The Start of Something Big Luke 3:18-38

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1 The Start of Something Big Luke 3:18-38 Introduction: Having the right credentials is important in life, particularly when you are starting something new. If you have ever applied to college, written a resume, or hired a new employee, you understand the importance of not only having the right list of qualifications, but making sure this list is properly validated. This is why we fill out references for people, to back up their story. Its also why we check out reviews of restaurants, movies, and books. We want to know if what we are getting is true, right, and what it claims. A book may tout its own greatness, but I will read those who endorse it before to confirm. We have whole websites and apps devoted to reviews of things, since we don't want to waste our time or money. Credentials are important, and endorsements of those credentials validate the truthfulness of claims. The book of Luke shifts from the message and ministry of John the Baptist to the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus, which will begin an over three year journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem, from life as a carpenter to life as a well known figure, from a small community to a cross. Jesus had lived for thirty years in virtual anonymity, with only bursts of demonstrating that He was more than a well behaved son of a carpenter. As Jesus came on the scene to announce who He was (in Luke 4:16-19), He would need to be prepared through temptation (Luke 4:1-13). In order to differentiate Him from any other teacher of the day (and from contemporary nut-jobs who also claimed to be messiah), Jesus' credentials has to be validated. Luke makes it abundantly clear to his readers that Jesus was qualified as Messiah, showing publically and positionally that He was God very God, yet was completely a man who represented mankind. In this, Jesus not only showed His identity as deity, but also his solidarity with humanity, meaning He was the only, unique, and perfect sacrifice to bring sinful humanity back to a perfect God without compromising holiness at any level. I. Publically affirming Jesus Ministry (21-22) Luke 3: Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.' A. Solidarity in baptism The first major step in Jesus moving from the shadows of the public spotlight was to go to the waters of the Jordan and participate in baptism of John. This immediately becomes problematic, since Luke gives no qualifier as to the reason Jesus was baptized, but contextually stated that John's baptism was one of repentance for the forgiveness of sin. Jesus obviously had nothing to repent from, since He was divine and perfect from birth. In fact, we have to read a Matthew 3:15 to understand exactly the reason Jesus gave: to fulfill all righteousness, since Jesus came to fulfill the Law and be perfectly righteous in every facet of life. This allowed John to move from an unwillingness to baptize Jesus to bringing Him into the water. Now, how do we understand Luke if we had not read Matthew? What was Luke's point of recording Jesus' baptism in this way? Jesus was showing his solidarity with us, with all of mankind. He approaching life on this earth not in a way that you would watch a story play out but as one of the characters of the story. He was not acting like a man born into a Jewish culture, He was a Jewish man living in time and space. Jesus is our High Priest, one who was tempted in every way and yet without sin, so that He can sympathize and help in our weakness. He was not only tempted in every way, but He lived out our life in every way, even those areas that He did not HAVE TO, like a baptism of repentance. This is what makes our High Priest so much better (Hebrews. 4:14-16), which gives us confidence in Him. 1

2 B. Anointing of the Holy Spirit The crowd had been baptized, and Jesus after them, and as Jesus was praying (which He often did as He had constant communion with the Father), the heavens opened up. Now, this was not a normal occurrence by any measure and would have stopped people in their tracks. When Scripture records the heavens opening up, it means that there is a break in normal protocol and God is doing something unique, new, and miraculous. The first unique event was the Holy Spirit descending in bodily form, like a dove. A few points to clarify here: This does not mean that Jesus was without the Spirit for the first 30 years of life, since the trinity were in constant communion. This however was very visible display and affirmation of the Spirit to the Son. This was a public announcement, not a first time occasion. The Spirit could be seen in bodily form, and the text says He was like a dove, which does not necessarily mean He came as a dove, but could be best described as being dove-like. "What was visible was not a dove, but rather what was seen is compared to a dove...the manner of the Spirits descent was like the way a dove floats gracefully through the air." 1 What does this matter? The Holy Spirit is just that, a Spirit, and though we represent Him sometimes with a dove, that is not the point here. The Spirit came to affirm the Son, and did so in a public way so that there would be no doubt. In the OT, Kings would be anointed with oil as they started their reign and rule. Here, the Holy Spirit anointed Jesus to assure divine empowerment. In fact, Jesus stated this is Luke 4:18, as He quoted Isaiah 61:1-2, that He was anointed by the Holy Spirit to bring the good news to the poor. Finally, this showed that the Son would be empowered by the Third Person of the trinity, that He would be led by the Holy Spirit (see Luke 4:1), and would yield Himself to His guidance. Jesus never gave up His attributes of Deity, yet He DID give up His independent access to these. In His humility as a man (see Phil. 2:5-8), He was willing to live fully as a man, being dependant on the strength of the Spirit and the Word instead of shortcutting the process by simply flying out of temptation. The Note of Instruction for us: This is why Jesus left us an example to follow. Jesus was tempted in every way, lived everyday, and functioned in this world with the SAME RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL. There were times Jesus flexed His divine muscle for sure, but that was only at directed times for distinct purposes. He had the strengthening and guidance of the Spirit and the truth of the Word, and that was enough. When we think that is not enough, we look in all kinds of wrong places for answers and are easily swayed by worldly wisdom and cultural solutions. Often we neglect this simple yet affective sufficient means when facing our problems, concerns, worries, fears, and conflict, and look for quick answers, magic solutions, and fast acting remedies. C. Affirmation from the Father The second major event at this baptism was that God spoke. Now, God speaks through His Word and Son, but there are distinct times He broke protocol and communicated audibly with those He loved in a public way. In fact, this is one of three times that God would do this in Jesus' public ministry. He spoke at the transfiguration, declaring to the disciples that this was His Son and they should listen (Luke 9:35). This took place right before Jesus began His explicit march toward Jerusalem the last time toward the cross (Luke 9:51). The other time was during the Passion week (probably on Tuesday) when Jesus' soul 1 Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50, Baker Exegetical Commentary of the NT, p

3 was troubled and God spoke "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." (John 12:28). This was days before the cross and a pivotal time in Jesus' public ministry, where He needed reassurance from the Father. The Fathers message to His Son, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased" was distinct since it was not to the disciples and not about glorifying His own name, but was a message to the Son about the son. In this short sentence, God was fulfilling and reiterating 2 distinct OT prophecies concerning Jesus: The uniqueness of this Father/Son relationship - Psalm 2:7 - "I will tell of the decree: the LORD said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you." The Son is the object of the Fathers love. The uniqueness of their relationship rests in the fact that the Father and Son are One (John 10:28-30), and no one comes to the Father except through the Son. The Father has given the Son those that He will save, and they will rest securely in the Fathers hand. The Father has a unique love for the Son that is not given to anyone or anything else. In coming to the earth and fulfilling the will of the Father, the Father's love is perfected. God was willing to express His love to His Son and publically display His affection. This is incredibly instructive to we who are fathers and how we show love to our kids. We should never be short or ashamed to declare love for our children, no matter how old they are (or how awkward it sounds coming out of our mouths). Luke 10:22 - "All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." The Pleasure of the Father in the Son - Isaiah 42:1 - "Behold my servant, whom I behold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations." Not only is the Son the object of the Fathers love, the Son brought pleasure to the Father by His obedience and submission to His will. The Father was pleased in the Son because of His humble incarnation, living for thirty years as a man, perfectly fulfilling the Law, and giving up glory for a time to buy back humanity out of their sin. The Father was pleased by the prospect of the Son's suffering atonement, knowing that the Father was pleased to crush His Son (Isaiah 53:10). The Note of Instruction for us: The Father publically affirmed the Son not simply so that the world will know His credentials, and not simply so Jesus would have assurance in His humanity that He was loved by His Father, but that all would know that the story of redemption was not one of reaction but on the proactivity of the Godhead. In other words, the entire trinity was present at the beginning of this momentous occasion because this had been the divine plan all along, and now was coming into fruition. Each member of the Trinity is responsible for our salvation, and each has a unique part to play (see 1 Peter 1:1-2 to see). They are united in mission, relentless in pursuit, and unable to fail. You are not saved by mistake or as an afterthought, but you were pursued, loved, and sacrificed for. Those that we love that are not saved we continue to trust that the work of the Trinity in salvation will not fail, though we do not know the timing. This is the assurance that Luke's readers had that Jesus was the unique Messiah and that God was unleashing something new, that would lead to new life for all those who believe. II. Positionally validating Jesus Ministry (23-38) 3

4 Luke 3:23, 38 - Jesus, when He began His ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph) the son of Heli...the son o f Nathan the son of David...the son of Abraham...the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God." A. Validation as a man representing man Not only was Jesus validated by the public affirmation of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, He was validated by the record of His genealogy. For us, in this particular culture, family trees have nominal value and interest (unless you are related to someone famous - I thought I was related to Jim and Tami Faye Bakker for a while - that was a bummer). Most of us cannot go back more than a few generations in our family tree anyway, and thusly when we come to genealogy sections of Scripture, our interest is extremely low (Jack was not the only one feeling awkward in reading this morning. You all were a little bit uncomfortable in going through all the names). But in Jewish culture (and most cultures today), genealogies held high value, connecting people to the past and linking them with pivotal realities of where they came from. Genealogies would have been stapled to any resume, and without it, it would next to impossible to secure a kingship, priesthood, or any other high standing. There are a few highlights to point out about this rather lengthy inclusion by Luke. It begins by telling us Jesus' age at the start of His ministry, with 30 being the age that men could start their professional career. The text also says that Jesus was the supposed son of Joseph, but in reality, that was only by adoption, not by blood. There are four names that stick out in this that help us understand the validation of this genealogy, with the first three linking Jesus with mankind, and the last linking Him in solidarity with God Himself: Son of David (v. 31) - This links Jesus with the Kingly line of David that was promised to come through David's line, where God told him that his house would be blessed and Kingship eternal (2 Samuel 7) Son of Abraham (v. 34) - This links Jesus to the seed of the Promised Patriarch (Gal. 3:16), that Jesus was the fulfillment to the people descended from Abraham as well as the One whom the whole world would be blessed. Son of Adam (v. 38) - No other genealogy would link someone as far Adam, and Jesus was unique in this regard. This links Jesus as being fully human, solidifying Him as a descendent of man, the seed of a woman (Gen. 3:15), and identifying Him as fully human. Jesus was validated as being fully man, since only a true man could sacrifice Himself as a replacement for man. B. Validation as God representing God The final link was as the Son of God. This final link fuses Jesus' identity as God, being Himself like Adam, but doing what Adam could not do. Jesus was unique as a man but truly the Son of God, representing God Himself on the earth to buy back mankind. Anyone hearing this genealogy would recognize this unique position and standing, and the resume would be impeccable. There was no one else that could hand in this type of application, no one else who fit the criteria. Jesus was the only One who could represent God and man. In Jesus we are able to have knowledge of the glory of God as seen in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). That is why we never unlink this chain. We don't focus on Jesus without focusing on what He came to do, to reconcile us to the Father. Loving Jesus is not just about loving the idea of love, but being able to glorify God through Jesus, and magnifying Him in worship. III. Practically identifying with Jesus Ministry (18-20) 4

5 Luke 3: So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things Herod had done, added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison." A. Boldness as a result of the work of the Spirit As we already pointed out, Jesus public ministry transitioned John's ministry. But there is an insightful statement about John right before Jesus' baptism that is hugely practical for us. The first observation has to do with John's boldness. What allowed John to live such a courageous life? Luke records that his message was not received well by all, that he was willing to call out the religious majority, and call out the sin of the political leadership. This did not endear John with the cultural majority nor make him friends in high places, and he easily could be accused of being out of step with the culture around him. Look at how he was dressed! Look at who he ticks off! He does not understand how to get things done around here! If you really want to change things John, you are going to have to work within the system! Yet none of these things was true of John. In fact, His boldness got him thrown in prison and eventually caused his head to role. What gave John boldness? His unique birth? His parents? The prophecy about him? Nope. The answer: the baptism of the Holy Spirit he had talked about to others. John was focused on what he was called to do through the power that he was given to do it. You could say that the boldness John had came from his committed yielding to the Holy Spirit, or Spirit empowered, Christ centered, God glorifying living. This is what drove him and this is what it drove him to. B. Recognizing the irony of the ministry of Good News Notice the irony of his message: verse 18 says that he preached good news (gospel) to people, but he did it through exhortation and reproving the evil things people had done. He was willing to speak the bad news to people in a way that not only brought hope to people in salvation, but brought hatred and retribution of those who loved the darkness. This is the double edged sword of gospel proclamation. We are not gluttons for punishment and we seek to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). But we also recognize that in proclaiming the good news, there will be a polarizing response. We seek to love, but often it is misinterpreted as judgment. For John, there was no risk to great nor a loss to immense to mince the message of the gospel. He could have left the religious leaders alone and stayed silent in front of Herod and lived much longer. But that was not his purpose or goal. He was seeking to be faithful. Not only that, he was Spirit empowered, Christ centered, and God glorifying. There is a drift in all of us that wants to fit in our culture, be accepted by all, and definitely look wise among our friends. Bu that may not always be the case. The gospel sets us apart, polarizes, and makes us seem foolish. When we are not ready for that, or if we crave acceptance, we will COMPROMISE. It will be subtle, but it will be costly. Especially during this time of year when we spend time with family and want to talk about Jesus, are we giving the complete message? Are we willing to be gentle and wise, but willing to accept some hard responses? Are we empowered by the Spirit or working in our flesh? Are we trying to fit in and be in step with culture, or are we willing to seem as strange as we really are? Jesus is the unique, true, and only one who fulfilled the requirements of Messiah. We have the whole force of the Trinity behind us, in us, and through us. Are we willing to live and speak boldly, wisely, and gently this Christmas? 5