Luke 3:1-22
Good morning, RTB’ers!
Today is John the Baptizer’s ministry and Jesus’ baptism, except that Jesus’ baptism takes up only two verses (21-22). Surprisingly, as happens infrequently with RTB readings, just yesterday Ben preached on Jesus’ baptism. So listen to his sermon if you want to hear more about Jesus’ baptism.
Almost the whole of today’s reading is about John’s ministry. We saw details of his birth in Luke 1:5-25, 57-80. So in today’s reading we see the fulfillment of Zachariah’s prophecy in Luke 1:76-77. We often think of John’s ministry as one of preaching repentance, thereby preparing the way for the Messiah, Jesus. We also see him baptizing Jesus. Longer accounts of Jesus’ baptism are found in the other three gospels. Incidentally, until Holy Week, Jesus’ baptism and His feeding of the 5,000 are the only events in Jesus’ life that are reported in all four gospels.
There is one other thing that I saw anew today in John’s ministry – his remarks to his listeners as to their earthly behavior. He told the crowds to share their goods with the needy (v. 10), tax collectors to not cheat on their collections (v. 13), and soldiers to not extort money and be content with their wages (v. 14). Therein, I think, lie messages for all of us – to share with the needy, to not cheat on items related to money issues, and to behave as respectable citizens. All that in addition to repentance. A full message, indeed!
I urged you a couple of days ago to watch for the Holy Spirit in Luke’s gospel. We see two mentions today. Check them out, then ask our Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit today!
Blessings!