3: 1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Those. in 27-29 according to R.Kh.
when Pontius Pilate ruled in Judea. After the death of Herod the Great, Palestine was divided among his three sons, with Judea being inherited by Archelaus. He, however, proved to be such a bad ruler that the Romans soon deposed him and began to appoint their governor-procurators to Judea. Pontius Pilate was the fifth procurator of Judea.
Herod. This refers to Herod Antipas.
a quarter-lord. Originally, the title "quarter ruler" or "tetrarch" was assigned by the Romans to the rulers of the fourth part of the province. Later, it began to be applied to local rulers dependent on Rome, whose dignity was lower than the king's.
Philip ... in Iturei and Trachonite region. Philip ruled over the lands northeast of the Sea of Galilee.
Lisanias ... in Avilinee. We know practically nothing about the personality of Lisis. The lands under his control were not part of Palestine proper, being located much to the north of it.
3: 2 Under the high priests Anne and Caiaphas. The Jews could have only one high priest at a time. However, in the era under consideration, the following situation developed: the Romans removed the high priest Anna, which they did not like, appointing his son-in-law Caiaphas in his place; Caiaphas began to exercise official high priestly functions, while most of the Israelites continued to regard Anna as the true high priest.
was the verb of God to John. John thus passed on the word of God to the people, and did not prophesy in his own name.
3: 3 baptism of repentance. The Jews had a special rite of repentance for the Gentiles who wanted to accept the faith of Israel. For John's fellow tribesmen, it was striking in his preaching that he also demanded from them the performance of a ceremony that they considered intended only for non-Jews.
3: 4-6 mountain ... hill ... curvatures ... uneven paths. Images of moral obstacles that had to be removed from the path of the Messiah by John (more precisely, from the path leading people to the Messiah).
3: 8 do not think to say to yourself: our father is Abraham. John warns his compatriots that the mere fact of belonging to the descendants of Abraham, i.e. the chosen people, will not save them from God's wrath: they must repent on an equal basis with the Gentiles.
3: 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Those. God's judgment is near and imminent.
Fire. Fire often serves as an image of God's judgment.
3:12 tax collectors. Collectors of taxes to the Roman treasury.
3:13 Do not demand more specific to you. The publicans extorted from the payers amounts in excess of the established taxes, and thus enriched themselves.
3:14 warriors. Warriors, like publicans, also had the opportunity to use their position for unrighteous enrichment. From them, as well as from the publicans, John requires above all honesty.
3:15-17 All four Gospels speak of John the Baptist's calls to repentance in anticipation of the coming of Christ, but only the Gospel of Luke contains John's answer to the bewilderment of the people regarding the true meaning of his ministry.
3:16 goes the Strongest me. In the era in which John's ministry fell, among the Jewish people, messianic expectations reached an extraordinary intensity. Knowing this, John makes it clear that he himself is not the Messiah, but only a man called to prepare His way.
Whose shoe I am not worthy to untie. The slaves were supposed to take off their masters' shoes. John, therefore, says that in the face of the One who follows him, he is less than a slave.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Apparently, we are talking about the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2: 1-4).
3:17 His shovel is in his hand. See com. to 3.9.
3:19 convicted ... for ... his brother's wife. Herod Antipas divorced his wife in order to marry his niece Herodias, who was married to his brother. John denounced this act of the tetrarch as adultery, for which he was imprisoned by Herod in the fortress of Maher (a few miles east of the Dead Sea).
the sky was opened. Lit .: "the sky has become open." For Jesus' prayer, heaven is open - He has direct and immediate access to heaven, i.e. to God and He does not need a mediator (cf.: "there is one ... mediator between God and man ... Christ Jesus," 1 Tim. 2.5).
3:22 The Holy Spirit descended upon Him ... like a dove. This moment is reflected in all four Gospels. The focus is on the fact of visible evidence - "like a dove." See com. to Matt. 4.1.
there was a voice from heaven. A voice from heaven blessed Jesus at the beginning of his earthly ministry.
3:24-38 Unlike Matthew's genealogy, Luke begins his own with Jesus and brings it to God - the root cause of all things. Matthew starts from Abraham and brings him to Christ. The lists of names also differ (from David to Salafiel). Evangelicals apparently trace different branches of the family tree. Luke follows the line of David through Nathan, Matthew through Solomon. After Salafiel, the son of Zerubbabel, Matthew and Luke again note a discrepancy - until the genealogies of both evangelists converge on Joseph, about whom Luke remarks that he was "thought" to be the father of Jesus. Apparently, Luke suggested the lineage of Mary, who also came from the lineage of David.
Synodal translation. The chapter was voiced by roles by the studio "Light in the East".
1. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate ruled in Judea, Herod was a quarter-ruler in Galilee, Philip, his brother, a quarter-ruler in Itureus and the Trachonite region, and Lysanias was a quarter-ruler in Ailinea,
2. under the high priests Anna and Caiaphas, there was the verb of God to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
3. And he passed through the whole surrounding country of Jordan
preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
4. As it is written in the book of words of the prophet Isaiah, who says: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight;
5. Let every valley be filled, and every mountain and hill let down, curvatures straighten and uneven paths become smooth;
6. and all flesh will see the salvation of God. "
7. John said to the people who came to be baptized by him: you brood of vipers! who inspired you to flee from future wrath?
8. Create fruits worthy of repentance and do not think to say to yourself: "Our father is Abraham," for I tell you that God can raise up children of these stones to Abraham.
9. Already the ax lies at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
10. And the people asked him: What then should we do?
11. He answered and said to them: Whoever has two clothes, give to the poor, and whoever has food, do the same.
12. The tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him: Teacher! what should we do?
13. He answered them: demand nothing more definite to you.
14. The soldiers also asked him: what should we do? And he said to them: Do not offend anyone, do not slander, and be content with your salary.
15. When the people were waiting, and all were thinking in their hearts about John, if he was not the Christ, -
16. John answered all: I baptize you with water, but the Strongest of me is coming, from whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his shoes; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
17. His shovel is in His hand, and He will cleanse His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His granary, and He will burn the straw with unquenchable fire.
18. Many other things he preached to the people, teaching them.
19. But Herod the quarter-ruler, reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all that Herod did evil,
20. Added to everything else, that he had put John in prison.
21. When all the people were baptized, and Jesus, having been baptized, prayed: heaven was opened,
22. And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form, like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying: You are my beloved Son; in you is my good pleasure!
23. Jesus, starting His ministry, was about thirty years old, and was, as they thought, the Son of Joseph, Elijah,
24. Matfatov, Leviin, Melchiev, Jannaev, Joseph,
25. Mattafiev, Amosov, Naumov, Islimov, Naggeev,
26. Maafov, Mattafiev, Semeiev, Joseph, Judah,
27. Ioannanov, Risaev, Zorovavelev, Salafiilev, Niriev,
28. Melkhiev, Addiev, Kosamov, Elmodamov, Irov,
29. Josiev, Eliezerov, Iorimov, Matfatov, Leviin,
30. Simeonov, Judin, Joseph, Jonan, Eliakim,
31. Meleaev, Mainanov, Mattafaev, Natanov, Davidov,
32. Jesse, Ovid, Boaz, Salmon, Naasson,
33. Aminadavov, Aramov, Esromov, Faresov, Judah,
34. Jacoblev, Isaac, Abraham, Farrin, Nakhorov,
35. Serukhov, Ragavov, Falekov, Everov, Salin,
36. Cainanov, Arfaksadov, Simov, Noah, Lamekhov,
37. Methusalov, Enoch, Jared, Maleleilov, Kainanov,
38. Enosov, Seths, Adamov, God.
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate ruled in Judea, Herod was a quarter-ruler in Galilee, Philip, his brother, a quarter-ruler in Iturea and the Trachonite region, and Lysanias was a quarter-ruler in Ailinea.
2 under the high priests Anna and Caiaphas, there was the word of God to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
John the Baptist. Artist Gertgen to Sint Jans 1490
3 And he went through all the surrounding land of Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
4 As it is written in the book of words of the prophet Isaiah, who says: A voice crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight;
5 let every valley be filled, and every mountain and hill let down, curvatures straighten and uneven paths become smooth;
6 and all flesh will see the salvation of God.
7 John said to the people who came to be baptized by him: you brood of vipers! who inspired you to flee from future wrath?
Sermon of the Forerunner. Artist Domenico Ghirlandaio 1486-1490 8 Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance and do not think to say to yourself: Our father is Abraham, for I tell you that God can raise up children of these stones to Abraham.
9 The ax is already at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
10 And the people asked him, What then should we do?
11 He answered and said to them: Whoever has two coats, give to the poor, and whoever has food, do the same.
12 The tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, Master! what should we do?
13 He answered them: Demand nothing more definite to you.
14 The soldiers also asked him: But what should we do? And he said to them: Do not offend anyone, do not slander, and be content with your salary.
John is a preacher in the wilderness. Artist J. Sh von KAROLSFELD 15 But when the people were waiting, and all were thinking in their hearts about John, whether he was not the Christ, - 16 John answered all: I baptize you with water, but the Strongest of me is coming, from whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his shoes; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
17 His shovel is in his hand, and he will cleanse his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his granary, but he will burn the straw with unquenchable fire.
18 Many other things he preached to the people, teaching them.
19 But Herod the four-ruler, reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all that Herod did evil,
20 added to everything else that he had put John in prison.
21 When all the people were baptized, and Jesus, having been baptized, prayed: heaven was opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying: Thou art my beloved Son; in you is my good pleasure!
23 Jesus, beginning his ministry, was about thirty years old, and was, as they thought, the Son of Joseph, Eli,
24 Matthatov, Leviin, Melchiev, Jannaev, Joseph,
25 Mattafiev, Amosov, Naumov, Islimov, Naggeev,
26 Maaths, Mattathievs, Semeievs, Josephs, Judas,
27 Ioannanov, Risaev, Zorovavelev, Salafiilev, Niriev,
28 Melkhiev, Addiev, Kosamov, Elmodamov, Irov,
29 Josiev, Eliezerov, Iorimov, Matfatov, Leviin,
30 Simeonov, Judah, Joseph, Jonan, Eliakim,
31 Meleaev, Mainanov, Mattafaev, Nafanov, Davidov,
32 Jesse, Ovid, Boaz, Salmon, Naasson,
33 Aminadavs, Aramov, Esromov, Fares, Judah,
34 Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Farrin, Nakhorov,
35 Serukhov, Ragavov, Falekov, Everov, Salin,
36 Cainans, Arfaxads, Shem, Noah, Lamech,
37 Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Maleleil, Cainan,
38 Enosov, Seth, Adam, God.
Comments on chapter 3
INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
A BEAUTIFUL BOOK AND ITS AUTHOR
Luke's Gospel has been called the most delightful book in the world. When one American once asked Denney to advise him to read one of the life stories of Jesus Christ, he replied: "Have you tried to read the Gospel of Luke?" According to legend, Luke was a skilled artist. In one Spanish cathedral, a portrait of the Virgin Mary, allegedly painted by Luke, has survived to this day. As for the Gospel, many researchers believe that it is the best life story of Jesus Christ ever compiled. According to tradition, it has always been believed that its author is Luke, and we have every reason to support this point of view. In the ancient world, books were usually attributed to famous people, and no one contradicted this. But Luke never belonged to the prominent figures of the early Christian Church. Therefore, no one would have thought of attributing this Gospel to him if he had not really written it.
Luke came from the Gentiles. Of all the authors of the New Testament, only he was not a Jew. He is a doctor by profession (No. 4:14), and perhaps this is what explains the sympathy he inspires. They say that a priest sees good in people, a lawyer sees bad, and a doctor sees them as they are. Luke saw people and loved them.
The book was written for Theophilus. Luke calls him "The Venerable Theophilus." This appeal was applied only to high-ranking officials in the Roman government. There is no doubt that Luke wrote this book to tell the serious and interested person more about Jesus Christ. And he succeeded in this, painting Theophilus a picture that undoubtedly awakened his great interest in Jesus, about whom he had heard before.
SYMBOLS OF THE EVANGELISTS
Each of the four Gospels was written from a specific angle. Evangelists are often depicted on the stained glass windows of the church, usually each with its own symbol. These symbols do change, but the following are most typical:
Symbol Brand is an human. The Gospel of Mark is the simplest, most concise of all the Gospels. It was well said of him that his distinguishing feature is realism. It is closest to its purpose - to describe the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
Symbol Matthew is an a lion. Matthew was a Jew, and he wrote for the Jews: he saw in Jesus the Messiah, a lion "of the tribe of Judah", whose coming all the prophets predicted.
Symbol John is an Eagle. The eagle can fly higher than all other birds. They say that of all God's creations, only an eagle can look at the sun without squinting. The Gospel of John is a theological gospel; the flight of his thoughts is higher than all other Gospels. Philosophers draw topics from it, discuss them all their lives, but resolve them only in eternity.
Symbol Luke is an Taurus. The calf is meant to be slain, and Luke saw in Jesus a sacrifice for the whole world. In the Gospel of Luke, in addition, all barriers are overcome, and Jesus becomes available to both Jews and sinners. He is the savior of the world. With this in mind, let's consider the features of this gospel.
LUKE - A DISCOVERING HISTORIAN
Luke's Gospel is primarily the result of careful work. His Greek is graceful. The first four verses are written in the finest Greek in the entire New Testament. In them, Luke claims that his gospel was written "after careful examination." He had great opportunities and reliable sources for this. As a trusted companion of Paul, he must have been well aware of all the major details of the early Christian Church, and they undoubtedly told him everything they knew. For two years he was together with Paul in prison in Caesarea. In those long days, he undoubtedly had many opportunities to study and explore. And he did it thoroughly.
An example of Luke's carefulness is the dating of the appearance of John the Baptist. In doing so, he refers, neither more nor less, to six contemporaries. "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (1), when Pontius Pilate ruled in Judea (2), Herod was a quarter-ruler in Galilee (3), Philip, his brother, a quarter-ruler in Iturea and the Trahotnite region (4), and Lisanius a quarter-ruler in Avilinee (5), under the high priests Anna and Caiaphas (6), was the verb of God to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness " (Onion. 3.1.2). Undoubtedly, we are dealing with a diligent author who will adhere to the greatest possible accuracy of presentation.
THE GOSPEL FOR THE LANGUAGES
Luke wrote mainly to the Gentile Christians. Theophilus, like Luke himself, was from the Gentiles; and in his Gospel there is nothing that the pagan did not realize and would not understand, a) As you can see, Luke begins his dating Roman emperor and Roman the governor, that is, in the first place is the Roman style of dating, b) Unlike Matthew, Luke is less interested in portraying the life of Jesus in the sense of the embodiment of Jewish prophecy, c) He rarely quotes the Old Testament, d) Luke usually uses them instead of Hebrew words Greek translations, so that every Hellene could understand the content of what was written. Simon Cananite becomes his Simon Zealot (cf. Mat. 10,4and Bow. 5.15). He calls Golgotha not a Hebrew word, but a Greek - Kranieva mountain, the meaning of these words is the same - Execution Ground. He never uses the Hebrew word rabbi to refer to Jesus, but the Greek word for mentor. When Luke gives the genealogy of Jesus, he traces it not to Abraham, the founder of the people of Israel, as Matthew does, but to Adam, the forefather of mankind. (cf. Mat. 1,2; Onion. 3,38).
That is why the Gospel of Luke is easier to read than anyone else. Luke wrote not for the Jews, but for people like us.
GOSPEL OF PRAYER
Luke's Gospel emphasizes prayer. More than any other Luke shows us Jesus immersed in prayer before important events in His life. Jesus prays at His baptism, (Luke 3, 21) before the first encounter with the Pharisees (Luke 5, 16), before the calling of the twelve apostles (Luke 6, 12); before asking the disciples who they think He is (Onion. 9.18-20); and before predicting his death and resurrection (9,22); during the transformation (9.29); and on the cross (23.46). Only Luke tells us that Jesus prayed for Peter during his trial (22,32). Only Luke quotes a parable-prayer about a friend who comes at midnight (11,5-13) and a parable about an unrighteous judge (Onion. 18.1-8). For Luke, prayer was always the open door to God, and the most precious in the whole world.
THE GOSPEL OF THE WOMEN
The woman occupied a secondary position in Palestine. In the morning the Jew thanked God that He did not create him "a heathen, a slave or a woman." But Luke gives women a special place. The story of the birth of Jesus is told from the point of view of the Virgin Mary. It is in Luke that we read about Elizabeth, about Anna, about the widow in Nain, about the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Luke gives us vivid portraits of Martha, Mary and Mary Magdalene. It is very likely that Luke was a native of Macedonia, where the woman held a freer position than anywhere else.
THE GOSPEL OF GLORIES
In the Gospel of Luke, glorifications of the Lord are encountered more often than in all other parts of the New Testament. This praise reaches its climax in three great hymns sung by all generations of Christians - in the hymn of Mary (1.46-55), in the blessing of Zechariah (1.68-79); and in the prophecy of Simeon (2.29-32). The Gospel of Luke spreads a rainbow light, as if a heavenly radiance would illuminate an earthly vale.
A GOSPEL FOR ALL
But the most important thing about Luke's Gospel is that it is the gospel for everyone. All obstacles were overcome in him, Jesus Christ appeared to all people, without exception.
a) The Kingdom of God is not closed to the Samaritans (Onion. 9, 51-56). Only in Luke do we find the parable of the merciful Samaritan (10: 30-36). And that one leper who returned to give thanks to Jesus Christ for healing was a Samaritan (Onion. 17.11-19). John quotes the saying that the Jews do not associate with the Samaritans (John. 4.9). Luke, on the other hand, does not block anyone's access to God.
b) Luke shows that Jesus speaks approvingly of Gentiles whom the Orthodox Jews would consider unclean. With him, Jesus cites the widow in Zarephath of Sidon and Naaman the Syrian as exemplary examples (4.25-27). Jesus praises the Roman centurion for his great faith (7.9). Luke quotes the great words of Jesus: "And they will come from the east and west, and north and south, and they will recline in the kingdom of God" (13.29).
c) Luke pays great attention to the poor. When Mary makes a sacrifice for cleansing, it is the sacrifice of the poor (2.24). The apex of the answer to John the Baptist is the words "the poor preach the gospel" (7.29). Only Luke cites the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus (16: 19-31). And in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught: "Blessed are the poor in spirit." (Mat.5.3; Luke 6, twenty). Luke's gospel is also called the gospel of the disadvantaged. Luke's heart is with every person whose life is unfortunate.
d) Luke portrays Jesus better than others as a friend of exiles and sinners. Only he tells about a woman who anointed His feet with ointment, doused them with tears and wiped them with her hair in the house of Simon the Pharisee (7: 36-50); about Zacchaeus the chief of the tax collectors (19.1-10); about the repentant robber (23.43); and only Luke cites the immortal parable of the prodigal son and loving father (15: 11-32). When Jesus sent his disciples to preach, Matthew indicates that Jesus told them not to go to the Samaritans or the Gentiles (Mat. 10.5); Luke says nothing about it. The authors of all four Gospels, reporting on the preaching of John the Baptist, quote from Is. 40: "Prepare the way for the Lord, make the paths of our God straight"; but only Luke brings the quote to its triumphant end: "And all flesh will see the salvation of God." Is. 40,3-5; Mat. 3,3; Mar 1,3; John. 1,23; Onion. 3.4. 6). Of the authors of the Gospels, Luke teaches more insistently than others that the love of God is infinite.
BEAUTIFUL BOOK
Studying the Gospel of Luke, you should pay attention to these features. Somehow, of all the authors of the Gospels, most of all I would like to meet and talk with Luke, because this pagan doctor, who surprisingly felt the infinity of God's love, was in all likelihood a man of a beautiful soul. Frederic Faber wrote about the boundless mercy and incomprehensible love of the Lord:
The grace of God is infinite
Like an endless ocean.
In justice unchanged
The way out is given.
Do not comprehend the love of the Lord
To our feeble minds
We only find at His feet
Peace to tortured hearts.
Luke's Gospel clearly shows the truth of this.
GOD'S MESSENGER (Luke 3: 1-6)
The appearance of John the Baptist was considered by Luke to be one of the most important moments in history. This was so significant to Luke that he dates its appearance in six different ways:
1) Tiberius was the heir to Augustus and, therefore, the second most important in the Roman Empire. As early as 11 or 12 according to R. Kh. August made him his co-ruler, but Tiberius became the sole ruler only in 14. Therefore, the fifteenth year of his reign falls on 28-29 g. Luke determines the appearance of John the Baptist according to the customs of that time, indicating the date of his appearance, against the background of the reign of the Roman emperor.
2) Luke connects the next three dates with the political structure of Palestine, where the four-rulers ruled. In provinces such as Thessaly and Galilee, divided into four regions, the ruler held the title a quarter-lord; later the meaning of this word expanded, and it began to denote in general the ruler of any part. Herod the Great, reigning for about 40 years, died in 4 BC. He divided his kingdom between three sons, which was first accepted by the Roman government.
a) Herod Antipas inherited Galileo and Perea. He ruled from 4 BC to AD 39, and therefore Jesus' life passed during the reign of Herod and for the most part within the borders of his domain of Galilee.
b) Herod Philip inherited Itureu and the Trakhonite region. He ruled from 4 BC to 33 AD. Caesarea Philippi was named after him, for he built it.
c) Archelaus inherited Judea, Samaria and Edom. He was a very bad king. The Jews eventually turned to Rome with a request to remove him, and Rome, unhappy with the constant turmoil in Judea, appointed a procurator, or ruler, in Judea. As a result, the Romans began to directly rule Judea. At this moment, the ruler of Idea was Pontius Pilate, who ruled from 25 to 37 g. Thus, Luke in one sentence gives us a picture of the division of the kingdom that once belonged to Herod the Great.
3) Nothing is known about Lisania.
4) Having noted the moments of global significance and the most important moments of the internal political situation in Palestine, Luke turns to the religious life in Palestine, and dates the appearance of John the Baptist during the time of the high priests Anna and Caiaphas. But there have never been two high priests at the same time. What then does Luke mean when he gives these two names? The high priest is both the civil and religious head of Jewish society. In ancient times, the office of high priest was hereditary and lifelong. But with the arrival of the Romans, this position became the object of all kinds of intrigues. As a result, twenty-eight high priests were replaced between 37 BC and 26 AD. Anna was high priest from A.D. 7 until A.D. 14. At the time we are interested in, therefore, he was not in office, but after him four of his sons were high priests, and Caiaphas was his son-in-law. That is why, although Caiaphas was a high priest by office, Anna ruled the actual power. Therefore, immediately after His arrest, Jesus was first brought to Anna (John. 18:13), although at this time he did not hold office. Therefore, Luke connected his name with the name of Caiaphas: although Caiaphas was the high priest, Anna remained the most influential in the religious life of Judea.
Verses 4-6 are a quote from Is. 40.3-5. When the eastern king was about to inspect his possessions, he sent out a messenger to warn the people that the roads were put in order. Thus, John the Baptist is seen as the King's messenger. However, John encouraged people to prepare hearts and lives. “The Lord is coming,” he says, “prepare the way for the Lord,” that is, change your way of life. Each of us has the responsibility to hand over life to the Lord so that the Lord can take advantage of it.
JOHN THE BAPTIST CALLS FOR REPENTANCE (Luke 3: 7-18)
This passage is the preaching of John the Baptist.
John lived in the wilderness. The desert was covered with thickets and dry stubble. Sometimes from one spark the desert caught fire, and poisonous snakes crawled out of cracks and crevices, fleeing in horror from the terrible flame. John compared some of the people who came to him to be baptized with them.
The Jews did not in the least doubt that they occupied a special place in God's plans. They believed that God would judge other nations by one measure, and the Jews by another. They believed that a person was freed from the judgment of God just because he was a Jew. The son of Abraham, in their opinion, is freed from the judgment of God. John told them that racial privileges meant nothing, that God would judge a person not by origin, but by his life.
John's preaching is important for three reasons:
1) It begins by instructing people to share with what they have. It was a social commandment that God will never forgive a person who uses too much when others have too little.
2) It further requires a person not to quit his job, but to contribute to his salvation by hard work. Let the tax collector continue to be a worthy collection of taxes; let the soldier be a good soldier. Man must serve God where God has placed him.
In one negro song it is sung:
There is a King and Lord Almighty
And He will soon break out.
And see me with a cotton hoe when He hits
And I will hear His heavenly host,
And he'll see me with the hoe when He hits.
One man was put aside
And tortured him until his death
And He will see me with a hoe in cotton when He breaks out
He was hated, rejected, despised and crucified.
And see me with a hoe in the cotton when He hits,
It will burst, it will burst!
Saints and Angels will wear a crown upon Him when He comes,
And they will sing: "Hosanna, to the rejected man"
And I will kneel among the cotton when He comes.
John was convinced that man can best serve God through his work.
3) John was convinced that he was only a harbinger. The king is yet to come, and with him the judgment. The shovel was a large flat wooden shovel; it threw the threshed grain into the air, the heavier grain fell to the ground, and the wind carried away the chaff. And just as the chaff was separated from the grain, so the King will separate the righteous from the sinful.
Thus, John the Baptist painted a picture of the court, but a person could calmly expect such a court if he fulfilled his duty towards God, his neighbors, and if he conscientiously performed his daily work.
John was one of the most successful preachers of all time. When one priest was congratulated one day after a famous sermon, he asked: "But what did she give?" John successfully challenged people to action. He spoke about life, not about theological subtleties.
THE CONCLUSION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST TO DARK (Luke 3: 19-20)
John harshly and bluntly preached a righteous way of life, and by doing so he got himself into trouble. Consequently, Herod ordered his arrest. Josephus Flavius says that Herod "was afraid that John, with his great influence on the people, would not plan to subjugate the people and raise an uprising; for the people seemed to be ready to do whatever he said." This is undoubtedly correct, but the New Testament writers give a personal and more obvious reason. Herod Agrippa married Herodias, and John rebuked him for this.
The relationship associated with this marriage is very complex. Herod the Great had many wives. Herod Antipas, who married Herodias and arrested John, was the son of Herod the Great and the Samaritan woman Malfaki. Herodias herself was the daughter of Aristobulus, the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne. As we have seen, Herod the Great divided his dominions between Archelaus, Herod Antipas and Herod Philip. Herod the Great had another son from another wife, also named Mariamne, daughter of the high priest Simon. This Herod did not receive a share in his father's possessions and lived as a private person in Rome: and he married Herodias. As a matter of fact, he was Herodias' uncle, since both he and her father Aristobulus were the sons of Herod the Great from different wives. Herod Antipas, during one of his visits to Rome, seduced Herodias, took her away from his half-brother and married her. She was at the same time his daughter-in-law, since she was the wife of his half-brother, and his niece, because she was the daughter of Aristobulus, his other half-brother.
All this seemed to the Jews extremely repulsive, for it was contrary to all norms. It was dangerous to reproach the eastern tyrant, but John dared, and was arrested and imprisoned in the dungeon of the Maker fortress on the shores of the Dead Sea. Nothing more cruel could be thought of than to imprison the child of the desert in an underground dungeon. In addition, he was beheaded only in order to appease the disgruntled Herodias (Mat. 14,5-12; Poppy. 6,17-29).
Telling the truth is always dangerous. But a person who has dedicated himself to serving the truth, even if he ends his life in prison or on a chopping block, is ultimately the winner. One day the Earl of Morton, ruler of Scotland, threateningly said to Andrew Mellville, the reformer: "There will be no rest in this country until we hang or send half a dozen of you out of the country." To this Mellville replied: "Your Grace, do not frighten your courtiers like that. I do not care if I rot in the air or in the ground. Thank God, it is not in your power to hang or exorcise His truth." Plato once said that the wise always prefers to suffer unjustly rather than to commit injustice. You just need to ask yourself where, ultimately, you would like to be - in the place of Herod Antipas or John the Baptist.
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS (Luke 3: 21-22)
Church thinkers have always looked for an answer to the question "Why did Jesus go to John to be baptized?" John's baptism was a baptism of repentance, and we are deeply convinced that Jesus was sinless. Why then did He go to such a baptism? In the early Christian church, it was sometimes believed that He did it to please and at the request of His Mother, but there is another reason for this.
In every person's life there are certain stages, decisive moments that give special meaning to the whole life. It was the same in the life of Jesus, and we have to stop again and again and look at the whole life of Jesus. The first important moment was his visit to the temple in Jerusalem, when He was twelve years old and He realized His significance. Jesus was about thirty years old when John the Baptist appeared (Luke 3, 23). That is, at least eighteen years have passed. During this time, He became more and more clearly aware of His exclusive task on earth. But He still remained a village carpenter from Nazareth, knowing that the day would come when He would have to say goodbye to Nazareth and devote Himself to His great mission.
When John appeared, people came out in droves to listen to him and be baptized. Throughout the country, an unprecedented before interest in God. And Jesus knew that His time has come. It was not that a consciousness of guilt or remorse had awakened in him. John testifies that he "came to baptize in water, so that He might be revealed to Israel" (John. 1.31). The baptism of Christ was important to Him and to Israel. John the Baptist testifies of Him as the Lamb of God baptizing with the Holy Spirit (John. 1,29.32.33). The Heavenly Father testifies of Him as His Son. When He was baptized, God spoke to Him. Make no mistake: what happened at the moment of baptism was also a personal experience of Jesus. The voice of God reached Him and told Him that God's grace was in Him. But this voice of God did something more, much more: it outlined His entire path.
God said to Him: "You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased." This phrase consists of two passages. "You are My Beloved Son" - excerpt from Ps. 2,7 and has always been taken as a description of the King of the Messiah. The phrase "in which my soul delights" - part Is. 42.1 and refers to the description of the servant of the Lord, whose portrait reaches its completion in the suffering of Isaiah (chapter 53). This shows that at the moment of His baptism, Jesus once again realized that, firstly, He was the Messiah, the King anointed by God, and, secondly, this would bring Him suffering and the cross. The cross did not fall to Jesus' lot unexpectedly: from the very moment He realized His destiny, He saw that there was a crucifixion ahead of Him. In the act of baptism, we see Christ, asking God for approval of his decision and receiving His destiny: crucifixion ...
PEDIGREE OF JESUS CHRIST (Luke 1, 23-38)
This passage begins with a thoughtful statement. It says here that at the moment Jesus began His ministry, He was at least thirty years old. Why did He spend thirty years in Nazareth, when He already realized his destiny to become the Savior of the world. It is usually said that Joseph died quite young, and Jesus had to take care of His mother and younger brothers and sisters, and until they grew up, He did not feel entitled to leave Nazareth. Be that as it may, the undoubted, however, is the following:
1) Jesus had to first perform various tasks of a more humble nature in his family before He could take upon Himself the universal task of saving the world. By dealing with the daily tasks in the family, Jesus prepared Himself for the great task that fell to His lot. When He told the parable of talents, He said to the faithful servants: "Well, good and faithful servant! You were faithful in little things, I will put you over many things." (Mat. 25,21.23). In saying this, He undoubtedly put His experience into these words. Someone said about his deceased mother: "When I delve into her life, I do not find a single unfinished little thing." Because Jesus faithfully performed all the simple tasks, He was entrusted with the greatest task in the world.
2) He could show His teaching in practice. If He was always a homeless wandering without any human connections and obligations, people could tell him: "Where did you get the right to talk about human obligations and relationships when you yourself have never fulfilled them?" But Jesus could say not only: Do as I say, but do as I did. Tolstoy always spoke of living for love. But his wife bitterly said the following about him: “There is so little real warmth in him. His kindness does not come from his heart, but only from his principles. His biographers will write about how he helped workers carry buckets of water, but no one will know that he never gave his wife a rest, and for all these thirty-two years he did not give water to his child and did not sit by his bed for a few minutes, so that I could rest a little from work and worries. " Nobody could say anything like that about Jesus. What He practiced, He preached.
3) To help people, you need to know how they live. And because He lived thirty years in Nazareth, He knew how to earn their daily bread, what the uncertainty of a working person in the future is, he knew bad customers who refuse to pay debts. The miracle of divine incarnation lies in what we have; there are no problems in life that Jesus did not know.
Here we have before us the genealogy of Jesus. The Jews were interested in genealogy. Especially those who had to prove the origin of the Jewish priests from Aaron. They were kept together with the annals. During the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, we read about priests who lost their positions because they could not present their genealogies (Ride. 2,62; Nem. 7,63-65).
But the peculiarity of the genealogy of Jesus Christ given here lies in its difference from the genealogy of Jesus given in Mat. 1.1-17. The peculiarity of this genealogy is also in the fact that only Luke traces it from Abraham to Adam; from Abraham to David the genealogies from Luke and Matthew are the same, but from David to Joseph they are different. Ever since people began to study the New Testament, they have tried to explain these differences.
One of the earliest explanations is that Matthew's lineage is the royal lineage of Jesus Christ, which He inherited from his adoptive father, Joseph, the son of Abraham. Divine logic is felt throughout the genealogy. Notice that in this male lineage, Matthew uses the word "begat" 39 times: "Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob" ... and so 28 generations are listed. But when the Evangelist Matthew, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes:
"Jacob gave birth to Joseph the husband of Mary, from whom Jesus was born, called Christ" ... Christ, as the king of Israel, must come along the line of Abraham, David, Solomon, and Matthew held this truth in his chronology.
Luke's lineage of Christ goes along the line of Mary. Note that Mary's lineage goes from David not through Solomon, like Matthew, but through Nathan, another son of David. Hence, both Joseph and Mary came from the line of Abraham and the royal house of David. Therefore, the Angel said to Mary: "... and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end." (Onion. 1,32.33).
Regarding the lineage of Jesus, the following two points should also be noted:
1) It emphasizes the origin of Jesus as a person. It emphasizes the real fact that He was a man among men. He was not an illusion or a demigod. To save people, He became a man in the true sense of the word.
2) Matthew stops at Abraham. Luke traces the lineage back to Adam. For Matthew, Jesus was the property of the Jews; for Luke He belongs to all mankind, because the origin is traced not to the founder of the Jewish race, but to the father of all mankind. Luke removed national and racial boundaries even with regard to all of Jesus' ancestors.
Comments (introduction) to the entire book of Luke
Comments on chapter 3
"The finest book in existence."(Ernest Renan)
Introduction
I. SPECIAL SITUATION IN CANON
The finest book in existence is highly praised, especially from a skeptic. Yet this is precisely the assessment given to the Gospel of Luke by the French critic Renan. And what can a sympathetic believer, reading this evangelist's inspired masterpiece, object to these words? Luke is perhaps the only pagan writer chosen by God to write His Scriptures, and this partly explains his special appeal to the heirs of Greco-Roman culture in the West.
Spiritually speaking, we would be much poorer in our appreciation of the Lord Jesus and His ministry without the unique expressiveness of the physician Luke.
He emphasizes the special interest of our Lord in individuals, even the poor and the outcast, His love and salvation, offered by Him to all people, not just Jews. Luke also emphasizes praise (when he gives examples of early Christian hymns in chapters 1 and 2), prayer, and the Holy Spirit.
Luke - a native of Antioch, and a doctor by profession - was Paul's companion for a long time, talked a lot with other apostles and in two books left us samples of medicine for souls that he received from them.
External evidence Eusebius in his History of the Church about the authorship of the third Gospel is consistent with the general early Christian tradition.
Irenaeus cites the third Gospel extensively as being from the pen of Luke.
Other early testimonies to support Luke's authorship include Justin Martyr, Hegesippus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. In an extremely tendentious and abridged edition of Marcion, the Gospel of Luke is the only one accepted by this famous heretic. Muratori's fragmentary canon calls the third Gospel "according to Luke."
Luke is the only evangelist to write a continuation of his Gospel, and it is from this book, the Acts of the Apostles, that Luke's authorship is most clearly seen. The passages with the word "we" in the Acts of the Apostles are a description of events in which the writer was personally involved (16.10; 20.5-6; 21.15; 27.1; 28.16; cf. 2 Tim. 4, eleven). Having gone through all, only Luka can be recognized as a participant in all these events. From the dedication to Theophilus and the style of writing, it is quite clear that the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles belong to the pen of the same author.
Paul calls Luke "the beloved physician" and speaks of him specifically, without confusing him with Jewish Christians (Col. 4:14), which points to him as the only pagan writer in the NT. The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are larger than all of Paul's epistles put together.
Internal evidence reinforce external documents and church traditions. The vocabulary (often more accurate in medical terms than that of other New Testament writers), along with the literary style of the Greek language, confirms the authorship of a cultured Christian pagan physician who is also well versed in Jewish characteristics. Luke's love for dates and accurate research (for example, 1,1-4; 3,1) promotes him to the ranks of the first historians of the Church.
III. TIME OF WRITING
The most probable date for the writing of the Gospel is the very beginning of the 60s of the 1st century. Some still attribute it to 75-85. (or even by the 2nd century), which is caused by at least a partial denial that Christ could accurately predict the destruction of Jerusalem. The city was destroyed in 70 AD, so the Lord's prophecy must be written before that date.
Since almost everyone agrees that the Gospel of Luke should precede the writing of the Acts of the Apostles in time, and Acts ends with Paul's stay in Rome around 63 AD, an earlier date seems to be correct. The great fire in Rome and the subsequent persecution of Christians whom Nero declared the culprits (64 AD), as well as the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, would hardly have been ignored by the first church historian if these events had already taken place. Hence, the most obvious date is AD 61-62. AD
IV. PURPOSE OF WRITING AND TOPIC
The Greeks were looking for a man endowed with divine perfection and at the same time combining the best features of men and women, but without their shortcomings. This is Luc's representation of Christ - the Son of Man: strong and at the same time full of compassion. He emphasizes His human nature.
For example, here more emphasis is placed on His prayer life than in other Gospels. Feelings of sympathy and compassion are often mentioned.
Perhaps that is why women and children occupy such a special place here. Luke's gospel is also known as the missionary gospel.
This gospel is directed to the Gentiles, and the Lord Jesus is presented as the Savior of the world. Finally, this gospel is a discipleship manual. We trace the path of discipleship in the life of our Lord and hear its recital as He instructs His followers. In particular, it is this feature that we will trace in our presentation. In the life of a perfect Human, we will find elements that create an ideal life for all people. In His incomparable words, we will find the way of the Cross, to which He calls us.
As we begin to study the Gospel of Luke, let us heed the Savior's call, leave everything, and follow Him. Obedience is a tool for spiritual knowledge. The meaning of the Holy Scriptures will become clearer and dearer to us as we delve into the events described here.
Plan
I. FOREWORD: THE PURPOSE OF LUKE AND ITS METHOD (1,1-4)
II. THE ARRIVAL OF THE SON OF HUMAN AND HIS Forerunner (1.5 - 2.52)
III. PREPARING A HUMAN SON'S SON FOR SERVICE (3.1 - 4.30)
IV. THE HUMAN SON PROVES HIS STRENGTH (4.31 - 5.26)
V. THE HUMAN SON EXPLAINS HIS MINISTRY (5.27 - 6.49)
Vi. THE SON OF HUMAN EXPANDS HIS MINISTRY (7.1 - 9.50)
Vii. GROWING RESISTANCE TO HUMAN SON (9.51 - 11.54)
VIII. TEACHING AND HEALING ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM (Ch. 12 - 16)
IX. A HUMAN SON TEACHES HIS DISCIPLES (17.1 - 19.27)
X. THE SON OF MAN IN JERUSALEM (19.28 - 21.38)
XI. SUFFERING AND DEATH OF THE SON OF MAN (Ch. 22 - 23)
XII. THE VICTORY OF THE SON OF MAN (Ch. 24)
III. PREPARING A HUMAN SON'S SON FOR SERVICE (3.1 - 4.30)
A. His forerunner prepares the way (3,1-20)
3,1-2 As a historian, Luke defines the year in which John began to preach, naming the political and religious leaders who were then in power: one emperor (Caesar), one Chief, three a quarter-lord and two the high priest. These political leaders point to the iron grip by which the people of Israel were kept in subjection. The fact that there were two high priests in Israel testifies to the fact that there was no religious or political order among the people. Although these people were considered great by the standards of the world, in the eyes of God they were sinful and unprincipled. Therefore, when He wanted to address people, He walked around the palace and synagogue and communicated His word John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
3,3 John immediately went throughout the surrounding Jordanian country, probably not far from Jericho. He called upon the people of Israel to repent of sins to receive forgiveness and thereby prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He also encouraged people to be baptized as an outward sign that they had indeed repented. John was a true prophet, a conscience embodied, crying out against sin and calling for spiritual renewal.
3,4 Thus, his ministry was the fulfillment of prophecy Isaiah 40.3-5. He was by the voice of one crying in the wilderness. In a spiritual sense, Israel at that time was desert. He was withered and joyless and did not bear fruit for God. In order to prepare for the coming of the Lord, the people had to go through moral changes. When in those days the king was to pay a royal visit, they carefully prepared for this, leveled the roads in order to make his approach as convenient as possible. This is exactly what John called the people to do, only it was not about literally mending the roads; he called the people to prepare their hearts to receive the Messiah.
3,5 The result of Christ's coming is described as follows: Let every valley be filled- anyone who really repent and humbled himself will be saved and satisfied.
Let every mountain and hill go down- people like the scribes and Pharisees, proud and arrogant, will have to humble themselves.
Curvatures will straighten- those who, like publicans, are dishonest, must straighten their characters.
The uneven paths will become smooth- warriors and other people with a sharp, rude disposition will become soft and noble.
3,6 The end result will be that all flesh- both Jews and Gentiles - will see the salvation of God. In His first coming, salvation was offered to all people, although not everyone accepted it. When He returns to reign, this verse will be fully fulfilled. Then all Israel will be saved, and the Gentiles will also be able to enjoy the blessings of His glorious kingdom.
3,7 John saw that not all of coming to him for baptism sincere. Some were simply pretending, but they did not actually strive for or thirst for righteousness. These are exactly what John called "offspring of the echidna". Question: "Who inspired you to flee from future wrath?"- indicates that he was not in the hands of John; his message was directed to those who were willing to confess their sins.
3,8 If they really want to deal with God, then they should show the truth of their repentance by witnessing it in a transformed life. True repentance produces fruit. They should not think that the origin of Abraham enough; kinship with godly people does not make anyone godly.
To fulfill Your goals the God not limited to physical descendants of Abraham; He can take stones by and from the Jordan River raise up children to Abraham. Here stones probably symbolize pagans whom God can, by a miracle of divine grace, transform into believers with faith like Abraham. And so it happened. The physical seed of Abraham, as a nation, rejected the Christ of God. However, many pagans accepted Him as Lord and Savior and thereby became the spiritual seed of Abraham.
3,9 Already the ax lies at the root of the trees is a figurative expression meaning that the coming of Christ will verify the authenticity of a person's repentance. Those people who do not have the fruits of repentance will be condemned. “Words and phrases came out of John's mouth like swords:“ the offspring of the viper, ”“ future anger, ”“ ax, ”“ cut down, ”“ throw into the fire. ”The Lord's prophets were never sweet-tongued: they were great preachers of morality, and often their words fell on people, like the battle axes of our ancestors on the helmets of their enemies. "(Bible Society Daily Notes)
3,10 Exposed people asked John to give practical advice on how to show the truth of his repentance.
3,11-14 In verses 11-14, he showed them specific ways in which they can prove their sincerity. In general, they should love their neighbors as themselves and share their clothes with the poor and food. Concerning publicans, then they must be unconditionally honest in all their affairs. Since they, as a class, have been greatly perverted, their honesty will be a very definite test of sincerity. Finally, warriors, those on active duty were told to avoid the three common sins of employees: extortion, slander, and grievance. It is important to understand that meeting these requirements did not save people; rather, it served as an external evidence that their hearts were truly in the right state before God.
3,15-16 John's tendency to remain in the background was surprising. For at least some time, he could act as the Messiah and attract many followers. But instead, comparing himself to Christ, he spoke of himself extremely humiliatingly. He explained that his baptism was external and physical, while Christ's baptism would be internal and spiritual. He said that not worthy to untie the strap of my shoes Messiah.
3,16-17 Christ will baptize With the Holy Spirit and fire. His baptism will be in two parts. First of all, He will baptize believers By the Holy Spirit- the promise of what will happen on the day of Pentecost, when the believers will be baptized into the Body of Christ. But then He will baptize fire. It is clear from verse 17 that baptism by fire- this is the baptism on the day of judgment. Here the Lord is depicted as a winnowing grain. When He shovels the grain straw on the threshing floor flies to the side. Then it is swept away and burned. When John spoke to a mixed congregation of believers and unbelievers, he referred to as baptism By the spirit and baptism by fire(Matt. 3.11 and here). When he spoke only of believers (Mk. 1.5), he missed the baptism of fire (Mk. 1.8). No true believer will ever experience the baptism of fire.
3,18-20 Finally Luke is ready to shift his focus from John to Jesus. Therefore, in the following verses, he summarizes the remnant of John's ministry and leads us forward to the time of his imprisonment. Herod. In fact, John was imprisoned about eighteen months later. He denounced Herod is that he lived in adultery with his brother's wife. Herod crowned all his evil deeds with a conclusion John to the dungeon.
B. Preparation Through Baptism (3.21-22)
As John moves out of our sight, the Lord Jesus comes first. He begins His public ministry at about the age of thirty, baptism in the Jordan River. There are some interesting points about His baptism message:
1. All three persons of the Trinity are present here: Jesus(art. 21), Holy Spirit(v. 22), Father (v. 22).
2. Only Luke wrote down the fact that Jesus prayed at baptism (v. 21). This is consistent with Luke's goal of presenting Christ as the Son of Man, always dependent on God the Father. The prayer life of our Lord is the dominant theme in this gospel. He prays at the very beginning of His public ministry. He prays when he becomes widely known and many people follow him (5.16).
He spent a whole night in prayer before the election of the twelve disciples (6,12). He prayed on the eve of the event that took place in Caesarea Philippi - the apogee of His service as a Teacher (9, 18). He prayed on the Mount of Transfiguration (9.28). He prayed in the presence of His disciples, and this gave rise to teaching about prayer (11: 1). He prayed that Peter would stand in the faith (22:32). He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (22: 41,44).
3. The baptism of Jesus was one of three times God spoke from heaven about the ministry of his beloved Son. For thirty years, God's eye has watched over the faultless life in Nazareth; here His verdict was "in Thee I am well pleased!"
The other two cases, when the Father spoke from heaven in public, took place on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Peter proposed to build booths (Luke 9.35), and when the Greeks came to Philip, wanting to see Jesus (John 12: 20-28).
C. Preparing Through Participation in Humanity (3.23-28)
Before our Lord embarked on a public service, Luke pauses and gives His genealogy. If Jesus is truly human, then He must come from Adam. This genealogy shows that He really was. It is widely believed that this is the lineage of Jesus from Mary. Note, verse 23 does not say that Jesus was Joseph's son, but "was, it was thought, the son of Joseph." If this view is correct, then Elijah(v. 23) was Joseph's father-in-law and Mary's father.
It is widely believed among scholars that this lineage of the Lord can be traced through Mary for the following reasons:
1. It is obvious that the family line of Joseph is given in the Gospel of Matthew (1,2-16).
2. In the first chapters of Luke, Mary is given a more prominent place than Joseph, while in Matthew the opposite is true.
3. Among Jews, female names were not widely used in genealogical relationships. This explains the omission of Mary's name.
4. In Matt. 1.16 clearly states that Jacob begat Joseph. Here in Luke it is not said that Eli begat Joseph; it is said that Joseph was the son of Eli. "Son" can mean "son-in-law".
5. In the original language, before each name in the genealogy, except one, stands for the definite article (tou) in the accusative case. This is the name of Joseph. It is this exception that suggests that Joseph was included in the genealogy only because he was the husband of Mary.
While it is not necessary to investigate the pedigree in detail, it is useful to note a few important points:
1. This list indicates that Mary descended from David and his son Nathan(v. 31). In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus inherited legal the right to the throne of David through Solomon.
As the legitimate son of Joseph, the Lord fulfilled that part of God's covenant with David, which promised that his throne would be established forever.
However, Jesus could not be the true son of Joseph without falling under God's curse on Jeconiah, according to which no descendant of this ill-fated king would prosper (Jer. 22:30). As a true son of Mary, Jesus fulfilled that part of God's covenant with David, where he was promised that his seed will remain on the throne forever. And coming from David through Nathan, He did not fall under the curse pronounced on Jeconiah.
2. Adam named son of god(v. 38). It simply means that it was created by God.
3. Obviously, the messianic line ended with the Lord Jesus. Nobody else ever cannot make a legitimate claim to the throne of David.
1-6. Speech by John the Baptist. - 7-17. Sermon John the Baptist. - 18–20. Taking John the Baptist to prison. - 21–38. Baptism and genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke 3: 1. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate ruled in Judea, Herod was a quarter-ruler in Galilee, Philip, his brother, a quarter-ruler in Itureus and the Trachonite region, and Lysanias was a quarter-ruler in Ailinea.
Luke 3: 2. under the high priests Anna and Caiaphas, there was the verb of God to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
The Evangelist Luke, the first of the writers to introduce the Gospel history with precise chronological indications into the general world history, here gives an exact definition of the time when the ministry of John the Baptist, the Forerunner of the Messiah, began.
"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar" - more correctly: "as Caesar." Augustus, succeeded by his stepson, Tiberius, died on August 19, 767. But even earlier, about 765, he appointed Tiberius as his co-ruler. Where does the evangelist count the fifteenth year from? From the beginning of his co-rule with Augustus or from the beginning of his independent reign? In all likelihood, from the beginning of his co-ordination with Augustus, since below the Evangelist Luke says that Christ was baptized when he was about thirty years old (verse 23). Taking that Christ was born in 749, and adding 30 years to this, we get the 779 year, and subtracting from this 15 years of the reign of Tiberius, we get 764, the very year in which Augustus made Tiberius his co-ruler.
“Pontius Pilate ruled over Judea” (see commentary on Matthew 27: 2). Pilate ruled from the end of 778 to 789.
"Herod" (see commentary on Matthew 2:22) ruled from 750 to 792 when he was deposed.
"Philip his brother" also ruled from 750 until his death in 786. He ruled over Itera, which can be understood as the ancient Gilead (the eastern side of the Jordan). If Josephus Flavius does not mention the name of this area, then he meant it, in all likelihood, under the name of Watanea or Avranitida, about whose belonging to Philip's tetrarchy he reports (Josephus Flavius, "Antiquities of the Jews", XVII, 11, 4). The Trakhonite region was also to the east of the Jordan, above Iturei.
Lisaniy. The latest critics insist that the evangelist Luke here fell into an anachronism, that Lisanius reigned in Ailinia almost 60 years before the time described here, and that he was not a tetrarch at all. But the latest research suggests that there were two Lysises - one who ruled Ailinia 60 years before the speech of John the Baptist, and the other is contemporary to this speech. This latter is called directly "tetrarch" in one Greek inscription, which Pococcus found near Nebi Abel (ancient Avila - a city northwest of Damascus, at the foot of Lebanon). Then Josephus also testifies that Agrippa, after the death of Tiberius, received the tetrarchy of Philip and the tetrarchy of Lisis (Josephus Flavius. "Antiquities of the Jews", XVIII, 6, 10). Here Josephus Flavius cannot have in mind the first Lisis, who died long ago and whose kingdom is nowhere called tetrarchy.
"Under the high priests Anne and Caiaphas." Actually, only Caiaphas was the high priest at that time. See the commentary on Matt. 26: 3. But his father-in-law, Anna, or, more correctly, Anan, who was previously the high priest and deposed by the procurator Vitellius, continued, by virtue of his character, to enjoy great influence. And since in the high priesthood he was older than Caiaphas, the evangelist puts him above the latter. To draw from this mention of the two high priests the conclusion that the Evangelist Luke wanted to show by this that the ancient theocracy had fallen into complete decay, which could only be eliminated by the Messiah (as, for example, Prof. Bogoslovsky says. Public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, vol. 1 p. 17), there are absolutely no grounds, just as it is equally unfounded in Luke's previous directive to various secular rulers to see his desire to characterize the political decline of the Jewish people.
"There was a verb of God", i.e. God commanded John to go into the ministry (cf. Jer. 1: 2; Isa. 38 et seq.).
“In the wilderness” (see commentary on Luke 1:80).
Luke 3: 3. And he went through all the surrounding Jordanian country, preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
"And he passed ..." More precisely: "and he passed through the entire vicinity of the Jordan." See the commentary on Matt. 3: 5.
"Preaching ...". Repetition of what Mark said (Mark 1: 4).
Luke 3: 4. as it is written in the book of words of the prophet Isaiah, who says: a voice crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight;
Luke 3: 5. let every valley be filled, and every mountain and hill let down, curvatures straighten and uneven paths become smooth;
Luke 3: 6. and all flesh will see the salvation of God.
(See Matthew 3: 3).
The Evangelist Luke, however, cites Isaiah's prophecy in a more complete form than Matthew and Mark (Mark 1: 3). In addition to the 3rd verse of the 40th chapter, he gives the 4th and 5th (according to the text of the Seventy, with minor changes of his own).
"In the book of words ...", i.e. in a book containing the words or sayings of the prophet Isaiah (cf. Amos 1: 1 - “the words of Amos”).
"Every dolly", i.e. any valley, lowland, ravine (φάραγξ). This, as well as the following expressions: mountain, hill, curvature, uneven paths, are all images that serve to denote moral obstacles that must be removed by John from the path along which the Messiah goes to His people. These obstacles can be removed only through the sincere repentance of the people.
"The salvation of God" (see commentary on Luke 2:30). The Evangelist, according to the prophet, means here messianic salvation, which with the coming of the Messiah and through Him will become accessible to the contemplation of all people ("of all flesh" - this expression designates humanity from the side of its weakness and need for Divine help, as well as indicates the universality of salvation , cf. Acts 2:17). The Evangelist, obviously, for this reason continued the quote from the book of Isaiah, in order to make it clear to his readers that the salvation brought by Christ is appointed for all nations.
Luke 3: 7. John said to the people who came to be baptized by him: offspring of vipers! who inspired you to flee from future wrath?
Luke 3: 8. Create, then, worthy fruits of repentance and do not think to say in yourself: our father is Abraham, for I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham out of these stones.
Luke 3: 9. The ax is already at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
These verses are almost literal repetitions of Matt. 3: 7-10. The only difference is that in Matthew, John addresses the Pharisees and Sadducees with denunciations, and in Luke - to the crowds of people. But, as can be seen from the formidable tone of speech, Luke also meant that the Pharisees and Sadducees had a predominant role in the crowd of people, only he did not mention them separately. For other things, see the commentary on Matt. 3: 7-10.
Luke 3:10. And the people asked him: what should we do?
Luke 3:11. He answered and said to them: Whoever has two clothes, give to the poor, and whoever has food, do the same.
Luke 3:12. The tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him: Teacher! what should we do?
Luke 3:13. He answered them: demand nothing more definite to you.
Luke 3:14. The soldiers also asked him: what should we do? And he said to them: Do not offend anyone, do not slander, and be content with your salary.
John's instructions to the common people, which he gave in response to a question from the people, are conveyed by one Evangelist Luke. The general idea of these instructions is as follows. The real fruits of repentance are not something special or overwhelming, but simply the honest fulfillment of the responsibilities assumed.
"Who has two clothes ...". By this, John reminds of the duty of everyone to help his neighbor in need, than anyone can.
"Give. one.
“Who has food” is not only a large supply of food, but also a small amount.
"Do the same", i.e. share a piece of bread.
Publicans (see commentary on Matthew 5:46). The publicans might think that John would force them to completely abandon their hated service to the people.
"More specific to you", i.e. more than what the government ordered you to collect from the people. As a rule, the publicans demanded a lot for their own benefit.
"Warriors". There could be Jewish soldiers, and Roman soldiers of various other nations, who were also carried away by the preaching of John. They, like the publicans, felt partly guilty that their maintenance was a heavy burden on the people. Often they also had to forcibly take other people's property during the campaigns, and this seemed to them an inevitable business of their profession. How can they repent now? Quite, perhaps, leave military service, since it forces them to commit such injustices in relation to their neighbor? John in response tells them that they can do without such injustices - let them live on their own salary.
“Do not slander”, more precisely: “do not denounce” (συκοφαντήσητε - the word originally meant by the Greeks denunciation of those who violated the government's prohibition on the export of figs).
Luke 3:15. When the people were waiting, and all were thinking in their hearts about John, if he was not the Christ, -
Luke 3:16. John answered all: I baptize you with water, but the Strongest of me is coming, from whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his shoes; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Luke 3:17. His shovel is in His hand, and He will cleanse His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His granary, and He will burn the straw with unquenchable fire.
“The imperious, imprinted with supreme human dignity, the word of the Forerunner, his new teaching, responding to the most sacred requests of the soul, in conjunction with his external, extraordinary appearance and the most artless preaching, made such a strong impression on the people that many were perplexed and pondered in their hearts , isn't this the Messiah promised to Israel? This mood of minds could easily: lead to harmful consequences for John and the goal. Strictly faithful to his vocation, not wanting glory that does not belong to himself, John prevents the possibility of such extreme enthusiasm and explains to perplexed people in short but strong expressions the true meaning of his ministry and his attitude to the Messiah "(Bogoslovsky, p. 50).
"Isn't he the Christ?" More precisely: "Isn't he (μήποτε αὐτός) Christ himself?" John spoke about another Christ, but maybe we - the people thought - did not understand something so well? Perhaps he meant himself?
For other things, see the commentary on Matt. 3: 11-12.
Luke 3:18. He preached many other things to the people, teaching them.
Luke 3:19. But Herod the quarter-ruler, reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all that Herod did evil,
Luke 3:20. added to everything else that he had put John in prison.
"He preached many other things ..." The evangelist Luke remarks here that he, like other evangelists, of course, cites John's sermon only in abbreviations. The gospel is to be understood as a sermon about the coming Messiah, whom John described in a very lively manner. This sermon, as can be seen from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 11:12), bore good fruit: it awakened among the people the striving for the Kingdom of Heaven.
"Herod is ...". Before moving on to the story of Jesus Christ's appearance in public service, the Evangelist Luke considers it necessary to conclude his speech about the fate of John the Baptist. What he says here is said in Matthew and Mark in a different sequence (see Matt. 14 et seq .; Mk 6 et seq.).
Luke 3:21. When all the people were baptized, and Jesus, having been baptized, prayed: heaven was opened,
Luke 3:22. and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form, like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying: You are my beloved Son; in you is my good pleasure!
"When all the people were baptized." This is more specific than Matthew (Matthew 3:13) and Mark (Mark 1: 9), the remark about the time of the baptism of Christ. "This happened, says the Evangelist Luke, when a general desire was manifested among the people to receive baptism from John." And this indicates the end of the preaching activity of the Forerunner (Bogoslovsky, p. 63).
"I prayed." Only Luke speaks of this, noting by this that baptism was a particularly important event in the life of Christ (cf. Matt. 26:36; Luke 9:28).
"The sky is open." Matthew and Mark say that the opening of heaven was the subject of vision (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10), and therefore some interpreters tend to present this "opening" not as something factual, but as only something that seems to be known to persons. But the Evangelist Luke cuts off any path to such reinterpretations, saying that heaven was opened and without adding that it was a vision. This miracle, as well as the subsequent descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the voice of God the Father - all these were real events.
“The Holy Spirit ...” (see comments on Matt 3:16).
"In bodily form", i.e. He appeared in the usual form of a dove.
"You". The Evangelist Luke in this is similar to Mark (Matthew - "This") see Mark. 1:11.
"In you...". The Evangelist Luke here again conveys the voice of God the Father as a direct appeal to Christ (in Matthew and Mark - “in Whom”).
Luke 3:23. Jesus, starting His ministry, was about thirty years old, and was, as they thought, the Son of Joseph, Elijah,
Luke 3:24. Matfatov, Leviin, Melkhiev, Jannaev, Joseph,
Luke 3:25. Mattafiev, Amosov, Naumov, Islimov, Naggeev,
Luke 3:26. Maafov, Mattafiev, Semeiev, Iosifov, Iudin,
Luke 3:27. Ioannanov, Risaev, Zorovavelev, Salafiilev, Niriev,
Luke 3:28. Melkhiev, Addiev, Kosamov, Elmodamov, Irov,
Luke 3:29. Iosiev, Eliezerov, Iorimov, Matfatov, Leviin,
Luke 3:30. Simeonov, Judin, Josephov, Ionanov, Eliakimov,
Luke 3:31. Meleaev, Mainanov, Mattafaev, Nafanov, Davidov,
Luke 3:32. Jesse, Ovid, Boaz, Salmon, Naasson,
Luke 3:33. Aminadavov, Aramov, Esromov, Faresov, Iudin,
Luke 3:34. Jacoblev, Isaakov, Abraham, Farrin, Nakhorov,
Luke 3:35. Serukhov, Ragavov, Falekov, Everov, Salin,
Luke 3:36. Kainanov, Arfaksadov, Simov, Noah, Lamekhov,
Luke 3:37. Methusalov, Enokhov, Jaredov, Maleleilov, Kainanov,
Luke 3:38. Enosov, Sethov, Adamov, God.
The year of Christ's appearance in public ministry is indicated here.
"Jesus, starting His ministry ..." - more correctly: "and He Himself - about Whom the voice of God was (verse 22) - namely - Jesus, was, at the beginning of His activity (ἀρχόμενος), at the age of about thirty years." The Evangelist Luke obviously believes that the beginning of Christ's ministry was the "anointing" of Christ with the Holy Spirit at the time of baptism. From here, you can roughly indicate the year of the general chronology in which this performance took place. As we have already assumed (see verse 1), the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberias is 779 from the founding of Rome. But Jesus Christ was baptized, probably the next year after the speech of John the Baptist, which took place in this 779 year, therefore, in about 780. From this it is also possible to deduce - again, of course, approximately - and the year of Christ's birth. Counting from the 780th year of 30 years, we get the 750th year for the birth of Christ. Meanwhile, our count of the years from the birth of Christ, the foundation of which was laid by the monk Dionysius, suggests that Christ was born in 752 - two or three years later against the established date.
"Thirty years". Usually at this age, as the age of full maturity, the Levites entered into the exercise of their office (Num. 4: 3, 23).
"And there was, as they thought, the Son of Joseph, Eli." In Greek: ὤν, ὡς ἐνομίζετο, υἱὸς Ἰωσήφ, τοῦ Ἠλί. In this reading, the word “Son” (υἱός) refers to the word “Joseph” (Ἰωσήφ). But the absence of an article in front of the name Joseph prohibits the recognition of such a combination: after all, further on, everywhere the attitude of the father to the son is denoted by the ariticle (to). No, the absence of an article before the word "Joseph" rather makes one think that the evangelist does not include Joseph among the ancestors of Jesus Christ. It is therefore better to accept the reading of the Alexandrian Codex, where the word "Son" (υἱός) is added to the participle ἦν (in Russian: "was"). Then it will be necessary to convey this verse in Russian as follows: "and was (more precisely: being) the Son, as it was believed, Joseph - (in fact) Iliev." But who is Eli? According to the most probable assumption, which replaced in science the previously accepted explanation of Julius Africanus (cf. Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, ch. 1), this was the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She herself, according to Jewish custom, is not included in the number of members of the genealogy of Christ, but it was very important for the evangelist to point out that Christ in the flesh is a true descendant of David, which he does, giving the genealogy of Mary's father and showing that Mary really descended from David ...
The Evangelist Luke thus leads the genealogy of Christ through His maternal grandfather and in ascending order. Here, however, we meet with two such names (verse 27), which are repeated in the genealogy reported by the Evangelist Matthew as the genealogy of Joseph (Matthew 1:12) - namely with the names of Zerubbabel and Salafiel. But this bewilderment can be solved simply: both were really common ancestors of Joseph and Mary, and then the Evangelists list already different - two - sons of Zerubbabel, from one of whom came the family of Joseph, and from the other - the family of Mary. More important are other perplexities that arise here. How to explain that Luke calls Zerubbabel the son of Salafiel (also Matthew), while in the book of Chronicles (1 Chron. 3: 18-19) Zerubbabel is called the son of Fedaiah? Probably, this can be explained by the law of horror. Fedaiah was the brother of Salafiel and therefore could, after the death of the latter, marry his childless widow, and from this marriage Zerubbabel could be born. Of course, the opposite could have happened, in the event of Fedaiah's death, in a word, either the Evangelists or the writer of the book of Chronicles call the father of Zerubbabel not real, real, but legitimate, whose name Zerubbabel bore.
Finally, as to the fact that in the book of Chronicles (1 Chron. 3:20), Luke Risai, mentioned here, is not mentioned among the sons of Zerubbabel, this can be explained by the fact that the writer of the books of Chronicles named all the sons of Zerubbabel, or by the fact that some of sons bore two names (Bogoslovsky, Childhood of Jesus Christ, p. 54).
In the 37th verse the name of Cainan is mentioned, which is found only in the translation of the book of Genesis in the Seventy (Gen. 10:24). This name, in all likelihood, was also in the original text.
In verse 38 the Evangelist Luke calls Christ the son of Adam, God. It is unnatural to imagine that the evangelist put Adam in such an attitude towards God, in which Seth put him towards Adam, i.e. in relation to sonship by descent. Therefore, it is more correct to attribute the word "God" to the word "Jesus" in verse 23. Thus, it will be indicated here that in his bodily origin, the Son of Mary was at the same time the Son of God.
It is noteworthy that Luke divides the genealogy into Semerits, which are combined three times, three times into one department, and once - two into one department, namely:
1) from Jesus to Niry - 21 genera (3 x 7),
2) from Niry to David - 21 clans (3 x 7),
3) from David to Abraham - 14 genera (2 x 7), and
4) from Abraham to Adam - 21 genera (3 x 7).
Of course, such an agreement is obtained if we consider the final persons of the seven measure as the initial members of the next seven.
Since the tradition calls Mary's father not Elijah, but Joachim, in explanation of this one can again recall the custom of the Jews to bear two names - one given at birth and the other adopted on the occasion of some extraordinary event in a person's life.
As for the question why the Evangelist Luke places the genealogy of Christ not where the Evangelist Matthew is, i.e. not at the beginning of the Gospel, this circumstance can be explained by the custom of Hebrew writers to cite genealogical tables of famous historical figures where the beginning of the activity of these persons is depicted (see Exodus 6: 4-26).
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