Luke 3:1-23

The One Crying in the Wilderness

The role of John the Baptist in the life of Jesus is significant. He is the fulfillment of prophecy. He was a miracle baby, born to parents beyond the age of conception. His conception was the fulfillment of a promise. John is a man of great faith and a powerful message. He is a prophet filled with the Holy Spirit. As we look at the life of John the Baptist, we will find a man who understood who he was, and what his purpose was.

Vs 1-6 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight! Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low; the crooked will become straight, the rough ways smooth, and everyone will see the salvation of God.

Once again, Luke gives us some specific dates to work with. It is now around the year 29 AD, which would make Jesus a young man of about 23, while his cousin John, who has been living in the wilderness for a while, is around 24. We are just 7 years before Jesus would start his ministry. Meanwhile, we find John as the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3: “a voice of one crying out in the wilderness”. John is living in the wilderness in the vicinity of the Jordan. If we remember, Zechariah and Elizabeth lived in Hebron, a town south of Jerusalem very close to the dead sea. The Jordan flows from the sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea, so John the Baptist has probably traveled about a long day’s journey from home. This is where he begins his ministry. He is described as “a voice of one crying out in the wilderness”. This comes from Isaiah 40:3-4: A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. All four gospels recognize John the Baptist as the fulfillment of this very scripture. He is the forerunner to the Messiah. He is the friend of the bridegroom who sets the stage and gets everything ready for the coming of the main event.

Vs 7-14 He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” “What then should we do?” the crowds were asking him. He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.” Some soldiers also questioned him: “What should we do?” He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation; be satisfied with your wages.”

John’s preaching can be described as direct and to the point. He doesn’t pull any punches and tells it like it is! He calls them a brood of vipers. He tells them God can raise up children of Abraham from these stones. He advises them the ax is ready to strike the root of the tree. He reminds them the tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be thrown in the fire. There is only one way to go. All other paths are wrong. All the excuses the people were giving are taken down. All the things they counted on are laid to waste. Just because they are sons of Abraham, doesn’t mean they get a free pass. Just because they are a part of the main tree, doesn’t mean it will remain if they aren’t producing good fruit. They can’t just say the words, they have to show it in their lives. When the crowd asks “what should we do?” John has a ready answer. Share what you have with those without. Don’t cheat those around you. Be satisfied with what God has given you.

I wonder what John would say to us today? The church needs to ask themselves the tough questions. “What fruit are we producing?” “What has changed in our lives that show us as believers in the Messiah?” “Are we sharing, caring, and satisfied?” “Do we produce good fruit?” What would be our answers to these questions? I believe the church recently got a test called 2020. It was an opportunity to check and see where we were. Did we reflect the Savior in what we did? There are times when I think back on that year and wonder what God thought about how the church actually responded to the global pandemic. Did we, like so many hoard things, or did we share with those in need? Did we grumble and worry, or were we thankful for God’s gifts and satisfied with how He provided for us? Did we treat others with respect and love or did we criticize and spew ugliness? I can say from the many, many, many posts on Facebook, I saw all of the above. Some responded with grace and others… well others didn’t. My husband and I often wondered at the response. Didn’t we realize, even through a worldwide crises God is still on His throne? Didn’t we understand that we needed to respond in love instead of clanging gongs? In kindness instead of blaring out of tune trumpets? God was there to take care of our needs, provide for us in abundance so we could, in turn, bless those in need. We are His hands, His feet. We are the trees that have been planted to bear fruit for His kingdom.

Vs 15-20 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were debating in their minds whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.” Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him about Herodias, his brother’s wife, and about all the evil things Herod had done, added this to everything else—he locked John up in prison.

Everyone was looking for the Messiah. “Could it be John”, they asked? He answered them with a resounding NO! In John 3:27-30 he says, “No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” And that is what he did. He continued to preach, but always pointed the way to the Messiah. His ministry was always about someone else.

John’s bold and truthful speech was not always so well excepted. Case in point – Herod and Herodias. They were rebuked by John for their marriage. A little history is needed here. Herod the tetrarch, also known as Herod Antipas, was the half brother of Herod II. Herodias was the wife of Herod II, having been given to him in marriage by Herod the Great. Her relationship to Herod II was his half niece. They had one child together, a daughter named Salome who would have a role in the death of John the Baptist. The controversy comes when Herodias divorces herself from Herod II and marries Herod Antipas, also an uncle. According to the historian Josephus “Herodias took upon her to confound the laws of our country, and divorced herself from her husband while he was alive, and was married to Herod Antipas”. This was a well known event and made a few people angry. For several reasons, John the Baptist condemned this marriage, which didn’t set well with Herod or Herodias. This would play out in the future as we can see in Mark 6:21-24: “Now an opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee. When Herodias’s own daughter[g] came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you.” So he swore oaths to her: “Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” Then she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” “John the Baptist’s head!” she said.” For now, Luke has John the Baptist is sitting in prison for his bold words.

Vs 21-23 When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying, heaven came from heaven: You are My beloved Son. I take delight in You! As He began His ministry, Jesus was about 30 years old and was thought to be the son of Joseph, son of Heli.

Jesus’ baptism is also recorded in Matthew 3:13-17: 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 he allowed Him to be baptized. After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him! God declares Jesus as the Messiah. All who witnessed the baptism of Jesus also witnessed this declaration. In fact, the presence of the Trinity is evidenced here – the Holy Spirit in the form of the dove, God the Father’s voice and the Son, Jesus Christ, being baptized.

After this, Jesus begins his ministry. He is 30 years old and the age when a priest or rabbi began their ministry according to Numbers 4:3. From this point on, Jesus will be about the kingdom of heaven. The way has been prepared and He is ready to proceed. From that moment on, John the Baptist became less and allowed the Messiah to become greater. He would continue to speak truth as a prophet of God, but now, he would point everyone toward Jesus.