Luke 3: God of the Ages
The Gospel of Luke • Sermon • Submitted
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Triune God
Triune God
What is the Trinity?
There is only one God
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.
“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,
The Lord is one in His being but three in His persons. Each person is unique in their roles but are fully God.
The Father
The Son
The Holy Spirit
The three persons of the Trinity are not three parts of a whole (1+1+1=3) likewise God does not operate only in one person at a time. (The Lord does not have a split personality. The Father does not become the Son and the Son does not become the Holy Spirit). Each person of the Trinity is one in in being. The Father serves as creator, Christ as redeemer, and the Sprit as sanctifier, yet they are all working in unison and power.
The Baptism of Jesus
The Baptism of Jesus
When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As he was praying, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”
What is baptism?
Why was Jesus baptized?
“to fulfill all righteousness”
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him to be baptized.
Look at John’s humility. When He saw Jesus getting into the water He never thought that Jesus would ask him to do what He did. It a helpful reminder that being called by God to serve in His kingdom is a privilege. Despite our sin Christ has brought us into His Kingdom and by His grace He has called us to partner with Him in being on mission.
Jesus stepped into the water and rather than baptizing John, Jesus asked if He Himself could be baptized. John knew that Jesus was the sinless Messiah. He knew that Jesus had no need for repentance so why be baptized?
Jesus was ushering in a New Covenant and with it a new meaning in baptism. Baptism is a public declaration of what Christ has done in your heart. It is a symbol to the world that you have been set apart to follow Christ.
Jesus is our forerunner, He goes before us, He is the one we follow, and so in being baptized Jesus sets the example for us and shows us that He was here to do what God had called Him to do. Before Jesus ever called a disciple, before He ever gave a sermon, Jesus was baptized. This is why baptism is the first step we take in being obedient to Christ after salvation.
Jesus is affirmed in His calling and in His deity by the other persons in the Trinity. The Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus and the Father confirms what is already true about who He is. This is a very special moment in Scripture and one that we should hang on to. Jesus is not receiving the Holy Spirit in His baptism. It wasn’t like Jesus was just a regular guy who got the Holy Spirit and because of that He was a good teacher. No, Jesus is God. It is crucial we understand that. Nothing about who He was or His nature changed after His baptism. The person He was before He got in the water was the same person He was when in the water. From the beginning Jesus has always been. He has existed even before a thing was spoken into existence.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ”) Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
What is Jesus’ role in the Trinity as revealed in His baptism?
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased”
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
What does the word “Begotten” mean?
When we hear the word Begotten, typically, we think of someone being born of someone else. But here in John three the word means unique or one and only. John uses the word Begotten to point to the exclusivity of Christ. Just as our God is one in being, Christ was the exclusive means for the world’s salvation. There were no other ways to relationship with the Father except through the Son.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John is also making a distinction between the role of Jesus from the other two persons in the Trinity. Jesus was not the Father and was not the Holy Spirit. He was uniquely tasked with paying the penalty of mankind’s sin. He is unique in His role as Son but is one in His being with the other two persons of the Trinity.
Was Jesus created or born from the Father?
We know that Jesus has existed since the beginning along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He has no beginning. He has always existed.
God the father is not Jesus’ dad. The Father did not have a wife who got pregnant and birthed Jesus. This is an important distinction especially to the people Luke is writing to. Jesus was not like the Greek and Roman pantheon his audience had grown accustom to. Jesus is a Son to the Father in title only. The fact that Jesus is called the Son and the Father is called the Father points to God’s relationship with mankind and the uniqueness of Christ’s role in the Trinity. God created man and is like a Father to us calling us sons and daughters of God. We are called His children because of what The Son has accomplished. I am a son but He is The Son. He has accomplished it. Calling their persons Father and Son is a helpful way of distinguishing between these two unique persons of the Trinity. Ultimately, Jesus, the Son, is called this because He is the person of the Trinity that emptied Himself and was born in human flesh as a Son of Man.
How is Jesus a Son of Man and a Son of God?
There were many in the early church that did not believe in the deity of Christ. They believed that Jesus was just a man like anyone else. They believe that He was created by God and did not share the same substance as God. We call these people heretics. Jesus was the fullness of God in human flesh. Many in Luke’s day would have looked at that and wondered, “Well doesn’t Zeus take on the form of all kinds of creatures?” Jesus was not God in the form of man. Jesus was the fullness of God in human flesh. He is both the substance of God and the substance of man brought together into one. Both the nature of God and the nature of man in on person. (Not the sin nature of man but the physical nature of man.) God does not grow weary or faint, yet Jesus in human form often got tired, hungry, thirsty. Mankind cannot create out of thin air, yet we see Jesus using a few loaves of bread and fish to feed over five-thousand people. He was built different. Because of this Jesus understands every struggle we go through. He experienced human life first hand. He became a man of sorrows, He was acquainted with our grief. He was like us in every way except He was sinless. Fully God and fully man. Jesus.
God of the Ages
God of the Ages
What is a genealogy?
A genealogy is a record of a person’s family. They are used in ancient writings often times to provide and preserve a record of historical data. The two genealogies mentioned in the New Testament offer a greater theological significance than just reporting history. Matthew’s gospel is written with a Hebrew audience in mind. Because of this, Matthew highlights the ethic importance of Jesus being a part of Abraham’s family. Matthew was trying to show the Hebrew audience that Jesus is the promised Messiah and champion of Israel. Luke on the other hand is writing to a Gentile audience. These Gentile believers were coming out of a context of paganism and imperial cults where Caesars claimed to be descendants of Jupiter and demanded that they be worshiped as gods. Luke’s primary goal in his genealogy is to show his readers that Jesus is a Son of Man but most importantly is a true Son of God.
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3
23 As he began his ministry, Jesus was about thirty years old and was thought to be the
son of Joseph, son of Heli,
24 son of Matthat, son of Levi,
son of Melchi, son of Jannai,
son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias,
son of Amos, son of Nahum,
son of Esli, son of Naggai,
26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias,
son of Semein, son of Josech,
son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan,
son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel,
son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,
28 son of Melchi, son of Addi,
son of Cosam, son of Elmadam,
son of Er, 29 son of Joshua,
son of Eliezer, son of Jorim,
son of Matthat, son of Levi,
30 son of Simeon, son of Judah,
son of Joseph, son of Jonam,
son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea,
son of Menna, son of Mattatha,
son of Nathan, son of David,
32 son of Jesse, son of Obed,
son of Boaz, son of Salmon,
son of Nahshon, 33 son of Amminadab,
son of Ram, son of Hezron,
son of Perez, son of Judah,
34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac,
son of Abraham, son of Terah,
son of Nahor, 35 son of Serug,
son of Reu, son of Peleg,
son of Eber, son of Shelah,
36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad,
son of Shem, son of Noah,
son of Lamech, 37 son of Methuselah,
son of Enoch, son of Jared,
son of Mahalalel, son of Cainan,
38 son of Enos, son of Seth,
son of Adam, son of God.
Son of God
Son of God
Being able to trace Jesus’ genealogy all the way back to the beginning is an impressive task. This bloodline is one that God has been working through to bring about this moment. Jesus’ title of Son of God is one of authority. He is the God of the universe. The King of kings and Lord of lords. Colossians 1 gives us a beautiful Christ’s authority.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Son of Adam
Son of Adam
Through Adam sin entered into the world. God created all things perfect, but because Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil sin and death were allowed into the world. Mankind was guilty of sin and deserving of death, but God offered a promise of hope to Adam and Eve that has been realized in Jesus. In 1 Corinthians Paul calls Jesus the last Adam saying that just as life to all came through one man Adam, eternal life and redemption of sin comes through one man, Christ Jesus. Christ was born a man so that He could undo what man had done by taking the full wrath of God upon Himself on the cross. In resurrecting Jesus becomes the firstfruit of those who had fallen asleep. Through Christ we can be resurrected into new life with Him for all eternity.
Son of the Patriarchs
Son of the Patriarchs
Jesus is the son of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the promised son of Abraham that will bless all nations.
You know, then, that those who have faith, these are Abraham’s sons. Now the Scripture saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed through you. Consequently, those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith.
Jesus has made the way for all nations to be saved through faith and not by works. He is the blessing promised by God to Abraham for all nations.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
Son of the Redeemers
Son of the Redeemers
In the book of Ruth we see the story of Ruth and Boaz. Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi were left destitute after the death of their husbands. The Lord brought Boaz and Ruth together and Boaz was then able to redeem and restore Ruth and her family. This idea of a kinsman redeemer is important for us to understand in our relationship with Jesus. Where sin has left us broken and destitute, Christ stepped in and payed our ransom. He redeemed us from the curse of the law.
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
Son of the Prophets and Kings
Son of the Prophets and Kings
We see Jesus demonstrate His full authority as King of Kings in Revelation 5.
and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”
Again we see His kingship described in Daniel 7.
“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
Jesus, as a descendant of David, is the rightful king of Israel and the promised King who would sit on the throne for all eternity. He rules over all things and has all authority in Heaven and on Earth.
More than a king, Christ fills the role of prophet in our lives. Where once God related to His people through the prophets, there is now one mediator between God and man.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
Christ has made the way for us to go directly to God. He is our intermediary. He is pleading our case on our behalf.
who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
Son of the Exile
Son of the Exile
Jesus had family who were taken from their homeland and forced to live in Babylon. They were exiled. But where they were taken from their home because of their sin, Christ left His home willingly to come and be born on earth.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Son of the Return
Son of the Return
Likewise, just as Jesus’ family was brought back to Israel, Jesus will one day come back to claim what is His.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
Through every stage of history, God has been working to bring about His will and purpose. He has proven Himself faithful time and time again. He is the Triune God of the universe and God of the ages, and He has invited us to follow Him.
How do we respond?
How do we respond?