Luke 3

Lu 3:1-20.

PREACHING,

BAPTISM, AND

IMPRISONMENT OF

JOHN.

(See on

Mt 3:1-12;

Mr 6:17,

&c.).

1, 2. Here the curtain of the New Testament is, as it were, drawn

up, and the greatest of all epochs of the Church commences. Even our

Lord's own age

(Lu 3:23)

is determined by it [BENGEL]. No such elaborate

chronological precision is to be found elsewhere in the New Testament,

and it comes fitly from him who claims it as the peculiar

recommendation of his Gospel, that he had "accurately traced down all

things from the first"

(Lu 1:3).

Here, evidently, commences his proper narrative. Also see on

Mt 3:1.

the fifteenth year of Tiberius--reckoning from the period when he

was admitted, three years before Augustus' death, to a share of the

empire [WEBSTER and

WILKINSON], about the end of the year of Rome 779,

or about four years before the usual reckoning.

Pilate . . . governor of Judea--His proper title was Procurator, but with more than the usual powers of

that office. After holding it

about ten years he was ordered to Rome, to answer to charges brought

against him, but ere he arrived Tiberius died (A.D. 35), and soon after

Pilate committed suicide.

Herod--(See on

Mr 6:14).

Philip--a different and very superior Philip to the one whose

wife Herodias went to live with Herod Antipas. (See

Mr 6:17).

Iturea--to the northeast of Palestine; so called from Ishmael's son

Itur or Jetur

(1Ch 1:31),

and anciently belonging to the half tribe of Manasseh.

Trachonitis--farther to the northeast, between Iturea and Damascus;

a rocky district, infested by robbers, and committed by Augustus to

Herod the Great to keep in order.

Abilene--still more to the northeast, so called from Abila,

eighteen miles from Damascus [ROBINSON].

2. Annas and Caiaphas . . . high priests--the former, though deposed,

retained much of his influence, and, probably, as sagan or deputy,

exercised much of the power of the high priesthood along with Caiaphas

(Joh 18:13;

Ac 4:6).

Both Zadok and Abiathar acted as high priests in David's time

(2Sa 15:35),

and it seems to have become the fixed practice to have two

(2Ki 25:18).

(Also see on

Mt 3:1.)

word of God came unto John--Such formulas, of course,

are never used when speaking of Jesus, because the divine nature

manifested itself in Him not at certain isolated moments of His life.

He was the one everlasting manifestation of the Godhead--THE

WORD

[OLSHAUSEN].

5. Every valley, &c.--levelling and smoothing, obvious

figures, the sense of which is in the first words of the proclamation,

"Prepare ye the way of the Lord."

6. all flesh, &c.--(quoted literally from the Septuagint of

Isa 40:5).

The idea is that every obstruction shall be so removed as to reveal to

the whole world the Salvation of God in Him whose name is the "Saviour"

(compare

Ps 98:3;

Isa 11:10; 49:6; 52:10;

Lu 2:31, 32;

Ac 13:47).

10-14. What shall we do then?--to show the sincerity of our

repentance. (Also see on

Mt 3:10.)

11. two coats--directed against the reigning avarice.

(Also see on

Mt 3:10.)

12. publicans, &c. (Also see on

Mt 3:10.)

13. Exact no more, &c.--directed against that extortion

which made the publicans a byword. (See on

Lu 19:2;

Lu 19:8).

(Also see on

Mt 3:10.)

14. soldiers . . . Do violence to none--The word

signifies to "shake thoroughly," and so to "intimidate," probably in

order to extort money or other property. (Also see on

Mt 3:10.)

accuse . . . falsely--acting as informers vexatiously, on frivolous

or false grounds.

content with your wages--"rations." We may take this as a warning

against mutiny, which the officers attempted to suppress by largesses

and donations [WEBSTER and

WILKINSON]. And thus the "fruits" which would

evidence their repentance were just resistance to the reigning sins,

particularly of the class to which the penitent belonged, and the

manifestation of an opposite spirit.

15-17. whether he were the Christ--showing both how successful

he had been in awakening the expectation of Messiah's immediate

appearing, and the high estimation, and even reverence, which his own

character commanded. (Also see on

Mt 3:10.)

16. John answered--either to the deputation from Jerusalem (see

Joh 1:19,

&c.), or on some other occasion, simply to remove impressions

derogatory to his blessed Master which he knew to be taking hold of the

popular mind. (Also see on

Mt 3:10.)

saying unto them all--in solemn protestation. So far from

entertaining such a thought as laying claim to the honors of

Messiahship, the meanest services I can render to that "Mightier than I

that is coming after me," are too high an honor for me. Beautiful

spirit, distinguishing this servant of Christ throughout!

one mightier than I--"the Mighter than I."

18. many other things, &c.--such as we read in

Joh 1:29, 33, 34; 3:27-36.

(Also see on

Mt 3:12.)

19, 20. But Herod, &c.--See on

Mr 6:14,

&c. (Also see on

Mt 3:12.)

and for all the evils which Herod had done--important fact here only

mentioned, showing how thoroughgoing was the fidelity of the Baptist

to his royal hearer, and how strong must have been the workings of

conscience in that slave of passion when, notwithstanding such

plainness, he "did many things and heard John gladly"

(Mr 6:20, 26).

20. Added yet, &c.--(Also see on

Mt 3:12).

Lu 3:21, 22.

BAPTISM OF AND

DESCENT OF THE

SPIRIT UPON

JESUS.

(See on

Mt 3:13-17.)

21. when all the people were baptized--that He might not seem to be

merely one of the crowd. Thus, as He rode into Jerusalem upon an ass,

"whereon yet never man sat"

(Lu 19:30),

and lay in a sepulchre "wherein was never man yet laid"

(Joh 19:41),

so in His baptism He would be "separate from sinners."

Lu 3:23-38.

GENEALOGY OF

JESUS.

23. he began to be about thirty--that is, "was about entering on His

thirtieth year." So our translators have taken the word (and so CALVIN,

BEZA,

BLOOMFIELD,

WEBSTER and

WILKINSON, &c.): but "was about thirty

years of age when He began [His ministry]," makes better Greek, and

is probably the true sense [BENGEL,

OLSHAUSEN,

DE

WETTE,

MEYER,

ALFORD,

&c.]. At this age the priests entered on their office

(Nu 4:3).

being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, &c.--Have we in this

genealogy, as well as in Matthew's, the line of Joseph? or is this

the line of Mary?--a point on which there has been great difference

of opinion and much acute discussion. Those who take the former opinion

contend that it is the natural sense of this verse, and that no

other would have been thought of but for its supposed improbability and

the uncertainty which it seems to throw over our Lord's real descent.

But it is liable to another difficulty; namely, that in this case

Matthew makes Jacob, while Luke makes "Heli," to be Joseph's

father; and though the same man had often more than one name, we ought

not to resort to that supposition, in such a case as this, without

necessity. And then, though the descent of Mary from David would be

liable to no real doubt, even though we had no table of her line

preserved to us (see, for example,

Lu 1:2-32,

and see on

Lu 2:5),

still it does seem unlikely--we say not incredible--that two

genealogies of our Lord should be preserved to us, neither of which

gives his real descent. Those who take the latter

opinion, that we have here the line of Mary, as in Matthew that

of Joseph--here His real, there His reputed

line--explain the statement about Joseph, that he was "the son

of Hell," to mean that he was his son-in-law, as the husband of

his daughter Mary (as in

Ru 1:11, 12),

and believe that Joseph's name is only introduced instead of Mary's, in

conformity with the Jewish custom in such tables. Perhaps this view is

attended with fewest difficulties, as it certainly is the best

supported. However we decide, it is a satisfaction to know that not a

doubt was thrown out by the bitterest of the early enemies of

Christianity as to our Lord's real descent from David. On

comparing the two genealogies, it will be found that Matthew, writing

more immediately for Jews, deemed it enough to show that the

Saviour was sprung from Abraham and David; whereas Luke, writing more

immediately for Gentiles, traces the descent back to Adam, the

parent stock of the whole human family, thus showing Him to be the

promised "Seed of the woman." "The possibility of constructing such a

table, comprising a period of thousands of years, in an uninterrupted

line from father to son, of a family that dwelt for a long time in the

utmost retirement, would be inexplicable, had not the members of this

line been endowed with a thread by which they could extricate

themselves from the many families into which every tribe and branch was

again subdivided, and thus hold fast and know the member that

was destined to continue the lineage. This thread was the hope that

Messiah would be born of the race of Abraham and David. The ardent

desire to behold Him and be partakers of His mercy and glory suffered

not the attention to be exhausted through a period embracing thousands

of years. Thus the member destined to continue the lineage, whenever

doubtful, became easily distinguishable, awakening the hope of a final

fulfilment, and keeping it alive until it was consummated" [OLSHAUSEN].

24-30. son of Matthat, &c.--(See on

Mt 1:13-15). In

Lu 3:27,

Salathiel is called the son, while in

Mt 1:12,

he is called the father of Zerubbabel. But they are probably

different persons.

38. son of God--Compare

Ac 17:28.