Lessson 10 Luke 3:16- 38

A Gift for all who Believe-Good News

God’s Plan is Wrapped up in Someone Mightier than John, Luke 3:16- 20.

English Standard Version (Chapter 3) 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap 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 the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.

John was able to get himself out of the picture as the promised Messiah in 4 very simple terms. Those terms were an inferior:

1. Baptism, John could only baptize with water, not the other stuff.

2. Might, the coming one is mightier than John.

3. Service, John is not worthy to untie the sandals of the Messiah, the Christ

4. Judgement. John did not bring judgement. Only the man on the throne can do that. The fire part of the baptism of the coming One is about judgement, not Holy Spirit power. The Holy Spirit is one part of the message but the fire in this passage is strictly related to judgement.

The context shows in clear language about coming judgement. The winnowing fork (or shovel), the threshing floor, gathering of wheat into the barn through the sifting out of the chaff all gives that picture of the day of Judgement. Unquenchable fire is always a reference to the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone forever and ever.

Let’s be clear. John the Baptist is not the Messiah. But he did preach with unusual power and authority and he used the methods of begging and pleading for his warnings to the crowd. He probably would not have been a hit in the preaching crowd where you have to “feel good about yourself” no matter what. John made people uncomfortable and so much so that they were repenting and being baptized.

Herod Goes After John, Luke 3:19, 20.

Herod the Jewish King, goes after John because he had been reproved by him for incest and other evil things he had done. John’s [reaching and truth telling gets him locked up by Herod in prison. This not the kind of prison where you arrive with designer clothes and gym bags. It was a prison with a cold hard floor that was underground. This prison was not just about justice, it was more for revenge, like with this thing going on between Herod and John.

The Beloved Son. 3: 21, 22

English Standard Version (Chapter 3) 21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

John obviously baptized Jesus as we read elsewhere. Such as Mark 1:9, and Matthew 3:13, But here things are happening so fast that the timeline seems to be a bit off. Matthew and Mark go into more detail about John’s story. This passage is written as though everyone knew what the correct order was. We can understand that. Jesus was baptized and it was an awesome event. This was His public presentation as the Messiah. The heavens were opened as they prayed, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus along with a voice from heaven as he came up out of the water. The Holy Spirit was in a bodily form like a dove. In other words, it was flying gracefully through the air and was entirely visible to the onlookers.

The Voice was God the Father as He proclaimed, “This is My Beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” The moment of truth had arrived in response to all of the questions about who will be the Christ, where will He be, and who shall we look for. This is it! God does not get much plainer than this. We still proclaim Him this way today. This is Jesus Christ. He is the one you’ve been waiting for! Jesus is our/your salvation.

The Trinity

The baptism of Jesus was a clear manifestation of the Trinity. You do not see the word “trinity” used here, but your do see the persons of the Trinity. There is the opened heaven. The voice of the God the Father speaks to the Son and to those around, that this a special “Beloved” Son. The the Holy Spirit descends in bodily form and after that is when we hear the voice of the Father. All of the gospels give great witness to the trinity and we should pay close attention to these moments so that these passages never become common or rushed over. The Godhead, in all of it’s glory was made plain to everyone on that day. They heard the voice of God, and they lived! They saw the opened heaven and even lived to tell about it.

English Standard Version (Chapter 3

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,

26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

This is no family tree to be laughed at, it shows the Davidic ascent in verse 31. Joseph was from the Lion’s tribe and now it has been firmly entrenched and recorded for the ages through God’s precious Word. It also goes all the way back to Adam and Shem, the son of Noah. We also see the other notables, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is quite the Hall of Fame for genealogy and we hold it in our hands. Through all of God’s most famous people the one who has particularly captured our hearts is Jesus Christ. In Him, we are all definitely well pleased.