Luke 3
Luke 3 | |
---|---|
Book | Gospel of Luke |
Category | Gospel |
Christian Bible part | New Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 3 |
Luke 3 is the third
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek and is divided into 38 verses.
Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
- Papyrus 4 (AD 150-175; extant verses: 8-38)[4]
- Papyrus 75 (175-225; extant: verses 18-38)
- Codex Vaticanus (325-350)
- Codex Sinaiticus (330-360)
- Codex Bezae (~400)
- Codex Washingtonianus (~400)
- Codex Alexandrinus (400-440)
- Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~50; extant verses 21-38)
Old Testament references
John the Baptist
As he has already done in the first two chapters, Luke provides several points of historical data, in this case six, to specify the date of the events in the first century CE.[3]
Verses 1–2
- 1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Zechariah in the desert.[5]
Tiberius' fifteenth year of rule was AD 29 or 30 (calculated from the death of his predecessor, Augustus, in AD 14), so one can date the start of John's preaching to then. New Testament scholar William Ramsay suggests that the year was AD 26, calculated from the time Tiberius was appointed as co-Princeps with Augustus in AD 12.[6] Ramsay notes that this manner of calculation could be 'made under an Emperor whose years were reckoned from his association as colleague', such as employed by Titus, whose reign began from his association with his father on July 1, AD 71.[7]
The rule of Pontius Pilate in Judea during the reign of Tiberius is well attested in history (for example, Tacitus in Annals book 15, chapter 44, written ca. AD 116).[8][9]
Reference to the high priesthoods of Annas and Caiaphas creates a difficulty in that a joint high priesthood was not permitted under Jewish law.[2]
Verse 4
- As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
- "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
- 'Prepare the way of the Lord;
- make His paths straight.[10]
- "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
- Citing
- "Wilderness": or "desert"; the syntactic position of the phrase "in the wilderness" could be with "Prepare a way" (Masoretic Text or "MT"), suggesting the place where the preparation should be done, while the Greek Septuagint (or "LXX") connects it to "a voice shouting" indicating the place from where John’s ministry went forth.[12] Jewish documents separately support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT version while some rabbinic texts support the LXX version, but in the final analysis, the 'net effect between the two choices may be minimal'.[12]
Like
Verse 5
- Every valley shall be filled,
- and every mountain and hill shall be brought low;
- and the crooked shall be made straight,
- and the rough ways shall be made smooth;[15]
This verse cites
where he ... says that among his vanguard were "such as were to make the road even and straight, and if it were anywhere rough and hard to be passed over, to plane it, and to cut down the woods that hindered their march ... that the army might not be tired".[18][19]
Verse 6
- And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.[20]
This verse cites
.Verses 7–17
John first exhorts the listeners ("brood of snakes") to prove their repentance by the way they lived. Their sincerity was being called into question. As John continues to preach a baptism of repentance, he then tell the crowds that their descent from Abraham will not save them from "the wrath to come", that "...out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." (8-9)
The people ask what they should do and John speaks of
Verse 16
- John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.[23]
Textual variants are found in a few manuscripts (C D 892 1424 it) which have εἰς μετάνοιαν, eis metanoian, "for repentance", after the phrase "baptize you with water". This addition may be intended for clarification and was probably an attempt to harmonize with Matthew 3:11.[24]
Jesus's baptism
Luke then tells us (verse 21) that Jesus was one of the many who were baptised by John.
The Holy Spirit appears in bodily form like a dove and tells him "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (cf. Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9–11, John 1:32–34).
Verse 23
- aAnd Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age,
- bbeing (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,[27]
The King James Version's wording is "ungrammatical, a strange expression".[19] Many translations insert reference to his "work" [28] or his "ministry".[29] Luke does not state how many years John baptised for, but this is when most date the start of Jesus's ministry, 29 or 30. He had to be more than thirty years old, as he was born about six months before Jesus was born, as noted in Luke 1. Most probably John was born in 4 BC.
The ancestry of Jesus
Verses 23b-38
Luke sets out here, like Matthew in his
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Verse 33
- Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda.[33]
Parallel verses: Matthew 1:3-4
Verse 38
- ... the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.[34]
As throughout Luke's genealogy, "son of" is implied but not stated except for "the son of Joseph" in verse 23.[b] Methodist commentator Joseph Benson comments,
Adam, being descended from no human parents, but formed by the power of a divine creating hand, might with peculiar propriety be called the son of God, having, in his original state, received immediately from God, whatever the sons of Adam receive from their parents, sin and misery excepted.[35]
Paul makes reference to the Greek understanding that "we are [all] the offspring of God" in his speech in the Areopagus in Athens, Acts 17:28-29.
See also
- Date of birth of Jesus
- Genealogy of Jesus
- John the Baptist
- Messianic prophecies of Jesus
- Related
Notes
- ^ Luke uses Isaiah 40:3-5, whereas Matthew 3:3 and Mark 1:3 quote Isaiah 40:3 only.[13]
- ^ See italicisation in NKJV: Luke 3:23–38, from "the son of Heli" onwards.
References
- ^ Jerusalem Bible (1966), "Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels", New Testament p. 5
- ^ a b Franklin, E., 58. Luke in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary, pp. 926-7
- ^ a b c d Expositor's Greek Testament on Luke 3, accessed 20 May 2018
- ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1.
- NIV
- ^ Ramsay 1895, pp. 386–387
- ^ Ramsay 1895, p. 387
- ISBN 0-521-21043-7
- ISBN 978-0195124743.
- ^ Luke 3:4
- ^ Note [b] on Isaiah 40:3 in Berean Study Bible.
- ^ a b Note [b] on Luke 3:4 in NET Bible
- ^ Marginal notes in Jerusalem Bible (1966) at relevant verses
- ^ Brown 2007, p. 235
- ^ Luke 3:5: KJV
- ^ Note on Isaiah 40:4 in the Berean Study Bible
- ^ Isaiah 40:4: KJV
- ^ Josephus, History of the Jewish War against the Romans, iii. 6, § 2
- ^ a b Farrar, F. W. (1891), Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Luke 3, accessed 25 December 2021
- ^ Luke 3:5 KJV
- ^ Note on Isaiah 40:5 in Berean Study Bible
- ^ Luke 3:12: King James Version
- ^ Luke 3:16 NKJV
- ^ Note [b] on Luke 3:16 in NET Bible
- ^ Meyer, H. A. W., Meyer's NT Commentary on Luke 3, translated from the German sixth edition, accessed 25 August 2023
- ^ Luke 3:21: Good News Translation
- ^ Luke 3:23: King James Version
- ^ Luke 3:23: New Revised Standard Version
- ^ Luke 3:23: New International Version
- ^ Luke 3:38
- ^ Maas, Anthony. "Genealogy of Christ" The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 9 Oct. 2013
- ^ Talmud Yerushalmi, Hag. chap.2, 11a; Hebrew text at http://www.mechon-mamre.org/b/r/r2b.htm, records as follows: למרים ברת עלי l'miryam bart eli, "Of Mary the daughter of (H)Eli"
- ^ Luke 3:33: KJV
- ^ Luke 3:38: NKJV
- ^ Benson, J. (1857), Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, Luke 3:38, accessed 26 August 2023
Sources
- Brown, Raymond E., An Introduction to the New Testament, Doubleday 1997 ISBN 0-385-24767-2
- Ramsay, W. M., St Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen (1895; German translation, 1898)
External links
- Luke 3 King James Bible - Wikisource
- English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
- Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
- Multiple bible versions at Bible Gateway (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)
Preceded by Luke 2 |
Chapters of the Bible Gospel of Luke |
Succeeded by Luke 4 |