The Ministry of John the Baptist: Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:2-8; Luke 3:1-17; John 1:19-28

Luke 3:1-2

It is no surprise that Luke is the one to point out historical data surrounding this event. Tiberius Caesar was the stepson of Augustus Caesar, who adopted him as his heir. Tiberius was recognized by the senate as Augustus’s successor. By so doing the senate established the supremacy of the emperors within the Roman state, making the republic as all but extinct. Tiberius faithfully continued the policies of Augustus. Yet his unimaginative administration led to discontent among the people, and he retired a dissatisfied old man. Since Tiberius ruled from A.D. 14 to 37, he is the Caesar repeatedly referred to during Christ’s ministry and crucifixion. He is mentioned by name only here. (Information came from The King James Study Bible by Thomas Nelson Publishers) Since this was the fifteenth year of his reign, it was probably around 29 A.D. Which would make John and Jesus about 33 to 35. So Tiberius Caesar was the emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over the region of Judea. Herod was tetrarch of Galilee. Herod’s brother Philip was tetrarch of Ituraea and Trahonitis. Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene. Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. Pontius and Herod here are the same two that will be dealing with Jesus before his crucifixion. “The word of God came to…” appears a lot in Scripture. It refers to when God speaks a specific message to someone. John was still in the wilderness when the word came. The silence from the Lord now ends. That is that it had been centuries since the Lord had brought forth a true prophet.

Matthew 3:1; Luke 3:3a

Matthew says that he came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Luke says he came to the district around the Jordan River. It is stated that John preached on the edge of the wilderness in the Jordan River, which was in Judea. Notice that Luke gives a more narrow location of the preaching, paying attention to detail, which again fits in line with his purpose.

Matthew 3:2; Luke 3:3b

Matthew quotes John, because he is more focused on the words of Christ and others. Luke just tells us what the message was. Matthew just points out that we should repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven being so near was referring to Jesus’ soon appearing on the scene. For us, we should basically repent because now is the opportunity or the availability of forgiveness. Luke gives us a more detailed sketch of the message. The message of repentance was coupled with baptism. Baptism is seen as a serious necessity to repentance. If you repent you are baptized, if you are baptized you repent. You do not get one without the other. Because of this, Luke pointed out that it was for the “forgiveness of sins.” It is not baptism that saves us; it is baptism as a form of repentance that is the accepting of forgiveness. We know this because other Scriptures emphatically declare that works do not earn salvation.

John 1:19-22

John did not just preach a one-time sermon; he was preaching the same message over the coarse of days. The Pharisees heard about it and wanted to find out about it, so they sent some of them to find out who John declared himself to be. John was not afraid to let them know who he was, that is John. He knew that they were likely trying to find out reasons to accuse him of blasphemy. The Pharisees did not appreciate anyone drawing a crowd. However, he made sure that they understood he was not declaring himself to be the Christ. There had been a number of people claiming to be the Christ during the period between the Old Testament time period and this time period. They asked if he was Elijah, because Malachi prophesied that God would send Elijah ahead of the Lord to turn peoples hearts to God (Malachi 4:5-6). John denied being Elijah, because they were not looking for the correct picture of who was prophesied to come. The coming of Elijah just meant one who would have a similar spirit as Elijah or a similar boldness. The Pharisees thought that it would be a man to inaugurate the earthly kingdom of the Messiah. They pictured this incorrectly, so John denied being Elijah, although he was the one fulfilling the actual prophesy. The question “are you a prophet” is referring to the prophesy in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19. There was to be a prophet who would have the boldness of Moses. John denied being this prophet. Again, he denied being Elijah or the prophet, because he knew they were asking these questions according to their traditions and not the scripture. They were asking if he was the one to prepare for the earthly kingdom, not the church age or the age of grace. Notice that they pointed out that they wanted to give a report to the authorities about what he declared himself to be. Their intention was not to learn, but to get John in trouble. At the beginning of this work, the Pharisees were already making set up attempts to stop it.

Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:2-3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23

These all are referencing the prophesy of Isaiah 40:3. Luke quotes Isaiah out to verse 5. Of course Luke would give a little more detail. In John 1:23 John did admit that he was fulfilling the prophesy in Isaiah. Each gospel writer is giving a paraphrase of the passage, not an exact quotation. In Luke 3:6 when Luke and Isaiah point out that, “all flesh” will see the Lord’s glory, they are indicating to us that the above verses are referring to people. The way, the paths, the valleys, the mountains, the rough ground, and the rugged terrain are all referring to the hearts of mankind. John was called to prepare peoples hearts for the coming of Christ. For this reason, John’s primary message was repentance. Individuals would have their own personal hindrances to accepting Christ, which John would have to deal with. Therefore, in using the same gospel message, at times it takes different approaches to win people over.

Matthew 3:4-6; Mark 1:4-6

They point out what John ate and how he dressed. Repentance is the way of receiving the forgiveness of sins, which goes right along with 1 John 1:9. Notice that Mark points out that the baptism was a baptism of repentance. Water baptism was a sign that one was repenting of their sinful life and committing their life to Christ; it was a sign of a changed life. Romans 6:1-7 pictures for us more fully the way that baptism pictures the inward change. Understanding what water baptism meant, helps us to understand why Peter in Acts 2:38 declares that water baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Because water baptism is a sign of conversion, it is conversion being represented by water baptism that is the means of receiving forgiveness of sins and salvation to heaven. Just the act of water baptism alone does not save us.

Matthew 3:7-10; Luke 3:7-9

First notice the difference between Matthew and Luke to start. Matthew points out that it was the Pharisees that John confronts, but Luke just says that he spoke to the multitudes. Matthew points this out because it is relevant to the Jews, but Luke’s audience would not understand. Since it doesn’t matter too much for giving a context or a time frame, Luke doesn’t point it out. Both are accurate and stating the truth. Just one is general and one is specific. John boldly confronts the Pharisees. In seeing that he calls them “brood of vipers,” we can see that he knew they were not intending to undergo a true baptism. John could see this either by outward mannerisms or by the gift of discerning of spirits. John tells them to bear fruit in repentance. Again, this is a testimony to the fact that the act of water baptism entails a conversion experience in which the individual is changed to a new type of living. He also knows that they probably believe that they are safe from God’s judgment because they are Jews. His comment reveals that that is not the case. Nothing matters about the individual in regard to salvation, except that they have a conversion experience. This is why Jesus says later in John 14:6 “no one comes to the Father except through me.” In the above context he says that the ax is at the trees. Within context it should be understood that the ax is God’s judgment and the trees are the Pharisees. Again, this all falls in line with the concept of water baptism. Water baptism is a symbol of the conversion experience. It is this conversion experience that God provides, symbolized by water baptism, which allows us to escape God’s judgment. Note that judgment is referred to as being thrown into a fire, which is a picture of hell. Those who do not become a disciple of Christ will suffer in the fires of God’s judgment in hell.

John 1:24-25

The people began to respond to John’s preaching. The Pharisees began to question why John was baptizing if he wasn’t “Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet.” Of course he is the prophet, just not the terms under which they were defining him, so he denied being him.

Luke 3:10-14

First note that Luke points out the details of who was listening and responding to John. He points out that there were tax collectors and solders. It is interesting that John explains how to respond to God’s judgment and they still ask what to do. Perhaps we are the same way sometimes. We hear spiritual concepts and they go right over our heads, so we need it repeated. Basically we are to be kind to others, care for others, and treat them with dignity and integrity. If we are aware of a need and have the capability to meet the need then we should meet it. It does not mean at the sacrifice of paying our bills or taking care of our families, because he implies that the giver has enough to give. The tax collectors were known for charging more for taxes than what they were supposed to and keeping the difference. We should never seek to cheat others, but operate with integrity. John’s statement to the soldiers gives us a few principles. We should not use physical force to acquire wealth. Contentment is a very biblical attitude to have towards life. We see that it is the lack of contentment that leads people to lose integrity. Philippians 4:11-13 paints a good picture of what contentment is.

Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7-8; Luke 3:15-16; John 1:26-27

In Luke 3:15, Luke again focusing on detail, pointing out that the people were trying to figure out if John was the Christ. They were in a state of expectation, hoping that the Messiah had come. Matthew points out that John declared that water baptism was for repentance. Again, this indicates that baptism was a part of the conversion experience; it could not be experienced authentically without conversion. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all state that John said Jesus was “coming.” Yet John states that John said “among you.” The reason these statements do not contradict each other is because John preached for a period of time the same message over and over again. Perhaps it is not stated in the exact same wording every time, but the same message. Matthew, Mark, and Luke could have recorded the statement that he made before Jesus was there. John could have been recording the statement John made just before Jesus made himself public, but John knew Jesus was there. Perhaps it could just imply that John knew Jesus was somewhere in the city. John recognizes that Jesus is greater than him and that he isn’t even worthy to untie his sandals. Matthew, Mark, and Luke point out that John declared that Jesus would baptize believers with the Holy Spirit. Matthew and Luke both “add and fire”. We learn here that one of Jesus’ functions is to baptize us with the Holy Spirit. The fire is a strange term here and has a couple of possibilities. Fire often is a symbol of God’s judgment, which is why hell is a fire (Isaiah 4:4 and Revelation 20:14). It also symbolized the baptism in the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:4. The next verse helps to explain what the fire is referring to though.

Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17

John begins to talk about the idea that Jesus is bringing judgment. Because of this context, when John referred to a baptism of fire it was referring to judgment. Therefore, Jesus came to baptize the believers with the Holy Spirit and baptize the unbelievers with fire or judgment. Notice that John, also, has a difficult time distinguishing between Jesus’ first and second coming, because it is at His second coming that he will bring judgment.

John 1:28

John points out that these events took place in Bethany. Matthew points out that it was in the wilderness of Judea (3:1). Mark pointed out that it was in the wilderness (1:4). Luke pointed out that it was in the district around the Jordan (3:3). These areas were not in contradiction to each other. Luke said it was around the Jordan, which part of the Jordan River was in the region of Judea. Bethany was near the Jordan River and in the region of Judea. He probably baptized in the stream that goes by Bethany that may flow into the Dead Sea.