Luke 3:1 Commentary and Bible Study

Luke is a historian as well as a chronicler of the life of Christ, and he ties in his narrative with the historical events of the day. Here he gives six indicators of the time that John the Baptist’s ministry began. Hendriksen comments, ‘One is prone to think that such a broad array of historical data, each a check on the other five, would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind as to the exact year when the Baptist started his work. Nevertheless it is precisely at this point that even today scholars reach diverging conclusions.’ He then discusses the two main theories: a. that it began in AD 26; b. that it began in AD 28-29. See his discussion of the merits of the two positions in his comments on Luke 3:1-2.‘The word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.’ The phrase ‘the word of God came to’ indicates that John was called as a prophet in the same manner as other Old Testament prophets (1 Kings 21:17; Isaiah 38:4; Jeremiah 2:1; Ezekiel 3:16). This was his divine calling to be a prophet, and the start of his ministry. He had begun to be prepared by the Lord for this work long before this, and his whole life had been one of self-discipline and self-denial, a lifestyle which would be consistent with his message. He had been led by God to go into the deserts (Luke 1:80) in order to develop the resolute character he would need to stand up against all the religious hierarchy of the day who were certainly going to oppose him. There he waited for the Lord to give him the signal that his ministry should begin. He already knew that he was called to prepare the way before the Messiah, for that much had been made clear by Gabriel and by his father’s inspired words at his birth. But he would not begin to preach until God commanded, for he would achieve nothing if he went before the allotted time. And so it was in the desert that he now received the call to begin his public ministry. Up till now he had been alone with God, living largely in isolation, but now he must preach to the people and face the multitudes. John who was close six month older than the Lord Jesus was also about thirty years of age (Luke 3:23).