Luke 3: 1-22

(Luke 3: 1-22)

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 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. 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; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. 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? 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.And now also the axe 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. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 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. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 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. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; 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 baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,  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.

 

Herod the Great suffered from a disease, but B.C. He died in March of 4 years. He committed to the rule of the Jewish kingdom to his three sons, Antibas, Akelao, and Philip. Antibas ruled Galilee and Berea, Akelao ruled Judea, including Samaria and Idumea, and their half brother Philip ruled the territories east and northeast of the Sea of Galilee received from Augustus.

Herod the Great's will had to be approved by Augustus, so the three went to Rome. Meanwhile, a revolt broke out in Palestine. The most serious was the revolt attempted by Judas the Galilean. Judah's father, Hezekiah, was executed 40 years ago by Herod the Great. Judas raided the palace in Sepphoris and took control of the arsenal, but Barus of Syria brought two legions to subdue the rebels. However, in Galilee, Judah's follower, Zerotera, organized an underground hall and looked again at opportunities for rebellion, and some Jerotes became disciples of Jesus.

After hearing opinions from various Jewish delegations, Augustus approved the will of Herod the Great. He asked Herod the Great's three sons to use the title of Bunbong King. While Antiva and Philip served for 42 and 37 years respectively, Archelao's Jewish rule proved too coercive and, after nine years in office, was exiled by Augustus and exiled.

 Augustus feared that the Jews would revolt against Rome because of Archelao's oppression. In Judea, where Akelao had ruled, for the next 60 years, a support unit, not a legionary force, was stationed and ruled by a knight-class governor. In the fifteenth year after Emperor Tiberius ascended the throne, soon Pontius Pilate ruled Judea as governor, Herod (Antibah) ruled Galilee as the Bunbon King, and his younger brother Philip as the Bunbong King Lee Dourae and Drago. They ruled the province of Nit, with Lusania as the king of Abilene, and Annas and Caiaphas as high priests.

John the Baptist came and cried out to the Israelites to repent. He said to produce the worthy fruit of repentance. The gist of John the Baptist's cry is that God's judgment is imminent, so that the people must repent, realize they are sinners in the law, and find Christ. The worthy fruit of repentance is the discovery of Christ.

 This is "to bring the father's heart back to the children, and those who oppose it to the wisdom of the righteous". This is what makes the road flat and prepares the way. The purpose of John the Baptist being born into this world is to be born for this work. If the Israelites obey the law well, they believe that they will become righteous, but they must repent. In that law, you must realize that you cannot escape from sin and turn around. It is a cry to find Christ and turn to Christ. Then it contains the message that Christ will come and give a way back to God.

In Luke's Gospel, John the Baptist explains the consequences of repentance as concrete actions.『 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.  Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?  And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.  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. 』

The Bible tells us that doing good to others is not a condition of salvation, but that the repentant will have this behavior.
John the Baptist came to the world before Jesus and said words (repent) that smoothed the road ahead, but the Pharisees and scribes in the Jewish leadership level did not understand. “Son of man also will suffer from them in the same way.” Jesus said that not only would be treated by judgment like John the Baptist, but also suffered. In Isaiah 40:3, ``The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Where do the wilderness and the desert mean in the word ""? The wilderness and desert that John the Baptist cries out is speaking of Israel, and it is a cry to the world.

All those who cannot meet Jesus Christ are those who are their masters. They are people who believe that they can achieve righteousness with their own strength. God gave the Israelites the law and said that if they keep it well, he will bless them, and if they fail to keep the law, he will judge them. The Bible says that the law and the prophets were until the days of John.

It means that after the law is over, you must meet Jesus to be saved. “The day of great fear” becomes the day when Jesus judges the law. Jesus died to the law. So, those who are in Christ also died to the law. By the way, for those who believe in the law, the coming of Jesus is a great and terrifying day for them. Far from finding Christ, they crucified him to death. Even today, if Jesus Christ came and died on the cross for those who repent, if you still think legally and live in the church, you are denying what Jesus accomplished. Trees that do not bear fruit will be cut with an ax and thrown into the fire.

The meaning of Sere John's baptism in water means to wash away sin. However, the meaning of baptism that Jesus receives after he dies on the cross is to die on the cross with Jesus. In Romans 6:3, "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" And in Romans 6:4, ``Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 』God makes those buried with Jesus born again by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit gives revelation to the believers and makes them work in order to preach the Gospel. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the empowering of the saints to preach the gospel and to lead a victorious life. John the Baptist said, "He who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Jesus died on the cross and resurrected on the third day. Jesus did not show anyone the resurrection. In Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 』If Jesus showed the resurrection to all people would be helpful for salvation, why did he show it to only a few? He showed it only to those who followed the Lord with unchanging faith from beginning to end.