prisoner, he again pushed off the decision to the people.  Since he was the governor, and he had found Him innocent, and even Herod had found no fault in Him, it seems it would have been his duty to release Him.  He apparently feared going against the chief priests and elders.  I'm sure he thought the people would call for Jesus's release opposite such a wicked prisoner as Barabbas, but he should have been man enough to make the decision himself.  He wanted to pass the decision to someone else and he would bear no responsibility to anyone.

Pilate had even received confirmation from his wife's dreams that he should not condemn Jesus, but he allowed the chief priests and elders to stir up the crowd against Jesus, even knowing that they did it out of envy.  He repeatedly put the question to the people (Luke states three times), indicating his desire to free Jesus, but being the weak ruler he was, he allowed the people to make the decision.  When the people asked that Barabbas be released, he could have released him and then dealt with Jesus as a just ruler should have, but he asked the people what he should do about Jesus!  When they said they wanted Him crucified, he asked why, what evil had He done to deserve crucifixion.  Weak and fearful as he surely was, he gave in to the people.  He said he washed his hands and declared his innocence from that decision, but he really was not innocent.  He failed miserably in his duty as a governor of the people, being so weak.  However, we know that it was God's will that Jesus be crucified.  I don't believe that God forced Pilate to make decisions against his will; I believe Pilate was chosen to allow this because he was a weak man.  Since he had washed his hands of it all, why then did he scourge Jesus?  Only God knows the heart of a man and he will judge Pilate righteously.  This incident proved to be a perfect illustration of what was taking place.  Jesus, judged as innocent, was condemned by the same judge, just the same.  Jesus, the perfect soul having no sin in Him, was nonetheless willed by God to be condemned to die on a cross.

(27) Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered to Him the whole band of soldiers.

The soldiers of the governor then took Jesus into the praetorium, which is actually the original word used.  It means the common judgment hall of the governor, or his court room.  They gathered an entire band of soldiers around Him, as if they really needed that!

(28) And they stripped Him and put on Him a scarlet robe.

The soldiers stripped Jesus and put a scarlet robe on Him.  They did it to mock Him, but by their actions, they were representing prophecy.  In Isaiah 1:18 it says, "...though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..."  Jesus took on the world's scarlet sins to make them white as snow.

(29) And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail! King of the Jews!"

The soldiers braided a crown of thorns and put it on Jesus's head to mock Him, but also to torture Him.  They put a reed in His hand to act as a staff and then bowed before Him in mockery, calling out, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  It gives me chills to think these men mocked God Himself!

(30) And they spit on Him and took the reed and struck Him on the head.

Again, it is chilling to think of these men spitting in the face of God and beating Him about the head!  Little did they know He could have struck them all dead with one word, but He allowed Himself to be mocked and tortured for all us lowly sinners, including those soldiers who did this, if we only accept His gift of salvation.

(31) And after they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

After the soldiers had had their vicious fun, they took the robe off Him and put His clothes back on Him.  They then led Him away to be crucified.

(32) And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; they compelled Him to bear His cross.

The account in John tells us that Jesus did bear His cross for a while until His tortured and beaten body could do it no more.  The soldiers then found a man of Cyrene, a city in Libya, Africa, named Simon, and forced him to carry Jesus's cross.

As this is another very long chapter, I will end the post here.  This first half of the chapter dealt with the events leading up to Jesus's crucifixion after His apprehension and mock trial in chapter 26.  The actual crucifixion takes place in the second half of this chapter.