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Baptism and Preaching of John the Baptist<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">1</span>. <span class="ital">in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cesar</span>] If the accession of Tiberius be dated from the death of Augustus, Aug. 19, a.u.c. 767, this would make our Lord <span class="ital">thirty-two</span> at His baptism. St Luke, however, follows a common practice in dating the reign of Tiberius from the period of his <span class="ital">association with Augustus</span> as joint Emperor a.u.c. 765. (Tac. <span class="ital">Ann.</span> i. 3; Suet. <span class="ital">Aug.</span> 97; Vell. Paterc. 103.) Our Lord’s baptism thus took place in a.u.c. 780.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Tiberius Cesar</span>] The stepson and successor of Augustus. At this period of his reign he retired to the island of Capreae (Tac. <span class="ital">Ann.</span> iv. 74), where he plunged into horrible private excesses, while his public administration was most oppressive and sanguinary. The recent attempts to defend his character break down under the accumulated and unanimous weight of ancient testimony.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Pontius Pilate</span>] He was Procurator for ten years, a. d. 25–36. His predecessors had been Coponius (a. d. 6–10), M. Ambivius, Annius Rufus, and Valerius Gratus (a. d. 14–25). He was succeeded by Marcellus, Fadus, Tiberius Alexander, Cumanus, Felix, Festus, Albinus and Florus. For an account of him see on <a href="/luke/23-1.htm" title="And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him to Pilate.">Luke 23:1</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">governor</span>] His strict title was <span class="ital">epitropos</span> or Procurator (Jos. <span class="ital">Antt</span>. xx. 6, § 2), which does not however occur in the N. T. except in the sense of ‘steward’ (<a href="/luke/8-3.htm" title="And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered to him of their substance.">Luke 8:3</a>). <span class="ital">Hegemon</span> was a more general term. (<a href="/matthew/10-18.htm" title="And you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.">Matthew 10:18</a>; <a href="/1_peter/2-14.htm" title="Or to governors, as to them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.">1 Peter 2:14</a>.) His relation to the Herods was much the same as that of the Viceroy of India to the subject Maharajahs.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Herod</span>] Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great and the Samaritan lady Malthace. He retained his kingdom for more than 40 years, at the end of which he was banished (a. d. 39) to Lugdunum (probably St Bertrand de Comminges), chiefly through the machinations of his nephew Herod Agrippa I. (the Herod of <a href="/acts/12-1.htm" title="Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.">Acts 12:1</a>). See the <span class="ital">Stemma Herodum</span> on p. 39, and for further particulars of his character see on <a href="/luke/13-32.htm" title="And he said to them, Go you, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.">Luke 13:32</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">tetrarch</span>] The word properly means a ruler of a <span class="ital">fourth part</span> of a country, but afterwards was used for any tributary prince or ethnarch. At this time Judaea, Samaria and Galilee were the provinces of Judaea. Antipas, Philip and Lysanias are the only three to whom the term ‘tetrarch’ is applied in the N. T. Antipas also had the courtesy-title of ‘king’ (<a href="/mark/6-14.htm" title="And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.">Mark 6:14</a>, &c.), and it was in the attempt to get this title officially confirmed to him that he paid the visit to Rome which ended in his banishment. He was tetrarch for more than 40 years, from b. c. 4 to a. d. 39.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">of Galilee</span>] This province is about 25 miles from North to South, and 27 from East to West,—about the size of Bedfordshire. Lower Galilee included the district from the plain of Akka to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and was mainly composed of the rich plain of Esdraelon (or Jezreel). Upper Galilee included the mountain range between the Upper Jordan and Phoenicia. Galilee was thus the main scene of our Lord’s ministry. It was surpassingly rich and fertile (Jos. <span class="ital">B. J.</span> i. 15. 5, iii. 10, §§ 7, 8). See on <a href="/luke/1-26.htm" title="And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,">Luke 1:26</a>. Herod’s dominions included the larger though less populous district of Peraea; but the flourishing towns of Decapolis (Gerasa, Gadara, Damascus, Hippos, Pella, &c.) were independent.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">his brother Philip</span>] Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra, who afterwards married his niece Salome, daughter of the other Herod Philip (who lived in a private capacity at Rome) and of his half-sister and sister-in-law Herodias. This tetrarch seems to have been the best of the Herods (Jos. <span class="ital">Antt</span>. xvii. 2. § 4), and the town of Caesarea <span class="ital">Philippi</span> which he beautified was named from him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis</span>] His tetrarchate also included Batanaea (Bashan), Auranitis (the Hauran), Gaulanitis (Golân), and some parts about Jamnia (Jos. <span class="ital">B. J.</span> ii. 6, § 3). Ituraea (now Jedûr) was at the foot of Mount Hermon, and was named from Jetur, son of Ishmael (<a href="/context/genesis/25-15.htm" title="Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:...">Genesis 25:15-16</a>). The Ituraeans were marauders, famous for the use of the bow, and protected by their mountain fastnesses. (Strabo, xvi. 2; Lucan, <span class="ital">Phars.</span> vii. 230.) Trachonitis, also a country of robbers (Jos. <span class="ital">Antt.</span> xvi. 9 §§ 1, 2), is the Greek rendering of the Aramaic Argob (a region about 22 miles from N. to S. by 14 from W. to E.), and means ‘a rough or stony tract.’ It is the modern province of el-Lejâh, and the ancient kingdom of Og—“an ocean of basaltic rocks and boulders, tossed about in the wildest confusion, and intermingled with fissures and crevices in every direction.” Herod Philip received this tetrarchate by bequest from his father (Jos. <span class="ital">B. J</span>. ii. 6, § 3).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene</span>] The mention of this minute particular is somewhat singular, but shews St Luke’s desire for at least one rigid chronological <span class="ital">datum</span>. It used to be asserted that St Luke had here fallen into another chronological error, but his probable accuracy has, in this point also, been completely vindicated. There was a Lysanias king of Chalcis under Mount Lebanon, and therefore in all probability tetrarch of Abilene, in the days of Antony and Cleopatra, 60 years <span class="ital">before</span> this period (Jos. <span class="ital">B. J.</span> i. 13, § i); and there was <span class="ital">another</span> Lysanias, probably a grandson of the former, in the reigns of Caligula and Claudius, 20 years <span class="ital">after</span> this period (Jos. <span class="ital">Antt.</span> xv. 4, § i). No intermediate Lysanias is recorded in history, but there is not a shadow of proof that the Lysanias <span class="ital">here</span> mentioned may not be the second of these two, or more probably some Lysanias who came between them, perhaps the son of the first and the father of the second. Even M. Renan admits that after reading at Baalbek the inscription of Zenodorus (Boeckh, <span class="ital">Corp. Inscr. Graec.</span> no. 4521) he infers the correctness of the Evangelist (<span class="ital">Vie de Jésus</span>, p. xiii.; <span class="ital">Les Évangiles</span>, p. 263). It is indeed, on the lowest grounds, inconceivable that so careful a writer as St Luke should have deliberately gone out of his way to introduce so apparently superfluous an allusion at the risk of falling into a needless error. Lysanias is perhaps mentioned because he had Jewish connexions (Jos. <span class="ital">Antt.</span> xiv. 7, § 4).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">of Abilene</span>] Abila was a town 18 miles from Damascus and 38 from Baalbek. The district of which it was the capital is probably here mentioned because it subsequently formed part of the Jewish territory, having been assigned by Caligula to his favourite Herod Agrippa I. in a. d. 36. The name is derived from <span class="ital">Abel</span> ‘a meadow.’<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">in the high-priesthood of Annas and of Caiaphas</span>, for the true reading is undoubtedly <span class="greekheb">ἀρχιερέως</span> (<span class="greekheb">א</span>, A, B, C, D, E, &c.), and a similar expression occurs in <a href="/acts/4-6.htm" title="And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.">Acts 4:6</a>. But here St Luke is charged (on grounds as untenable as in the former instances) with yet another mistake. Annas or Hanan the son of Seth had been High Priest from a. d. 7–14, and had therefore, by this time, been deposed for at least 15 years; and his son-in-law Joseph Caiaphas, the <span class="ital">fourth</span> High Priest since his deposition, had been appointed in a. d. 24. The order had been as follows:—<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Annas or Ananus (Hanan), a. d. 7.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Ishmael Ben Phabi, a. d. 15.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Eleazar son of Annas, a. d. 15.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Simon son of Kamhith, a. d. 16.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Joseph Caiaphas, a. d. 17.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>How then can Annas be called High Priest in a. d. 27? The answer is (i.) that by the Mosaic Law the High priesthood was held for life (<a href="/numbers/35-25.htm" title="And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, where he was fled: and he shall abide in it to the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.">Numbers 35:25</a>), and since Annas had only been deposed by the arbitrary caprice of the Roman Procurator Valerius Gratus he would still be legally and religiously regarded as High Priest by the Jews (<a href="/numbers/35-25.htm" title="And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, where he was fled: and he shall abide in it to the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.">Numbers 35:25</a>); (ii.) that he held in all probability the high office of <span class="ital">Sagan haccohanim</span> ‘deputy’ or ‘chief’ of the Priests (<a href="/2_kings/25-18.htm" title="And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:">2 Kings 25:18</a>), or of <span class="ital">Nasi</span> ‘President of the Sanhedrin,’ and at least of the <span class="ital">Ab Beth Dîn</span>, who was second in the Sanhedrin; (iii.) that the nominal, official, High Priests of this time were mere puppets of the civil power, which appointed and deposed them at will in rapid succession, so that the title was used in a looser sense than in earlier days. The High Priest-hood was in fact at this time in the hands of a clique of some half-dozen Herodian, Sadducaean and alien families, whose ambition it was to bear the title for a time without facing the burden of the necessary duties. Hence any one who was unusually prominent among them would naturally bear the title of ‘High Priest’ in a popular way, especially in such a case as that of Hanan, who, besides having been High Priest, was a man of vast wealth and influence, so that five also of his sons, as well as his son-in-law, became High Priests after him. The language of St Luke and the Evangelists (<a href="/john/11-49.htm" title="And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said to them, You know nothing at all,">John 11:49</a>) is therefore in strict accordance with the facts of the case in attributing the High Priesthood at this epoch rather to <span class="ital">a caste</span> than to a person. Josephus (<span class="ital">B. J.</span> ii. 20, § 4) who talks of “<span class="ital">one of</span> the High Priests” and the Talmud which speaks of “the sons of the High Priests” use the same sort of language. There had been no less than 28 of these phantom High Priests in 107 years (Jos. <span class="ital">Antt.</span> xx. 10, § i), and there must have been at least five living High Priests and ex-High Priests at the Council that condemned our Lord. The Jews, even in the days of David, had been familiar with the sort of co-ordinate High Priesthood of Zadok and Abiathar. For the greed, rapacity and luxury of this degenerate hierarchy, see my <span class="ital">Life of Christ</span>, ii. 329, 330, 342.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">in the wilderness</span>] Mainly, as appears from the next verse, the Arabah, the sunken valley north of the Dead Sea—el Ghôr—“the deepest and hottest chasm in the world” (Humboldt, <span class="ital">Cosmos</span>, 1.150), where the sirocco blows almost without intermission. “A more frightful desert it had hardly been our lot to behold” (Robinson, <span class="ital">Researches</span>, ii. 121). See it described by Mr Grove in Smith’s <span class="ital">Bibl. Dict.</span> s. v. <span class="ital">Arabah</span>. The stern aspect and terrible associations of the spot had doubtless exercised their influence on the mind of John. See on <a href="/luke/1-80.htm" title="And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing to Israel.">Luke 1:80</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="2"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-2.htm">Luke 3:2</a></div><div class="verse">Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.</div><A name="3"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-3.htm">Luke 3:3</a></div><div class="verse">And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;</div><span class="bld">3</span>. <span class="ital">he came</span>] St Luke alone mentions the mission journeys of John the Baptist; the other Evangelists, whose narratives (<a href="/context/matthew/3-1.htm" title="In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,...">Matthew 3:1-12</a>; <a href="/context/mark/1-1.htm" title="The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;...">Mark 1:1-8</a>; <a href="/john/1-15.htm" title="John bore witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spoke, He that comes after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.">John 1:15</a>; <a href="/john/1-28.htm" title="These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.">John 1:28</a>) should be carefully compared with that of St Luke, describe how the multitudes “came streaming forth” to him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">all the country about Jordan</span>] The Arabah is some 150 miles in extent; the actual river-valley, specified in the O. T. by the curious words <span class="ital">Kikkar</span> and <span class="ital">Geliloth</span> (see Stanley, <span class="ital">Sin. and Pal.</span> p. 284), is not so extensive.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins</span>] Comp. <a href="/acts/2-38.htm" title="Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.">Acts 2:38</a>; <a href="/acts/3-15.htm" title="And killed the Prince of life, whom God has raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.">Acts 3:15</a>; <a href="/acts/5-31.htm" title="Him has God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.">Acts 5:31</a>; <a href="/acts/22-16.htm" title="And now why tarry you? arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.">Acts 22:16</a>; where the two expressions are also united. The baptism of John was “a baptism of repentance,” not yet “a laver of regeneration” (<a href="/titus/3-5.htm" title="Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;">Titus 3:5</a>). It was intended first as a symbol of purification—“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean,” <a href="/ezekiel/36-25.htm" title="Then will I sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.">Ezekiel 36:25</a>; (comp. <a href="/isaiah/1-16.htm" title="Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;">Isaiah 1:16</a>; <a href="/zechariah/13-1.htm" title="In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.">Zechariah 13:1</a>); and then as an initiation into the kingdom which was at hand. The Jews had been familiar with the symbolism of baptism from the earliest days, as a consecration (<a href="/exodus/29-4.htm" title="And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall wash them with water.">Exodus 29:4</a>), and a purification (<a href="/leviticus/14-8.htm" title="And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.">Leviticus 14:8</a>). It was one of the forms by which proselytes were admitted into Judaism. John’s adoption of this rite proved (i) his authority (<a href="/john/1-25.htm" title="And they asked him, and said to him, Why baptize you then, if you be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?">John 1:25</a>); and (ii) his opinion that even Jews needed to be thus washed from sins.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="4"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-4.htm">Luke 3:4</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">4</span>. <span class="ital">Esaias the prophet</span>] <a href="/isaiah/40-3.htm" title="The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.">Isaiah 40:3</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">saying</span>] This word should be omitted with <span class="greekheb">א</span>, B, D, L, &c.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">The voice</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">A voice</span>. The Hebrew original may be rendered “Hark one crieth.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">of one crying in the wilderness</span>] Hence comes the common expression for hopeless warnings, <span class="ital">vox clamantis in deserto</span>. Probably, however, the “in the wilderness” should be attached <span class="ital">to the words uttered by the voice</span>, as is required by the parallelism of Hebrew poetry:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>“Prepare ye in the wilderness a way for Jehovah,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Lay even in the desert a highway for our God.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>The wilderness is metaphorically the barren waste of the Jewish life in that day (<a href="/isaiah/35-1.htm" title="The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.">Isaiah 35:1</a>).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">the way of the Lord</span>] Comp. <a href="/context/isaiah/35-8.htm" title="And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein....">Isaiah 35:8-10</a>, “And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called <span class="ital">the way of holiness</span>: the unclean shall not pass over it … And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="5"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-5.htm">Luke 3:5</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>shall be</i> made smooth;</div><span class="bld">5</span>. <span class="ital">Every valley</span>, &c.] The metaphor is derived from pioneers who go before the march of a king. There is a remarkable parallel in Josephus (<span class="ital">B. J.</span> 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 <span class="ital">and straight, and if it were anywhere rough and hard to be passed over, to plane it</span>, and to cut down the woods that hindered their march (comp. <span class="ital">prokoptein</span> = ‘to advance’ in <a href="/luke/2-52.htm" title="And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.">Luke 2:52</a>), that the army might not be tired.” The Jews fabled that the Pillar of Cloud and Fire in the desert smoothed the mountains and filled the valleys before them. <span class="ital">Tanchuma</span>, f. 70, 3 on <a href="/numbers/20-22.htm" title="And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came to mount Hor.">Numbers 20:22</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Every valley shall be filled</span>, &c.] i. e. the humble and meek shall be exalted, and the mighty put down. Compare <a href="/context/isaiah/2-12.htm" title="For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be on every one that is proud and lofty, and on every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:...">Isaiah 2:12-15</a>, “The day of the Lord of hosts shall be <span class="ital">upon every one that is proud and lofty</span>, and upon every one that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low.… And <span class="ital">upon all the high mountains</span>, &c.” <a href="/zechariah/4-7.htm" title="Who are you, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace to it.">Zechariah 4:7</a>, “Who art thou, O great mountain? <span class="ital">Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain</span>.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">the crooked shall be made straight</span>] The words in the original recall the names <span class="ital">Jacob</span> and <span class="ital">Jeshurun</span>; as though it were “then the Supplanter shall be turned into Prince with God” or “the beloved” (<a href="/isaiah/44-2.htm" title="Thus said the LORD that made you, and formed you from the womb, which will help you; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and you, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.">Isaiah 44:2</a>; <a href="/isaiah/11-4.htm" title="But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.">Isaiah 11:4</a>). The general meaning of the prophecy is that no obstacles, whether they arose from depression, or power, or pride, or cunning perversity, or menacing difficulties, should be able to resist the labours of the Pioneers and Heralds of the Kingdom of God. The feeble instrumentality of Galilaeans should be strengthened; the power of the Romans and Herods should be shattered; the duplicity and plots of Pharisees and worldlings should be defeated; the apparently insuperable opposition of Judaism and Heathenism be swept away.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="6"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-6.htm">Luke 3:6</a></div><div class="verse">And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.</div><span class="bld">6</span>. <span class="ital">all flesh shall see the salvation of God</span>] 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 <a href="/luke/2-10.htm" title="And the angel said to them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.">Luke 2:10</a>, <a href="/luke/24-47.htm" title="And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.">Luke 24:47</a>, and Introd. p. 25. “The salvation” is <span class="greekheb">τὸ σωτήριον</span>, as in <a href="/luke/2-30.htm" title="For my eyes have seen your salvation,">Luke 2:30</a>. When the mountains of earthly tyranny and spiritual pride are levelled, the view of God’s saving power becomes clear to all flesh.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="7"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-7.htm">Luke 3:7</a></div><div class="verse">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?</div><span class="bld">7</span>. <span class="ital">to the multitude</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">multitudes</span>. Different crowds came from different directions, <a href="/matthew/3-5.htm" title="Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,">Matthew 3:5</a>; <a href="/mark/1-5.htm" title="And there went out to him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.">Mark 1:5</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">O generation of vipers</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">broods of vipers</span>. They were like “serpents born of serpents.” The comparison was familiar to Hebrew poetry (<a href="/psalms/68-4.htm" title="Sing to God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rides on the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.">Psalm 68:4</a>; <a href="/isaiah/14-9.htm" title="Hell from beneath is moved for you to meet you at your coming: it stirs up the dead for you, even all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.">Isaiah 14:9</a>), and we learn from <a href="/matthew/3-7.htm" title="But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said to them, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?">Matthew 3:7</a> that it was <span class="ital">specially</span> pointed at the Pharisees and Sadducees, to whom it was addressed no less sternly by our Lord (<a href="/matthew/23-33.htm" title="You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?">Matthew 23:33</a>). It described the venomous hypocrisy which turned religion itself into a vice, and hid a deadly malice under the glittering semblance of a zeal for orthodoxy. But let it be borne in mind that only teachers of transcendent holiness, and immediately inspired by God with fervency and insight, may dare to use such language. The metaphor was one of those desert symbols which would be suggested to St John both by the scene of his preaching and by the language of Isaiah with which he shews special familiarity.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">from the wrath to come</span>] The Jews had been taught by Prophecy that the Advent of their Deliverer should be preceded by a time of anguish which they called “the Woes of the Messiah;” comp. <a href="/malachi/3-2.htm" title="But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:">Malachi 3:2</a>, “Who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap.” <span class="ital">Id</span>. <a href="/luke/4-1.htm" title="And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,">Luke 4:1</a> “Behold I send you Elijah the Prophet <span class="ital">before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord</span>.” Such prophecies received their primary fulfilment at the Destruction of Jerusalem (see <a href="/matthew/24-28.htm" title="For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.">Matthew 24:28</a>; <a href="/context/mark/13-19.htm" title="For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created to this time, neither shall be....">Mark 13:19-20</a>); and await their final fulfilment hereafter. <a href="/revelation/6-16.htm" title="And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:">Revelation 6:16</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="8"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-8.htm">Luke 3:8</a></div><div class="verse">Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to <i>our</i> father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.</div><span class="bld">8</span>. <span class="ital">Bring forth</span>] The verb implies instant effort. “Produce <span class="ital">at once</span>.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">begin not to say</span>] He cuts off even all <span class="ital">attempt</span> at self-excuse.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">We have Abraham to our father</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">as our father</span>. The Jews had so exalted a conception of this privilege (<a href="/john/8-39.htm" title="They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.">John 8:39</a>) that they could scarcely believe it possible that any son of Abraham should ever be lost. This is seen in many passages of the Talmud, which maintain that a “single Israelite is of more worth in God’s sight than all the nations of the world.” “Thou madest the world for our sakes. As for the other people … Thou hast said … that they are nothing but be like unto spittle, and hast likened the abundance of them unto a drop that falleth from a vessel.… But we Thy people (whom Thou hast called Thy firstborn, Thy only begotten, and Thy fervent lover), &c.” <a href="//apocrypha.org/2_esdras/6-56.htm" title="As for the other people, which also come of Adam, thou hast said that they are nothing, but be like unto spittle: and hast likened the abundance of them unto a drop that falleth from a vessel....">2Es 6:56-58</a>. The Prophets had long ago warned them that privileges without duties were no protection (<a href="/context/jeremiah/7-3.htm" title="Thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place....">Jeremiah 7:3-4</a>; <a href="/micah/3-11.htm" title="The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean on the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come on us.">Micah 3:11</a>; <a href="/isaiah/48-2.htm" title="For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.">Isaiah 48:2</a>, &c.). Christ taught them that Abraham’s seed had no <span class="ital">exclusive</span> offer of salvation (<a href="/context/matthew/8-11.htm" title="And I say to you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven....">Matthew 8:11-12</a>), and it was a special part of the mission of St Paul to bring home to them that “they are not all Israel which are of Israel” <a href="/context/romans/9-6.htm" title="Not as though the word of God has taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:...">Romans 9:6-7</a>; <a href="/galatians/3-29.htm" title="And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.">Galatians 3:29</a>; <a href="/galatians/6-15.htm" title="For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.">Galatians 6:15</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">of these stones</span>] He pointed to the rocky boulders, or the flints on the strand of Jordan, around him. He who had made Adam from the clay could make sons of Abraham from those stones (Bengel). St John’s imagery is that of the wilderness,—the rock, the serpent, the barren tree.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="9"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-9.htm">Luke 3:9</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">9</span>. <span class="ital">is laid</span>] Literally, “<span class="ital">lies</span>.” 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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">is hewn down and cast into the fire</span>] Literally, “<span class="ital">is being hewn down, and being cast</span>.” It is almost impossible to reproduce in English the force of this use of the present. It is called the ‘<span class="ital">praesens futurascens</span>,’ and is used in cases when the doom has been long uttered, and is, by the evolution of the natural laws of God’s dealings, in course of inevitable accomplishment. But we see from prophetic imagery that even when the tree has been felled and burned “the watchers and holy ones” may still have charge to leave the stump of it in the tender grass of the field that it may grow again, <a href="/daniel/4-25.htm" title="That they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will.">Daniel 4:25</a> : and we see from the express language of St Paul that the olive tree of Jewish life was not to be cut down and burned for ever (<a href="/romans/9-10.htm" title="And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;">Romans 9:10</a>.). A barren fig tree was also our Lord’s symbol of the Jewish nation. <a href="/luke/13-6.htm" title="He spoke also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.">Luke 13:6</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="10"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-10.htm">Luke 3:10</a></div><div class="verse">And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?</div>10–14. Answer of the Baptist to the Multitude<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">10</span>. <span class="ital">What shall we do then</span>?] Rather, <span class="bld">What then are we to do</span>? Compare the question of the multitude to Peter on the day of Pentecost (<a href="/acts/2-37.htm" title="Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brothers, what shall we do?">Acts 2:37</a>) and that of the Philippian jailor (<a href="/luke/16-30.htm" title="And he said, No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent.">Luke 16:30</a>).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="11"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-11.htm">Luke 3:11</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">11</span>. <span class="ital">He that hath two coats</span>] St Luke alone preserves for us the details in this interesting section. Beyond the single upper garment (<span class="ital">chiton, cetoneth</span>), and garment (<span class="ital">himation</span>) and girdle, no other article of dress was necessary. A second ‘tunic’ or <span class="ital">cetoneth</span> was a mere luxury, so long as thousands were too poor to own even one.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">let him impart to him that hath none</span>] St Paul gave similar advice (<a href="/context/2_corinthians/8-13.htm" title="For I mean not that other men be eased, and you burdened:...">2 Corinthians 8:13-15</a>), and St James (<a href="/context/james/2-15.htm" title="If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,...">James 2:15-17</a>), and St John (<a href="/1_john/3-17.htm" title="But whoever has this world's good, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him?">1 John 3:17</a>), because they had learnt this spirit from Christ. A literal fulfilment of it has often been represented by Christian Art in the “Charity of St Martin.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">meat</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">food</span>. The word has now acquired the specific sense of ‘flesh,’ which it never has in our E. V. For instance the “meat-offering” was generally an offering of flour and oil.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>We may notice the following particulars respecting the preaching of the Baptist:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(1) It was <span class="ital">stern</span>, as was natural to an ascetic whose very aspect and mission were modelled on the example of Elijah. The particulars of his life, and dress, and food—the leathern girdle, the mantle of camel’s hair, the living on locusts and wild honey—are preserved for us by the other Evangelists, and they gave him that power of mastery over others which always springs from perfect self-control, and absolute self-abnegation. Hence “in his manifestation and agency he was like a burning torch; his whole life was a very earthquake; the whole man was a sermon.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(2) It was absolutely <span class="ital">dauntless</span>. The unlettered Prophet of the Desert has not a particle of respect for the powerful Sadducees and long-robed luxurious Rabbis, and disdains to be flattered by their coming to listen to his teaching. Having nothing to hope from man’s favour, he has nothing to fear from man’s dislike.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(3) It shews remarkable <span class="ital">insight into human nature</span>, and into the needs and temptations of every class which came to him,—shewing that his ascetic seclusion did not arise from any contempt of, or aversion to, his fellowmen.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(4) It was <span class="ital">intensely practical</span>. Not only does it exclude all abstract and theological terms such as ‘justification,’ &c., but it says nothing directly of even faith, or love. In this respect it recalls the Old Testament, and might be summed up in the words of Balaam preserved in the prophet Micah, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” <a href="/micah/6-8.htm" title="He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?">Micah 6:8</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(5) Yet though it still belongs to the dispensation of the shadow it <span class="ital">prophesies of the dawn</span>. His first message was “Repent;” his second was “The kingdom of heaven is at hand:” and this message culminated in the words “Behold the Lamb of God,” which shewed that the <span class="ital">Olam habba</span> or ‘future age’ had already begun. These two great utterances “contain the two capital revelations to which all the preparation of the Gospel has been tending.” “Law and Prophecy; denunciation of sin and promise of pardon; the flame which consumes and the light which consoles—is not this the whole of the covenant?” Lange.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(6) <span class="ital">It does not claim the credentials of a single miracle</span>. The glory and greatness of John the Baptist, combined with the fact that not a single wonder is attributed to him, is the strongest argument for the truth of the Gospels against the ‘mythical theory’ of Strauss, who reduces the Gospel miracles to a circle of imaginative legends devised to glorify the Founder of Christianity. At the same time this acknowledged absence of miraculous powers enhances our conception of the enormous moral force which sufficed, without a sign, to stir to its very depths the heart of a sign-demanding age.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>(7) <span class="ital">It had only a partial and temporary popularity</span>. Rejected by the Pharisees who said that “he had a devil,” the Baptist failed to produce a permanent influence on more than a chosen few (<a href="/john/5-35.htm" title="He was a burning and a shining light: and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.">John 5:35</a>; <a href="/luke/7-30.htm" title="But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.">Luke 7:30</a>; <a href="/matthew/11-18.htm" title="For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a devil.">Matthew 11:18</a>; <a href="/context/matthew/21-23.htm" title="And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you these things? and who gave you this authority?...">Matthew 21:23-27</a>; <a href="/acts/18-25.htm" title="This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.">Acts 18:25</a>; <a href="/context/acts/19-3.htm" title="And he said to them, To what then were you baptized? And they said, To John's baptism....">Acts 19:3-4</a>). After his imprisonment he seems to have fallen into neglect, and he himself felt from the first that his main mission was to prepare the way for another, and to decrease before him. He was “the lamp kindled and shining” (<a href="/john/5-35.htm" title="He was a burning and a shining light: and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.">John 5:35</a>) which becomes needless and ceases to be noticed when the sun has dawned.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="12"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-12.htm">Luke 3:12</a></div><div class="verse">Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?</div><span class="bld">12</span>. <span class="ital">the publicans</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">tax-gatherers</span> (without the article). The word is a corruption of the Latin <span class="ital">publicani</span> ‘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 <span class="ital">publicani</span>, and who made their own profit out of the transaction. These knights appointed subordinates, who from the unpleasant character of the task could only be secured from the lowest of the people. These officials were not only detested as the agents of an odious system, but also for their notorious malpractices. A strict Jew could hardly force himself even to <span class="ital">pay</span> taxes, and therefore naturally looked with scorn and hatred on any Jew who could sink so low as to <span class="ital">collect</span> them. Hence in our Lord’s time the word “publican” had become proverbial, as expressive of the worst opprobrium (<a href="/matthew/18-17.htm" title="And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be to you as an heathen man and a publican.">Matthew 18:17</a>). The Jews were not however peculiar in their dislike of publicans. The Greeks too regarded the word as a synonym of ‘plunderer,’ and an ‘innocent publican’ was regarded as a marvellous phenomenon (Suet. <span class="ital">Vesp</span>. i). Suidas defines the life of a publican as “unrestrained plunder, unblushing greed, unreasonable pettifogging, shameless business.” The relation of the publicans to John is referred to in <a href="/matthew/21-32.htm" title="For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and you, when you had seen it, repented not afterward, that you might believe him.">Matthew 21:32</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Master</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">Teacher</span>. The word is not <span class="ital">Epistata</span> (as in <a href="/luke/8-24.htm" title="And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.">Luke 8:24</a>) but <span class="ital">Didaskale</span>. See <a href="/luke/7-29.htm" title="And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.">Luke 7:29</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">what shall we do</span>?] We have the same question, but with the answer which was only possible after the Resurrection, in <a href="/acts/2-37.htm" title="Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brothers, what shall we do?">Acts 2:37</a>; <a href="/acts/16-30.htm" title="And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?">Acts 16:30</a>; <a href="/acts/22-10.htm" title="And I said, What shall I do, LORD? And the Lord said to me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told you of all things which are appointed for you to do.">Acts 22:10</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="13"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-13.htm">Luke 3:13</a></div><div class="verse">And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.</div><span class="bld">13</span>. <span class="ital">Exact no more</span>] This was their habitual sin, and later historians often allude to the <span class="ital">immodestia</span> (i. e. the extravagant greed) of the publicans and their cruel exactions (Caes. <span class="ital">Bell. Civ.</span> iii. 32). The cheating and meddling for which Zacchaeus promised fourfold restoration (<a href="/luke/19-8.htm" title="And Zacchaeus stood, and said to the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.">Luke 19:8</a>) were universal among them.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="14"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-14.htm">Luke 3:14</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>any</i> falsely; and be content with your wages.</div><span class="bld">14</span>. <span class="ital">the soldiers</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">soldiers on the march</span>. 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 their quarrel was long subsequent to this.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">demanded of him</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">asked him</span>. The imperfect tense however (as before in <a href="/luke/3-10.htm" title="And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?">Luke 3:10</a>) implies that such questions were put to him by bodies of soldiers in succession.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Do violence to no man</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">Extort money by threats from no one</span>. <span class="ital">Diaseio</span>, like the Latin <span class="ital">concutio</span>, is a technical word. It implies robbery and violence.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">accuse any falsely</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">cheat by false accusation</span>. The Greek implies pettifogging charges on trivial grounds, and is the word from which <span class="ital">sycophant</span> is derived. The temptation of soldiers, strong in their solidarity, was to terrify the poor by violence, and undermine the rich by acting as informers. The best comment on the Baptist’s advice to them is the xvith Satire of Juvenal, which is aimed at their brutality and threats.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">be content with your wages</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">pay</span>. This is a late meaning of the word <span class="ital">opsonia</span> (<a href="/romans/6-23.htm" title="For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.">Romans 6:23</a>), which means in the first instance ‘boiled fish eaten as a relish with meat.’ It is remarkable that the Baptist does not bid even soldiers to <span class="ital">abandon</span> their profession, but to serve God in it. This is important as shewing that he did not hold up the life of the hermit or the ascetic as a model or ideal for all. He evidently held, like the good St Hugo of Avalon, that “God meant us to be good men, not monks and hermits.” Josephus, when (<span class="ital">Antt.</span> xviii. v. 2) he sums up the teaching of the Baptist by saying that “he commanded the Jews to practise virtue both in righteousness to one another and piety to God,” rightly estimates the <span class="ital">practical</span>, but omits the <span class="ital">prophetic</span> side of his teaching.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="15"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-15.htm">Luke 3:15</a></div><div class="verse">And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;</div>15–20. The Messianic Announcement. Imprisonment of John<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">15</span>. <span class="ital">were in expectation</span>] 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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">mused</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">reasoned</span>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">whether he were the Christ</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">whether haply he were himself the Christ</span>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="16"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-16.htm">Luke 3:16</a></div><div class="verse">John answered, saying unto <i>them</i> 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:</div><span class="bld">16</span>. <span class="ital">John answered</span>] The answer, as we find from <a href="/context/john/1-19.htm" title="And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you?...">John 1:19-28</a>, 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.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">one mightier</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">the stronger than I</span>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">the latchet</span>] i. e. the thong. The word, now obsolete in this sense, is from the same root perhaps as the Latin <span class="ital">laqueus</span> (Ital. <span class="ital">laccio</span>, Portug. <span class="ital">lazzo</span>, old French <span class="ital">lacs</span>, Fr. <span class="ital">lacet</span>, Engl. <span class="ital">lace</span>).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">shoes</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">sandals</span>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">to unloose</span>] In <a href="/matthew/3-11.htm" title="I indeed baptize you with water to repentance. but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.">Matthew 3:11</a> it is ‘to carry his sandals;’ i. e. I am not adequate to be his humblest slave.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">in the Holy Ghost and fire</span>. The preposition <span class="bld"><span class="ital">en</span></span> distinguishes between the mere <span class="ital">instrumentality</span> of the water, and the <span class="ital">spiritual element</span> whereby and wherein the child of the kingdom is baptized. This baptism by the Spirit had been foretold in <a href="/isaiah/44-3.htm" title="For I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground: I will pour my spirit on your seed, and my blessing on your offspring:">Isaiah 44:3</a>; <a href="/joel/2-28.htm" title="And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:">Joel 2:28</a>. Its first obvious fulfilment was at Pentecost (<a href="/acts/1-5.htm" title="For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.">Acts 1:5</a>; <a href="/acts/2-3.htm" title="And there appeared to them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat on each of them.">Acts 2:3</a>) and subsequent outpourings after baptism (<a href="/context/acts/11-15.htm" title="And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning....">Acts 11:15-16</a>). But it is fulfilled without visible supernatural signs to all Christians (<a href="/1_corinthians/6-11.htm" title="And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.">1 Corinthians 6:11</a>; “by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,” <a href="/1_corinthians/12-13.htm" title="For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.">1 Corinthians 12:13</a>).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">and with fire</span>] In its first and most literal sense the allusion is to the fiery tongues of Pentecost (<a href="/acts/2-3.htm" title="And there appeared to them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat on each of them.">Acts 2:3</a>); but the secondary and metaphoric allusion is to the burning zeal and illuminating light of the Spirit. St Jerome sees a further allusion to fiery trials (<a href="/luke/12-49.htm" title="I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?">Luke 12:49</a>; <a href="/mark/9-49.htm" title="For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.">Mark 9:49</a>; <a href="/1_peter/4-12.htm" title="Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you:">1 Peter 4:12</a>) and to the fire of judgment (<a href="/1_corinthians/3-13.htm" title="Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.">1 Corinthians 3:13</a>); but these allusions cannot be regarded as certain.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="17"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-17.htm">Luke 3:17</a></div><div class="verse">Whose fan <i>is</i> 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.</div><span class="bld">17</span>. <span class="ital">fan</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">winnowing-fan</span>. The Latin <span class="ital">vannus</span>, a great shovel with which corn was thrown up against the wind to separate it from the chaff.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">his floor</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">threshing-floor</span>. The word is the same as that from which our <span class="ital">halo</span> is derived, since the threshing-floors of the ancients were circular.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">the chaff</span>] The word includes straw and stubble. We find similar metaphors in <a href="/psalms/1-4.htm" title="The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.">Psalm 1:4</a>, “the ungodly … are like the chaff;” <a href="/malachi/4-1.htm" title="For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yes, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, said the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.">Malachi 4:1</a>, “all that do wickedly shall be stubble;” <a href="/jeremiah/15-7.htm" title="And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people since they return not from their ways.">Jeremiah 15:7</a>, “I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land.” So far as the allusion is to the separation of good from evil elements in the Church we find similar passages in <a href="/matthew/13-30.htm" title="Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather you together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.">Matthew 13:30</a>; <a href="/1_john/2-19.htm" title="They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.">1 John 2:19</a>, &c. But it may refer also to the destruction of <span class="ital">the evil elements in a mixed character</span>, as in <a href="/luke/22-31.htm" title="And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:">Luke 22:31</a>, “Simon … Satan hath desired to have you, <span class="ital">that he may sift you as wheat</span>.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">into his garner</span>] Comp. <a href="/matthew/13-30.htm" title="Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather you together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.">Matthew 13:30</a>, “gather the wheat into my barn.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">burn</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">burn up</span>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="18"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-18.htm">Luke 3:18</a></div><div class="verse">And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.</div><span class="bld">18</span>. <span class="ital">many other things</span>] Of which some are recorded by St John alone (<a href="/luke/1-29.htm" title="And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.">Luke 1:29</a>; <a href="/luke/1-34.htm" title="Then said Mary to the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?">Luke 1:34</a>, <a href="/context/luke/3-27.htm" title="Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,...">Luke 3:27-36</a>).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">preached he</span>] <span class="greekheb">εὐηγγελίζετο</span>, literally, “<span class="ital">he was preaching the Good Tidings</span>.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="19"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-19.htm">Luke 3:19</a></div><div class="verse">But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,</div><span class="bld">19</span>. <span class="ital">But Herod the tetrarch</span>] 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 <a href="/context/mark/6-17.htm" title="For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold on John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her....">Mark 6:17-20</a>; <a href="/context/matthew/14-3.htm" title="For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife....">Matthew 14:3-5</a>. From these passages we learn that John had reproved Antipas for many crimes, and that Antipas was so convinced of his holiness and justice as habitually to listen to him with pleasure (<span class="greekheb">ἡδέως αὐτοῦ ἤκουεν</span>), and after paying earnest heed to him was greatly at a loss about him. We learn further that he resisted the constant urgency of Herodias to put him to death.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">being reproved</span>] The reproof was of course based on <a href="/leviticus/18-16.htm" title="You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife: it is your brother's nakedness.">Leviticus 18:16</a>; <a href="/leviticus/20-21.htm" title="And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.">Leviticus 20:21</a>, and was perfectly uncompromising (<a href="/matthew/14-4.htm" title="For John said to him, It is not lawful for you to have her.">Matthew 14:4</a>). In this respect the dauntless courage of John, under circumstances of far greater peril, contrasts most favourably with the timid and disgraceful concessions of the Reformers in the matter of the marriage of Philip of Hesse.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">his brother Philip’s</span>] The two first words are omitted by some of the best uncials, and “Philip’s” by nearly all of them. On <span class="ital">this</span> Herod Philip—who was not the tetrarch of that name—see on <a href="/luke/3-1.htm" title="Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, 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,">Luke 3:1</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="20"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-20.htm">Luke 3:20</a></div><div class="verse">Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.</div><span class="bld">20</span>. <span class="ital">added yet this above all</span>] 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. <span class="ital">Antt.</span> xviii. 5.1–4).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">in prison</span>] This prison, as we learn from Josephus (<span class="ital">Antt.</span> xviii. 5, § 2), was the stern and gloomy fortress of Makor or Machaerus, on the borders of Arabia to the north of the Dead Sea. It is situated among black basaltic rocks and was believed to be haunted by evil demons. Its ruins have been visited in recent years by Canon Tristram (<span class="ital">Land of Moab</span>, p. 259) and other travellers, and dungeons are still visible of which one may have witnessed the great Prophet’s tragic end.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="21"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-21.htm">Luke 3:21</a></div><div class="verse">Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,</div>21–38. The Baptism of Jesus. The Genealogy<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">21</span>. <span class="ital">Now when all the people were baptized</span>] The expression (which is peculiar to St Luke) seems to imply that on this day Jesus was baptized <span class="ital">last</span>; and from the absence of any allusion to the multitude in this and the other narratives we are almost forced to conjecture that His baptism was in a measure private. St Luke’s narrative must be supplemented by particulars derived from St Matthew (<a href="/context/matthew/3-13.htm" title="Then comes Jesus from Galilee to Jordan to John, to be baptized of him....">Matthew 3:13-17</a>), who alone narrates the unwillingness of the Baptist, and the memorable conversation between him and Jesus; and St Mark (<a href="/context/mark/1-9.htm" title="And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan....">Mark 1:9-11</a>) mentions that Jesus went into the river, and that it was He who first saw the cleaving heavens, and the Spirit descending.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Jesus also being baptized</span>] Our Lord Himself, in reply to the objection of the Baptist, stated it as a reason for His Baptism that “thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness;” i. e. that it was His will to observe all the requirements of the Mosaic law, which He came “not to destroy but to fulfil.” Other reasons have also been suggested, as (i) that He baptized (as it were) the water—“to sanctify water to the mystical washing away of sin” (Ignat. <span class="ital">ad Eph.</span> 18; Maxim. Serm. 7, <span class="ital">de Epiphan.</span>; Ps.-Aug. <span class="ital">Serm.</span> 135. 4); or (ii) that He was baptized as it were <span class="ital">vicariously</span>, as Head of His body, the Church (Just. Mart. <span class="ital">c. Tryph.</span> 88); or (iii) as a consecration of <span class="ital">Himself</span> to His work, followed by the special consecration from the Father; or (iv) as a great act of humility (St Bernard, <span class="ital">Serm.</span> 47, <span class="ital">in Cant.</span>). See my <span class="ital">Life of Christ</span>, i. 117 n.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">and praying</span>] This deeply interesting touch is peculiar to St Luke, who similarly on eight other occasions calls attention to the Prayers of Jesus—after severe labours (<a href="/luke/5-16.htm" title="And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.">Luke 5:16</a>); before the choosing of the Apostles (<a href="/luke/6-12.htm" title="And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.">Luke 6:12</a>); before Peter’s great Confession (<a href="/luke/9-18.htm" title="And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?">Luke 9:18</a>); at His transfiguration (<a href="/context/luke/9-28.htm" title="And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray....">Luke 9:28-29</a>); for Peter (<a href="/luke/22-32.htm" title="But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not: and when you are converted, strengthen your brothers.">Luke 22:32</a>); in Gethsemane (<a href="/luke/22-41.htm" title="And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,">Luke 22:41</a>); for His murderers (<a href="/luke/23-34.htm" title="Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.">Luke 23:34</a>); and at the moment of death (<a href="/luke/23-46.htm" title="And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.">Luke 23:46</a>). He also represents the duty and blessing of urgent prayer in two peculiar parables—the Importunate Friend (<a href="/context/luke/11-5.htm" title="And he said to them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves;...">Luke 11:5-13</a>) and the Unjust Judge (<a href="/luke/18-2.htm" title="Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:">Luke 18:2</a>). See Introd. p. 24.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="22"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-22.htm">Luke 3:22</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">22</span>. <span class="ital">in a bodily shape</span>] This addition is peculiar to St Luke, and is probably added to shew the distinctness and reality of what Theodoret calls the ‘spiritual vision’ (<span class="greekheb">πνευματικὴ θεωρία</span>).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">like a dove</span>] The expression <span class="greekheb">ὡς</span> or <span class="greekheb">ὡσεὶ</span> used by each of the Evangelists, and St John’s “and it abode upon Him” (<a href="/john/1-32.htm" title="And John bore record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it stayed on him.">John 1:32</a>), sufficiently prove that no <span class="ital">actual</span> dove is intended. The Holy Spirit is symbolised by a dove from early times. The Talmudic comment on <a href="/genesis/1-2.htm" title="And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.">Genesis 1:2</a> is that “the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters <span class="ital">like a dove</span>”—<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>“And with mighty wings outspread<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Dovelike</span> sat’st brooding on the vast abyss.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Milton (<span class="ital">Par. Lost</span>, i. 20).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Comp. <a href="//apocrypha.org/2_esdras/5-26.htm" title="And of all the fowls that are created thou hast named thee one dove: and of all the cattle that are made thou hast provided thee one sheep:">2Es 5:26</a>, “of all the fowls that are created thou hast named thee one dove.” <a href="/matthew/10-16.htm" title="Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the middle of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.">Matthew 10:16</a>. A mystical reason was assigned for this in some fathers, because the numerical value of the letters of the Greek word <span class="ital">peristera</span>, ‘a dove,’ amounts to 801, which is also the value of Alpha Omega. We are probably intended to understand a dovelike, hovering, lambent flame descending on the head of Jesus; and this may account for the unanimous early legend that a fire or light was kindled in Jordan (Just. Mart. <span class="ital">c. Tryph.</span> 88, and the Apocryphal Gospels).<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">a voice came from heaven, which said</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">out of heaven</span>. The last words should be omitted with the best MSS. This <span class="ital">Bath Kôl</span> or Voice from heaven also occurred at the Transfiguration (<a href="/matthew/17-5.htm" title="While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear you him.">Matthew 17:5</a>) and in the closing week of Christ’s life (<a href="/context/john/12-28.htm" title="Father, glorify your name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again....">John 12:28-30</a>). This is one of the passages which so distinctly imply the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">I am well pleased</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">I was well pleased</span>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="23"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-23.htm">Luke 3:23</a></div><div class="verse">And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was <i>the son</i> of Heli,</div><span class="bld">23</span>. <span class="ital">began to be about thirty years of age</span>] Rather, <span class="bld">was about thirty years of age on beginning</span> (<span class="bld">His work</span>). 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 adduced. The word <span class="ital">archomenos</span>, standing absolutely for ‘when he began his ministry,’ is explained by the extreme prominency of this <span class="ital">beginning</span> in the thought of St Luke (see <a href="/acts/1-1.htm" title="The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,">Acts 1:1</a>; <a href="/acts/1-22.htm" title="Beginning from the baptism of John, to that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.">Acts 1:22</a>), and his desire to fix it with accuracy. The age of 30 was that at which a Levite might enter on his full services (<a href="/numbers/4-3.htm" title="From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.">Numbers 4:3</a>; <a href="/numbers/4-47.htm" title="From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation.">Numbers 4:47</a>), and the age at which Joseph had stood before Pharaoh (<a href="/genesis/41-46.htm" title="And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.">Genesis 41:46</a>), and at which David had begun to reign (<a href="/2_samuel/5-4.htm" title="David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.">2 Samuel 5:4</a>), and at which scribes were allowed to teach.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">as was supposed</span>] “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” <a href="/matthew/13-55.htm" title="Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brothers, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?">Matthew 13:55</a>; <a href="/john/6-42.htm" title="And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he said, I came down from heaven?">John 6:42</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>On the genealogy which follows, and its relations to that in the Gospel of St Matthew, many volumes have been written, but in the Excursus I have endeavoured to condense all that is most important on the subject, and to give those conclusions which are now being accepted by the most careful scholars. See Excursus II., The genealogies of Jesus in St Matthew and St Luke.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="24"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-24.htm">Luke 3:24</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Matthat, which was <i>the son</i> of Levi, which was <i>the son</i> of Melchi, which was <i>the son</i> of Janna, which was <i>the son</i> of Joseph,</div><A name="25"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-25.htm">Luke 3:25</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Mattathias, which was <i>the son</i> of Amos, which was <i>the son</i> of Naum, which was <i>the son</i> of Esli, which was <i>the son</i> of Nagge,</div><A name="26"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-26.htm">Luke 3:26</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Maath, which was <i>the son</i> of Mattathias, which was <i>the son</i> of Semei, which was <i>the son</i> of Joseph, which was <i>the son</i> of Juda,</div><A name="27"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-27.htm">Luke 3:27</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Joanna, which was <i>the son</i> of Rhesa, which was <i>the son</i> of Zorobabel, which was <i>the son</i> of Salathiel, which was <i>the son</i> of Neri,</div><A name="28"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-28.htm">Luke 3:28</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Melchi, which was <i>the son</i> of Addi, which was <i>the son</i> of Cosam, which was <i>the son</i> of Elmodam, which was <i>the son</i> of Er,</div><A name="29"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-29.htm">Luke 3:29</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Jose, which was <i>the son</i> of Eliezer, which was <i>the son</i> of Jorim, which was <i>the son</i> of Matthat, which was <i>the son</i> of Levi,</div><A name="30"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-30.htm">Luke 3:30</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Simeon, which was <i>the son</i> of Juda, which was <i>the son</i> of Joseph, which was <i>the son</i> of Jonan, which was <i>the son</i> of Eliakim,</div><A name="31"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-31.htm">Luke 3:31</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Melea, which was <i>the son</i> of Menan, which was <i>the son</i> of Mattatha, which was <i>the son</i> of Nathan, which was <i>the son</i> of David,</div><A name="32"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-32.htm">Luke 3:32</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Jesse, which was <i>the son</i> of Obed, which was <i>the son</i> of Booz, which was <i>the son</i> of Salmon, which was <i>the son</i> of Naasson,</div><A name="33"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-33.htm">Luke 3:33</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Aminadab, which was <i>the son</i> of Aram, which was <i>the son</i> of Esrom, which was <i>the son</i> of Phares, which was <i>the son</i> of Juda,</div><A name="34"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-34.htm">Luke 3:34</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Jacob, which was <i>the son</i> of Isaac, which was <i>the son</i> of Abraham, which was <i>the son</i> of Thara, which was <i>the son</i> of Nachor,</div><A name="35"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-35.htm">Luke 3:35</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Saruch, which was <i>the son</i> of Ragau, which was <i>the son</i> of Phalec, which was <i>the son</i> of Heber, which was <i>the son</i> of Sala,</div><A name="36"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-36.htm">Luke 3:36</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Cainan, which was <i>the son</i> of Arphaxad, which was <i>the son</i> of Sem, which was <i>the son</i> of Noe, which was <i>the son</i> of Lamech,</div><A name="37"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-37.htm">Luke 3:37</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Mathusala, which was <i>the son</i> of Enoch, which was <i>the son</i> of Jared, which was <i>the son</i> of Maleleel, which was <i>the son</i> of Cainan,</div><A name="38"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/luke/3-38.htm">Luke 3:38</a></div><div class="verse">Which was <i>the son</i> of Enos, which was <i>the son</i> of Seth, which was <i>the son</i> of Adam, which was <i>the son</i> of God.</div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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