Luke 3:16
Ver. 16. John answered, saying unto them all,.... For some of them might not only so think in their hearts, but express with their mouths the apprehension they had of him; and might put the question to him, as the priests and Levites from Jerusalem afterwards did; or he might know the secret thoughts of their hearts by divine revelation; or be apprized by his disciples of the private sentiments of the people concerning him: and therefore, to put them out of doubt, and that he might not have an honour conferred on him, which did not belong to him, he addressed himself, in a very public manner, to the whole multitude, in the hearing of them all: though the word "all" is left out in the Syriac and Persic versions, but rightly retained in others, being in all copies, and having a considerable emphasis on it: and said the following words.I indeed baptize you with water; Matthew adds "unto repentance"; upon the profession of repentance:but one mightier than I cometh; that is, after me; as Matthew records it:the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose; neither to bear his shoes after him, as Matthew says, nor to untie his shoe string, or unbuckle his shoe, both which were menial actions with the Jews: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire; as he did some of their nation, his own disciples, on the day of pentecost;See Gill on "Mt 3:11" Luke 3:17Ver. 17. Whose fan is in his hand,....See Gill on "Mt 3:12" Luke 3:18Ver. 18. And many other thing's,.... Relating to the person and office of the Messiah, to the nature of his kingdom, the Gospel dispensation, and to faith in him; for he pointed him out to the people, and exhorted them to believe in him, and expressed much joy and pleasure on the hearing of his success and increase; and these, with others beside, in his "exhortation", or whilst he wasexhorting, or "comforting", preached he unto the people: publishing the Gospel, the good news, and glad tidings of the Messiah's being come, and of life, righteousness, and salvation by him. Luke 3:19Ver. 19. But Herod the tetrarch being reproved by him,.... By John, as the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions add:for Herodias his brother Philip's wife; for taking her to wife, whilst his brother Philip was living. The account, which the Jewish chronologer {x} gives, of this Herod, and of this fact of his, and John's reproving him for it, and the consequence of it, perfectly agrees with this of the evangelist."Herod Antipater, and there are some that call him, yqrjyj "the tetrarch", was a son of Herod the first, and brother of Archelaus'; and he was the third king of the family of Herod; and he was very wicked, and a destroying man: many of the wise men of Israel he slew with the sword; and he took the wife of his brother Philip, whilst he was alive, to himself for wife; and John, the high priest, becausewxykwh, "he reproved him" for this, he slew him with the sword, with many of the wise men of Israel.''And John reproved him not only for this sin, but others:and for all the evils which Herod had done; his revellings, debaucheries, murders, &c. all which John, in great faithfulness, and with much freedom, told him and rebuked him for: for Herod had had a particular respect for him, and often had him with him, and heard him gladly, when John had an opportunity of speaking personally to him.{x} Ganz. Tzemach David, par, 1. fol. 25. 2. Luke 3:20Ver. 20. Added yet this above all,.... This sin to all other sins, and which was of a more flagitious nature; and attended with more aggravating circumstances, especially in the issue of it:that he shut up John in prison; in the castle of Machaerus, by the instigation of Herodias; See Gill on "Mt 14:3". Luke 3:21Ver. 21. Now when all the people were baptized,.... That came from several parts to John for this purpose, even as many as he judged to be proper subjects of that ordinance, as many of the common people, publicans, soldiers, &c.it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized; of John in Jordan, he coming from Galilee thither on that account:and praying; after he was baptized, for the coming down of the Spirit upon him, as man, to anoint, and qualify him for his office he was now about to enter on publicly: and for success in it, and for a testimony from heaven, that he was the Son of God, and true Messiah:the heaven was opened;See Gill on "Mt 3:16". Luke 3:22Ver. 22. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape,.... In a corporeal form, in a visible manner, and was seen with bodily eyes, at least by John the administrator; to whom this was a signal of his being the Messiah, and a fresh confirmation of it:like a dove upon him; either in the form of a dove, or this corporeal form, whatever it was, descended and hovered on him as a dove does:and a voice came from heaven; at the same time the Holy Ghost came down upon him; which said,thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased: and was the voice of the Father; and the whole of this was an answer of Christ's prayer;See Gill on "Mt 3:16" See Gill on "Mt 3:17" See Gill on "Mr 1:11". Luke 3:23Ver. 23. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age,.... Or Jesus, when he was baptized and began his public ministry, was about thirty years of age: an age at which the priests, under the law, who were typical of Christ, entered on their work, Nu 4:23 The word, "began", is left out in the Syriac and Persic versions: and is often indeed redundant, as in Lu 3:8 and frequently in Mark's Gospel. The Arabic version renders it, "Jesus began to enter into the thirtieth year", which carries the sense the same with our translation:being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph; who had espoused Mary before she was with child of the Holy Ghost, and afterwards took her to wife, and brought up her son; so that it was not known but that he was the son of Joseph. Whether or no the Jewish notion of the Messiah, the son of Joseph {y} may not take its rise from hence, may be considered: however, Joseph might very rightly be called, as he was supposed to be, the father of Jesus, by a rule which obtains with the Jews {z} that he"that brings up, and not he that begets, is called the father,''or parent; of which they give various instances {a} in Joseph, in Michal, and in Pharaoh's daughter.Which was the son of Eli; meaning, not that Joseph was the son of Eli; for he was the son of Jacob, according to Mt 1:16, but Jesus was the son of Eli; and which must be understood, and carried through the whole genealogy, as thus; Jesus the son of Matthat, Jesus the son of Levi, Jesus the son of Melchi, &c. till you come to Jesus the son of Adam, and Jesus the Son of God; though it is true indeed that Joseph was the son of Eli, having married his daughter; Mary was the daughter of Eli: and so the Jews speak of one Mary, the daughter of Eli, by whom they seem to design the mother of our Lord: for they tell {b} us of one,"that saw, yle tb Myrm, "Mary the daughter of Eli" in the shades, hanging by the fibres of her breasts; and there are that say, the gate, or, as elsewhere {c}, the bar of the gate of hell is fixed to her ear.''By the horrible malice, in the words, you may know who is meant: however, this we gain by it, that by their own confession, Mary is the daughter of Eli; which accords with this genealogy of the evangelist, who traces it from Mary, under her husband Joseph; though she is not mentioned, because of a rule with the Jews {d}, that"the family of the mother is not called a family.''{y} T. Bab. Succa, fol. 52. 1. Jarchi & Aben Ezra in Zech. xii 10. & xiii. 7. {z} Shemot Rabba, sect. 46. fol. 143. 1. {a} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 19. 2. Vid. T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 13. 1. {b} T. Hieros. Sanhedrin, fol. 25. 3. {c} Ib. Chagiga, fol. 77. 4. {d} Juchasin, fol. 55. 2. Luke 3:24Ver. 24. Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,.... These two, Grotius says, are omitted in the ancient exemplars; and he thinks they ought to be left out; and for which he mentions the authorities of Irenaeus, Africanus, Eusebius, Nazianzen, Jerom, and Augustin: but not only the Vulgate Latin, but all the Oriental versions, retain them:which was the son of Melchi: and who, he thinks, was the immediate father of Eli:which was the son of Janna: frequent mention is made, in the Jewish writings {e} of aklm yany, "king Jannai", who is said to be the same with king Jochanan, or John, the son of Simeon, the son of Mattithiah, that was called Hyrcanus; and his son Alexander, that reigned after him, was also called Jannai {f}; but whether either of these is the same with this Janna, is not certain: but this may be observed, that they were both before the times of Herod, and the birth of Jesus, some years. And Jannai is called; in the chronicle of Jedidiah of Alexandria, or Philo the Jew {g}, Hyrcanus the second, who reigned sixteen years:which was the son of Joseph. This Joseph, according to the same chronicle, is called Joseph the second, and surnamed Arsis, and was greatly honoured by Ptolemy, and governed sixty years; and accordingly we shall meet with another Joseph anon.{e} T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 11. 2. & passim. {f} Juchasin. fol. 15. 1. & 16. 2. {g} Apud. Vorst. Not. ad. Chronol. R. David Ganz, p. 311. Luke 3:25Ver. 25. Which was the son of Mattathias,.... Surnamed Siloah, by the same Philo, who governed ten years:which was the son of Amos; whose surname, according to the same author, was Sirag; or, as some, Syrach, or Shyrach, who governed fourteen years:which was the son of Naum; who was called Mesalut, or Maslot, who governed seven years:which was the son of Esli; or Eli, surnamed Haggai, who governed eight years;which was the son of Nagge: with Philo he is called Nagid Artasat, or Artaxat, and said to govern ten years. Luke 3:26Ver. 26. Which was the son of Maath,.... Surnamed Aser, who governed nine years:which was the son of Mattathias; called Eli Matathias, who governed twelve years:which was the son of Semei; and named Abner Semei, who governed eleven years:which was the son of Joseph; called Joseph the first, who governed seven years:which was the son of Juda; who, according to the same writer, must be Judas, surnamed Hyrcanus the first, who governed fourteen years. Luke 3:27Ver. 27. Which was the son of Joanna,.... Johannes, or John, the son of Rhesa Mesullam, who governed fifty three years:which was the son of Rhesa, called, by the above writer, Rhesa Mesullam; 1Ch 3:19 and said, by him, to govern sixty six years:which was the son of Zorobabel who governed fifty eight years:which was the son of Salathiel; the same with Shealthiel;See Gill on "Mt 1:12"which was the son of Neri; the same with Jechonias, according to the Alexandrian, chronicle; See Gill on "Mt 1:12" Luke 3:28Ver. 28 Which was the son of Melchi,.... This, with the following, "Addi, Cosam, Elmodam, Er, Jose, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi, Simeon, Juda, Joseph, Jonan, Eliakim, Melea, Menan, and Mattatha", all lived before the captivity, and were of the house of David, in the line of Nathan; for it follows,which was the son of Nathan: of which persons no mention is made in the Old Testament, nor even of Mattatha, the son of Nathan: his sons that are mentioned are Azariah, Zabud, and Ahishar, 1Ki 4:5 which last is thought to be the same with Mattatha: that Nathan was the son of David, as the order of things here directs,which was the son of David, is clear from 2Sa 5:14. Luke 3:29Ver. 29. See Gill on "Lu 3:28" Luke 3:30Ver. 30. See Gill on "Lu 3:28" Luke 3:31Ver. 31. See Gill on "Lu 3:28" Luke 3:32Ver. 32. Which was the son of Jesse,.... The order of the persons from Jesse to Abraham, as Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Naasson, Aminadab, Aram, or Ram, Esrom, (for Joram, which the Arabic version here inserts, is to be rejected,) Phares, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, perfectly agrees with the genealogy of Matthew, and the accounts of the Old Testament:which was the son of Thara; the same with Terah, Ge 11:26 called by the Septuagint, Tharra:which was the son of Nachor;, the same with Nahor, Ge 11:24 called there, by the Septuagint, as here. Luke 3:33Ver. 33. See Gill on "Lu 3:32" Luke 3:34Ver. 34. See Gill on "Lu 3:32" Luke 3:35Ver. 35. Which was the son of Saruch,.... The Septuagint call him Serouch, the same with Serug, Ge 11:22which was the son of Ragau; so the Septuagint, the same with Reu, Ge 40:20which was the son of Phaleg; the same with Peleg, Ge 11:18 the Septuagint reads as here: "which was the son of Heber", or Eber, Ge 11:16which was the son of Sala, or Salah, Ge 11:14 the Septuagint there call him Sala. Luke 3:36Ver. 36. Which was the son of Cainan,.... This Cainan is not mentioned by Moses in Ge 11:12 nor has he ever appeared in any Hebrew copy of the Old Testament, nor in the Samaritan version, nor in the Targum; nor is he mentioned by Josephus, nor in 1Ch 1:24 where the genealogy is repeated; nor is it in Beza's most ancient Greek copy of Luke: it indeed stands in the present copies of the Septuagint, but was not originally there; and therefore could not be taken by Luke from thence, but seems to be owing to some early negligent transcriber of Luke's Gospel, and since put into the Septuagint to give it authority: I say "early", because it is in many Greek copies, and in the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, even in the Syriac, the oldest of them; but ought not to stand neither in the text, nor in any version: for certain it is, there never was such a Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, for Salah was his son; and with him the next words should be connected,which was the son of Arphaxad; Ge 11:12which was the son of Sem, or Shem, Ge 11:10which was the son of Noe, or Noah, Ge 5:32which was the son of Lamech, Ge 5:28 Luke 3:37Ver. 37. Which was the son of Mathusala,.... The same with Methuselah; and so he is called by the Septuagint in Ge 5:25which was the son of Enoch, Ge 5:21which was the son of Jared Ge 5:18,which was the son of Maleleel; the same with Mahalaleel; who is also so called by the seventy interpreters, in Ge 5:15 as here; which was the son of Cainan, Ge 5:12. Luke 3:38Ver. 38. Which was the son of Enos,.... Ge 5:9which was the son of Seth, Ge 5:6which was the son of Adam Ge 5:3which was the son of God: not begotten, as all the rest were, by their immediate parents, but created by God, in a supernatural manner, out of the dust of the earth, and quickened with the breath of God: so Adam is, by the Jews {h} called, Myhla Nb, "the son of God": though this may be understood of Jesus; the son of Joseph, of Heli, &c. and so on to this clause, "the son of God"; being so as a divine person, to whom the human nature was united, and on that account so called; see Lu 1:35 Thus, as Matthew gives us the regal line of Christ, showing him to be heir to the throne of his father David, Luke gives the natural line of Christ; and as Matthew traces his genealogy down from Abraham, in a descending line, to Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Luke traces it upwards, in an ascending line, from Mary by Joseph, even up to Adam; to whom the Messiah was first promised, and who was a type of the second Adam, from whom he descended, though not by ordinary generation; nay, even to God himself: Christ, according to his divine nature, was the only begotten of the Father; and as to his human nature, had a body prepared by him, and in the fulness of time was God manifest in the flesh.{h} Sepher Cosri, orat. 2. Sig. 14. fol. 68. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.