JB -- JESUS AND THE FAMILY
Today
we meet John the Baptist, or “JB” as he is known by his family…and we meet
Jesus, again. When we last left him, he was a boy, though as the curtain fell
on that scene he was in “his Father’s house.”
So
what of the text today? Well you have to read just a little bit more…and I have
split the text in half with comments after each one…yet there is a unity in
this chapter…the genealogy is not some afterthought, but let me not get ahead
of myself.
You
are going to immediately note that Luke has once again managed to provide detail
in the midst of his prose. The opening two verses are like the fanfare
introduction of a trumpet…Luke rattles off the names of people the world counts
important. In doing so, he both sets Jesus’ ministry in a very specific moment
in history. In doing so it appears that he is setting the unveiling of Jesus’
public ministry amid the great men of the day…yet it is the end of the first
section, verse 22, when the trumpet truly sounds with the voice of God
proclaiming the Divinity of Jesus.
And
in between we learn about JB and the family.
Read
through it and then I have one or two more thoughts to share.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor
of Judea, and Herod being
tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea
and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight,
and the rough places shall become level ways,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight,
and the rough places shall become level ways,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by
him, “You brood of vipers! Who
warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to
yourselves, ‘We have
Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do
likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said
to them, “Do not extort
money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in
their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will
baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork
is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many
other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias,
his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy
Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
We read of John’s ministry in full color. John’s voice of repentance
is strong. His message has to do with what it means to truly be a member of God’s
family…repent and be baptized…trust not in your own lineage. If John’s voice of
repentance had not silenced those at the river, the voice of God certainly
would have.
Luke’s investigation into the details sounds a bit like Matthew,
Mark and John, who all draw on images of this scene. But there is a difference.
In Matthew we get great detail about the baptism with the quote from Isaiah. In
Mark, with his trademark efficiency, Jesus’ baptism is reported, again with the
quote from Isaiah. In John, we again hear the quote from Isaiah…but with Luke there
is difference. In Luke we get a fuller quote of Isaiah…all the way to verse 6… “All
flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Luke’s concern for all of the human
family comes to the fore. The baptism scene reveals that regardless of our
earthly fathers, we all, Jew and Gentile, must come to God…for all will see
the salvation of God. John’s invitation is to more than see…it is that He is
coming, and is here!
Some wonder why Jesus got baptized. Matthew tells us it was to
fulfill all righteousness (3:15). Later in Luke (22:37) we will read another
Isaiah quote (Isa. 53:12), that Jesus was numbered with the transgressors.
Certainly in hanging between two thieves we see the fulfillment of this prophecy…yet today we read of Jesus entering the
water of baptism…numbering himself with us as fully human yet without sin…And
as he emerges we hear God’s voice proclaim that this is the Divine One. The
scene is constructed in a way to place the emphasis on the Voice of God…note
the sentence, “when Jesus was baptized and was praying.” The baptism is not at
the center…God’s proclamation is. We see in this scene the full humanity and full
divinity of Jesus…as we see and read in his genealogy.
23 Jesus, when he began
his ministry, was about thirty years
of age, being the son (as
was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of
Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son
of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the
son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of
Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of
Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son
of Matthat, the son of Levi,30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of
Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son
of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of
Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son
of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of
Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son
of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son
of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
When
you are assigned to read the Scriptures in church, no doubt you pray this not
be the text. Many just skip this bit. Why did Luke put it in? What do we learn
from it? In it we read that Jesus is fully Jewish…and fulfills the prophecy of
from where the Messiah will come. In it we read that Jesus is fully human…that
he is son of Adam…full of human DNA. In it we read that he is Son of God…fully
Divine.
As
I am three chapters in, and after having read Luke many times, I am amazed at
the depth of his text. I am trying to keep the blog short, yet there is so much
here, we could plumb much more…but perhaps for today we can simply give thanks
for JB, and Jesus, and the Father and the Spirit…they were all in the text
today…and they were all testifying to God’s action that we might be family.
I must tell you that this reading has sparked an hour of conversation in our house (as we were waiting out a tornado watch). As I read it last night it stuck me how the genealogy went backwards all the way to Adam. I am struggling with the idea of Jesus born without the sin of Adam. And yes I know he was human and divine. His human mother was Mary - was she born without sin (as the Roman Catholics believe)? If she wasn't born without sin - how does she not pass that on to Jesus in His humanity? Can you point me to some reading on this? Am I being heretical? Or is this all a mystery? I do realize that "truely divine" would lead me to the fact that he could not have a sinful nature.
ReplyDeleteHi Lorraine,
DeleteThanks for the question.
I always start with the Scriptures. There are many verses that speak of Jesus having no sin…1 Peter 2:22, Hebrews 4:15, 2 Cor. 5:21, Luke 1:35, and 1 John 3:5.
There are also verses that say everyone other than Jesus has sin. Consider Romans 3:10 or 1 John 1:8.
Which brings us to Mary. No woman has stands out more than Mary. People have pondered Mary. Jesus, Savior of the world, Messiah, Son of God…Mary held in her arms…nursed at her breast…dressed his wounds…nurtured his growth to adulthood…Mary is deserving of the honor given he in Luke 1…
Yet in Luke 1:47 even Mary calls Jesus her savior.
Your specific question is based on a teaching of Original Sin and is often seen as being passed on biology. But I would suggest you go first to Article 9 of the 39 Articles. Here is a reprint with the original language and updated language:
Original: Original Sin standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly talk;) but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea in them that are regenerated; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in the Greek, phronema sarkos, which some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some the affection some the desire, of the flesh, is not subject to the Law of God. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized, yet the Apostle doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the nature of sin.
Simple English: Original Sin is not about following the example of Adam, (as the Pelagians wrongly say). It is the fault and corruption of the nature of everyone which is produced in the nature of the descendants of Adam. As a result humans have gone very far from original righteousness, and by their own nature are inclined to evil, so that the flesh always desires what is contrary to the spirit. Therefore in every person born into this world, this original sin deserves God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature remains even in those who are regenerated, so that the lust of the flesh, called in the Greek, phronema sarkos, which some translate as the wisdom, some sensuality, some the affection, some the desire, of the flesh, is not subject to the Law of God. And although there is no condemnation for those who believe and are baptized, yet the Apostle admits that desire and lust has in itself the nature of sin.
Back to Dean Collum…I underlined a bit which you can think about…but I go back to the Scriptures...I will recommend some books for you in the coming days…but I think you need to separate yourself from the umbilical cord passing along original sin.
Thank you for your thorough explanation. I went back and read all those references and particularly liked the explanation on 2 Cor 5:21 in my study Bible which made me realize that if Jesus had been born with sin - then he would have died for his own sins - but by taking on all the sins of the world - he carried our sins to the cross and paid the price for our sins - the perfect sacrifice since he was without sin. Also it is not about biology!
ReplyDelete