Study 8. Luke 3:21-38

9. Jesus' baptism was important for may reasons. What did the Father publicly declare about Jesus at His baptism (see 3:22)?

 a. Jesus is the Father's beloved Son (cf. 1:31-35, 2:49)

 b. The Father is well-pleased with Him

 

There are echoes of the OT in this declaration.

Is 42:1 (Behold my servant...my chosen in whom my soul delights)

Ps 2:7 (The LORD said to me You are my Son, today I have begotten you")

 

10. What did the Holy Spirit do (see 3:22)?

 The Spirit descended in physical form 'like' a dove.

The Spirit fills Jesus - Jesus is thereafter 'full of the Holy Spirit' (4:1)

 

All three Persons of the Trinity are involved in the baptism of Jesus.

 

 

 For thought and discussion

Jesus had never rebelled against the Father's will for his life (see Lk 22:42, John 15:10) so he did not need to be baptized for repentance. Why then was Jesus baptized (see Mat 3:14-15, Jn 1:31-34, 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 2:17)?

1. To identify with sinners, foreshadowing his substitutionary death.

2. To be revealed as the one on whom the Spirit would descend

 

For further study

At what other occasions did the Father speak from heaven about Jesus (see Lk 9:35, Jn 12:28)

1. The affirmation of the Father is repeated at the Transfiguration (9:35 "This is my son, my Chosen One, listen to him!", cf. Mt 17:5, Mk 9:7)

 2. When Jesus faces His 'hour' and prays for strength when His soul is troubled and yet prays for His Father's name to be glorified. Yet He also says that the voice comes for the sake of the hearers.

 

 

The meanings of bapism with the Holy Spirit and fire and of burning of the chaff (see Lk 3:16-17)  are debated. Ac 2:1-41 and 1 Cor 3:13 may help your group interpret these findings.

•  The fire is a reference to purification
•  The fire is a reference to judgment
  

 

Comment on the significance of the differences in the genealogies of Luke 3:23-38 and Matthew 1:1-17.

There are very significant differences in the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3:23-38 and in Matthew 1:1-17.

1. Luke traces the genealogy to God; Matthew, to Abraham. Luke therefore emphasises the universality of Jesus' salvation; Matthew, the status of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the legal heir of David's throne.

2. Luke probably traces physical descent, whereas Matthew traces the royal lineage (e.g. the son of David in Luke is Nathan, not Solomon)

Note that there is a reference to the virgin birth ((3:23)

Generations are often skipped in genealogies (cf. 1 Chron 3:10-14). "father" can mean "ancestor/forbear"

The difference in Joseph's father's name (Jacob in Matthew, Heli in Luke) has been explained by:

a. A second (e.g. a levirate) marriage to Joseph's mother so that Joseph was the physical son of one but the legal son of another.

b. The possibility that Heli was Mary's father, but that Heli adopted Joseph as his 'son' when Mary and Joseph were married.

Genealogies remind us that God acted in real people in real history. Our faith is founded in time and space.

Genealogies also tell us that God knows each of our names. No matter how unimportant each one of the people might have been, they were used by God to accomplish His redemptive purposes. God is personal. We are called to be faithful because we cannot know how our small acts of faithfulness can be amplified into great consequences.