Obedient Baptism

Luke 3:15-38

¹⁵As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, ¹⁶John 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. ¹⁷His 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.” ¹⁸So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. ¹⁹But 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, ²⁰added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison. ²¹Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, ²²and 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.”

²³Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷the son of Joanan, 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 Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹the son of Joshua, 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 Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³²the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, ³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, 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 Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

The baptism of Jesus was so confusing for me as a child. Why would someone who is already perfect need to be baptized? Of course, I just didn’t understand that it wasn’t because He was a sinner that He was baptized. It was because I am a sinner and He was here to fulfill the Law because I cannot.

First, John points us to Jesus whose sandal he isn’t worthy to even untie. One cannot help but think of Ruth and Boaz in this mention of sandals. In their story, Boaz acts the Kinsman Redeemer for Ruth and Naomi.

Ruth 4:7–9 (ESV)

⁷Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. ⁸So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. ⁹Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon.

John mentions that he is not the promised Messiah because he is unworthy to be called such. He hints back to that ancient practice of removing one’s sandal to seal the deal. He exalts the Messiah already as he claims his position as far below that of Jesus. He isn’t worthy to be called the Kinsman Redeemer.

Next, our passage points to the end of John’s ministry and life. Later, in Luke 9, the story comes full circle when John’s death is discussed by Herod who fears that Jesus is a reincarnation of John whom he had executed. We know that John was rather a firebrand and he didn’t hesitate to call sin out when he saw it. Herod had married his own sister-in-law and that was reprehensible in the sight of God. For naming this action as sin, John is arrested and subsequently beheaded.

Of all Herod’s sins, which were many, the arrest, imprisonment, and execution of John were the worst. This placed John in the category of prophet rejected to the point of death, just like Jesus. And so Luke parallels not only their births and preaching, but also their deaths.

Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (p. 147). St. Louis, MO: CPH.

This passage ends with the genealogy of Jesus. It is always tempting to skip these parts, especially when the names are so difficult to pronounce. Because of that I have highlighted a few of the names so that you can easily see that Jesus is directly related to (via Joseph – and probably Mary as well) to many of the heroes of the faith. The Old Testament prophecies point to the Messiah being the Lion of Judah, and the Son of King David. Jesus is the firstborn of God’s ancient promise to Abraham that he would be the father of the Savior. Jesus is truly the one promised to Eve in the Garden of Eden after man’s fall into sin (Genesis 3:15). He is the promised Messiah! So while these genealogies might be tedious they are filled with valuable information!