Luke 3:15

Luke 3:15

The Bible says in Luke 3:15-17, "And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not. John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I is coming, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose; he shall baptize you with the holy Spirit and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable."

We already were told many things about John the Baptist: the greatness of his character, the pureness of his message, and the importance of his ministry being the forerunner of the Christ. But there was no greater testimony of what he had come to be than the fact that the people of his day wondered if perhaps he were the Christ. But John was a man, and being a man he was still a sinner. Knowing himself, of course John would say that he was not worthy to even unloose the latchet of the shoes of the Christ. If you want to talk about those who are good or those who have accomplished great things, there are none who can compare to Jesus. Be careful of giving too high of praise to any man or woman. Reserve your praise for God and His Son Jesus Christ.

John made clear that there was a great difference between his character and that of the Christ, and John also made very clear that there was a difference between the baptism that he gave and the baptism that Jesus would give. The big difference between John’s baptism and the baptism that Jesus would give is the fact that the baptism that John gave was a baptism of water, but the baptism that Jesus gave and still gives is the baptism of the Spirit. The baptism of water is a physical ceremony, but the baptism of the Spirit is a vital and living experience. There are two baptisms: the baptism of water and the baptism of the Spirit. Human beings give the baptism of water, but God alone can give the baptism of the Spirit. The baptism of water cannot provide the forgiveness of sins nor an entrance into heaven because it is only symbolic in nature; but the baptism of the Spirit is the spiritual experience that Jesus gives when He washes you of your sins and puts spiritual life within you. There are people who have had water baptism but have never had spiritual baptism. They have received what man can give, but they have not received what Jesus alone can give. John the Baptist understood the difference between the baptism of water and the baptism of the spirit. More people would also understand the difference if they understood what John taught in Luke 3:16.

In Luke 3:17 John reminded us of the consequences of not receiving the spiritual birth and the spiritual baptism from Jesus. If you do not come to know Jesus as Savior, then you will know Him as Judge. Jesus died for the sins of the world, and He now offers freely forgiveness and salvation to those who will repent of their sins; but for those who refuse there is a judgment coming. In ancient days a farmer would separate the good grain from the chaff. The grain, of course, was good and useful, but the chaff was burned by the farmer. The symbolism is very clear: those who refuse God’s salvation are hurdling themselves towards the unquenchable fires of hell.

Luke 3:18-20 says about John the Baptist, "And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison." One of the most striking characteristics of John the Baptist was the fact that he said what he should have said in the situations that he was in. That will always be a challenge for every human being: to say what we ought to say and when we ought to say it. John the Baptist said what he should have said to people who had not yet repented of their sins. John said what he should have said concerning Jesus Christ. And John said what he should have said to the people of the world who were breaking God’s commandments. As wonderful as the message from God is, the people of the world who are determined to resist God do not want to hear His message. They are angry against God and angry against God’s servants. Jesus said, "In the world you shall suffer tribulation." The Bible also says, "They that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

Concerning persecution that we must sometimes suffer in this world if we follow God, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind. Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are "blessed" if we suffer persecution for His name’s sake. If you are walking in fellowship with God, then people of the world will have the same attitude towards you that they have in their hearts towards Jesus. That’s a compliment from them, and it’s a privilege granted to you from God, for which you will be greatly rewarded.

Another thing to remember about the persecutions that you may suffer from the people of the world is that God is in control. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Nothing is going to happen to you unless God permits it to happen to you, and since God loves you and cares about you, He will only permit things to happen that will ultimately result in good and the spread of the gospel. Romans 8:28 says that "all things work together for good to those that love God and to those that are the called according to His purposes." Somehow the things that happen, even persecutions, will fit perfectly into God’s plan.

John rebuked King Herod for sexual immorality and for other sins, and because of it, Herod had John put into prison and then eventually put to death. But God only permitted this to happen because the end to John’s work had come. God gives life, and everyone lives until God is done with them. One of the reasons that you were put on this earth is to do something for God. Once that purpose has been fulfilled, you will leave the earth. What is important is that when you leave this earth you go to heaven because you are a true believer in Jesus the Savior.

John the Baptist was the forerunner to Christ. At the end of John’s ministry Jesus Christ came on the public scene in Palestine. The Bible says in Luke 3:21-22, "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased."

Why did Jesus get baptized? Wasn’t this the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins? But Jesus had never sinned, and therefore He needed no repentance and no remission. Why was he baptized? One of the reasons that Jesus was probably baptized was to show His identification with sinful man. When Jesus died on the cross, He took all sin upon Himself and bore its punishment. "He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteous of God in Him." Jesus committed no sins, yet He bore the punishment of sin. Jesus committed no sins, yet He took the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Another reason that Jesus was probably baptized is because baptism is a public ceremony, and this event in the life of Jesus was His public presentation of Himself as the Son of God. Notice that when Jesus was baptized, two others who were present with Him: the Holy Spirit and the Father. The Holy Spirit was seen descending from heaven in a bodily shape. Perhaps the Holy Spirit was seen in a bodily shape in order to emphasize that He also is an individual. The Father was not seen because no one has seen Him at any time, but the Father was heard. The Words of the Father were heard. Some things never change. We do not see the Father now either, but we know Him through the Word.

At the baptism we have all three present at one time: the Son of God, the Holy Spirit, and the Father. The word trinity is not found in the Bible, but the concept of the trinity is. It’s found in places such as this where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all represented as individual beings and each with the attributes of God. The Father bore witness of the Son and said to Him from heaven, "In thee I am well pleased." The favor of God was upon His Son because His Son sinned not, and the Son always did the will of the Father. Those who believe in Jesus can also be assured of God’s favor upon them, not because they have earned it like Jesus did, but because they are given it freely for Christ’s sake. When God looks at a believer, He sees the righteousness of Christ and He says, "In thee I am well pleased."

The fact that the Holy Spirit came down upon Christ just before Jesus started His public work, demonstrates for us the importance for someone who walks this earth to have the leading and the filling and the power of the Holy Spirit. In addition to dying for us on the cross Jesus also demonstrated for us how a human being should live life on this earth. In a certain way Jesus left the throne of glory and He also left off the use of some of His own power. In this life He lived as a human being filled and led by the Spirit of God. Jesus had the Spirit without measure. It’s no wonder that Christians are admonished in the New Testament to "grieve not the Holy Spirit of God" and to "quench not the Spirit."

We grieve the Spirit when we commit sin. When we talk about the Holy Spirit, the emphasis is on "holy." If you want to have power with God and man then you must do right. The more that you do the right thing, the more that the Spirit of God will use you to influence others. One of the reasons to avoid sin, is so that you can keep your spiritual strength. With God’s Spirit you are strong, but with sins your strength will be taken away just as Samson’s strength was taken away when his hair was shorn.

We quench the Spirit when we fail to yield to Him. The Spirit of God will seek to guide us into the will of God. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." Our own strong will can sometimes be our worst enemy, especially in regards to following the leading of the Spirit. You cannot have the power of God unless you are led by God’s Spirit. In Luke 4:1 we will see that it says that Jesus was led by the Spirit. If Jesus was led by the Spirit, then certainly we need to be also. One of the reasons that Christians are weak and churches are weak is that they have not learned how to follow the leading of the Spirit. You might do everything just the way that you are supposed to do it, but if you are not led by God’s Spirit then it will all be in vain. "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it."

The Bible says in Luke 3:23-24, "And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph." In Matthew we were given the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph and here in Luke we are given the genealogy of Jesus through Mary. We are given these genealogies in such detail certainly in order to establish the right that Jesus had in the lineage of David to be King. Here in Luke Jesus begins His public ministry in which He is presented to the Jewish people as the Messiah. One of the requirements for being the Messiah is that He must be in the lineage of David.

Jesus was in the lineage of King David both through His mother, Mary, and through His step-father, Joseph. An interesting note concerning the two genealogies: Through Mary Jesus was related to King David by David’s son Nathan. Through Joseph Jesus was related to King David by David’s son, Solomon. However you look at the lineage of Jesus Christ, through Mary or Joseph, one sees that He has a rightful claim to the throne.

An important thing to note about the beginning of the public work of Christ is in Luke 3:23 where it tells us that Jesus was about thirty years old when He began His work. Perhaps in our society some people put too much pressure on 18 year olds or 21 year olds to be ready for adult life. Jesus did not leave His parent’s household until He was about thirty.

There is one more thing that we should note about the genealogy of Jesus in what is said at the end of the genealogy in Luke 3:38: "Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the Son of God." If every human ever born on the earth traced their complete genealogy, the last part would be the same as that of Jesus. It would say, "which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." God put the force of life into Adam, and each of us through the generations have inherited from Adam the same human life with all of its limitations and frailties. Life comes from God, and every life has a purpose according to God’s plan. Of course, Jesus human life was different from other humans in that He, being the Son of God, lived in eternity past. His human life was only His means of coming into the world.

The first man was Adam. He was the first pattern of what human beings are like. Unfortunately, from Adam we also inherited our sinful nature and the unavoidable death which puts an end to each of our lives. But God has provided a Savior and an answer to this problem through Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus Christ you can escape the consequences of the sinful nature that you inherited from Adam and the consequences of your own sins. Turn to Christ while you still have time.

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