A Part To Play Series

There have been several times over the last few months that I have been reminded about the importance of even small parts on teams or in performances.

back up quarterback who comes in for one play because his speed or gift could help move the ball down the field

Ballerina who comes in for a single scene as a character helps to tell the story of the ballet.

Even as a part of the body of Christ, there is value in each person using what God has given us for Gods glory and the church’s edification.

Today, as we move from the end of Luke 2 into Luke 3, we jump forward nearly 20 years. These first verses of Luke 3 give us a glimpse in the brief, but important ministry of John the Baptist. If you have your bibles, open them to that chapter.

Luke 3:1–22 ESV

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall become straight,

and the rough places shall become level ways,

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.

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

While the birth of John the baptist takes up almost as much space in Luke’s gospel as Jesus’ birth, his ministry is much shorter. He had a very specific part to play as the forerunner of Jesus. In this passage, it seems like we get to see five things that John did in order to make way for Jesus.

John was given the task to…

Prepare the Path (1-6)

Luke, as he has at other times in both this book and in the book of Acts, provides some very clear time stamps in order to help us understand when this took place. While the names of these political and religious leaders mean little to us, some have noted that these help to mark the beginning of John’s ministry in about AD 29. John would have been a little over 30 years old.