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The Preaching of John the Baptist
Luke 3:1-6
Good News Translation (GNT)
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1 It was the fifteenth year of the rule of
Emperor Tiberius; Pontius Pilate was governor
of Judea, Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his
brother Philip was ruler of the territory of
Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias was ruler of
Abilene,
2 and Annas and Caiaphas were High Priests.
At that time the word of God came to John
son of Zechariah in the desert.
3 So John went throughout the whole territory of
the Jordan River, preaching, "Turn away from
your sins and be baptised, and God will
forgive your sins."
4 As it is written in the book of the prophet
Isaiah:
"Someone is shouting in the desert:
'Get the road ready for the Lord;
make a straight path for him to travel!
5 Every valley must be filled up,
every hill and mountain leveled off.
The winding roads must be made straight,
and the rough paths made smooth.
6 The whole human race will see
God's salvation!'"
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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
Luke 3:1-6
Tiberius Caesar was emperor of the Roman Empire in 14-37 A.D.
Therefore, the fifteenth year of his reign was about 28 A.D.;
in that year John began his public ministry.
Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea, 26-36 A.D.
He later caused Jesus to be executed.
Herod was the son of the King Herod who ruled at the time of Jesus' birth (Matthew 2:1).
Here Herod is called the tetrarch of Galilee,
that is, ruler over the district of Galilee.
The Roman emperor allowed local rulers like Herod and Philip to administer small sections of the Roman Empire.
He later beheaded John the Baptist (Mark 6:16-17).
At the time John appeared, Caiaphas was the Jewish high priest.
Annas, Caiaphas' father-in-law, had been high priest before him, but had been deposed by the Romans.
Nevertheless, the people still considered him a high priest and he continued to have great influence
John's preaching was a new thing for the Jews.
He said that men must repent and then be baptised.
The Jews baptised Gentiles who wanted to follow the Jewish religion, but they didn't think baptism was necessary for themselves.
They considered themselves to be righteous because they were God's chosen people, descendants of Abraham.
Gentiles needed baptism, the Jews said, because Gentiles were "sinners" (Galatians 2:15).
But Jews, they thought, had no need to be purified in this way.
The Jews atoned for sin by offering sacrifices.
Isaiah 40:3-5
Chapters 40-45 of this great prophecy mark a wonderful change in mood.
The first word of chapter 40 - 'comfort' - reflects what the next chapters emphasise.
Chapter 39 has ended with the warning from God, through Isaiah, that his judgement is about to fall on Jerusalem - perhaps surprisingly, from Babylon and not the Assyrians, who were the superpower of Isaiah's day. The first 39 chapters show us that such judgement is richly deserved.
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