Luke 3:15-4:13: The Baptism, Genealogy, & Temptation Of
Jesus”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verse 40 of chapter 2 through verse 14 of chapter 3.
1.1.1. In those verses we looked at the only Biblical account of the “early life
of Jesus,” that period of time from the events described of his birth until He
began His public ministry.
1.1.1.1. This was a story recounted of Jesus’ parents taking Him at age 12 to
the temple during the yearly Passover celebration.
1.1.2. Then, we looked at what Luke told us about the calling and ministry of
John the Baptist.
1.2.
In our study today, we are
going to look at verse 15 of chapter 3 through verse 13 of chapter 4.
1.2.1. We will observe that John the Baptist baptizes Jesus.
1.2.2. We will observe Luke’s genealogy of Jesus.
1.2.3. We will observe the temptations of Jesus that occurred when the Spirit
drove Him into the wilderness after His baptism.
2. VS 3:15-16 - “15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering
in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ, 16 John
answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is
coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His
sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” - People came up to John the
Baptist to ask him if he were the Christ
2.1.
Early in our study of the
book of Luke I mentioned the fact that at the time when Jesus came on the scene
that there was an expectation that something was about to happen. The spiritual condition of the nation caused
people to be anxious that the Lord was soon planning to come and to judge
them. This led the people to flock to John
the Baptist. They came hoping to somehow
be saved from the impending judgment.
However, John preached to them that unless they showed the fruits of
repentance that they would be burned in the fire of God’s judgment.
2.2.
Because the people were
expecting the Messiah to come, when they saw John they began to wonder if he
might indeed be the coming Messiah.
After all, John was such a different guy. He lived in the wilderness, had long hair,
ate locusts and wild honey, and he wore camel skins for clothes.
2.3.
John knew that his purpose
was merely that of a voice calling out and pointing people to the Messiah to
come. He knew he was not the Messiah but
rather just a mere man called to be a prophet.
2.4.
. In John’s day, peoples’ feet were dirty
because of wearing sandals in the desert.
A man’s slave would take off his sandals however this was considered the
lowest of menial tasks to perform. John
reveals true humility here as he tells those questioning him that he came to
baptize in water, but the One to come is mightier than him and he (John) is not
fit to untie the thongs of his sandals.
You see, the Lord had revealed to John that the Messiah to come would be
totally sinless and holy, being the lamb without sin who takes away the sins of
the world.
2.4.1. Remember, we saw already that Jesus later mentions that of those born
of women in the Old Testament era that there was none greater than John the
Baptist. John shows his greatness by
having a proper perspective concerning himself.
2.4.2. All of us as people ought to see ourselves as being unworthy of the
least of God’s blessings we have received.
2.5.
John tells the people that
the One to come would baptise them with the Holy Spirit.
2.5.1. John’s ministry was respective of ministry in the Old Testament for in
Old Testament times the Holy Spirit at times came upon a person’s life, however
He didn’t constantly remain upon men as He does upon Christians during the
church age.
2.5.2. 1 Cor. 12:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit baptizes every believer into
the body of Christ when they come to salvation, “13 For by one
Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether
slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
Notice that this does not say that Jesus baptizes you in the Holy
Spirit. However, this is not that which
John is referring to here.
2.5.3. These words of John refer to
the baptism of the Holy Spirit for believers.
In Acts 1:4-8, Luke refers to these exact words of John the Baptist and
tells the church to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit would fall upon
them and baptize them in the Holy Spirit, “4 Gathering them
together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the
Father had promised, “ Which ,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for
John baptized with water , but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many
days from now .” 6 So when they had come together, they were asking
Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to
2.5.3.1. Remember John 20:22 tells us that the disciples had already received
the Holy Spirit when Jesus had breathed on them when He came into their midst
after having been raised from the dead, “22 And when He had
said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “ Receive the Holy Spirit.”
2.6.
John says here though that
the Messiah will also baptize them with ‘fire.’ There are several reasons for believing that
this refers to the fiery judgment that awaits unbelievers:
2.6.1. It does not make sense to say that the tongues of fire that were above
the church members’ heads is the reference here. First of all, they were not “baptized” by
fire at that time. Secondly, this is the
only time in the New Testament when we read that tongues of fire appeared over
God’s people’s heads.
2.6.2. Fire is a metaphor in Luke’s gospel for judgment, and even John the
Baptist uses fire in this manner in his very next comments.
2.7.
So, every person on the
earth is going to receive one baptism or the other, either the baptism of the
Holy Spirit or the baptism of fire in the
3. VS 3:17 - “17 “His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing
floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire.”” - John tells the people about the fact that the
Messiah will also act as judge
3.1.
In John’s day, when wheat
was threshed it would be picked up with a ‘winnowing fork’ and thrown up
into the air. The wheat was heavier and
would fall to the threshing floor but the worthless chaff would be blown away
by the wind.
3.2.
John is introducing us to
the fact that Jesus’ ministry came to divide people. Some will be saved and go to heaven yet
others will be judged and go to hell.
3.3.
We will see later in this
gospel how that hell was a place and topic that Jesus often referred to in His
preaching.
4. VS 3:18-20 - “18 So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. 19
But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias,
his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, 20
Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.” - John tells us that Herod
Antipas had John the Baptist locked up in prison
4.1.
John the Baptist faithfully
preached the message the Lord had given to him, the message of repentance. John was not a man pleaser and did not hold
back from telling people the truth, even if they did not want to hear what he
said.
4.2.
Herod Antipas had taken his
brother Herod Philip’s wife, Herodias, and married her after divorcing his own
wife. Herodias likewise divorced her
husband in order to marry Herod Antipas.
In doing so, Herod Antipas had broken the Law of Moses on a couple of
counts:
4.2.1. He had committed adultery.
4.2.2. The Law forbid marrying someone who was a near blood relative in Lev.
18:16 and 20:21, and Herod Philip was Herod Antipas’ half-brother.
4.3.
Luke tells us that John had
rebuked Herod Antipas for more than the sin of his relationship with his
current wife as he says that John rebuked Herod ‘because of all the wicked
things Herod had done.’
4.4.
Luke leaves out some details
found in Luke and Matthew concerning how John came to be arrested by
Herod. Likewise Luke later doesn’t go
into any detail about how it came about that Herod had John beheaded except to convey
the fact in Luke 9:7-9.
4.5.
Luke tells us here that
Herod Antipas added to his evil deeds by arresting John the Baptist for
rebuking him. Arresting this righteous
man John was as bad as anything that Herod had done.
4.6.
We as God’s people today
ought to pray for the boldness of John the Baptist, as well as his
fearlessness. John was a man who truly
feared God not man. He delivered God’s
Word regardless of the consequences.
5. VS 3:21-22 - “21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while
He was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended
upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are
My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”” - John baptizes Jesus
5.1.
Luke doesn’t tell us some
details of Jesus’ baptism that Matthew includes in Matt. 3:13-17. Matthew says that John tried to keep Jesus
from being baptized saying that he needed to be baptized by Jesus. To this Jesus replied that John was to accept
this at this time for Jesus’ baptism was necessary to “fulfill all righteousness.”
5.2.
Why did Jesus need to be
baptized?
5.2.1. It was not because Jesus needed to repent of His sin.
5.2.2. Jesus endorsed John’s baptism by being baptized by John.
5.2.3. Jesus identified with all humanity by also being baptized.
5.2.4. Jesus in perfect obedience to the will of God needed to be obedient in
a way like any other of God’s people and submit to the preaching and baptism of
John.
5.2.5. This was an opportunity for Jesus to demonstrate His unique
relationship to His heavenly Father to all present.
5.3.
It doesn’t say here that the
Holy Spirit “was” a dove but rather that the Holy Spirit ‘descended upon Him
in bodily form like a dove.’
5.4.
This is one of the three
instances where Jesus’ heavenly Father spoke to Him audibly expressing His
complete acceptance and approval of Jesus.
The other instances were at Jesus’ transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36) and
while He was teaching during that last week before His crucifixion (John
12:28).
5.5.
In 2 Peter 1:16-19 Peter
mentions being present when these instances occurred that the Father spoke to
Jesus, “16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales
when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we
were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and
glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the
Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and
we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the
holy mountain. 19 So we have the prophetic word made more
sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark
place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
5.6.
Jesus is baptized by the
Holy Spirit in just the way that John prophesied that Jesus would baptize
others with the Holy Spirit. “Baptism”
means “immersion” and being full of the Holy Spirit means to have the
Holy Spirit come upon your life in great power and anointing for service for
the Lord. Jesus needed this great
anointing to now begin His public ministry (Luke 4:14 is where this public
ministry begins).
5.6.1. By the way, if Jesus, the eternal Son of God from all eternity, needed
a special baptism and anointing of the Holy Spirit in order to be properly
equipped to begin His public ministry, how much more do we Christians need that
same baptism in order to be used by God in the ministries the Lord has for our
lives.
6. VS 3:23-38 - “23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age,
being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, 24 the
son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son
of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of
Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the
son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27
the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of
Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi,
the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of
Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of
Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the
son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of
Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the
son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of
Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram,
the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of
Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of
Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the
son of Heber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of
Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the
son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel,
the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of
Adam, the son of God.” - Luke writes out the genealogy of Jesus going
all of the way back to Adam
6.1.
It is interesting that Luke
includes Jesus’ genealogy between the event of Jesus’ baptism and His period of
temptation in the wilderness.
6.2.
Luke tells us that Jesus was
‘about thirty years of age’ when He began His ministry. We don’t know exactly how close to thirty
Jesus was when He began His ministry.
6.3.
Matthew in the early part of
his gospel writes out the genealogy of Jesus coming through Matthew. He does this because in
6.4.
Luke however gives us the
genealogy of Jesus through Mary, which is the actual blood line. Both Mary and Joseph were direct descendants
of David and thus Jesus fulfills the necessary requirement of 2 Samuel 7:8-17
of being a descendant of king David.
6.5.
Note here that Mary’s
lineage from David came through David’s son ‘Nathan’ (verse 31) however
Matthew’s genealogy shows the descendancy through David’s son Solomon (Matt.
1:6).
6.6.
There is not a name from
David to Jesus in Luke’s genealogy that matches the genealogy in Matthew.
6.7.
Matthew’s genealogy begins with
Abraham and goes forward to Jesus.
Luke’s genealogy begins with ‘Eli’ a relative of Mary (perhaps
her father) and goes backward all of the way to Adam. Since this genealogy is based upon the fact
that Joseph was not the father of Jesus and that the actual blood line came
through Mary, Luke begins by saying that Jesus ‘was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli.’
7. VS 4:1-2 - “1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the
7.1.
Having been baptized by the
Holy Spirit after He was baptized in water, Jesus is now in a new found
relationship regarding the Holy Spirit.
A new and greater anointing is now upon the life of Jesus.
7.2.
Mark 1:12 tells us that
Jesus was “driven” or “impelled” by the Spirit to go into the
wilderness at this time.
7.3.
Was Jesus tempted during all
of the 40 days of wandering in the wilderness being led by the Holy Spirit or
only after the 40 days when hunger suddenly grasped Him?
7.3.1. Verse 1 answers this question by saying that Jesus was being tempted
for 40 days. The climax of this season
of temptation came at the end of the 40 days when the Devil came and tempted
Jesus with the three temptations found in our gospel, which we shall review
next.
7.4.
When I was in Bible college,
I got into several debates with Bible students about issues regarding the
temptations of Jesus, and to be honest in my humble condition as a man I have
to admit that I do not have all of the answers concerning the issues we
discussed. Our debates included:
7.4.1. Could Jesus, who was the combination of God the Son from all eternity
and man, have sinned?
7.4.1.1. It seems illogical for the gospels to tell us that Jesus was tempted
when in fact Jesus could never have sinned.
7.4.2. Was Jesus really tempted?
7.4.2.1. Yes. The gospels are clear that
Jesus was in fact tempted. In fact, in
Hebrews 4:15 we read that Jesus was “tempted in all ways as we are and yet
without sin.’
7.4.3. Why was Jesus tempted?
7.4.3.1. The scriptures teach us that Jesus was perfected through His suffering
(Heb. 2:10).
7.4.3.2. To demonstrate to all Jesus’ qualifications to be the Savior of the
world because of being sinless.
7.4.3.3. To be able to act as the captain of our salvation and thereby guide us
through those times of temptation that we may go through (Heb. 2:10).
7.4.3.4. To be the perfect and faithful high priest who can minister to us in
our times of need since because of being tempted in all ways as we are yet with
sinning, He can sympathize with us in our every temptation (Heb. 4:15).
7.4.3.4.1.
What a comfort it is to find
another Christian who has gone through some of the same struggles you have been
going through. This is a great healing
salve in our wounds. Well, Jesus would
have you know that He can sympathize with your every testing and temptation
because He has been there Himself and can sympathize with you in your difficult
situation.
7.5.
Forty days without food
would be fatal to a human being (actually much less than this), thus God’s
miraculous power is seen even in the fact that Jesus went without any food for
40 days and yet lived.
7.6.
Notice that Jesus rebuffed
the Devil in every temptation by quoting the Word of God. This is why it is so important for us to
study and even memorize God’s Word. We
are to use the Word of God just as Jesus did.
7.7.
I want to mention here that
if Jesus suffered then we will suffer.
If Jesus was tempted then we shall be tempted. If Jesus was victorious in His temptation
then He can also make us victorious in our temptations, if we will but look to
Him for victory and strength.
8. VS 4:3-4 - “ 3
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to
become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written , ‘ Man shall
not live on bread alone .’ ”” - Temptation #1: To turn a stone into a loaf of bread
8.1.
Satan is not doubting Jesus’
sonship here, saying ‘if you are the Son of God.’ In the Greek the text clearly means, “Since
you are the Son of God.” Jesus did
not doubt that special relationship of sonship that He had with the Father and
therefore could not be tempted in that area.
8.2.
What could have been so
wrong for poor hungry Jesus using His miraculous abilities to turn a stone into
a loaf of bread?
8.2.1. Jesus would have been acting independently of the Father.
8.2.2. It would be a denial of faith in trusting the Father to provide for
Him.
8.2.3. It would have been to use His power in a selfish way to fulfill His own
personal goals.
8.2.4. It is always wrong to follow the promptings of the Devil, whatever they
may be.
9. VS 4:5-8 - “5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment
of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this
domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to
whomever I wish. 7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all
be Yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written , ‘ You shall worship the Lord your
God and serve Him only .’ ”” - Temptation #2: To be given all of the kingdoms in the world
by worshipping the Devil
9.1.
By logic, Matthew’s
placement of this temptation as the last of the three is surely the correct order. Plus, before writing of this temptation
Matthew says, “then” which reveals the order.
9.2.
Having tempted Jesus with
the “lusts of the flesh,” Satan with this temptation tempts Jesus with the
“pride of life.”
9.3.
Matthew’s account of this
temptation says that Jesus was taken up to a high mountain to see all of the
kingdoms of the world. However, this
temptation involved some sort of a vision that Satan caused Jesus to have, for
there is no physical mountain upon which all of the nations of the world can be
viewed.
9.4.
There has always been debate
about whether or not the Devil was lying in making this offer to Jesus. Did Satan really have the authority to give
the kingdoms of the world over to Jesus?
How much authority did Satan really have over the earth? It appears that if Jesus had known that Satan
was completely overstepping his bounds in positing this temptation that this
would not have been much of a temptation to Jesus. Yet, it appears Satan was stating more than
he could deliver. Though Satan is called
the prince of the power of the air and has been given quite a bit of authority
upon this earth, he cannot do whatever he wishes. We see for instance when Satan inflicted Job
with the horrible trials that he experienced that Satan first had to appear
before the Lord and get permission to do this.
9.5.
Jesus knew from many Old
Testament scriptures, including Psalm 2:6-9, that as the Son of God that His
destiny was to rule over all of the nations of the world, “6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7
“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of
Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends
of the earth as Your possession. 9 ‘You shall break them with a rod
of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ””
9.6.
Because Jesus knew that His
destiny was to rule over all of the nations, this temptation here was really a
temptation to be able to gain this privilege without having to go to the cross.
9.7.
Jesus fights off Satan’s
temptation here by quoting God’s Word in Deuteronomy 6:13.
9.8.
The temptation by Satan here
was just to once bow the knee and worship Satan, however a single act of
worship would be followed by being enslaved to the Devil. Satan never comes through with those things
that he tempts us with. You see, Satan’s
temptations always involve deceptions.
10.
VS 4:9-12 - “9 And he led Him to
Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If
You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; 10 for it is
written, ‘He will command His angels
concerning You to guard You,’ 11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So
that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 And
Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said , ‘ You
shall not put the Lord your God to
the test .’ ”” - Temptation #3: To put the Lord to the test
10.1.
Jesus had quoted scripture
to the Devil at each point in His temptation, now the Devil shows Jesus that he
also knows the scripture by quoting Psalm 91:11. As with those who deceive in the church,
Satan quotes this scripture out of its context and misapplies it to Jesus. Psalm 91:11 does not apply to presuming upon
the Lord and doing stupid and dangerous things expecting the Lord to protect
you.
10.2.
The pinnacle of the temple
here was probably the
10.3.
In this temptation, I
believe that Satan is tempting Jesus to show to the world with one big miracle
that he truly is the son of God. If
Jesus were to jump off the pinnacle of the temple and the angels scramble and
grab Him up in their arms so that He would not be hurt, would not people then
realize that Jesus was the Messiah? This
was what Jesus wanted anyway, wasn’t it?
For the world to realize that He was the Messiah?
10.3.1.
We will see later in the
gospel many spectacular works of power done by Jesus, and multitudes will see
these wonderful works which Jesus will do.
However, even seeing wonderful miraculous works by Jesus does not bring
them to believe in Him, repent of their sins and follow Him as Lord and
Savior. This is the same thing that
happened to the Israelites in the wilderness who for 40 years saw the
miraculous hand of God and yet remained in stubbornness of heart and unbelief.
10.4.
Jesus quotes Deut. 6:16 to
rebuff the Devil in this temptation.
God’s Word teaches us that it is wrong to force the Lord to have to use
His hand to protect or provide for us, to ‘put the Lord your God to the test.’
10.5.
Basically, it is just wrong
for people to try to force the Lord to do anything that is not according to His
perfect will.
11.
VS 4:13 - “13 When the devil
had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.” - The Devil left Jesus alone
11.1.
Satan was not done with tempting
Jesus. He would come back again because
like all of us as God’s people the Devil is always scheming and seeking an
opportunity to cause us to stumble in sin, as 1 Peter 5:8 tells us, “8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil,
prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
11.1.1.
When we have had victory
over temptations we need to realize that the Devil leaves us also only
temporarily so that he might strategize upon how he may next try to snare us
and cause us to stumble.
11.2.
This is the only experience
of major temptation in Jesus’ life that we have been given a window to observe,
however the scriptures tell us that Jesus was tempted as are all men. In fact, we have already seen from Hebrews it
tells us that Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are yet without sin (Heb.
4:15).
11.3.
There was surely heavy
temptation for Jesus in the Garden of Eden as He asked the Father if it would
be possible to take the cup of His impending suffering on Calvary away, and the
scriptures tell us that Jesus’ sweat was as great drops of blood. Yet, Jesus resolved Himself to doing God’s
will not His own, even if it meant going to
12.
CONCLUSIONS:
12.1.
Lets pray for the boldness and
fearlessness of John the Baptist, a man who feared God and not men.
12.2.
Don’t be caught off guard
when testings and temptations come your way.
When they come lets look quickly to Jesus for victory since as One who was
a victor over His testings and temptations He can give us victory.
12.3.
Since Jesus demonstrated He
was worthy to be the sinbearer for mankind by overcoming Satan in all of His
temptations, lets trust in Him because of His love is a holy and a pure
love. Jesus has no impurity or
compromised motives in regard to us.