Luke 3:21 “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.”

    This was, of course, before John was imprisoned. Jesus was baptized for a couple of reasons. He did so to fulfill prophecy. It connected Him with the ministry of John. Also, He did it as an example to His followers. In addition, the Father also used it as one of the times that He chose to speak on behalf of His Son.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the shining example of Christ. We know He is the One to follow in everything. What a mercy it is that You have given Him to be our Lord and Savior. Your ways are perfect! All glory be to You and to Your Son the Lord Jesus! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 3:20 “also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.”

   Could not this have been prevented? Could not God have determined to not allow this to happen? His ways are not our ways. When we begin to think we have a better plan then He, we go down a dangerous path.we can rest assured that His way is always best.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your deliverance. You have given us the path for our life that we need. Give us grace to accept it. In the Name or the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 3:19 “But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,”

   This world goes on in its processes without taking serious thought for the idea of morality. Oh, morality is claimed. But, that is only a show of goodness to save face. Sinful humanity will seek to get away with anything that can be gotten away with. Herod knew he could get away with marrying his brother’s wife, so he did it. The propriety commensurate with a person in his position didn’t stop him. The sense of morality among his subjects didn’t stop him. His own broken conscience didn’t stop him. And since God does not tend to allow hell to claim its treats before its time, God didn’t stop him. And this was only one of a host of evils that Herod ran though the selective morality of evil humanity without a bump, other than John of course.

Heavenly Father, our collective consciousness must be a foul odor to your nostrils. We trust that the submission of Your servants, coupled with our genuine praise, can somehow drown out the screaming malignancy of the wicked purification of the mass of man. Your justice waits, her eyes covered, but her ears not plugged. One day the gavel will fall, this we know. But, we beg Your mercy, which You excel at showing, upon this woefully disgraceful and undeserving group of our companions. But for Your great grace, all among us are the same. We praise You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray an praise You, Amen.

Luke 3:18 “And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.”

   John had something to say. There was a message at hand. It wasn’t just words and empty platitudes. There was truth to be had. This must be true of all preaching. If there is no substance, no amount of form will make up for it.

Heavenly Father, thank You for preaching! It is Your mercy that the truth is told and proclaimed daily. Your wisdom is perfect. You have chosen the best means to the best end. We will praise You forever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 3:17 ” “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

   John is describing a purging process here. Jesus will sift through humanity. He will take out the fruits of His kingdom and judge the rest. We have to be careful in our day to maintain a good understanding of the love of God. Jesus does love humanity, but this will in no way prevent judgment on those who do not bear His Name.

Heavenly Father, thank You for making Your mercy apparent to us. But, Your love and mercy would be incomplete without Your judgment. Help us to live in Christ that our love and mercy may be balanced. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 3:16 “John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

   John addresses the whole crowd, wanting to make sure everyone heard this important message. Indeed, John understood that this was ‘The’ message. If they missed this, they missed the whole point of his ministry.
   Notice what he said Jesus would baptize with. Though as Jesus’ disciples we also use water baptism, that baptism is only a picture of the Spirit baptism that occurs at the time of the new birth. So then what is the fire about? Well, it is easy for us in this day to forget that there is more to the program of Christ than just this church age. There is coming that future day when Jesus will indeed baptize by fire. This coming judgment is just around the corner.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love for us! You have given us Your truth, thank You! Amy we live daily to love You and serve You with all our hearts. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 3:15 “Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,”

   The Jews live still in expectation today. However, the atmosphere in the land of Israel at this time had a heightened awareness of need in it. John’s ministry itself had brought it to the forefront. But also, the occupation by the Romans could only serve to make them look for Messiah with anxious hope. They were in spite of this ready to judge for themselves if one might be the Christ or not. It was this that caused many of them to miss the Lord Jesus, not in their judgment seeing Him for Who He is.

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Christ though He was not accepted by all. You would have been right to judge the world because all did not believe, and yet You have always temporarily spared the whole because of the few that do respond. Thank You for Your great and unceasing mercy! You are holy and just in all things. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 3:14 “Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

   It was much easier of a life for a soldier if they threw their weight around. They could take advantage of many persons and situations to make their service easier. And, service is the operative word here. These were likely Jewish individuals in the service of the temple guard or directly employed by the Romans in some way. They performed a valuable service. But, as a service-type career, it was not always a highly paid occupation. John was encouraging them to be happy with what they were paid, keeping in mind the great service they were able to perform. This is in contrast to being only soldiers of fortune who care little for anything or anyone outside of money.

Heavenly Father, help us not to be students of discontentment. It is such an unflattering vice! Give us hearts full of thankfulness for your plenteous blessings. We can always trust that you know our needs. We will seek our best in Your will, not our contrived means. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 3:13 “And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.”

   As a result they would have to be content with the wages they received of the Romans for their work. This would represent quite a sacrifice for many of them as they profited quite a bit by increasing their take. However, this would cause them to have to once again trust he Lord for their compensation, rather than working it out themselves.

Heavenly Father, we know we can trust Your provision! When we need something You supply it in the way You deem best. We will trust You for Your means. That may require sacrifice, but it surely requires trust. Thank You for revealing Your care for us to us in Your Word! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 3:12 “Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?”

   Here we see that a special class of people come to John. These were those among the Jews who were in the service of the Roman Empire. These in particular were the tax collectors. They would collect the customs, duties, taxes, and so forth of the Romans from the people of Israel. They were considered especially sinful by many of the Jews due to their cooperation with the Romans, and because of their tendency to over-tax so that they might supplement their income.

Heavenly Father, You have laid righteousness before us. By Christ we may live holy lives. It is all to Your praise. You are worthy! You alone are God and You alone have saved us. This life is not about us, but is all about You and Your glory. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.