• Luke 3:7-4:21
  • Luke 3:7-20 – John taught everyone and was not shy about pointing out their faults.
    • Luke 3:16 – This is a general statement about the baptism of Jesus – it does not mean that literally every person would be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. Compare Luke 7:30; Acts 1:2, 5, 8; 2:4
  • Luke 3:21-22 – Jesus is baptized. It was not for the forgiveness of sins. See Matthew 3:15.
  • Luke 3:23-38 – The genealogy of Jesus. Compare Matthew 1:16. It is possible that Luke is giving Mary’s lineage and Matthew is giving Joseph’s lineage. In that case, Luke 3:23 is saying that Joseph is the son-in-law of Eli, just like King Saul called his son-in-law David “son” (I Samuel 18:27; 24:16). This would satisfy two claims to the throne. If you traced the lineage of Jesus through Mary, you would see that Jesus was “born of a descendant of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3) – that is, Jesus was a blood descendant of David through His mother. If you traced the lineage of Jesus through His adoptive father Joseph, you would see that Jesus was a legal heir of David, whose ancestors included the Kings of Judah from David, Solomon, and onward.
  • Luke 4:1-13 – Jesus is tempted by the devil.
    • Luke 4:3-4 – Jesus never performed miracles on command. He certainly wasn’t going to perform on command for Satan.
    • Luke 4:6 – See I John 5:19; Psalms 24:1. This is not really true. Satan has influence in the world but that does not mean the world is his to give.
    • Luke 4:9-12 – It is wrong to test God. We have to be careful to not be guilty of this in subtle ways (promising God we will serve Him if He will do this or that, etc.).
  • Luke 4:14-21 – Jesus begins his public ministry.
    • Luke 4:18-21 – This is talking about Jesus freeing us from captivity to sin. It was not talking about rebellion against Rome.