Luke 3:1-3 1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, of the governing of Pontius Pilate over Judea, and of the tetrachship of Herod of Galilee, and his brother Philip being tetrarch over the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias being tetrarch of Abilene, 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke shifts his account back to events related to John. The purpose of John’s ministry was to prepare people for the coming of the Lord. This chapter serves as a bridge from the birth narratives of chapters 1-2 and Jesus’ ministry that will take up the rest of Luke’s Gospel. Luke gives the most accurate indicators at the beginning of this chapter that he could. Time in the ancient world was usually calculated relative to rulers and their reigns. Significant time had elapsed since the ending of chapter 2. The exact year of the fifteenth year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius is unclear and has been debated throughout history, with ideas ranging from AD 26-28. The discrepancy is over how to count the years because Tiberius was regent with Augustus for two years. Tiberius reigned from AD 14-37.
The other indicators in verses 1-2 give the political situation in Judea and Galilee. Pontius Pilate was appointed by Tiberius and governed Judea from AD 26-36. The portraits of Pilate in ancient history suggest he was a cruel ruler at times and caused problems for the Jews. There are several Herods mentioned in the New Testament. Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great who was the ruler when Jesus was born. He had a long reign from 4 BC – 37 AD and ruled over most of the territory where John and Jesus did their public ministries. The title tetrarch referred to Roman-appointed rulers over provincial areas who were not kings. Philip was another son of Herod the great and rulered over Ituraea and Trachonitis, which were around Lebanon. Little is known of Lysanias who ruled over Abilene located near Damascus. Of the three names listed here, Herod was the most powerful and is mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament. Finally, Luke includes the Jewish high priesthood which was shared by two persons. In Judaism, the high priest was appointed for life, but the Romans often changed the priests. Annas was high priest from AD 6 – 15 but continued to be influential after that. Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas and served as high priest from AD 18-37. He had a significant role in the trial of Jesus (Matthew 26:3).
It was at this time that John began his prophetic ministry in the wilderness. Luke describes this area as being around the Jordan river. Little is known about John except for the few glimpses about him in the Gospels. The area in which he ministered is most dry and harsh, a difficult place to live. Several Jewish settlements were in the wilderness. The best known of these was located at Qumran where a group of Essenes created a monastic type community. This group has been made famous through the discovery near there of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were written by this group. John’s message and lifestyle show some similarities with the ideas in these scrolls.
John’s ministry was inspired by the word of God. John came with a prophetic like the prophets of the Old Testament who proclaimed, “Thus says the Lord.” He spoke words from God and not himself. The focus of his message was repentance symbolized by baptism. The people showed their repentance by seeking to be baptized. Baptism for Jews represented the washing away of uncleanness and sin. The reason people came to John was to seek God’s forgiveness. Repentance is the pre-requisite for forgiveness. One must show sorrow for one’s sin and make the decision to turn away from it and stay in it. That does not mean a person will never sin but that a person realizes that he or she is in need of God’s mercy. The people who came to John knew they needed God’s forgiveness, and baptism was the way they showed their repentance.
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