Luke 3:21-38

Turn to Luke 3 as we continue our journey through the Gospel of Luke. Last week we saw John baptizing at the Jordan River for the repentance of sins. Jews were familiar with baptisms but not for this reason. Converts were baptized, not Jews. But John was baptizing Jews and many were coming to him to be baptized. John was doing what he’d been sent to do; he was turning the hearts of the people back to God. Tonight, we come to the most important of his baptisms, the baptisms of Jesus.

The baptism of Jesus only covers two verses. That’s a little strange considering how detailed Luke is about other matters. He writes the least of the four gospels. However, in those two verses he does add two details the other three gospels writers omit.

The remaining sixteen verses contain Jesus’ genealogy. When reading at home it is tempting to skip passages like this or maybe just skim through them. I’m not going to read all the names but we will cover them first and then we’ll come back to Jesus’ baptism. Therefore, we’re going to start with verse 23.

23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli. (Luke 3:23)

There are a couple of interesting comments Luke makes in this verse. First, Jesus was about thirty years old. This is the only indication from the gospels as to Jesus’ age. It is because of this that it’s believed Jesus was thirty-three when he was crucified.

Do you know the biblical age for a man to be married? The answer is thirty-three because Jesus too was thirty-three when he laid down his life.

The other interesting comment in this verse is that Jesus was thought to be Joseph’s son. We know this from other passages as well.

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? (Matthew 13:55)

They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” (John 6:42)

That’s what the people thought because Joseph raised Jesus as his son. However, we know better. Luke has already told us about the angel who appeared to Mary and told her she would have a son. When Mary asked how since she was a virgin, the angel said it would be through the Holy Spirit.

Don’t think though, that the people had forgotten about Mary becoming pregnant before she and Joseph had gotten married. In John 8, some Jews commented to Jesus that they were not illegitimate children. It certainly sounds like they were referencing the unusual circumstances around Jesus’ birth.

The Talmud is a collection of Jewish writings that explains the law. Not too many years after the death of Jesus, declared that Jesus was the illegitimate son of Mary, the daughter of Heli. So, Heli was not actually Joseph’s father but Mary’s.

Both Luke and Matthew give us genealogies. Matthew gives it through Joseph and Luke through Mary. They each trace Jesus ancestors back to David, but through different sons. Joseph’s family were descendants of David through Solomon but Mary’s family were descendants of David through his son Nathan (verse 31). This fulfilled the promise that one of David’s descendants would be on his throne forever.

Another difference in these two genealogies is Matthew goes back to Abraham, or I should say starts with Abraham and goes to Jesus while Luke starts with Jesus and goes back to the beginning. Jesus was a descendant of David who was a descendant of Abraham who was a descendant of Noah who was a descendant of Adam who was the son of God.

Now I want to go back and look at those two verses I skipped.

21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22)

You may be familiar with the story of the drunken man who stumbled upon a baptismal service on a Sunday afternoon, down by the river. He stumbled down into the water and stood next to the minister. The minister, noticing the old drunk, and says, “Mister, are you ready to find Jesus?” The drunk looks at the minister, and says, “Yes sir, I am.” The minister then dunks the fellow under the water and pulls him right back up.

“Have you found Jesus?” the minister asked. “No, I didn’t!” said the drunk. The minister then dunks him under for a quite a bit longer, brings him up and says, “Now brother, have you found Jesus?” “No, I did not!” said the drunk again. Disgusted, the minister holds the man under for at least thirty seconds this time, brings him up and demands, “For the grace of God, have you found Jesus yet?” The old drunk wipes his eyes and pleads, “Are you sure this is where he fell in?”

Jesus didn’t fall into the Jordan and it wasn’t an accident that he was baptized. It was very intentional.

Luke is very of fact with this short story. Many were coming to John and were being baptized and Jesus did too. It is Matthew who tells us the most about the baptism. So turn to Matthew 3 and let’s read his account.

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17)

Matthew tells us that John resisted baptizing Jesus. It would make sense. First, Jesus was more important than John. We don’t know what John knew or believed about Jesus at that time. Did John believe Jesus was the Messiah? We aren’t told. However, as he was growing up, surely Zechariah and Elizabeth told him about his own miraculous birth. They would have told John about how they couldn’t have children and then one day an angel came and told Zechariah that they would have a son. You would also think they would have told John about the role he would play in the coming of the Messiah. And if they told him those things, wouldn’t they also tell him about Jesus? Knowing those things, it’s understandable that John would be apprehensive about baptizing Jesus.

Too, John’s baptism was one of repentance. John pointed out their sins and their need to turn to God for forgiveness. What did Jesus need to repent of? What sins had he committed? This caused a little confusion in the early church. They couldn’t understand why Jesus would need to be baptized. As difficult as it was to understand, none of the gospel writers omitted it. All of them, even if it was only two verses, included the story. They included it because it was important. Jesus said that it fulfilled all righteousness. In other words, Jesus was doing what God wanted him to do. No, he hadn’t sinned, there was nothing for him to repent of, it was simply Jesus following God’s plan for him.

If you were Jesus, where would you have started your ministry? What would you have done? It might seem natural to travel to Jerusalem and to the temple. That was the center of Jewish worship. That’s where the sacrifices were made. That’s where people went to celebrate all that God had done for them. That’s where the religious leaders gathered. It would make sense to start his ministry there and identify with those leaders but that’s not what he did. Jesus went to where John was baptizing in the Jordan. Jesus went to the place where people confessing their sins. He went to where they were turning from their sins and to God. And isn’t that the reason Jesus came, to save people from their sins? Therefore, he went to where the people recognized their need for forgiveness. Sadly, that wasn’t in Jerusalem. In his baptism, Jesus was identifying himself with us and with our need.

In her book “The Hiding Place,” Corrie ten Boom tells the story of her family who had a heart for the Jewish people. Her grandfather Wilhelm started a weekly prayer group in 1844 in the city of Haarlem, near Amsterdam for the salvation of the Jews. This weekly prayer meeting continued uninterrupted until 1944 when the ten Boon family was sent to a concentration camp for helping Jews to flee from the Nazi persecution in Holland.

Corrie tells a curious story about her father Caspar ten Boon. When the Jews were forced to wear the “Star of David,” Casper lined up to receive one. He wasn’t a Jew and wasn’t required to wear it. He said he wore it because he wanted to identify himself with the people for whom he and his family had been praying for all those years. He was prepared to be so completely identified with the Jews that he was willing to wear a sign of shame and suffer persecution for the sake of the people he loved. He didn’t HAVE to wear the Star but chose to.

In that story we find a clue in this as to why Jesus was baptized. He didn’t HAVE to get baptized as a sign of repentance and turning from sin because he was sinless. He didn’t HAVE to be baptized as a sign that he was now leaving his past behind and following God because his life was already totally in tune with his Father’s. But like Caspar ten Boon, he was baptized to identify with a fallen people, a people that he loved. Jesus identified with us as he would soon be taking our sin.

There’s a song that says:

He became sin who knew no sin that we might become his righteousness

Where does that come from? We read in Paul’s letters:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. . . . (Galatians 3:13)

Jesus didn’t just identify himself with us; he took our sin on himself that we might have his righteousness.

Luke shares with us three events that happened after Jesus’ baptism.

First, Luke tells us that Jesus began to pray.

Immediately following his baptism, Jesus began to pray. Luke alone tells us that following his baptism, Jesus was praying. It would make sense that Jesus was praying and that Luke would tell us about it. Throughout his gospel, Luke takes great pains mentioning to us how Jesus baths his life in prayer. Luke includes more the prayers of Jesus than any of the other gospel writers. Some seven times Luke tells us about Jesus praying.

The gospels tell us about Jesus choosing the twelve men would become his disciples but Luke is the one who tells us that Jesus prayed before he did so. In Luke 6, we read that Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before he made his final decision on which twelve men would be his disciples. This means that Jesus spent around eight hours talking to his heavenly Father to understand who he should choose to be among the twelve. Jesus did nothing without first talking to God in prayer.

The gospel writers tell us about the events that took place on the Mount of Transfiguration but only Luke mentions that Jesus was praying before they took place. And it is Luke that mentions how the disciples, noticing the prayer life of Jesus, asked him to teach them how to pray. So it makes sense that Luke would mention Jesus praying after his baptism.

Jesus prayed and therefore we pray. It is just that simple. Prayer, spending time with God, was how Jesus was able to live and accomplish his mission here on earth. Prayer is the only way that we can successfully live here on earth. Prayer is the only way we will be able to do all that God wants us to do. Without prayer we will be clueless and powerless.

Secondly, Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus.

As Jesus was praying, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended. That’s the way it works. If we want more of God we must pray. Before he ascended into heaven Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. And that’s what they did. For ten days they prayed in the upper room, waiting for the promise Jesus had made to them. We read in Acts:

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. (Acts 1:14)

They prayed and the Spirit of God came upon them. And so was Jesus. Can you picture him coming up out of the water? He’s dripping wet. The first thing I’d want to do is get out of the water and dry off, but Jesus begins praying. He doesn’t appear to be in any hurry. As he was praying, the heaven open and the Spirit came upon him.

Luke, along with Matthew and Mark compare the Holy Spirit to a dove. The image of a dove was not the usual image used to refer to the Holy Spirit. The common picture of the Holy Spirit was that of fire. It’s the picture John used earlier when he was preaching to the crowds.

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:15-17)

John was talking about God’s coming judgment. Fire is used in the Old Testament is reference to getting rid of impurities. Jesus, being without sin, would not have needed the image of fire. He had no sin to get rid of.

A dove, on the other hand, was used to talk about God’s grace or God’s creative power. Perhaps, it is used here to bring back images of Noah after the flood. Following the flood Noah sent out the dove to see if the waters had receded and the ground was dry enough for habitation. It spoke of a new time for Noah, his family, and their future descendants. The flood had washed the world of the sin making everything right before God again. Perhaps that is why God revealed the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. In Jesus Christ, we would be able to experience a new age. In Jesus there would be a deliverance from sin, death and the grave. In Jesus there would be redemption, renewal and restoration of God’s image in humans.

And third, Luke tells us about God speaking to Jesus.

Jesus is baptized, he prays, the Spirit descends and then God proclaims:

You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy. (Luke 3:23, NLT)

This is one of the rare times that we see all three members of the godhead mentioned at the same time. God the Father speaks to Jesus his son and sends the Holy Spirit like the form of a dove.

There are three times that we read about God speaking from heaven to Jesus. This is the first one. The second time was at the transfiguration when Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. In Matthew we read:

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)

The third occasion was when some Greeks came to Andrew wanting to see Jesus. When Jesus heard about it he began talking about his coming death and said:

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. (John 12:27-29)

What we find is that in all three of those occasions that God spoke from heaven that they followed a prayer of Jesus. And each time the father he validated his love for his son. Isn’t that what we all want? We want to know we are love and accepted.

There’s a story about a little boy named Shay and his desire to play baseball. Shay ten years old, loved baseball but he was both physically and mentally challenged. He and his father were out walking by a baseball field one day where some young boys were playing a game. Shay asked his dad, “Do you think they would let me play?”

Shay’s dad knew that he couldn’t play at that level. He was uncoordinated and could hardly run at all. His dad didn’t want to disappoint him, so he went over and asked one of the young boys in the dugout if Shay could play. The little boy looked around at his friends trying to get some feedback. Finally he said, “Well, sir. There’s only two innings left and we’re down by three runs. But sure, he can come and play. We’ll put him in the outfield.”

Shay was so excited. He could not believe he was actually playing baseball with those other boys. In the very last inning, their team was down by one run. There were two outs with one runner on base and Shay was up to bat. Deep down, those other teammates wanted to send their best batter up, but they knew that wouldn’t be right. So, they sent Shay up to the plate basically knowing that they had lost the game. Shay really didn’t have a chance. He was facing their star pitcher. This pitcher wound back and fired the first pitch so fast Shay barely knew what happened. He swung so late and was so uncoordinated that he missed it by a long shot.

At that point, the pitcher realized that Shay had some physical challenges. The next pitch he threw about half the speed. But once again Shay swung and missed it. For the last pitch, the pitcher stepped off the mound and walked much closer to home plate. He threw the ball as soft as he could, and believe it or not, Shay hit the ball! It went about five feet right in front of home plate. The pitcher ran and picked it up. Instinctively, he was about to fire it to first base and win the game, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shay running the best that he could. He didn’t have the heart to throw it. On purpose, he threw the ball over the first baseman’s head into the outfield. The dad stood up and said, “Run, Shay! Run!”

Shay made it to first and was headed toward second. By this time, all the other boys knew what was going on. On purpose, they kept throwing the ball over each other’s heads or letting it go through their legs. Shay rounded third base and the whole crowd was shouting, “Shay! Shay! Shay!” Shay came in with a game-winning run! His father had big tears running down his cheeks. He was amazed at what just happened. That day, those boys gave Shay something he would never forget.

What did it cost those boys that day? For the team in the field it cost them the game, but there would be plenty more games. But for God to show us his love it cost him his son. On that day, when he was thirty years old, Jesus began his ministry and he began by being baptized and identifying himself with us.