Lucas 3
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Lucas 3
Wiersbe on baptism - Centuries before, Israel had crossed the Jordan (a national baptism) to claim their Promised Land. Now God summoned them to turn from sin and enter His spiritual kingdom....A unique feature about John’s ministry was baptism (Luke 20:1–8+; John 1:25–28+). Baptism was nothing new to the people, for the Jews baptized Gentile proselytes (ED: See note below)). But John baptized Jews, and this was unusual. Acts 19:1–5+ explains that John’s baptism looked forward to the coming of the Messiah (Acts 19:4+ "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him Who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus."), while Christian baptism looks back to the finished work of Christ. But there was something even beyond John’s baptism, and that was the baptism that the Messiah would administer (Luke 3:16+). He would baptize believers with the Holy Spirit, and this began at Pentecost (Acts 1:5+; Acts 2:1ff+). Today, the moment a sinner trusts Christ, he or she is baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). (Scroll to page 147 in Bible Exposition Commentary) The most significant question is were the Jews who received the baptism of John genuinely saved? Most likely not that many were truly saved. John
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Wiersbe - John reminded them that God gets to the root of things and is not impressed with religious profession that does not produce fruit. In the last judgment, the true believers (wheat) will be gathered by God, while the lost sinners (chaff) will be burned in the fire. (Scroll to page 147 in Bible Exposition Commentary) So every tree that does not bear good (kalos) fruit is cut down (ekkopto) and thrown into the fire (pur) - Every tree suggests individual judgment. Repentance that does not bring forth good fruits is a false repentance and if never "repented of" (so to speak) and replaced by genuine repentance, and such a spurious repentance will take one straight to the fire of hell. God is about to swing the ax! Bad trees would be easily recognized by bad fruit (or no fruit) and would be cut down and thrown into “the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25:41; cf Mt 18:8; Jude 1:6–7+). A few decades later in A D 70, the ax fell on Jerusalem and thousands of Jews died by famine or sword. This was a foreshadowing of the divine judgment that would fall on all Jews and Gentiles who refuse to repent and believe in Messiah (cf. Joel 3:1–2, 12–14; Zeph. 3:8). The Jews would have been familiar with John's image from the words of their last prophet (the one who preceded John). Thus Malachi wrote “Behold, I am going to send My messenger (John the Baptist), and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord (the Messiah), Whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the Messenger of the covenant (MESSIAH), in Whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness (the final and full fulfillment of this prophecy is at the end of this age and the dawn of the New Age, the Millennium! ). (Malachi 3:1-3+) Then in Malachi 4 the prophet prophesies of the future wrath of God... “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” 2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall (Malachi 4:1-2+) Malachi ends which prediction of the coming fo a great and terrible day... “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. 6 “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6+) So here John just picks up where the last prophet Malachi left off declaring a similar message that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.". NET Note on thrown into the fire - The image of "fire" serves to further heighten the intensity of the judgment referred to. It is John's way of summoning all people to return to God with all their heart and avoid his unquenchable wrath soon to be poured out. John's language and imagery is probably ultimately drawn from the OT where Israel is referred to as a fruitless vine (Hos 10:1–2; Jer 2:21–22) and the image of an "ax" is used to indicate God's judgment (Ps 74:5–6; Jer 46:22). NET Note on thrown - the present tense has futuristic force here. (Ed: The present tense is used in a proleptic sense for so certain is the wrath of God to one day in the future come to pass at which time all unbelievers will be thrown into the Lake of Fire - cf Rev 20:10+ and Rev 20:11-15+) John
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Wiersbe - John the Baptist was also a teacher (Luke 3:12). He not only preached publicly, but he also had a personal ministry to the people, telling them how to practice their new faith (Luke 3:10-14). He told them not to be selfish but to share their blessings with others (see Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37). (Scroll to page 147 in Bible Exposition Commentary) While tax collectors were hated by the Jews, it was not a crime to be a tax collector. The crime was to in defrauding and extorting the people which usually "went with the territory!" When the tax collectors came to John the Baptist to be baptized, it is notable that he did not tell them to quit their jobs but he told them to “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” (Lk 3:13+). Jesus Himself affirmed the propriety and legality of paying taxes when He commanded "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s." (Lk 20:25+). John MacArthur gives this background on tax collectors - The Roman occupation of Israel involved more than just a military presence; the nation was also subject to Roman taxation. The taxes in Galilee, for example, were forwarded by tax collectors to Herod Antipas, and by him to Rome. Antipas sold tax franchises to the highest bidder, and such franchises were a lucrative business. Tax collectors had a certain amount that they were required to collect, and whatever they collected beyond that they were permitted to keep (cf. Luke 3:12-13). In addition to the poll tax (on everyone, including slaves), income tax (about one percent), and land tax (one tenth of all grain, and one fifth of all wine and fruit), there were taxes on the transport of goods, letters, produce, using roads, crossing bridges, and almost anything else the rapacious, greedy minds of the tax collectors could think of. All of that left plenty of room for larceny, extortion, exploitation, and even loan sharking, as tax collectors loaned money at exorbitant interest to those who were unable to pay their taxes. Tax collectors also employed thugs to physically intimidate people into paying, and to beat up those who refused. (See Luke Commentary) Bock on tax collectors (telones) - To understand a little about the reply that John gives to the toll collectors, one must examine the background of the office. Taxes in the Roman Empire were a complex affair. There were different ranks of collectors, and there were different taxes to collect. The system of collection was known as tax (or toll) farming. City rulers leased the right to collect taxes to an individual or group, who had bid for this right and had paid for it in advance. Thus, the collector would not only have to collect the tax that Rome had stipulated, but he also would have to add a surcharge to meet his expenses, an additional charge over which he had total control. In most of the empire this job of collection went to wealthy Romans who were designated “publicans.” They in turn would hire others to do the actual collection, the “tax collectors” proper (telōnēs; BAGD 812 and BAA 1619 are clear on the distinction between these groups). And at times these tax collectors would hire subordinates, becoming “head tax collectors.” Because of the political situation, in 44 B.C. Julius Caesar reduced taxes in Palestine, so that publicans ceased to operate there (Donahue 1971: 44; Josephus Antiquities 14.10.5–6 §§200–209). Collecting direct taxes for Rome became the responsibility of the prefect, who hired a δημοσιώνης (dēmosiōnēs, state or public tax official; lit., farmer of the revenue)—a term that does not appear in the NT—to collect taxes. Direct taxes included the poll tax (a general citizen’s tax) and the land tax (a tax on one’s harvest) (Michel, TDNT 8:97–98). In addition to these direct taxes, there also was a set of indirect taxes on all items purchased or leased in a region, including a type of sales tax, which involved the hiring of τελῶναι, the term Luke uses here. Dues were collected at major cities such as Jerusalem, Jericho, and Caesarea.28 As one can see, this system of multiple collectors, each of whom could add his own surcharge, could create great abuse. In fact, a Palmyrene inscription from a slightly later period records an attempt to control abuses (Dittenberger 1903–5: #629).(See Luke : Baker Exegetical Commentary ) Baptized (907)(baptizo from bapto = cover wholly with a fluid; stain or dip as with dye; used of the smith tempering the red-hot steel, used of dyeing the hair; of a ship that "dipped" = sank) has a literal and a figurative meaning in the NT. The literal meaning is to submerge, to dip or immerse as in water. A study of the 77 NT uses reveals that most of the uses of baptizo in the Gospels and Acts are associated with literal water baptism, which is certainly the case in this context. Luke's uses - Lk. 3:7; Lk. 3:12; Lk. 3:16; Lk. 3:21; Lk. 7:29; Lk. 7:30; Lk. 11:38; Lk. 12:50; Acts 1:5; Acts 2:38; Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12; Acts 8:13; Acts 8:16; Acts 8:36; Acts 8:38; Acts 9:18; Acts 10:47; Acts 10:48; Acts 11:16; Acts 16:15; Acts 16:33; Acts 18:8; Acts 19:3; Acts 19:4; Acts 19:5; Acts 22:16 Teacher (1320) (didaskalos) is one who provides instruction or systematically imparts truth. The teacher teaches in such a way as to shape will of one being taught by content of what is taught. Someone has said that "The great teacher is the one who turns our ears into eyes so that we can see the truth." Henry Brooks added that "A (Bible) teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." Tax collectors (publicans) (5057)(telones from telos = tax + onéomai = to buy) means a reaper of the taxes or customs, tax-collector, one who pays to the government a certain sum for the privilege of collecting the taxes and customs of a district. See more discussion of telones in Lk 5:27. Luke mentions tax collectors six times in his Gospel - Lk 3:12+; Lk 5:27-32+; Lk 7:29-34+; Lk 15:1+; Lk 18:10-13+, Lk 19:2+. Luke 3:13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to. Collect: Lu 19:8 Ps 18:23 Pr 28:13 Isa 1:16,17 55:6,7 Eze 18:21,22,27,28 Mic 6:8 Mt 7:12 1Co 6:10 Eph 4:28 Tit 2:11,12 Heb 12:1 Luke 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Luke 3:7-14 False and True Repentance- Steven Cole Luke 3:8-14 True Repentance: God's Highway to the Heart- 2 - John MacArthur JOHN'S ANSWER: BE HONEST The word honest means not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent; free of deceit; truthful and sincere; not given to lying, cheating, stealing, etc; a person who is honest does not tell lies or cheat people, and obeys the law ; used about the things that someone says and does. The human quality of communicating and acting truthfully and with fairness. And he said to them, "Collect (prasso in present imperative) no more than what you have been ordered (diatasso) to - Collecting taxes was not a crime, but tax collectors were notorious for collecting more than the required amount (see above on this complex system of tax collecting).
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Wiersbe - Luke interrupted his narrative at this point to give us a genealogy of Jesus. Matthew’s genealogy (Matt. 1:1–17) begins with Abraham and moves forward to Jesus, while Luke’s begins with Jesus and moves backward to Adam. Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph, the legal foster-father of Jesus, while Luke gives us the genealogy of His mother Mary. Luke 3:23 can be translated: “When He began His ministry, Jesus was about thirty years old (being supposedly the son of Joseph), the son of Heli [an ancestor of Mary].” Mary herself would not be mentioned because it was unusual for women to be named in the official genealogies, though Matthew names four of them (Matt. 1:3, 5, 16). By putting the genealogy here, Luke reminded his readers that the Son of God was also the Son of man, born into this world, identified with the needs and problems of mankind. And, since Joseph and Mary were both in David’s line, these genealogies prove that Jesus of Nazareth has the legal right to David’s throne (Luke 1:32–33). (Scroll to page 148 - Bible Exposition Commentary) As was supposed - Here Luke indirectly speaks of the Virgin Birth. In a sense although Mary is not directly mentioned in this genealogy, she is indirectly alluded to by Luke! When Jesus was born the people obviously supposed Joseph was the true father, having no concept of the Spirit's role in the virgin Mary's pregnancy. Joseph was not His biologic Father but Mary was His biologic mother.