Luke 3:1-2 meaning

The parallel gospel accounts for Luke 3:1-2 are Matthew 3:1, Mark 1:4, and John 1:6-7.

Having introduced his Gospel to Theophilus (Luke 1:1-4), and having told about the miraculous births and childhoods of John the Baptizer and Jesus (Luke 1:25, 26-56, 57-80, 2:1-52), Luke continues his extended prologue to share about the ministry of John the Baptizer.

He introduces John’s ministry in a way that is unique to the Gospels. As Luke did when he documented the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-2) according to the administrations and decrees of governing authorities, so he does with the beginning of John the Baptizer’s public ministry.

This approach appealed to his Greek audience, to whom historical accuracy and recordkeeping was imperative. Within the Western tradition, the “science” of history with its citing of dates and proper sequencing of events was largely invented and developed by the Greeks. The term, “history” comes from the Greeks. It originally meant “researches.”

Luke’s careful investigative approach which presents events in their historically consecutive order (Luke 1:3) helped Greeks, who were critical thinkers, understand that the miraculous life and life-giving teachings of Jesus were not some strange Jewish myth, but that they were real historic events with real and profound consequences. By explaining when and how these things actually happened, Luke’s Gospel resonated with Greeks, and helped them believe that these things actually happened.

And Luke’s meticulous record keeping enables us to do the same. It is largely Luke’s “timestamp” accounts, such as this one, that helps us to place and understand Jesus within His historic context more precisely. Luke’s accurate records hold up to extra-biblical accounts of history. And they help demonstrate and prove that Jesus was a real, historical figure, and not some mythically amalgamated character that developed over time.

Luke investigated and wrote his Gospel account as he did “so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4).

We will begin this commentary by first discussing what took place.

The word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness (v 2b).

John was the son of the priest Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth (Luke 1:5, 13, 57). Elizabeth was the relative of Mary (Luke 1:36), mother of Jesus, which made John Jesus’s cousin.

Luke says the word of God came to John in the wilderness.

The Greek term translated as—word—is ῥῆμα (G4487 - pronounced: “rhē-ma”). “Rhema” means “that which is or has been uttered by the living voice”; “the thing which is spoken.” “Rhema” is different than λόγος (G3056/ “logos”) the other Greek term that is often translated as “word.” “Rhema” specifically refers to speech, utterance, and/or the spoken word. “Logos” is associated with the mental concept, idea, and/or the thought-word.

By using the term “rhema” instead of “logos,” Luke is emphasizing that God is breaking His 400-year prophetic silence by speaking to and through John. The last prophet to whom the word of God came in this way was the prophet Malachi. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar ( v 1a), God was speaking His word to man once again.

The fact that the word of God came to John indicates that he is a prophet of God, just as Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, etc. were prophets of God. John will be the last of these prophets. After Jesus, who is God in human form, began His ministry and the Holy Spirit was sent to indwell the bodies of those who believe in Jesus (Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 3:16), God lives with and within those who believe (John 3:14-15).

As we will soon see, John prepared the way for the Messiah (Luke 3:4-5) by preaching a baptism of repentance (Luke 3:3). John proclaimed God’s message that the promised Jewish Messiah was about to appear (Luke 3:16) and the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Matthew 3:2). Jesus was the Messiah who would usher in the kingdom, whom John was preparing people to receive.

Luke says that John received the word of God when he was in the wilderness. Luke does not specify which wilderness John was in when this took place. It was possibly the Judean wilderness not far from the Jordan River, where John’s preaching and baptism ministry would later be headquartered (Luke 3:3; Mark 1:4; John 1:28).

The fact that he was in the wilderness suggests that John was unusual, if not odd. The wilderness is not a place typically associated with human flourishing and activity. People typically live in the community of one another in or near towns and cities.

John was anything but typical. The wilderness is an isolated and lonely place. It is a place of silence and solitude. The only community to be found in the wilderness is with God. And throughout the history of Israel, God often called people to the wilderness to speak and relate to them (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). John’s isolation in the wilderness enabled him to better listen to and receive the word of God.

Luke does not describe John’s strange appearance and diet, but Matthew and Mark (Mark 1:6) do,

“Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”
(Matthew 3:4)

John’s habits, custom, and fiery preaching (Luke 3:7) all seem to fit the profile of a prophet of God.

Luke established the timeframe when the word of God first came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness with his reference: Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.

Luke uses the word Now to indicate a historical change in time and setting from the previous passage where he was discussing the growth and development of Jesus as a child to a man (Luke 2:52). The word of God came to John sometime after the physical and intellectual maturation of Jesus.

This happened in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.

Tiberius Caesar was the successor to Caesar Augustus, the Roman ruler who consolidated the entire Roman government under his authority. Caesar Augustus’s name was originally Octavian. Octavian was the nephew and heir of the Roman dictator, Julius Caesar. As part of the effort to consolidate his rule, Octavian assumed the designation: “Caesar Augustus”; which meant “son of the divine Caesar.” Caesar Augustus reigned as the sole ruler of Rome from 27 B.C. until 14 A.D. Caesar Augustus was the sovereign of Rome when Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-6). Following Augustus’s death, his successor, Tiberius, assumed the title Caesar, which came to be the equivalent title of “emperor.”

Luke dates the word of God coming to John during the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign. According to the Roman historian, Suetonius, Tiberius began to co-reign with Augustus approximately two years before his predecessor died. When Augustus died in 14 A.D., Tiberius Caesar became the sole emperor of Rome. It is not clear which of these two beginnings Luke used as his starting date. If he used the earlier date, then the word of God came to John in 26/27 A.D. If he used the later, official date for the start of Tiberius’s reign, then the word of God came to John in 28/29 A.D.

Luke then proceeds to list the local regents who presided over the various districts through which Jesus would travel when it was the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.

Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea (v 1b).

The Roman province of Judea included the districts of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea.  The district of Judea was in the central part of the province of Judea, with the capital city of Jerusalem in the center. The southern stretch of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea formed the district’s eastern border, the coastal city of Joppa on the Mediterranean shore was its westernmost point. To the north was the district of Samaria and to the south was the district of Idumea.

The district of Samaria lay between the districts of Galilee to the north and Judea to the south. The Jordan River was its eastern border and the Mediterranean Sea was its western border. Samaria was where the Samaritans resided (the descendants of the Northern Kingdom and various Gentile peoples who conquered it). The district of Idumea lay south of the district of Judea. It was located between the Mediterranean and Dead Seas. Idumea was part Jewish and part Edomite. All three of these districts were part of the Roman province of Judea which Pontius Pilate governed.

Pontius Pilate was the appointed Roman governor of the province of Judea at this time. Throughout his appointment, Pilate struggled to balance Roman authority with Jewish sensibilities. Pilate seemed less tolerant than most Roman officials. Luke tells us that he had certain Galileans (probably Zealots) executed and their blood mixed with their sacrifices (Luke 13:1).

The Jewish historian Josephus also reports of Pilate’s brutality. According to both Josephus and the Roman historian Tacitus, Pilate was removed from office when he was recalled to Rome to give an account to Tiberius Caesar regarding his orders to slaughter a group of Samaritans.

Pilate was the presiding official who oversaw Jesus’s Roman trial. Despite his desire to release Jesus, Pilate caved to the crowds’ demands and ordered His crucifixion (Matthew 27:22-26; Luke 23:20-24; John 19:10-15).

Herod was tetrarch of Galilee (v 1b).

Galilee was a Roman district that was located on the western half of the Sea of Galilee.  It was north and east of the district of Samaria and south and east of the district of Phoenicia. To its northwest was the district of Gaulanitis and to its southeast was Roman Decapolis. The district of Galilee served as an Imperial toll booth because two major trade routes converged within it. These included the ancient “silk-routes” that connected Egypt with Rome in the West and Persia to the East.

The town of Nazareth, where Jesus was raised, was located in Galilee (Matthew 2:22-23). So was Capernaum, where He headquartered His ministry (Matthew 4:13).

Herod the tetrarch of Galilee was the son of Herod the Great (Builder). Tetrarch means “ruler of a fourth”—a “quarter ruler.” When Herod the Great died, his dominion was divided into four parts. His son, Herod Antipas, was one of these four rulers. He was tetrarch of the district of Galilee.

Despite purportedly being a Jewish ruler, Herod lived a thoroughly pagan life. He would later imprison John the Baptizer for speaking out against his sexual relationship with the wife of his older brother Philip. Herod would later have John executed in fulfillment of a devious promise to his mistress (Matthew 14:6-11).

When Jesus was arrested, Pilate sent Him to Herod for a short time, but Herod returned Him when Jesus refused to speak or perform a miracle for him (Luke 23:8-11).

Philip (Herod’s brother) was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis (v 1b).

The districts of Ituraea and Trachonitis were respectively located north and west of Gaulanitis.  The pagan city of Caesarea Philippi and the mountain where Jesus was transfigured (Matthew 17:1-9) were located in Ituraea. Trachonitis was located about fifty miles west of the Sea of Galilee in the modern-day country of Syria.

Philip was also a tetrarch and son of Herod the Great (Builder). He was the half-brother of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. Philip the tetrarch is not to be confused with his half-brother Philip whose wife, Herodias, left him for Herod Antipas.

And Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene (v 1b).

Abilene was a Roman province that was located north of Ituraea and Trachonitis.  The major city of Damascus was located in Abilene.

Not much, if anything, is known about this Lysanias, tetrarch of Abilene, outside of Luke’s mention of him in this account.

In addition to these political rulers, Luke includes mention of the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas (v 2a) whose tenures coincided with the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar when the word of God came to John in the wilderness.

Annas and Caiaphas each served as high priest of Israel, the highest spiritual office in the land. They were members of the Jewish party called the Sadducees, who were in charge of all matters concerning the Temple and sacrifices.

Annas was high priest from 6 A.D. - 15 A.D. (Jesus’s trial was sometime around 30 A.D.). Annas was the patriarch of a high priestly dynasty. Annas was not only the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the sitting high priest during Jesus’s execution, he was also the father or grandfather to six additional high priests. Originally from Egypt, Annas came to Jerusalem at the invitation of Herod the Great (Builder). With the ruthless king as his ally, Annas quickly rose to power through cunning and ambition. He was notorious, and unpopular, but feared.

Annas was eventually replaced as the high priest, but his influence expanded through his sons and Caiaphas’s tenures. For instance, Luke’s record that the word of God came to John during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas indicates that Luke seems to be suggesting that Annas was the real power behind Caiaphas, who served as his proxy. The account of the trial of Jesus supports this implication.

Annas was infamous for being corrupt and greedy. He used his position to extort worshippers by organizing the Temple booths of money changers. Some have referred to this religious racket as “the Bazaar of the Sons of Annas.”

Caiaphas was son-in-law to Annas and a successor to his father-in-law’s priestly dynasty. He too was likely a beneficiary of the Temple “Bazaar of the Sons of Annas.” Caiaphas held this position from 18 A.D. to 36 A.D. His eighteen-year tenure as high priest was far longer than anyone else at any point during the final hundred-year period of Temple operations.

Both Annas and Caiaphas oversaw various stages of Jesus’s illegal religious trial (John 18:12-13, 19-24, Matthew 26:57-68, 27:1-2).

In the next section, (Luke 3:3-6) Luke will describe what the word of God was which John preached.