Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 3
Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary
Luke 3
Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary
Luke 3
"Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene," — Luke 3:1 (ASV)
The dating provided in this verse was useful to Luke’s first-century readers to place the ministry of John. Since Luke was probably using the normal Roman method of reckoning, the date indicated would be from August, A. D. 28, to August, A. D. 29. “Herod” is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, who ruled Galilee and Perea 4 B. C.– A. D. 39 (cf. Lk 3:19-20; 13:31; 23:7). Philip, another son of Herod the Great, ruled a group of territories to the northeast of Palestine (4 B. C.- A. D. 33/34). Lysanias is unknown except through inscriptions. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea A. D. 26–36.
"in the highpriesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness." — Luke 3:2 (ASV)
The official high priesthood of Annas had ended in A. D. 15, but his influence was so great, especially during the high priesthood of his son-in-law Caiaphas (A. D. 18–36; cf. Jn 18:13), that his name is naturally mentioned along with that of Caiaphas. With the reference to the high priests, we move from the secular world to the religious and are ready for the introduction of the prophet John. He is in the desert, a place that held memories for the Jews as the locale of the postExodus wanderings of Israel. Luke’s interest is not only in the coming of John, but in the message he brought from God.
"And he came into all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins;" — Luke 3:3 (ASV)
Luke suggests that John had an itinerant ministry. Apparently he not only preached in the desert but followed the Dead Sea coast to the Jordan River and then a distance away from there. John’s baptism was “of repentance” (GK 3567), that is, it required sorrow for sin and a moral change on the part of those being baptized (vv.8–14; 15:7; 24:47 for Luke’s use of this word). Repentance is an ancient prophetic theme (e.g., Ezekiel 18:21, 30). The result of the repentance shown in baptism was forgiveness.
"as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight." — Luke 3:4 (ASV)
Luke found a clear prophecy of the ministry of John the Baptist in Isa 40:3. He includes more of the quotation than Matthew and Mark do. First he cites the extraordinary way in which, on the analogy of preparations made for a royal visitor, even the seemingly immovable must be removed to make way for the Lord (vv.4–5). What needs removal is the sin of the people. Luke concludes the Isaiah quotation with words that aptly describe his own evangelistic and theological conviction: everyone will see God’s salvation. Luke finds here (following the LXX version of Isa 40:5) a biblical basis for his own universal concern and his central theme of salvation.
"Every valley shall be filled, And every mountain and hill shall be brought low; And the crooked shall become straight, And the rough ways smooth;" — Luke 3:5 (ASV)
Luke found a clear prophecy of the ministry of John the Baptist in Isa 40:3. He includes more of the quotation than Matthew and Mark do. First he cites the extraordinary way in which, on the analogy of preparations made for a royal visitor, even the seemingly immovable must be removed to make way for the Lord (vv.4–5). What needs removal is the sin of the people. Luke concludes the Isaiah quotation with words that aptly describe his own evangelistic and theological conviction: everyone will see God’s salvation. Luke finds here (following the LXX version of Isa 40:5) a biblical basis for his own universal concern and his central theme of salvation.
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