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October 4th

The bible reading today is in Mark 1 and Matthew 3 and Luke 3.

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭3:1-3‬ ‭

Luke listed the political leaders of the region that Jesus lived in and served in. Like any good historian, Luke gave a real, historical framework for the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

For instance, Tiberius was the Roman emperor during the three-year ministry of Christ on the earth. Tiberius was known for his cruelty against anyone who challenged his authority on earth.

Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, was renowned for his brutal massacres of the Jewish people and his insensitivity toward the Jews.

Herod and his two brothers were tetrarchs in the region of Galilee and Iturea and Trachonitus and Abilene. They were all known for their corruption and cruelty.

Caiphas and Annus were the religious leaders in Judea at this time in history. Caiphas was actually the high priest, but his father in law, Annas, was the real influence in the priestly class. The mention of these two corrupt high priests reminds us that the Jewish leaders were more interested in power politics than in serving God.

And then there was John the Baptist. The word of God came to him in the wilderness. There, John began to fulfill his ultimate calling: to be the forerunner of the Messiah. He preached a message of repentance toward God to the Jews. Repentance was an action word calling for a change of mind and change of direction.

And he baptized the repentant Jews. Their baptism identified them with their need to get right with God. Our baptism, our immersion in water, identified us with the death and resurrection of Christ who saved us from our sins.

John was calling Jews to genuinely confess their unfaithfulness to God and come back to Him. Jews were familiar with baptismal ceremonies. However, it was sinful Gentiles who converted to Judaism that were baptized...not Jews.

So when Jews were baptized by John that was unusual. Their baptism was saying to all who watched, “I’m just as sinful as Gentiles.” Now that would be a baptism of repentance.

John’s ministry would be a fulfillment of prophecy. “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭3:4-6‬ ‭

John would be aware of the prophecy of Isaiah and would connect it to himself.

How would he know that? Answer: The angel of the Lord told his dad before his conception. Awesome!

John’s message was that things could be set and made right. The Messiah is here to do things that are too big for man...like filling valleys, leveling mountains, setting crooked roads straight, and making rough roads smooth.

The Jews at that time thought that the problem was the Romans who politically oppressed them. John the Baptist told those same Jews that they were the problem...they had to get right with God, and the “way” to do that?

Jesus...He was the way!

Have a great day