Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 3:3
And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
3. he came ] St Luke alone mentions the mission journeys of John the Baptist; the other Evangelists, whose narratives (Mat 3:1-12; Mar 1:1-8; Joh 1:15; Joh 1:28) should be carefully compared with that of St Luke, describe how the multitudes “came streaming forth” to him.
all the country about Jordan ] The Arabah is some 150 miles in extent; the actual river-valley, specified in the O. T. by the curious words Kikkar and Geliloth (see Stanley, Sin. and Pal. p. 284), is not so extensive.
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins ] Comp. Act 2:38; Act 3:15; Act 5:31; Act 22:16; where the two expressions are also united. The baptism of John was “a baptism of repentance,” not yet “a laver of regeneration” (Tit 3:5). It was intended first as a symbol of purification “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean,” Eze 36:25; (comp. Isa 1:16; Zec 13:1); and then as an initiation into the kingdom which was at hand. The Jews had been familiar with the symbolism of baptism from the earliest days, as a consecration (Exo 29:4), and a purification (Lev 14:8). It was one of the forms by which proselytes were admitted into Judaism. John’s adoption of this rite proved (i) his authority (Joh 1:25); and (ii) his opinion that even Jews needed to be thus washed from sins.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
On the baptism of John – see the notes at Matt. 3.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Luk 3:3
The country about Jordan–
The river Jordan
The river Jordan rises in the Anti-Lebanon, to the north of Jerusalem.
Imagine that you are looking, as your glance may be directed towards me, to Jerusalem; yonder on your right is Hermon. The river Jordan rises in the Anti-Lebanon range, 1,700 feet above the sea level. There are many streams that contribute to it in its first flow, it is disputed which of them is the real source. The streams gather; they enter the waters of Merom, the first little lake. From that they pass, and, after a course of a few miles, they enter a larger lake, and one more familiar to us all, and endeared to us all, the Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Galilee. They pass through this lake, which is itself between six and seven hundred feet below the sea level. It is said that their current may be traced through the lake. They pass from the Lake of Galilee and go down, and ever clown, until they enter into what we now call the Dead Sea, the Lake Asphaltites. Now, reading the Scripture, we cannot discover the wonder of this lake, and this itself is noticeable. The Scripture instructs us respecting the Jordan and the events that occurred on its sides, but modern travel tells us that in all the wonders of the world there is none, of its kind, comparable to the great chasm of the Jordan. It is the lowest of rivers. We go to the margin of the sea, and there we count ourselves indeed low. We descend from the mountains to the sea. Near the sea, as, e.g., in Cornwall, there are sometimes mines; you descend those mines, and of course you are below the sea level. The Jordan is a river that flows down and down, till, when it enters the Dead Sea, it is 1,300 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, below our ordinary holiday seaside level, and if you try the depth of the water itself, you find there is another 1,300 feet before you reach the bottom. The waters of the Dead Sea are briny, sour, smarting; they hang about your skin like oil; they enter into any chaps of the skin and torment you. They are so heavy that if you go in and bathe you can, as it were, sit on the waters. Heavy, salt, sour, sharp, are these terrific waters–waters of death, flowing towards Jerusalem from the north, but lying far below Jerusalem, as they pass it on the east, for the mountain city is 2,600 feet above the level of the sea–the Mediterranean; and the river Jordan as it enters its lake of death is 1,300 feet below the level of that sea, or 4,000 feet below the level of Jerusalem; and again the bottom of that lake–the sunken sea– is 1,300 feet below its surface. There is no parallel to this in the globe–none. You do not get a hint of it in the Bible. Does it mean anything? If I take a poker and dash a coal to pieces for the sake of feeding my fire, do I care how the fragments split? Not I. But I arrange the fragments presently that they may burn in the most agreeable manner. Does anybody suppose that Jehovah made the world as a man splits a coal for the Christmas fire, caring even less for the arranging of the parts or pieces; that He made a height here and a hollow there, and a broad river here and a comparatively narrow but foaming cataract there, without any purpose or meaning in His arrangements? Does any one suppose that in the placing of such a people as Israel there was no correspondence between the character and story of the people and the kind of country that they occupied? Do not think it. Sodom is a proverb of wickedness, and the Sodomites lived in the lowest place on the globe. Jerusalem is a name of glory, and Jerusalem is the mountain city of the world. Is there no meaning there? The one river, so called, of Palestine is as crooked as a serpent. It rushes on, muddy and foaming, like a maddened sinner, and it loses itself utterly in the sea of death, a sea without an outlet, a sea without a city on its shore, a sea without any animation of boats and traffic upon its surface, a sea without fish–not without its aspects of occasional loveliness though–and a sea that sends forth from its surface waters purified invisibly into the heavenly air. Wonderful seal Does this mean anything, or does it mean nothing? The Jordan is the river of judgment. There is no such emblem of a sinner in the world as the river Jordan. There is no such emblem of the prohibitive law of Moses in its ultimate results as the Jordan and the lake into which it enters. The sinner goes down, down, and the end of his way is death. The prohibitive law drives us down, down, and the end of it is the sentence of death. Die we must if sin drive us on; dead we are if we understand not the law spiritually. But were we born to be destroyed? No; but to be saved. Were we born to be driven on by mere impulse? No; but to be rescued from such driving. Were we born to enter into and be lost in the deep, the to us, as it were, unfathomable brine? No; but to be raised from it, purified, exalted. There is the Dead Sea: here the living Jerusalem. You look up–the living Jerusalem: you look down–the Dead Sea. From the heights of Jerusalem we look down and think of the Dead Sea as the sea from which we are rescued. We think of the Jordan, muddy, swollen, rapid, and know that not such is now the course of our life; but that we are rescued from such a course, and that we are to enter into life itself by Jesus Christ, who died to become the rescuer. (T. T. Lynch.)
Symbolism of the Jordan
Pass from the thought of the Jordan to that river of God which is full of water, whatever river may be by this phrase specially denoted in the Psalms, and recall this fact, that Jerusalem is especially the city of waters. Springs of water and subterranean streams are there in so much that if you are on the site of the old temple of Jerusalem, you may lay your ear to the ground and hear water running underneath, running, running. It is a wonderful thing. In the Church when it is most desolate, lay but your ear to the ground and you shall hear the waters of God running, running. The earth shall not perish of thirst, then? No, it shall not. The river of God, it is full of water. Glorious river! Will He keep it full? He will. Has not He kept the Nile in its courses through these thousand, thousand years? Has not He kept all the great rivers in the world; and He will keep the river of His own truth, of His own love running, running. Fear not, then; deliver thyself up, as to the flesh, to Jordan. Let Jordan make away with thee, and the swellings of Jordan carry thee down, down. Let his twenty-seven cataracts, or some of them, sweep thee on. Care nothing for the descents of Jordan. God will make away with thee by the current of Jordan, and yet will give thee to dwell by the river of His love and mercy, the river of which He will make us to drink; the river beside which trees of life grow; the river about which the Beautiful City is builded, the City of God so glorious and so peaceful. Believe in this river and take the imagery of Scripture, and use it as you will, this way to-day and another way to-morrow, yet always so as to enable your heart to trust and love God more and more, and you will rejoice that Scripture, as it were, is written in cipher; not merely in English, or Latin, or Greek, or Hebrew, but in cipher; in the language of hieroglyph, so that the more a man has of the Holy Ghost in his heart, the more he finds the Holy Ghosts meaning and comfort as he reads the ancient Word. (T. T. Lynch.)
Baptism in the Jordan
The Jordan was regarded by the Israelites as the glory of their country, for it is the only river in Palestine which always flows in a copious stream, though its sunken, tumultuous, twisted course, which, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, winds for some two hundred miles over a space only about sixty miles in direct length, has made it useless, for navigation, or as an attraction to human communities, except at the plain of Jericho. The great miracle when the Hebrews passed over made it sacred to them, so that its waters were already regarded with reverence when Elisha commanded Naaman to wash in them as a cure for his leprosy. Hallowed still more by the preaching of John and the baptism of Christ, the Jordan has been the favourite goal of all pilgrimages to the Holy Land in every age since the first Christian centuries. As early as the days of Constantine, to be baptized in its waters was deemed a great privilege, while in the sixth century Antoninus relates that marble steps led down into the water on both sides at the spot where it was believed our Lord had been baptized, while a wooden cross rose in the middle of the stream. Upon the eve of the Epiphany, he adds, great vigils are held here, a vast crowd of people is collected, and after the cock has crowed for the fourth or fifth time, matins begin. Then, as the day commences to dawn, the deacons begin the holy mysteries, and celebrate them in the open air; the priest descends into the river, and all who are to be baptized go to him. Holy water was even in that early age carried away by masters of vessels who visited it as pilgrims, to sprinkle their ships before a voyage; and we are told that all pilgrims alike went into the water wearing a linen garment, which they sacredly preserved as a winding-sheet to be wrapped round them at their death. The scene of the yearly bathing of pilgrims now is near the ford, about two miles above the Dead Sea, and each sect having its own particular spot which it fondly believes to be exactly that at which our Saviour was baptized. The season of baptism has been changed from the colder time of Epiphany to that of Easter, and as the date of the latter feast differs in the Roman and Greek Churches, no collisions take place. Each Easter Monday thousands of pilgrims start in a great caravan from Jerusalem under the protection of the Turkish government, a white flag and loud music going before them, while Turkish soldiers, with the green standard of the Prophet, close the long procession. On the Greek Easter Monday the same spectacle is repeated, four or five thousand pilgrims joining in this second caravan. The streets of Jerusalem are, for the time, deserted, to see the vast cavalcade set out: women in long white dresses and veils, men in flowing robes and turbans, covering the space outside the walls and the slopes and hollow of the Valley of Jehoshaphat in a particoloured crowd, eager to see the start. At last the procession streams from the gate and pours along the camel-track towards Bethany and the Jordan; some on foot, others on horseback, or on asses, mules, or camels The broad space between the Sultans Spring and Eriha is soon an extemporized town; tents of all sizes rising as by magic, while at night the plain is lighted up by the flames of countless fires, Next morning they start from this resting-place before sunrise, and march or ride by the light of the Passover moon towards the brink of the Jordan, but the pace of such a confused throng is slow. To help them on the first stages of their way multitudinous torches blaze in the van, and huge watchfires, kindled at the sides of the road, guard them past the worst places, till, as daylight breaks, the first of the throng reach the sacred river. Before long the high bank above the trees and reeds is crowded with horses, mules, asses, and camels in terrible confusion; old, young, men, women, and children, of many nationalities, all pressing together in seemingly inextricable disorder. Yet they manage to clear themselves after a time, and then, dismounting, rush into the water with the most business-like quiet, too earnest and practical to express much emotion. Some strip themselves naked, but most of them plunge in clad in a white gown, which is to serve hereafter as a shroud, consecrated by its present use. Families bathe together, the father immersing the infant and his other children that they may not need to make the pilgrimage in later life. Most of them keep near the shore, but some strike out boldly into the current; some choose one spot, some another, for their bath. In little more than two hours the banks are once more deserted, the pilgrims remounting their motley army of beasts with the same grave quiet as they had shown on leaving them for a time, and before noon they are back again at their encampment. They now sleep till the middle of the night, when, roused by the kettledrums of the Turks, they once more, by the light of the moon, torches, and bonfires, turn their faces to the steep pass up to Jerusalem in such silence that they might all be gone without waking you if you slept near them. It was thus with a great caravan of pilgrims who encamped a few yards from my tent near the Lake of Galilee. Noisy enough by night, with firing of pistols and guns, they struck their tents and moved off in the morning without breaking my sleep. (C. Geikie, D. D.)
Preaching the baptism of repentance
The preacher and his message
I. THE PREACHER. You can often guess a mans style or the character of his message from his personal appearance and demeanour. I presume it is because of this that Scripture, a book intended for mans salvation, should still find space here and there for notices of the personal appearance of some of its chief actors and characters. John Baptist, like Elijah, was a thorough man. We are told that his raiment was of camels hair, that he had a leathern girdle round his loins, and that he lived upon the poorest of food; but I wonder why all this is described, unless to show us that there are times and crises in the history of nations and of towns when a true man cannot live in society. God help the towns and communities that drive a John Baptist into the wilderness that he may there live and thrive and gather mental and spiritual strength.
II. HIS MESSAGE.
1. What he preached was a gospel of Divine origin. There can be no other. A human-made gospel is a self-condemned thing. You cannot manufacture a gospel–it comes like the grace of God; it comes like a breath of heaven filling the soul and commanding a rugged, rough man even in the very wilderness to cry out, I am a preacher. It is inspiration–the word of the Lord came. If the gospel be not Divine, it is nothing.
2. This gospel is an old-fashioned one. A recent writer has declared that the producers of truth are very few, that the jobbers in truth are many, and that the retailers of truth are numberless. I believe it is precisely the same with the gospel. The originators of the gospel are few–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; I know none other. The jobbers in the gospel are many, alas; and the retailers of the gospel are numberless. But it is the one gospel, and it must be an old-fashioned one, because the thing that called it into existence is as old as tile history of mankind. What called the gospel into the world? Mans helplessness and sin.
3. Notice, further, that the gospel according to John Baptist is a self-accredited thing. It has its credentials within itself. It does not need inspiration to tell me that such a verse as God is love is inspired: there is the fragrance of heaven upon that thought.
4. This gospel is a simple, intelligible gospel. It is said of Moliere that he would allow no play of his to be published in which there was a single word which his slave did not understand. Simpleness was the secret of his success, as it was of Shakspere, Milton, and John Bunyan. They dont manufacture, as it were, long words, they speak in the language of nature, and that is pre-eminently the great qualification and sign of the gospel of God.
5. Now, let us notice the universal tone of John Baptists gospel. All flesh shall see the salvation of God. How unlike a Jew is this style! Let us all–ministers, Sunday-school teachers, &c.
beware of preaching the gospel in a narrow way. Do not cramp it; give it free currency, and be sure that the gospel you preach is not your own, but Gods.
6. The subject-matter of the Baptists gospel is Repent. When a mans heart is wrung with grief for sin there is not, and there never has been, any gospel that can be preached to him save this. Repentance means atonement; atonement demands love; and the harsh, brassy sound of the call to repentance may bring a man face to face with the more mellow, happier music of the spheres of glory–God is love. (J. B.Meharry, B. A.)
John Baptists preaching
The preaching of the Baptist was–
1. Stern, as was natural to an ascetic whose very aspect and mission were modelled on the example of Elijah. The particulars of his life, dress, food–the leathern girdle, mantle of camels hair, living on locusts and wild honey–are preserved for us by the other evangelists, and they gave him that power of mastery over others which always springs from perfect self-control, and absolute self-abnegation. Hence in his manifestation and agency he was like a burning torch; his whole life was a very earthquake; the whole man was a sermon.
2. Absolutely dauntless. The unlettered Prophet of the desert has not a particle of respect for the powerful Sadducees and long-robed, luxurious Rabbis, and disdains to be flattered by their coming to listen to his teaching. Having nothing to hope for from mans favour, he has nothing to fear from mans dislike.
3. It shows remarkable insight into human nature, and into the needs and temptations of every class which came to him–showing that his ascetic seclusion did not arise from any contempt of, or aversion to, his fellowmen.
4. It was intensely practical. Not only does it exclude all abstract and theological terms such as justification, &c., but it says nothing directly of even faith or love. In this respect it recalls the Old Testament, and might be summed up in the words of Balsam, preserved in Mic 6:8.
5. Yet, though it still belongs to the dispensation of the shadow, it prophesies of the dawn. His first message was Repent; his second, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
6. It does not claim the credentials of a single miracle. Without a sign it stirred to its depths the heart of a sign-demanding age. What enormous moral force, then, it must have possessed.
7. It had only a partial and temporary popularity. The lamp is laid aside when the sun has dawned. (Archdeacon Farrar.)
Repentance the first thing
A ships company rise against their officers, put them in chains, and take the command of the ship upon themselves. They agree to set the officers ashore on some uninhabited island, to sail to some distant port, dispose of the cargo, and divide the amount. After parting with their officers they find it necessary, for the sake of self-preservation, to establish some kind of laws and order. To these they adhere with punctuality, act upon honour with respect to each other, and propose to be very impartial in the distribution of their plunder. But while they are on their voyage one of the company relents and becomes very unhappy. They inquire the reason. He answers, We are engaged in a wicked cause. They plead their justice, honour, and generosity to each other. He denies that there is any virtue in it. Nay, he declares, all our equity, while it is exercised in pursuit of a scheme which violates the great law of justice, is in itself a species of iniquity. You talk extravagantly, they reply; surely we might be worse than we are if we were to destroy each other as well as our officers. Yes wickedness admits of degrees; but there is no virtue of goodness in all our doings; all has arisen from selfish motives. The same principles which led us to discard our officers would lead us, if it were not for our own sake, to destroy each other. But you speak so very discouragingly; you destroy all motives to good order in the ship; what would you have us do? Repent; return to our injured officers and owners, and submit to mercy. Oh, but this we cannot do: advise us to anything which concerns the good order of the ship, and we will hearken to you. I cannot bear to advise in these matters. Return, return, and submit to mercy! (A. Fuller.)
The religion of penitence
The only religion possible to man is the religion of penitence. The righteousness of man cannot be the integrity of the virgin citadel which has never admitted the enemy; it can never be more than the integrity of the city which has been surprised and roused, and which, having expelled the invader with blood in the streets, has suffered great inward loss.
A true penitents feeling towards sin
I once walked into a garden with a lady to gather some flowers. There was one large bush whose branches were bending under the weight of the most beautiful roses. We both gazed upon it with admiration. There was one flower on it which seemed to shine above all the rest in beauty. This lady pressed forward into the thick bush, and reached far over to pluck it. As she did this, a black snake, which was hid in the bush, wrapped itself round her arm. She was alarmed beyond all description; and ran from the garden, screaming, and almost in convulsions. During all that day she suffered very much with fear; her whole body trembled, and it was a long time before she could be quieted. That lady is still alive. Such is her hatred now of the whole serpent race, that she has never since been able to look at a snake, even though it were dead. No one could ever persuade her to venture again into a cluster of bushes, even to pluck a beautiful rose. Now this is the way the sinner acts who truly repents of his sins. He thinks of sin as the serpent that once coiled itself round him. He hates it. He dreads it. He flies from it. He fears the places where it inhabits. He does not willingly go into the haunts. He will no more play with sin than this lady would afterwards have fondled snakes. (Bishop Merd.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. The baptism of repentance] See Clarke on Mt 3:4-6, and See Clarke on Mr 1:1, &c., and Mark 16 at the end.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
How long the time of Johns ministry was before he was shut up by Herod in prison the Holy Scriptures do not certainly tell us; but it must be very short, for our Saviours time was little more than three years, and we hear of his imprisonment in the beginning of our Saviours public ministry. All that we have of Johns ministry is to be found either in this chapter, or in Mat 3:1-17, or in Mar 1:1-45, or in the Joh 1:1-51; 3:1-36. From them all it appeareth, that the sum of his doctrine was, the necessity of repentance, and faith in Christ, in order to the remission of sins. His pressing faith in Christ is most clearly declared by the evangelist John. Matthew, Mark, and Luke insist more upon his preaching the doctrine of repentance for the remission of sins, and baptism as an evidence of it. Which doctrine or repentance he pressed both from evangelical motives, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, and from legal motives, or arguments of terror, The axe is now laid unto the root of the trees: in this setting an example to all ministers of the gospel, showing them what should be the main subjects of their discourses, for we shall find that our Saviour preached the same doctrine, and in the same method. What is here said we before opened:
See Poole on “Mat 3:2“. See Poole on “Mar 1:4“. John did not preach that baptism was repentance, or that remission of sins was infallibly annexed to it, but that the way to obtain remission of sins was by repentance, and that baptism was an external sign and symbol of it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he came into all the country about Jordan,…. He came out of the wilderness of Judea, where he first began his ministry, to some parts of the country that bordered on Jordan, and was near unto it, on either side the river; sometimes he was at Bethabara, and sometimes at Aenon, near Salim; for he did not take a tour round about all, the country that encompassed Jordan, but being at it, or in places adjacent to it, all the country round about came to him; see Mt 3:5.
Preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins: this was the work and office of John, as signified by Elias, in Mal 4:5 the Jews say n,
“the Israelites will not repent, till Elias comes; as it is said, Mal 4:5 in the land of Israel repentance delights.”
John came into this land, preaching this doctrine;
[See comments on Mr 1:4].
n Pirke Eliezer, c. 44.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
All the region round about Jordan ( ). The wilderness was John’s abode (1:80) so that he began preaching where he was. It was the plain (Ge 13:10f.) or valley of the Jordan, El Ghor, as far north as Succoth (2Ch 4:17). Sometimes he was on the eastern bank of the Jordan (Joh 10:40), though usually on the west side. His baptizing kept him near the river.
The baptism of repentance unto remission of sins ( ). The same phrase as in Mr 1:4, which see for discussion of these important words. The word remission () “occurs in Luke more frequently than in all the other New Testament writers combined” (Vincent). In medical writers it is used for the relaxing of disease.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The country about Jordan. Which both Matthew and Mark call the wilderness. See on Mt 3:1.
Baptism of repentance. Wyc., penaunce.
For [] . Better as Rev., unto, denoting the destination of the rite. Remission [] . See on Jas 5:15. The word occurs in Luke more frequently than in all other New Testament writers combined. Used in medical language of the relaxation of disease. Both Luke and John use the kindred verb ajfihmi, in the same sense. Luk 4:39; Joh 4:52.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And he came into all the country about Jordan,” (kai elthen eis pasan ten perichoron tou lordanou) “And he came of his own choice or will into all the neighborhood of the Jordan,” as an itinerant prophet, meaning into the inhabited villages along the Jordan, Jordan valley areas.
2) “Preaching the baptism of repentance,” (kerusson baptisma metanoias) “Heralding a baptism of repentance,” an immersion related to repentance, Luk 3:8; Mat 3:2; Act 17:30; Act 19:4. The Jews had been familiar with a baptism, as a symbolism of consecration and purification, from the earliest days of their history, Exo 29:4; Lev 14:8. It was a ceremony by which proselytes of other races and religions were admitted into Judaism. But the Baptism which John came preaching was of a different nature, and of direct orders to John from heaven, Luk 3:2, Joh 1:6; Joh 1:31; Joh 1:33.
3) “For the remission of sins;” (eis aphesin hamartion) “With reference to forgiveness of sins,” witnessing to the remission of sins, of those who had repented. The baptism was a “symbol of” not “means of obtaining” remission of sins. Repentance and faith, before heaven’s authorized baptism, is the Bible order, and any other order is out of order, Mat 3:2; Mat 3:7-8; Mat 1:15; Act 19:20; Act 19:22. Jesus told the sinful chief priests and elders that after they had heard the preaching of John, seen the publicans and harlots had repented and believed him, his preaching about Jesus; that after all that, they did not repent of their sins, that (in order that) they might believe, Mat 21:23; Mat 21:32. The, baptism or immersion required and represented an inward spiritual change.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Luk 3:3
. Preaching the baptism of repentance This form of expression shows first, generally, what is the right use of the Sacraments; and next, why baptism was instituted, and in what it consists. A sacrament, then, is not a dumb ceremony, exhibiting some unmeaning pomp without doctrine; but the Word of God is joined to it, and gives life to the outward ceremony. By the Word I mean, not mutterings of a magical character, made by some exorcist between his teeth, but what is pronounced with a clear and distinct voice, and leads to the edification of faith. For we are not simply told, that John baptized unto repentance, as if the grace of God were contained in a visible sign; but that he explained, in his preaching, the advantage of baptism, that the sign, through the word preached, might produce its effect. This is the peculiarity of baptism, that it is said to be an outward representation of repentance for the forgiveness of sins Now, as the meaning, power, and nature of that baptism are the same as ours, if we judge of the figure from its true import, it is incorrect to say, that the baptism of John is different from the baptism of Christ. (246)
(246) ” Maintenant puis que le Baptesme de Jean a eu mesme signification, vertu et propriete que le nostre, si nous voulons juger de la figure et du signe selon la chose signifee, c’est ‘a dire la verite, nous trouverons que le Baptesme administre par Christ, n’a point este autre que celuy que Jean a administre.”—”Now, since the baptism of John had the same meaning, power, and nature as ours, if we wish to judge of the figure and of the sign according to the thing signified, that is to say the reality, we shall find that the Baptism administered by Christ was no other than that which John administered.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) Going upward from Zerubbabel and Salathiel, which are common to both genealogies, we come again across a different successionSt. Luke leading us to Nathan as the son of David, and St. Matthew to Solomon. Here again we have in St. Luke twenty-two generations from Salathiel to David, inclusive, while in St. Matthew we have but sixteen.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(3) There is, in the appearance in St. Matthews list of Jeconias (as in 1Ch. 3:17), and in St. Lukes of Neri, as the father of Salathiel, a problem to be solved; but an adequate, though necessarily conjectural, solution is not far to seek. To assume that the Salathiel of the one list is not identical with that in the other, is to cut the knot instead of disentangling it. But it may be noticed that in the earlier registers connected with the name of the historical Salathiel, father of the Zerubbabel who was the leader of the Jews on their return from Babylon, there is an obvious complication. In 1Ch. 3:19, Zerubbabel is the son of Pedaiah, the brother of Salathiel. The language in Jer. 22:30 at least suggests the thought that Jeconiah died without an heir. What seems probable accordingly is that the royal line descended from Solomon, expired in Jeconiah, and that Salathiel, the son of Neri, the representative of the line of Nathan, took his place in the line of inheritance. It is not without significance that in the contemporary prophecy of Zechariah, the house of Nathan appears, for the first time in the history of Judah, as invested with a special pre-eminence (Zec. 12:12). The difference in the number of the names admits of the same explanation as before.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(3-9) And he came into all the country . . .The words paint the mission-work of John somewhat more vividly than those of St. Matthew and St. Mark, who represent the people flocking to Him from Jerusalem and Juda. The two facts together complete the picture.
The baptism of repentance.See Notes on Mat. 3:1-11, and Mar. 1:4-6. In his description of the Baptism, St. Luke agrees verbally with the latter.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3-9. In regard to John’s baptism, consult notes on Mat 3:1-12.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he came into all the region round about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins,’ .
And as a result of receiving ‘the word of God’ John came into the region round about the Jordan in order to proclaim it. He preached the need for a ‘turning to God’, a ‘change of heart, mind and will’ (metanoia – translated ‘repentance’), so that men’s sins could be forgiven, linking it with his baptism in water which proclaimed the forthcoming pouring out of the Holy Spirit like rain. Note that to Luke repentance is the gift of God and closely connected with the giving of the Holy Spirit (Act 5:30-31; Act 11:15-18).
The Greek word literally means a ‘change of mind’ but was used to translate the Semitic idea of ‘turning’ to God, involving a change of direction and often sorrow of heart ( 1Ki 8:47 ; 1Ki 13:33; Psa 78:34; Isa 6:10; Eze 3:19; Amo 4:6). It is common also on the lips of Jesus both as a noun and a verb (e.g. Luk 5:32; Luk 10:13; Luk 11:32; Luk 13:3; Luk 13:5; Luk 15:7; Luk 15:10; Luk 24:47). On this point both Jesus and John are in agreement. It reflects the contrite heart that comes to God for forgiveness and renewal (Psa 34:18; Psa 51:17; Isa 57:15; Isa 66:2).
While it is true that John comes from a priestly family, his chosen background is that of a prophet. In his clothing, his food and his chosen environment of the wilderness he follows Elijah (Luk 3:2; Mar 1:6; Mat 3:4; compare 2Ki 1:8; 1Ki 17:3-4). And like Elijah he stands to give warning to the powers of his day (Luk 3:14; Luk 3:19). And his message too is a prophetic one. We should therefore see his baptism in the same light. While we may see water in terms of washing, the people of the land who heard John would have seen it very much in terms of rain coming down on the land, and of rivers and water courses that produced life. And that was the prophetic message, especially of Isaiah who provides the Scriptural background to John’s ministry (Luk 3:4-6. See Isa 32:15; Isa 44:1-5; Isa 55:10-13). John’s message too was that soon the Holy Spirit would come down on men, and He would come down on those whose hearts were prepared by turning to God from sin, and living accordingly. And through their commitment by baptism to His effective working, indicating their desire to partake in the coming outpouring of the Spirit, they would receive the forgiveness of sins. But the repentance and forgiveness did not await the future outpouring of the Spirit. They were effective now in readiness for it.
We must beware of thinking that the Holy Spirit was not already working. John is filled with the Holy Spirit (Luk 1:15) and preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit. But the work of the Holy Spirit that he sees as to come is something different. It is the great outpouring described in the prophets (Isa 32:15; Isa 44:1-5; Joe 2:28; Eze 36:25-27) which will commence in Joh 20:22 and Acts 2, and which will shake the world. But as is clear in the ministry of Jesus (Luk 4:1; Luk 4:14; Luk 10:21 with 17; Luk 11:13; Luk 12:10; Luk 12:12; Mat 12:28; Joh 3:6; Joh 4:10-14 with 24; Luk 7:37 in contrast with 38) the Spirit is already working, as indeed He has always worked (Psa 51:10-11; Psa 139:7; Psa 143:10).
It is significant that apart from in Act 22:16, which can in fact be interpreted differently, baptism is never directly connected with washing, while Peter emphasises that it has nothing to do with the removal of the defilement of the flesh – 1Pe 3:21. So contrary to what is often said it is totally unlike Jewish religious washings, which were only ever a self-washing of the body preparatory to waiting on God for cleansing, and had to be performed continually. While it has been likened to proselyte baptism it is not really similar, for proselyte baptism was for removal of ritual uncleanness and then simply introduced the person to the continual chain of washings which would maintain his cleanness, which would inevitably follow. John’s baptism was nothing like this. It was once for all, marking the recipient, if his heart was true, as one of God’s chosen. The cleansing that it represented was not that of washing but of the working of the Holy Spirit within (the ‘washing of regeneration’). In the Old Testament it is only blood sprinkled water (‘pure water’) that was seen as cleansing and had to be applied to another, not washing water. Note how the priestly Ezekiel likens the coming of the Spirit to being sprinkled with clean (cleansed) water (Eze 36:25-27).
Johns baptism was administered by him and was initiatory and final. It was linked with the coming drenching in the Holy Spirit and indicated that the person who received it had been made right with God through turning to God and receiving forgiveness. It indicated the commencement of a new life, a turning from the old to the new. And he warned that if it was participated in lightly it would result in being drenched, not with the Holy Spirit but with fire and judgment. Thus its prime significance must be seen as representing the coming work of the Holy Spirit, which was already happening to a limited extent through the Spirit-filled John.
‘All the region round about the Jordan.’ This would include lands both sides of the Jordan, as he moved from place to place. But he was very much seen as connected with the Jordan. It was where he baptised, and it was symbolically connected with the new age that had begun when Israel crossed the Jordan (Jos 3:7 to Jos 4:1), something re-enacted by Elijah and Elisha (2Ki 2:8; 2Ki 2:14). It was a symbol of God’s power as He was again beginning to act on behalf of His people (2Ki 2:12), as it had been of the spirit of Elijah coming on Elisha (2Ki 2:15). Now John had the Spirit and power of Elijah (Luk 1:17). John tells us that for a time Jesus preached alongside John although He sought not to be seen as a rival (Joh 3:22-23; Joh 4:1-3).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
John’s ministry:
v. 3. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
v. 4. as it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.
v. 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;
v. 6. and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. John came down, at the appointed time, from the remote fastnesses of the hilly wilderness, for he had a message to the people of Israel, who very soon heard of his powerful preaching and flocked down to hear him. His chief place of sojourn during his ministry was in the valley along the Jordan, and he seems to have moved as far north as Galilee, on both sides of the river; it was under the jurisdiction of Herod of Galilee that he was imprisoned and murdered. His work was that of a herald, calling out, proclaiming; its summary was the baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. “It does not say: Repent, in order that the Kingdom of heaven may come, but, because it has come. Grace goes before and is free, it is not earned through repentance; that we are able to repent, that in itself is a work of grace in us; by our means we should only attain to the despair of Cain and Judas. The Complete change of heart and mind which is demanded in Scripture as an indispensable condition for the attainment of salvation, is no amelioration out of our own strength. Therefore there is no repentance without faith, no rejecting of sin without the acceptance of the forgiveness of sin. ” But where such true repentance obtains, there the Gospel gives the assurance of remission, and Baptism is the seal and surety of the completed redemption. In all this work of John, the prophecy of Isaiah was being fulfilled, in which the effect of his preaching was described in beautiful, figurative language, Isa 40:3. His was the voice of one calling aloud, attracting attention by his calling, causing men to give ear to his message. Prepare the way of the Lord, make everything ready for His coming, let no one be indifferent to His advent. Make the highways straight; do away with all indirect, roundabout ways, let all hypocrisy be removed far from you; as He deals straightforward and with all directness, so do you meet Him. Every ravine shall be filled up; all anxious minds and discouraged hearts shall take confident courage, for the King is coming to pay the penalty for, and forgive, all their sins, Every mountain and hill shall be made low; all self-righteous, proud spirits shall be broken and brought to the understanding that without Jesus they cannot escape the wrath to come. The tortuous and crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places shall be made smooth; all those that are lost in the error of their own lusts, all those that are seeking, by devious byways, to enter into life, should cast their foolish thoughts far from them and come to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And no one is excepted from the grace of God in Christ Jesus: all flesh shall see the salvation of God; all that is flesh, even the most depraved sinners, if only they turn from their sin and repent with all their heart, belong to the redeemed of the Lord and become partakers of His salvation. The universality of the redemption in Christ is emphasized very strongly, according to Luke’s manner of bringing out this point. There is no mind so good, it must be changed; there is no mind so bad, it can be changed; there is no sin so small, it must be forgiven; there is no sin so great, it can be forgiven.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Luk 3:3. And he came into all the country about Jordan What St. Luke terms the country about Jordan, St. Matthew calls the hill-country of Judea: their accounts maybe illustrated from Josephus, who tells us, that the mountains above Jericho ran north as far as Scythopolis, and south to the territory of Sodom, at the bottom of the Asphalticlake: opposite to this there was another range of mountains on the other side of Jordan, beginning at Julias, where the river falls into the sea of Galilee; and extending themselves southward to the extremity also of the Asphaltic lake. The plain between these mountains, and through which the Jordan ran, was called the Aulon, also the Campus Magnus, or Great Plain; and is often mentioned in the Jewish history. According to Josephus, the length of the Aulon was from the village of Ginnabris, to the northern extremity of the Asphaltic lake, and measured 1200 stadia; but its breadth between the mountains was only 120 stadia. The Scriptures, however, extend the Campus Magnus to the southern extremity, or bottom of the Dead Sea; Deu 34:1-3 which for that reason they call the sea of the plain. There is another Campus Magnus mentioned by Josephus, called also The Plain of Esdraelon, from the city ofJezreel. This plain extendeditself from Scythopolis on the east, to the plain of Ptolemais, or Acra, on the west. The plain of Acre on the north was bounded by a range of hills, and to the south by mount Carmel, but eastward it was joined to the plain of Esdraelon by a narrow way. Besides the above-mentioned, there is a large extent of flat country lying along the Mediterranean, from mount Carmel to the utmost boundary of the land southward. In this plain there were no mountains, only a few sandy hillocks, such as at Joppa, on which Gath of the Philistines is said to have been built. These were all the remarkable plains in the land of Israel; the rest of the country was high and mountainous, having but small openings or flats between the ridges of the hills. With respect to the Jordan, we learn from Josephus, as well as from other modern travellers, that it was a very large and rapid river. See his Wars, B. 3. 100: 18. Shaw’s Travels, p. 373. Maundrell’s Journey, p. 81 and the notes on Jos 3:13. Jer 49:19. The particular part of the river where John baptized was called Bethabara, or the house of the passage; either because the Israelites anciently passed over at that place, or because it was the common fording or ferrying place, to and from Judea. On either supposition, the banks of the river there must have been free of wood, and not so steep as those described in the place above referred to. If Bethabara was the place where the people under Joshua passed the river, it stood directly opposite to Jericho. If it was the then common ferrying-place, we may suppose that the Baptist chose it for the sake of making himself better known, and that he might have an opportunity of addressing greater numbers of his countrymen, as they travelled from one part of the country to another.
Preaching the baptism of repentance John being called to prepare the Jews for the reception of the Messiah, he atchieved this work through divine grace, by pressing all ranks of men to repent, , that is to say, to alter their practical judgments concerning things, and to be suitably affected with remorse and shame for their guilt and past misconduct: but the Baptist did not stop here; he required all his hearers to bring forth fruits meet for repentance; (Luk 3:8.) that is, enjoined them to make a thorough reformation in their lives: and all this is well described, and fully expressed, in the metaphorical language of the prophet, quoted in the next verses. The Baptist inculcated likewise this doctrine by the rite of baptism, which represented the nature and necessity of repentance to men’s senses, as his sermons set these things before their understandings. See the note on Mat 3:2 and on Isa 40:3.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Luk 3:3 . See on Mat 3:1 f.; Mar 1:4 .
.] Matthew and Mark have . There is no discrepancy; for the apparent discrepancy vanishes with in Luke, compared with the narrative of the baptism in Matthew and Mark.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
(3) And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; (4) As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (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: (6) And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. (7) Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (9) And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (10) And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? (11) He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. (12) Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? (13) And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. (14) And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? and he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. (15) And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; (16) John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water: but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: (17) 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. (18) And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. (19) But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, (20) Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. (21) Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened, (22) And the Holy Ghost 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.
Having very largely dwelt upon the most prominent features of the person and office of John the Baptist, on the parallel account given of him in Matthew’s statement, Mat 3:1 to the end; I think it unnecessary to enlarge on the subject here, but rather refer the Reader to my Poor Man’s Commentary, in that place. In addition to what was there offered, I would only beg further to observe, on what is here said of the consternation into which John’s ministry threw his auditory, whether he was the Christ, or not; certain it was, that a general expectation had been raised about this very time, by all orders of the people, for the coming of the Messiah. The prophecies concerning Christ, when he should appear, according to Daniel’s seventy weeks, was now arrived: Dan 9:24 . where he should be born, according to Micah, had been fulfilled in Christ’s instance. Mic 5:2 ; Mat 2:4-6 ; Joh 7:42 . And his forerunner, which Malachi described, now arrested their attention. Mal 3:1 . So that it is not to be wondered at, that the multitude of the people which read their prophets, pondered over John’s preaching. See Joh 1:19-34 . I beg the Reader’s particular attention to what was offered on the subject of Christ’s baptism, and the testimony of the three heavenly witnesses on that occasion, as stated Mat 3:16-17 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
Ver. 3. Preaching the baptism of repentance ] John’s note was still repentance. Christ comes not where this herald hath not been before him. Yet now it is come to that pass, that many men scorn to hear a sermon of repentance. It is a sign, say some, that the minister hath been idle that week, or that his stock is spent when he comes to preach of such a common theme as repentance. If God be not merciful, we shall quickly dispute away all our repentance, as a famous preacher justly complaineth.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
3 6. ] Mat 3:1 .Mar 1:4Mar 1:4 , where see note on . .
Luk 3:5-6 are peculiar to Luke. They are nearly verbatim from the LXX Alex., not [32] , who for has . After this there is omitted , and then . . . . as LXX.
[32] The Codex Boreeli, once possessed by John Boreel, Dutch ambassador in London under James I. It was lost for many years, till found at Arnheim by Heringa, a professor at Utrecht. It is now in the public library at the latter place. Heringa wrote a dissertation on it, so copious as to serve for an edition of the codex itself. This dissertation was published by Vinke in 1843. Contains the four Gospels with many lacun, which have increased since Wetstein’s time. Tischendorf in 1841 examined the codex and compared it with Heringa’s collation. Tischendorf assigns it to the ninth century: Tregelles, to the tenth .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 3:3-6 . John’s ministry .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Luk 3:3 . . In Mt. and Mk. the people come from all quarters to John. Here John goes to the people in an itinerant ministry. The latter may apply to the early stage of his ministry. He might move about till he had attracted attention, then settle at a place convenient for baptism, and trust to the impression produced to draw the people to him. , etc.: here Lk. follows Mk. verbatim , and like him, as distinct from Mt., connects John’s baptism with the forgiveness of sins, so making it in effect Christian.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
came = went.
into. Greek. eis. App-104.
preaching = proclaiming. See App-121.
baptism. See App-115.
repentance. See App-111.
for = with a view to. Greek. eis. App-104.
the remission = remission. A medical word (see Col 4:14). Used by Luke ten times. Rest of N.T. only seven times. See Luk 4:18.
sins. App-128.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
3-6.] Mat 3:1. Mar 1:4, where see note on . .
Luk 3:5-6 are peculiar to Luke. They are nearly verbatim from the LXX Alex., not [32], who for has . After this there is omitted , and then . … as LXX.
[32] The Codex Boreeli, once possessed by John Boreel, Dutch ambassador in London under James I. It was lost for many years, till found at Arnheim by Heringa, a professor at Utrecht. It is now in the public library at the latter place. Heringa wrote a dissertation on it, so copious as to serve for an edition of the codex itself. This dissertation was published by Vinke in 1843. Contains the four Gospels with many lacun, which have increased since Wetsteins time. Tischendorf in 1841 examined the codex and compared it with Heringas collation. Tischendorf assigns it to the ninth century: Tregelles, to the tenth.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 3:3. , Jordan) a river suited for baptizing in. The kingdom of God in its onward course adapts itself to the place and the time.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
sins
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the country: Mat 3:5, Mar 1:4, Mar 1:5, Joh 1:28, Joh 3:26
preaching: Mat 3:6, Mat 3:11, Mar 1:4, Joh 1:31-33, Act 13:24, Act 19:4, Act 22:16
for: Luk 1:77
Reciprocal: 1Ch 2:9 – Ram Isa 56:1 – for Mal 3:1 – and he Mat 3:3 – by Mat 11:7 – What Mat 17:11 – and restore Mat 24:26 – he is in the desert
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE BAPTISTS MESSAGE
And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Luk 3:3
What is repentance?
I. Repentance is that change of mind which turns away with sorrow from anything that is wrong, which owns it, and amends it, and is willing to start afresh. So that repentance is the persistent enemy of a perpetual defectviz. the contented acquiescence in old unworthy habits because they are old; habits which have ceased to move our indignation because we have got used to them; habits which we never own to God or man because it is best to say nothing about them; habits which we do not intend to alter, because we do not believe it possible that we ever should.
II. Repentance an excellent thing for others.Is it not so, that we think repentance would be an excellent thing for many peoplefor those publicans and soldiers, for instance, for that common herd of useless menbut not for ourselves? No one is more ready than we are to lament the decadence of the times. But if we read the short account of Johns ministry in the Gospel, we find that nowhere were his denunciations more scathing, and his exhortations more earnest, than when he was addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious world of his time. And our religious services, which we have received to use, are not meant for, or adapted to, the outcast and abandoned, but to such persons as ourselves that we may cry mercy, and protest penitence, and promise again and again an oft-renewed repentancerepentance that is for ourselves and not for other people. Surely, unless we realise this, we are in great danger of unreality, for there is nothing so numbing to all discipline as to use strong words which have lost all their meaning, and to promise actions which we never mean to perform.
III. It is so easy to be religious with a reservation.It is so easy, with Ananias and Sapphira, to get the credit of renunciation while we keep back part of the price. Surely it is idle to believe in the omnipotence of God if we cannot trust Him to free us from the impotency of some hereditary taint. It is idle to trust in Christ the Liberator if we hug our chains and linger in captivity. It is melancholy to boast of freedom and to allow year after year to find us still in fetters. The divorce between faith and practice, between orthodoxy and morality, is always terribly easy. It is this more than anything else which brings in converts to the devils society for propagating infidelity, which is sometimes more successful than the society which propagates the Gospel. Is it not written, By their fruits ye shall know them? And how shall I recognise the power of Christianity in a religion which cannot help a man to throw off even one bad habit? But with most of us repentance means a vigorous effort to combat the deterioration which sets in even in our best efforts. Why is it that the Church is making itself so little felt? Why are we not influencing the world around us more than we do? If a tenth of our prayers were answered the world would be a different place, and why are they not answered? Ye ask and ye receive not because ye ask amiss.
Rev. Canon Newbolt.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
3
At the Lord’s call, John came out of his retirement and began preaching in the region of the Jordan. Baptism of repentance means baptism that is preceded and prompted by repentance or a turning away from the practice of sin. For remission of sins denotes that repentance and baptism was in order to the remission of sins.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Luk 3:3. See on Mat 3:1; Mar 1:4.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. The place where the Baptist exercised his ministry; in the wilderness of Judea, where were some cities and villages, though thinly inhabited.
Note here, the great humility of the Baptisit in preaching in an obscure place, and to a small handful of people. Jerusalem, some might think, was a fitter place, for so celebrated a preacher; but God had called him to preach in the wilderness, and there he opens his commission.
Learn, that the most eminent of God’s ministers must be content to execute their office, and exercise their ministry, where God calls them, be the place never so mean and obscure, and the people never so rude and barbarous. In the place where God by his providence fixes us, we must abide, till he that called us thither, removes us thence.
And this was the Baptist’s case here. He leaves the wilderness at God’s command, and comes to more inhabited places: He came into the country about Jordan, preaching. It is not only lawful, but a necessary duty, for the ministers of God to remove from one place and people to another, provided their call be clear, their way plain, the good of souls their motive, and the glory of God their end.
Observe, 2. The doctrine which the Baptist preached: namely, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins: that is, the doctrine of baptism, which sealeth remission of sins to the party baptized.
Learn hence, that the preaching of the doctrine of repentance is the indispensable duty of every gospel minister. John the Baptist preached it, our Saviour preached it, his apostles preached it: They went out every where preaching that men should repent.
Till we are in a state of sinless perfection, the doctrine of repentance must be preached unto us, and practiced by us.
Observe, 3. The motive and inducement which prompted the Baptist to this duty; which was, to fulfil the prophecies that went before of him: As it is written in the book of the prophecies, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight: every valley shall be filled.
Where note, 1. The title given to John the Baptist: a Voice, a crying voice. This implies both his vehemency and earnestness, and also his freedom and boldness, in delivering his message: when a minister’s own heart is warmly affected with what he preaches, he may hope to affect the hearts of others.
Note, 2. The sum and substance of what he cried: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, that is, make yourselves ready to receive the Messiah, to embrace and entertain his doctrine. As loyal subjects, when their prince is coming near their city, remove everything out of the way that may hinder his progress; all annoyances and all impediments; in like manner the preparatory work of the gospel upon the hearts of sinners, lies in pulling down mountains, and filling up vallies; that is, in humbling the proud hearts of sinners, puffed up, as the Pharisees were, with a conceit of their own righteousness, who would be their own saviours, and not beholden to Christ, and to his free grace for salvation.
Learn hence, 1. That man’s heart is naturally very unfit to receive and entertain the Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy doctrine; we have naturally no fitness, no inclination, nor disposition, to believe in him, or submit unto him.
2. That if ever we design to entertain Christ in our hearts, we must first prepare and make ready our hearts for the receiving and embracing of him. For though the preparation of the heart be from the Lord, yet he requires the exercise of our faculties, and the use of our endeavours; he prepares our hearts, by enabling us to prepare our own hearts, by getting a sight of the evil of sin, and a sense of our misery without Christ; and hungering desire after him, and a lively faith in him.
God does not work upon man, as masons work upon a stone; what he doth in us and for us, he doth it by us; he works by setting us to work; therefore says the holy Baptist, prepare ye the way of the Lord. The act of endeavour is ours, the aid and assistance is God’s.
Observe lastly, the encouragement which the Baptist gives to persons to prepare the way of the Lord: For, says he, all flesh shall see the salvation of God; that is, now is the time that all persons, Jews and Gentiles, may see the Author of salvation, whom God has promised to the world; and may by faith be made partakers of that salvation which the Messiah shall purchase for them, and in his gospel tender to them. The great end of Christ’s coming into the world, was to purchase salvation for all flesh willing to be saved by him.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Luk 3:3-6. And he came into all the country about Jordan He made his first public appearance in the wilderness of Judea, Mat 3:1; that is, in the uncultivated and thinly-inhabited parts of the hill-country round Hebron, where his father dwelt; Luk 1:39-40; but after his fame was spread abroad, and many came to him, he left Judea and passed over Jordan, residing chiefly at Bethabara, for the conveniency of baptizing, Joh 1:28; Joh 10:40. He travelled, however, through all that country; preaching the baptism of repentance That is, calling sinners of all descriptions to repentance, and admitting the penitent to the baptism of water as an outward or visible sign, or emblem of the free and full remission of all their sins. In other words, he enjoined the penitent to be baptized, as a testimony, on their part, of the sincerity of their repentance, and on the part of John, who administered this ordinance by the commandment of God, as a seal or token that their sins were remitted. As it is written in the book of Esaias, The voice of one crying, &c. See the notes on Isa 40:3-5. The evangelist, by citing this prophecy, as accomplished in the Baptists preaching, shows us its true meaning. Isaiah, by expressions taken from the custom of kings, who commonly have the roads through which they pass prepared for them, signified that the Messiahs forerunner was to prepare his way, by intimating that the institutions of Moses were to be relinquished as the means of salvation, and by exhorting the people to repentance and amendment of life. Matthew tells us, that John enforced his exhortations to repentance from the consideration that the Messiahs kingdom was at hand; the kingdom of heaven, foretold by Daniel the prophet, the new dispensation of religion, wherein all ceremonial observances were to be abolished, and nothing but repentance, partly flowing from, and partly followed by, faith in the Messiah, and producing sincere obedience, would avail toward the pardon of sin, acceptance with God, and the enjoyment of eternal life. According to Luke, the argument whereby John enforced his exhortations to repentance was, that sinners would thereby obtain the remission of their sins. The two evangelists, therefore, being compared, show, that the great and distinguishing privilege of the new dispensation is, that therein pardon is promised to, and conferred on, penitents who believe in Jesus, and that the kingdom of God, including righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, (Rom 14:17,) is set up in their hearts and governs their lives. Every valley shall be filled, &c. Of these metaphors, which are plainly taken from the making of roads, the meaning is, that the Messiahs forerunner, by preaching the doctrine of repentance, and thereby affecting mens minds with remorse and shame for their past conduct, and producing amendment of life, should be instrumental in effecting such a change in the hearts and lives of the Jews, that many of them should acknowledge, receive, and become subject to the Messiah, when he appeared. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God After such a preparation of the way as is now described, mankind shall behold, not a splendid temporal monarch, accompanied with a magnificent retinue, but the author of that salvation which God has prepared before the face of all people. Luk 2:30-31; see notes on Mat 3:3.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2. vers. 3-6.
The country about Jordan, in Luke, doubtless denotes the arid plains near the mouth of this river. The name wilderness of Judea, by which Matthew and Mark designate the scene of John’s ministry, applies properly to the mountainous and broken country which forms the western boundary of the plain of the Jordan (towards the mouth of this river), and of the northern part of the basin of the Dead Sea. But as, according to them also, John was baptizing in Jordan, the wilderness of Judea must necessarily have included in their view the lower course of the river. As to the rest, the expression he came into supposes, especially if with the Alex. we erase the , that John did not remain stationary, but went too and fro in the country. This hint of the Syn., especially in the form in which it occurs in Luke, agrees perfectly with Joh 10:40, where the Peraea is pointed out as the principal theatre of John’s ministry.
The rite of baptism, which consisted in the plunging of the body more or less completely into water, was not at this period in use amongst the Jews, neither for the Jews themselves, for whom the law only prescribed lustrations, nor for proselytes from paganism, to whom, according to the testimony of history, baptism was not applied until after the fall of Jerusalem. The very title Baptist, given to John, sufficiently proves that it was he who introduced this rite. This follows also from Joh 1:25, where the deputation from the Sanhedrin asks him by what right he baptizes, if he is neither the Messiah nor one of the prophets, which implies that this rite was introduced by him; and further, from Joh 3:26, where the disciples of John make it a charge against Jesus, that He adopted a ceremony of which the institution, and consequently, according to them, the monopoly, belonged to their master. Baptism was a humiliating rite for the Jews. It represented a complete purification; it was, as it were, a lustration carried to the second power, which implied in him who accepted it not a few isolated faults so much as a radical defilement. So Jesus calls it (Joh 3:5) a birth of water. Already the promise of clean water, and of a fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, in Ezekiel (Eze 36:25) and Zechariah (Zec 13:1), had the same meaning.
The complement , of repentance, indicates the moral act which was to accompany the outward rite, and which gave it its value. This term indicates a complete change of mind. The object of this new institution is sin, which appears to the baptized in a new light. According to Matthew and Mark, this change was expressed by a positive act which accompanied the baptism, the confession of their sins (). Baptism, like every divinely instituted ceremony, contained also a grace for him who observed it with the desired disposition. As Strauss puts it: if, on the part of man, it was a declaration of the renunciation of sin, on the part of God it was a declaration of the pardon of sins.
The words for the pardon depend grammatically on the collective notion, baptism of repentance.
According to Luk 3:4, the forerunner of the Messiah had a place in the prophetic picture by the side of the Messiah Himself. It is very generally taken for granted by modern interpreters, that the prophecy Isa 40:1-11, applied by the three synoptics to the times of the Messiah and to John the Baptist, refer properly to the return from the exile, and picture the entrance of Jehovah into the Holy Land at the head of His people. But is this interpretation really in accordance with the text of the prophet? Throughout this entire passage of Isaiah the people are nowhere represented as returning to their own country; they are settled in their cities; it is God who comes to them: O Zion, get thee up into a high mountain…Lift up thy voice with strength! Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God! (Luk 3:9). So far are the people from following in Jehovah’s train, that, on the contrary, they are invited by the divine messenger to prepare, in the country where they dwell, the way by which Jehovah is to come to them: Prepare the way of the Lord…, and His glory shall be revealed (Luk 3:3; Luk 3:5). The desert to which the prophet compares the moral condition of the people is not that of Syria, which had to be crossed in returning from Babylon, a vast plain in which there are neither mountains to level nor valleys to fill up. It is rather the uncultivated and rocky hill-country which surrounds the very city of Jerusalem, into which Jehovah is to make His entry as the Messiah. If, therefore, it is indeed the coming of Jehovah as Messiah which is promised in this passage (Luk 3:11, He shall feed His flock like a shepherd…, He shall carry the lambs in His arms), the herald who invites the people to prepare the way of his God is really the forerunner of the Messiah. The image is taken from an oriental custom, according to which the visit of a sovereign was preceded by the arrival of a courier, who called on all the people to make ready the road by which the monarch was to enter.
The text is literally: A voice of one crying!…There is no finishing verb; it is an exclamation. The messenger is not named; his person is of so little consequence, that it is lost in his message. The words in the desert may, in Hebrew as in Greek, be taken either with what precedes: cries in the desert, or with what follows: Prepare in the desert. It matters little; the order resounds wherever it is to be executed. Must we be satisfied with a general application of the details of the picture? or is it allowable to give a particular application to them,to refer, for instance, the mountains that must be levelled to the pride of the Pharisees; the valleys to be filled up, to the moral and religious indifference of such as the Sadducees; the crooked places to be made straight, to the frauds and lying excuses of the publicans; and lastly, the rough places, to the sinful habits found in all, even the best? However this may be, the general aim of the quotation is to exhibit repentance as the soul of John’s baptism.
It is probable that the plur. was early substituted for the sing. , to correspond with the plur. . With this adj. or must be understood.
When once this moral change is accomplished, Jehovah will appear. , and then. The Hebrew text is: All flesh shall see the glory of God. The LXX. have translated it: The glory of the Lord shall be seen (by the Jews?), and all flesh (including the heathen?) shall see the salvation of God. This paraphrase, borrowed from Isa 52:10, proceeded perhaps from the repugnance which the translator felt to attribute to the heathen the sight of the glory of God, although he concedes to them a share in the salvation. This term salvation is preserved by Luke; it suits the spirit of his Gospel.
Only the end of the prophecy (Luk 3:5-6) is cited by Luke. The two other synoptics limit themselves to the first part (Luk 3:4). It is remarkable that all three should apply to the Hebrew text and to that of the LXX. the same modification: , His paths, instead of , the paths of our God. This fact has been used to prove the dependence of two of the synoptics on the third. But the proof is not valid. As Weizscker remarks, this was one of the texts of which frequent use was made in the preaching of the Messiah; and it was customary, in applying the passage to the person of the Messiah, to quote it in this form. If Luke had, in this section, one of the two other synoptics before him, how could he have omitted all that refers to the dress and mode of life of the forerunner?
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Verse 3
The baptism of repentance. The baptism of John was the symbol and pledge of repentance.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Luke mentioned John’s itinerant ministry in the region around the Jordan River whereas Matthew described it as in the wilderness of Judea (Mat 3:1). The thing that characterized John’s ministry in the minds of his contemporaries was his baptism. What marked his baptism distinctively was that it expressed repentance that resulted in divine forgiveness of sins. When people came to John for baptism they were saying that they had repented of their sins. John’s baptism prefigured Jesus’ different kind of baptism (cf. Luk 3:16). Luke said little about John’s baptizing but stressed his preaching.
"The task of ’proclaiming . . . repentance for release of sins’ (Luk 3:3) remains central throughout Luke-Acts [cf. Luk 4:18; Luk 5:17-32; Luk 24:47]." [Note: Tannehill, 1:48.]