Introduction
We’ve spent the last few months leading up to Christmas and the birth of Christ talking about how the world was being prepared by God religiously and geopolitically for the arrival of Christ. We saw prophetic fulfillment and covenantal fulfillment through the coming of Jesus Christ, but also through an important forerunner, John the Baptist.
We first learn about John in the early part of Chapter 1 when the Angel Gabriel appears to John’s elderly dad, probably in his 70’s, announcing John’s birth through Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth. In that announcement, Gabriel tells Zechariah that John will be great before the Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit, and turn many people toward the Lord in the Spirit and Power of the great Old Testament Prophet, Elijah. The purpose of all of this was to prepare the way for Jesus’ earthly ministry. (Luke 1:15-17).
Nine months later, John is Born and Zechariah gives an amazing prophetic psalm, Zechariah echos this declaration with the words,
?
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High (Luke 1:75)
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
That was the first chapter of Luke. The Second Chapter was dedicated to the actual birth and dedication of the Messiah Jesus and it concludes with the scene of Jesus teaching in the Temple at the age of 12. Now in Chapter 3 Luke picks up 18 years with the entrance of the ministry of John the Baptist. John and Jesus are now 30 years old. It is important for me to underscore the purpose of John’s ministry: It is prophetic, it is a preaching ministry, and it is a preparatory ministry all pointing to Jesus. Nothing about John is self-serving. I would also like to preface what I am going to say this morning with the Church is a continuing, but a larger reflection of the ministry of John the Baptist. With that, let’s read the opening verses of Chapter 3:
?
Luke 3:1–6 ESV
1 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, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 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. 5 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, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ” Luke 3:1–6 ESV
1. The Political Context
The opening 2 verses of Chapter 3 provide for us a significant amount of information on the cultural context of John’s ministry. If you bear with me a few minutes, I want to give you a bit of the backdrop Luke is painting for us here because he gives us 7 names that are important clues to the political and religious context of the day. Five of the names are Roman governors and 2 are names of Jewish High Priests.
Tiberius Caesar succeeded Augustus Caesar mentioned in Luke 2. The Caesar was chosen by the Roman Senate and were often power-hungry tyrants as was the case with Tiberius. His reign was filled with suspicions of Roman and military leaders along with intolerance of foreign religious sects, including Jews. The best estimates place the 15th year for his reign would be around 26 AD. Caesar Augustus forced the Senate to make his son, Tiberias Caesar in 11 AD. So the 15th year of Tiberias’ reign would be 26 AD, which also confirms Jesus as 30 years old when he started his earthly ministry.
Next, we find Pontius Pilate as the governor of Judea whom we know will be involved in ordering the crucifixion of Jesus. In 1961 there was a plaque discovered in Caesarea. There a dedicatory plaque on a building called the Tiberium and on that dedicatory plaque is the name “Pontius Pilate.” Pontius Pilate is a real person. He ruled in Judea from 26-36 AD.
When Herod the Great died in 4 B.C. which would be the same year Jesus was born. He asked the Romans to split his kingdom into 4 parts and each one is given to his 4 sons. Herod Antipas mentioned here in verse 1 as Herod Tetrarch of Galilee. He would eventually be rebuked by John the Baptist for marrying his brother, Philip’s wife, Herodias. Antipas would eventually have John the Baptist beheaded as a promise to his stepdaughter, Salome (Herodias’ daughter) for performing a dance for him (Matt 14:1-13).
After Herod Antipas’ Luke lists his brother Philip, the first husband of Herodias. And then Lysanias of Abilene. This name is important today because for years liberal critics said Luke is wrong here and that Luke's history is bad because the Lysanias we know about in history died around 34 B.C.; killed by Marc Antony. That was until recent archaeologists have discovered some tablets with inscriptions showing Luke's accuracy to be precise. The record of these inscriptions tells us there was another man named Lysanias who ruled precisely in the time of John and precisely in the region of Abilene which is north of Galilee and west of Damascus. And so the archaeologists have aided us in supporting the testimony of Luke.
All of the tetrarchs (which are essentially under-kings of Caesar) are brutal, secularists. They care nothing about the things of God or God’s people. They are wicked men who are occupying God’s land and ruling over God’s people. They are not Israel’s king. This was not God’s plan for His chosen people and His chosen land of Israel. It is a dark and oppressive time.
Now things might seem a little better if the religious leaders who were over God’s people were any better, but they were just as bad. That only adds to the lack of hope. The apostate state of these leaders brought spiritual darkness to the land. In Luke 3:2, we read there are two high priests, Annas and Caiaphas, which is not according to Jewish Law and God’s pattern, which says there will only be one spiritual high Priest.
Essentially, Annas was put into position as High Priest by Rome and so he was there serving Rome’s purposes, not God’s. He was corrupt and he using the worship of God for his own personal gain and power. Caiaphas was no better, he was a pawn of the Jews to get to Caiaphas and he was just as corrupt. Caiaphas was a Sadducee. Sadducees were religious liberals. They didn't believe in the supernatural, they didn't believe in angels, they didn't believe in the supernatural character of Scripture, they didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. It's easy to remember them because somebody says they didn't believe in angels, they didn't believe in the resurrection, they didn't believe in the supernatural character of Scripture, that's why they were so sadd-u-cee. They had a high view of religious tradition and a low view of Scripture. If you don’t believe in the supernatural power of God, then it’s easy to turn God’s house into a den of thieves and abuse the faithfulness of people for your own gain.
It would be Caiaphas who talked the Sanhedrin Council to try Jesus for the capital punishment of Blasphemy because Caiaphas said
?
50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” John 11:50 ESV
But it would be Annas who holds the unlawful and mockery of a trial at night for Jesus. He had the Roman influence to see to it that Jesus was put to death (Matt 26:2,3,57, 63-65; John 18:24-28). Incidentally, Caiaphas was Annas’ Son-in-Law.
That’s what was happening in John’s day and that’s why Jesus twice went into the temple and cleared out the money changers. To live in the Roman world, you had to have Roman currency. Every Roman coin had the image of stamped on it. That’s an idol. So Annas had a clever plan. You had to get your Roman currency exchanged for a coin licensed by the Temple treasury. So they could essentially charge you anything and the people had no choice. It was extortion, but people want to be faithful.
Now the other thing that a Jewish person had to do when they came to the temple brought a sacrifice. The Law had high standards on these sacrifices. They had to be without blemish or injury. So all Annas had to do was have the priests examine the animals ahead of time. The guy in the temple says, "Ah, sorry, it doesn't pass inspection. You're going to have to buy one of ours. Ours are pre-certified." Pretty soon you're going to just come to the temple and buy their lambs and not bother bringing your own. This made it very difficult for poor people who were paying as high as a 23% tax rate to fulfill their religious duties. We raise our eyebrows at the church asking for 10% tithe, most people barely put a few dollars in each week if any at all, which is the other extreme.
The point of all these names is that it’s an immoral, corrupt, and oppressive world John steps into to start his ministry. The political corruption is sickening. The religious corruption is obscene. The people are being abused from all sides. It’s hard to put your hope into systems that are designed to abuse and drag you down. That when John and then Jesus steps in and that is why they hated them so much
2. The Prophetic Context
?
2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Luke 3:2–3 ESV
John comes onto the scene completely separated from all the political and religious corruption. That’s why Luke says that the Word of God came to John in the wilderness. John has no political interest and he has no interest in the religious leaders. That’s a good place. He hasn’t mingled and he’s kept himself separated. Now, this doesn’t mean he doesn’t confront the injustices of these systems. He has no interest in their systems. That’s something for us to emulate. We are separated, but we must also stand against their injustices.
Where his interests are, however, is in God’s word. He was filled with the Holy Spirit in his Mother’s womb (Luke 1:15, 43). It is the Spirit of God who gives the ministry of God’s Word. This isn’t an intellectual exercise, but having knowledge is very important. Without the moving of the Holy Spirit, all the knowledge of the Word of God still makes you spiritually dead. Luke tells us that the Word of God came to John. The word Luke uses here is Rhema (??µa). This is different from the word Logos. The Gospel of John uses Logos to describe the arrival of Jesus. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Logos” Which is referring to the general message of God; the overarching eternal Word. Rhema, which Luke uses to describe the ministry of John the Baptist. It is a specific message of any kind. It is a special message that John is given by God.
?
5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, Matthew 3:5 ESV
Why? Because he’s a breath of fresh air. People can easily tell the difference between the truth and a lie. The question is will they have the bravery to stand with the truth. John’s going to do two things. He’s going to attack the religious establishment and he’s going to prepare the hearts of the people to receive the truth of Jesus the Messiah.
What I want you to understand here is that this is not any different in the message of the church today. It was the message of the church from the very start. To attack the heresies that lead people astray, namely to keep them in bondage and abuse them for money and power. If a church is using people for its own purposes, that’s spiritual abuse and it is an abomination. When it becomes necessary for paying for extravagant buildings, programs, salaries by convincing people they’re sinning if they don’t pay their dues, the church has gotten off-track.
Secondly, the church is to teach the truth of God’s word in contrast to worldly systems. Every single believer is a missionary. This year, we’re moving toward starting house - or NetChurches that help fulfill this purpose. We still have the Sunday mornings, but we want to get people together in small clusters of churches who share a desire to be missionaries in their communities, workplaces, schools, etc. What we the main church at GCC do is qualify, train, and equip these local missions to be effective in ministry. I have a feeling it won’t be long that this will be the only way the church can continue to operate in modern culture.
3. The Preaching Context
3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 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. 5 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, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”Luke 3:3–6 ESV
We’ll close with this. There must be a message. The prophetic is always connect to preaching. There were 3 elements to John’s message - and essentially Jesus’ message and ministry as well: Repentance, Baptism, and Forgiveness of Sins. That message hasn’t changed.
The heart of all this is repentance. Without repentance, your sins remain unforgiven and without repentance, your baptism means nothing. Repentance means turning about; turning away from dead works as a new beginning in a relationship with God. What is true repentance? It's a reassessment of yourself, seeing the sin of your life for what it is and desiring to be holy. That's repentance. Your initial coming to Christ is fully based on repentance. If there is no repentance there is no relationship. You remain an enemy of God.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, John 1:12 ESV
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:7 ESV
If you remain unrepentant in your sins and do all the religious activities, you are still dead in your sins. You are still self-righteous and abhorrent. We don’t like that. We don’t like to hear that. That is the message that every true preacher preaches and if they don't preach that message then they're not preaching the truth of the gospel.
There's no suggestion here that repentance is some kind of a human work that's rewarded by God who gives forgiveness because you picked yourself up from your bootstraps. Repentance isn't anything you do to change your condition. Repentance is a new assessment of your condition and a recognition that you can't change it, and in that, you reach out to God, who alone can through the work of Jesus Christ.
The other part of repentance is baptism. When someone comes to me and wants to be baptized, the first thing we talk about is their conversion. If they are sincerely repentant, then we move forward with baptism. If you think you are saved because you said a prayer, but there’s no change in your life; there is not disdain for sin, then you are not saved at all. If you think you are saved because you’ve been baptized, then you are in the same boat. Baptism is the outward expression of what happened inwardly through repentance.
?
6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Matthew 3:6 ESV
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 ESV
For a Jew to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins was the same as saying they were a gentile because that’s how the gentile converted to Judaism. Are you willing to confess your sin to such a degree that you acknowledge you have no relationship to the true and living God and are no better than a pagan? That's the level of repentance John was calling for against the backdrop of a corrupt world and corrupt religious system.
That’s the church's message then and it must be the same today. If we preach self-help, marriage help, parenting help, basket weaving, or whatever without bringing people to repentance, then our message is in vain. Every one of us needs to be reminded of our need to continually repent. Will you?
Take it to the Cross
