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Home , Luke 3

HILLDALE BAPTIST CHURCH Virtual Study Notes FOR THE LESSON ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021 (Phone Call Class, Monday 1/4/2021)

LUKE 3 NOTES* (based on NASB) “Prepared” Luke 3:7-18 (BACKGROUND TEXT: Luke 3:1-38)

INTRODUCTION: • Luke introduces the adult ministries of John and in chapter 3. The beginning of the chapter details the political divisions and their rulers during the time of Jesus. These include , who is now Caesar, as well as and Herod Philip, two of Herod’s sons who became tetrarchs after the death of . Luke also mentions the high priesthood of and . All these names have been substantially corroborated historically and archeologically. • The verses in Luke 3:4-6 quote a passage from describe John’s ministry. The Bible writers described the message of as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that one must come as a “voice crying in the wilderness” to prepare the way of the Lord, which was the way John described his ministry. (:23). John’s sole desire was to proclaim the urgent need of in view of the coming of Christ, while John himself remained in abject humility. • John baptized people in the . The Jordan River still flows today in a roughly north to south direction through the Sea of in a stretch of about 156 miles into the Dead sea. John would often find places to baptize where the river was swollen and there was much water (John 3:23). John was not the first among Jews to baptize. The Essenes practiced baptismal rites at the Qumran community where the Dead Sea Scrolls were kept, years before John began baptizing. • John the Baptist was a powerful preacher, rebuking the people with strong warnings. When massive crowds came to hear him preach, he was not swayed by large numbers. John was clearly under no one’s control and was moved with desire to please no one but . • General Outline of Luke: o Jesus’ Birth and (1–3) o Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee (4–9) o Jesus’ Journey to (10–18) o Jesus’ Last Week on Earth (19-22) o Jesus’ Passion and Ascension (23-24) • In previous lessons, we have studied how o proclaimed the birth of Jesus. o Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and the sang to the shepherds. o and Anna rejoiced, seeing Baby Jesus in the Temple. o The twelve-year-old Jesus amazed the scholars in the Temple. • In today’s lesson we will study the ministry of John the Baptist and his powerful preaching, and his proclamation of the Messiah’s arrival.

Preceeding verses in the background text:

Luke 3:1-6 – Luke advances the story about 20 years, tells of the current governmental leaders and authorities, and introduces the ministry of John the Baptist.

WARNING: (Luke 3:7-9)

Verse 7: • So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? – Vipers, the most poisonous of snakes, were symbols of the worst kind of evil. The people (as people do today) thought of themselves to be largely righteous in their lives. However, John was portraying them to be evil in God’s sight in the fieriest language possible, shocking them into realizing their urgent need for repentance. Verse 8: • "Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance – It wasn’t enough to simply say, “I have repented.” They needed to prove it by evidences in the way they lived. • And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham – Jews took pride in the special place they had before God as children of Abraham. John was saying to them that such a boast means nothing to God. They needed to repent. Verse 9: • Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees – “Laid at the root of the trees” refers to the placement of the axe at the root of the tree by the woodsman, by which he positions it before he pulls it back to strike his blow. This was symbolic language in which John is saying that God is about to strike a blow of terrible judgment. • So every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. – It is not enough for the tree to look good, it must produce fruit, or it is worthless. Even so, many would profess , but it would not be real. They are worthless if they call themselves Christians, yet they produce no fruit because they are not genuine.

RESPONSE: (Luke 3:10-14)

Verse 10: • And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what shall we do?" – People often need help understanding what real repentance is. John would demonstrate the fact that real repentance produces acts of love and selfless acts of service for others. The people were moved by John’s preaching under God’s power, and they were frightened into realizing they needed to get serious about producing fruit for repentance. They were concerned to learn how to go about it. Verse 11: • And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise." – A tunic was the garment worn next to the skin. Sometimes people would wear two to keep warm, or simply, because they owned two. John was saying they were to share any surplus with those who are in need. Verse 12: • And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" – Tax collectors were despised among people because they were charged with the Roman authority to collect taxes as they saw fit from the population. When they made a collection, they paid a set sum to Rome, and they would live off the rest. Some would charge exorbitant fees and get rich from it. Thus, they were hated and regarded as evil. Verse 13: • And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to." – John was telling the tax collectors to be completely honest in their dealings to show true repentance. This was something that few tax collectors ever did. Verse 14: • Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" – Soldiers were never given extra things to share, and they transacted no business. They were concerned about what they should do to repent. • And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages." – John told them they were never to use their physical prowess and authority take advantage of anyone, but always they were to be at peace with what God gave them, as in their wages.

DIVISION: (Luke 3:15-18)

Verse 15: • Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ – Several characteristics of John made it seem possible that he was the Messiah. These included (1) his powerful preaching by which he spoke with the power of the Spirit of God (2) His emphasis on baptism and getting right with God, and (3) his extreme self-discipline and independence, living off the land and fearing no one. Verse 16: • John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water – John was explaining that his activity was only symbolic, despite his powerful preaching. The baptism of water was only a symbolic cleansing of sin. • But One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the and fire – The One coming would be an extremely important and authoritative individual, so much so that John would be unworthy to remove his shoes from his feet. Such a menial task was only performed by the lowest ranked slave in the Roman household. Baptism in the Holy Spirit and in fire obviously referred to great spiritual power that would change the people. Verse 17: • His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire – Beyond the Messiah’s power to change people, he would have the authority of complete judgment. His purpose among people on the earth would be to “weed them out” to get rid of those who were not real. A winnowing fork is a tool that would pick up large batches of grain that had been crushed so that its chaff was broken off. When the fork threw the piles of grain and chaff into the air, the grain would fall back to the ground, but the wind would blow the chaff to the side, and it would be gathered for burning. The Messiah would separate the true believers from the false, who would burn like the chaff. Verse 18: • So with many other exhortations he preached the to the people – John’s mission was to “prepare the way” for the coming of the Lord. He was creating a spiritual environment that was receptive to the arrival of the ministry of Jesus.

OUR LESSON NEXT WEEK:

Compassionate :27-38

* The following study are sometimes used to obtain information for these notes:

The NIV Study Bible, Revised. Kenneth L. Barker, editor. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2008. HCSB Study Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2010. NIV Zondervan Study Bible, D. A. Carson, editor. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015. NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016.