Luke 3:1-9. Baptism and Preaching of John the Baptist 1. _in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cesar_ If the accession of Tiberius be dated from the death of Augustus, Aug. 19, a.u.c. 767, this would make our Lord _thirty-two_at His baptism. St Luke, however, follows a common practice in... [ Continue Reading ]
_he came_ St Luke alone mentions the mission journeys of John the Baptist; the other Evangelists, whose narratives (Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; John 1:15; John 1:28) should be carefully compared with that of St Luke, describe how the multitudes "came streaming forth" to him. _all the country about... [ Continue Reading ]
_Esaias the prophet_ Isaiah 40:3. _saying_ This word should be omitted with א, B, D, L, &c. _The voice_ Rather, A VOICE. The Hebrew original may be rendered "Hark one crieth." _of one crying in the wilderness_ Hence comes the common expression for hopeless warnings, _vox clamantis in deserto_. Pr... [ Continue Reading ]
_Every valley_, &c. The metaphor is derived from pioneers who go before the march of a king. There is a remarkable parallel in Josephus (_B. J._iii. 6, § 2), where he is describing the march of Vespasian, and says that among his vanguard were "such as were to make the road even _and straight, and if... [ Continue Reading ]
_all flesh shall see the salvation of God_ St Luke alone adds these words to the quotation, and his doing so is characteristic of his object, which was to bring out the blessedness and universality of the Gospel. See Luke 2:10; Luke 24:47, and Introd. p. 25. "The salvation" is τὸ σωτήριον, as in Luk... [ Continue Reading ]
_to the multitude_ Rather, MULTITUDES. Different crowds came from different directions, Matthew 3:5; Mark 1:5. _O generation of vipers_ Rather, BROODS OF VIPERS. They were like "serpents born of serpents." The comparison was familiar to Hebrew poetry (Psalms 68:4; Isaiah 14:9), and we learn from Mat... [ Continue Reading ]
_Bring forth_ The verb implies instant effort. "Produce _at once_." _begin not to say_ He cuts off even all _attempt_at self-excuse. _We have Abraham to our father_ Rather, AS OUR FATHER. The Jews had so exalted a conception of this privilege (John 8:39) that they could scarcely believe it possible... [ Continue Reading ]
_is laid_ Literally, "_lies_." The notion is that of a woodman touching a tree with the edge of his axe to measure his blow before he lifts his arm for the sweep which fells it. _is hewn down and cast into the fire_ Literally, "_is being hewn down, and being cast_." It is almost impossible to reprod... [ Continue Reading ]
Answer of the Baptist to the Multitude 10. _What shall we do then_?] Rather, WHAT THEN ARE WE TO DO? Compare the question of the multitude to Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37) and that of the Philippian jailor (Luke 16:30).... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that hath two coats_ St Luke alone preserves for us the details in this interesting section. Beyond the single upper garment (_chiton, cetoneth_), and garment (_himation_) and girdle, no other article of dress was necessary. A second -tunic" or _cetoneth_was a mere luxury, so long as thousands w... [ Continue Reading ]
_the publicans_ Rather, TAX-GATHERERS (without the article). The word is a corruption of the Latin _publicani_-farmers of the taxes." The Roman government did not collect its own taxes, but leased them out to speculators of the equestrian order, who were called _publicani_, and who made their own pr... [ Continue Reading ]
_Exact no more_ This was their habitual sin, and later historians often allude to the _immodestia_(i. e. the extravagant greed) of the publicans and their cruel exactions (Caes. _Bell. Civ._iii. 32). The cheating and meddling for which Zacchaeus promised fourfold restoration (Luke 19:8) were univers... [ Continue Reading ]
_the soldiers_ Rather, SOLDIERS ON THE MARCH. On what expedition these soldiers were engaged it is impossible to say. They cannot have been Roman soldiers, and were certainly not any detachment of the army of Antipas marching against his injured father-in-law Hareth (Aretas), ethnarch of Arabia, for... [ Continue Reading ]
The Messianic Announcement. Imprisonment of John 15. _were in expectation_ The Messianic expectations of the day had even reached the Gentiles, many of whom even at Rome and in high society were proselytes, or half proselytes, to Judaism. _mused_ Rather, REASONED. _whether he were the Christ_ Rat... [ Continue Reading ]
_John answered_ The answer, as we find from John 1:19-28, was given in its most definite form to a Pharisaic deputation of Priests and Levites, who were despatched by the Sanhedrin expressly to ask him to define his claims. _one mightier_ Rather, THE STRONGER THAN I. _the latchet_ i. e. the thong.... [ Continue Reading ]
_fan_ Rather, WINNOWING-FAN. The Latin _vannus_, a great shovel with which corn was thrown up against the wind to separate it from the chaff. _his floor_ Rather, THRESHING-FLOOR. The word is the same as that from which our _halo_is derived, since the threshing-floors of the ancients were circular.... [ Continue Reading ]
_many other things_ Of which some are recorded by St John alone (Luke 1:29; Luke 1:34; Luke 3:27-36). _preached he_ εὐηγγελίζετο, literally, "_he was preaching the Good Tidings_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Herod the tetrarch_ The incident which follows is here introduced by anticipation, that the subsequent narrative may not be disturbed. It should be compared with the fuller notice in Mark 6:17-20; Matthew 14:3-5. From these passages we learn that John had reproved Antipas for many crimes, and t... [ Continue Reading ]
_added yet this above all_ The Jews as well as St Luke regarded the treatment of the Baptist by Antipas as the worst of his crimes, and the cause of his subsequent defeat and disgrace (Jos. _Antt._xviii. 5.1 4). _in prison_ This prison, as we learn from Josephus (_Antt._xviii. 5, § 2), was the ster... [ Continue Reading ]
The Baptism of Jesus. The Genealogy 21. _Now when all the people were baptized_ The expression (which is peculiar to St Luke) seems to imply that on this day Jesus was baptized _last_; and from the absence of any allusion to the multitude in this and the other narratives we are almost forced to con... [ Continue Reading ]
_in a bodily shape_ This addition is peculiar to St Luke, and is probably added to shew the distinctness and reality of what Theodoret calls the -spiritual vision" (πνευματικὴ θεωρία). _like a dove_ The expression ὡς or ὡσεὶ used by each of the Evangelists, and St John's "and it abode upon Him" (Jo... [ Continue Reading ]
_began to be about thirty years of age_ Rather, WAS ABOUT THIRTY YEARS OF AGE ON BEGINNING ( HIS WORK). So it was understood by Tyndale, but the E. V. followed Cranmer, and the Geneva. The translation of our E.V. is, however, ungrammatical, and a strange expression to which no parallel can be adduce... [ Continue Reading ]