Luke 3

Luke 3 (NKJV)

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

2while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

3And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,

4as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.

5Every valley shall be filled
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough ways smooth;

6And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

John Preaches to the People

7Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

9And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”

11He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”

12Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

13And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”

14Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

15Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,

16John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

17His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

18And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.

19But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,

20also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

John Baptizes Jesus

21When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.

22And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

23Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,

24the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph,

25the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,

26the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,

27the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

28the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,

29the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

30the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,

31the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

32the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,

33the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

34the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

35the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,

36the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

37the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan,

38the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

John 1:1, 14

John 1:1, 14 (NKJV)

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Hebrews 1:3

Hebrews 1:3 (NKJV)

3who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Scripture readings

Devotional 📖

One of the most well-known passages in the Bible is the baptism of Jesus.

It’s at Jesus’ baptism that we see the trinity expressed on Earth. The Spirit descends on Jesus “in the likeness of a dove” (the Holy Spirit is not a dove, it speaks of the gracefulness of His nature not the actual animal), and the Father says, “this is my Son, in whom I am well pleased”.

Hebrews 1:3 explains to us what it means that Jesus is the “Son of God”. Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. Jesus being the Son of God does not speak of a created nature, rather it means He is the same nature and likeness as God. The Jewish leaders saw it as a claim that He was in fact God, because when you say you are the “son of” it means you carry the likeness of that person. Jesus is God made manifest in human form and is of the same essence as God the Father and God the Spirit. He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, but distinct in person and function. When He came to Earth, He did not lose His divinity, but voluntarily limited His divine privileges in order to perfectly obey the will of God the Father. You can learn more about the trinity here.

Galatians 3:26 NKJV - 'For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

We too have been made “sons (children) of God”. As we are conformed to the image of Christ, who is the image of God, we begin to also carry the same nature and likeness of God. This is how God originally designed us. We were always supposed to carry the nature and likeness of God.

Genesis 1:26 AMP - 'Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.” [Ps 104:30; Heb 1:2; 11:3] '

Spiritual maturity is this: to be conformed to the image of the Son. It’s the Father’s number one priority. He has made a provision for us to be partakers of the divine nature of God so that our lives too can radiate His glory and represent His being (2 Peter 1:4). Being like Christ in character, word, and deed, is necessary for kingdom exploits.

The truth of Jesus is He is a part of the Godhead as the Son of God. Believing in His deity is of salvific importance. Believing Jesus is the Son of God, means that you believe He is the exact representation of God’s being and therefore, the only way to know, see and come before the Father. We are called to be conformed to His image as sons of God, and yet Jesus remains the only begotten Son, because He is the only one, and will forever be the only one, who completely mirrored the image of God.

Prayer 🙏

Jesus, thank you for the pattern you have given me to follow. Help me to truly know you as the Son of God and reverence you as such. Help me to submit to the Holy Spirit’s transformative work in me so that I can become a son of God also. I want to be made into your image.

Thank you Lord, once again.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Jesus, the Son of God

Devotional 📖

Prayer 🙏