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The Ministry of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus

Lessons 1 and 2 discussed the conception and birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. Now Luke fast forwards 12 years. Jesus is 12 years old. This lesson opens with a verse which is very simple, yet very revealing:

We know virtually nothing about Jesus’ first 12 years, but this verse confirms that Jesus was raised in a very religious home, by parents who were devout Jews, obedient to God’s law. Every year Mary and Joseph traveled the 65 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem for the formal, solemn observance of Passover, thanking God for the miracle which delivered the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt some 1500 years (or so) before.

It was compulsory for all observant Jewish men to go to Jerusalem every year for Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (cf Ex 23:14-17, Deut 16:16, Lev 23). Not everyone could make all these trips—especially Jews living far away from Jerusalem—but Passover was the most important . . . and Mary and Joseph went "every year."

Recall that Nazareth—and other 2^nd-1^st century BC Jewish settlements in Galilee—were populated by devout Jews. People from Nazareth and nearby villages probably journeyed to Jerusalem together for these festivals—for safety and companionship.

Most of us know that when a Jewish boy becomes 13, he’s considered a man. Jewish children are taught the commandments, but not expected to observe them. But at 13 a boy is "Bar Mitzvah"—which means "son of the commandment." He becomes a member of the synagogue, eligible to lead religious services and obligated to observe the commandments. We don’t know how bar mitzvah was observed in Jesus’ day, but in modern times, the boy usually leads part of the Shabbat service and makes a speech, which traditionally begins: "today I am a man." (http://www.jewfaq.org/barmitz.htm ).

Knowing these things helps us better understand Luke’s account of Jesus as a boy in the temple, because it is hard to explain Jesus’ behavior in any context other than bar mitzvah. Jesus was 12—not 13—but this age is not mentioned in the bible, and it’s possible the custom in Jesus’ day was that bar mitzvah occurred at Passover in a boy’s "13^th year," which is at age 12.

The story is familiar. Joseph and Mary start home when the Passover observance concludes, but Jesus stays behind. This isn’t noticed until the end of the 1^st day of travel—perhaps when Jesus doesn’t show up for dinner! Rightly concerned about a 12-year-old boy alone in a big city, his parents quickly return to Jerusalem.

After searching frantically, they find Jesus in the temple courts, talking with the learned teachers of Jewish law—where he has apparently been for at least 3 days! (We don’t know where he ate and slept during this time! . . . but no matter.) To quote from Luke:

Jesus obviously paid careful attention in the synagogue school of Nazareth. He had thoughtfully considered the meaning of God’s law and had questions for the experts . . . who in turn were amazed at how well such a young man understood scripture.

This is a critical event foreshadowing Jesus’ future ministry. Jesus’ fundamental claim as Messiah was the authority to overrule the traditional 1^st century legalistic interpretation of scripture—the oral law of the Pharisees—because as the son of God, he had a superior understanding of the intent of God’s laws (Mk 7:13). And we clearly see that at age 12, Jesus was already deeply involved in understanding scripture.

This story also underscores that this was Jesus’ bar mitzvah . . . because only then would he have dared to sit down with the Jewish religious teachers and question them. A Jewish boy could not do that; a Jewish man could. Perhaps it was even part of the 1^st century bar mitzvah ritual for the boys to have dialogue with the teachers of Jewish law in the temple at Passover—sort of an oral final exam.

Mary comes down hard on Jesus for staying in the temple and missing the caravan to Nazareth. But he responds—paraphrasing—"Hey, Mom, you know who I am: the Messiah, son of God. Wouldn’t you expect me to make the most of this opportunity?"

The bar mitzvah also explains why it took so long for Mary and Joseph to miss Jesus on the trip home. On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus the boy would walk with the women; on the way home, Jesus the bar mitzvah could walk with the men. Perhaps Mary and Joseph each thought Jesus was with the other. Nevertheless, Jesus continued to be "obedient to (his parents)" (2:51) when he returned home. And just as Jesus had done during his first 12 years (2:40), "Jesus (continued to grow) in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (2:52).

Luke now fast forwards another 17-18 years. In the fashion of a Greek historian, he specifies the time with reference to the reigns of various religious and political rulers. It’s about 26-27 AD—the 15^th year of the emperor Tiberius Caesar, who succeeded Augustus. The man we call John the Baptist bursts out of the desert to begin the ministry his entire life has been prepared for: as the prophet who is forerunner of the Messiah.

Remember that John is special among Old Testament prophets: he is "filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth" (Lk 1:15). And now, in the words of Luke:

Luke next quotes Messianic prophesy from Isaiah 40 (3:4-6), demonstrating that John has come to prepare the way for the Messiah . . . like an advance man for a political candidate or a Billy Graham revival. John’s message of "repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Lk 3:3) has the ring of the New Covenant of Jeremiah, later instituted by Jesus (22:20):

But the most striking thing about John’s ministry was baptism. We have discussed before that baptism was actually a long time Jewish practice. In the 1^st century, Jews used baptism in three ways: as part of a purification ritual—as in Mary’s purification in the temple after the birth of Jesus (Lk 2:22-24)—as a symbolic "rebirth" when a Gentile became a Jew, and as an act to show allegiance to a particular rabbi. No details about the practice and meaning of John’s baptism are recorded . . . but a baptism of "repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Lk 3:3) seems to combine purification, rebirth, and a commitment to follow the teachings of John through repentance.

The basis of John’s message can be seen from four short dialogues between John and various people:

1. To the established Jewish religious leaders—the Pharisees and Sadducees (and I’m taking the liberty here of drawing from the parallel text in Matt 3:7-10)—John said: "You brood of vipers! . . . Produce fruit in keeping with repentance" (3:7-8)
2. To Jews in general, John counseled that reliance on "salvation" just by being a Jew—a son of Abraham—was not sufficient. Jews who did "not produce good fruit (would) be . . . thrown into the fire" (3:9).
3. To tax collectors—outcasts of Jewish society—John counseled how they could live a life of repentance yet still collect taxes for Rome.
4. John even includes Gentiles—Roman soldiers—in his offer of forgiveness of sin through repentance.

This was a radical teaching: to claim the Jewish religious leaders were a "brood of vipers" . . . that Jews were not automatically "saved" by geneology . . . that Jewish outcasts could repent and be saved . . . and that even Gentiles could enter the kingdom of God (without first becoming Jews). It seems surprising Jews would flock to see John . . . but they did, which probably underscores that—instinctively—many people knew John’s preaching was right!

John gives the same advice to everyone who asks. Perhaps that advice is best summed up by Jesus’ later words in Luke 6:31: "Do to others as you would have them do to you," which he says is a summary of all biblical teaching (Matt 7:12).

John gets the inevitable questions if he is the Messiah. His answer: "One more powerful than I will come. . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (3:16). In other words, John knows he is not the Messiah, but the forerunner . . . something he may have learned from his parents . . . or from the Holy Spirit . . . or from both.

Luke closes his sketch about John the Baptist this way:

Like a true prophet, John preaches the word of God without regard to political correctness. Sometime later, when King Herod Antipas steals his brother’s wife Herodius, John accuses Herod of adultery. Herod can’t stand the bad PR; he puts John in prison. But before that happens, John has the privilege and honor to baptize Jesus.

This is another familiar story . . . which I’ll read from Luke’s version:

Get the picture here. Jesus is now about 30 years old (3:23)—which ancient Jews considered the age of maturity, when Levites began their service to the Lord (Nu 4:47). The precocious 12-year-old who "amazed" the teachers in Jerusalem with his understanding of the bible has had 18 more years of study, prayer, and experience. Now Jesus is ready to initiate his ministry, and he does so by standing in line with crowds of people to be baptized by John.

But when Jesus is baptized, heaven is opened, the Holy Spirit descends on him in bodily form like a dove, and there is a voice from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." It’s the first appearance of the Trinity. We are left to speculate what the people see and hear . . . but we know John sees the dove, and that is his signal—supernaturally revealed—that this is the Messiah (John 1:32-34)!

The balance of Luke 3 goes over Jesus’ genealogy. One of the study questions is if you can identify any of Jesus’ human ancestors. Anyone who misses Zerubbabel gets an "F" for tonight, because it means you weren’t listening to the introductory presentation! Zerubbabel led the Israelites from Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem around 538 BC.

The great King David is on the list. He was a man after God’s heart (1 Sam 13:14), and God promised the Messiah would be descended from him. But David committed adultery (2 Sam 11:4) and murder (2 Sam 11:14-17). And other kings—descended from David—did much worse!

Also on the list is Boaz, who married Ruth, a foreigner from Moab. David is not a pure-blood Jew, because his grandmother is a Moabite! (If Ezra and Nehemiah had governed Israel at the time, they would have insisted on a divorce.)

Among other "skeletons in Jesus’ closet," Perez was the result of an illicit relationship between Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar. Jacob cheated his twin brother Esau out of his lawful inheritance. Adam committed the original sin for which we all pay today.

Jesus’ human ancestors are not a line of "saints"! That’s why I don’t like to skip over the genealogy . . . to show that the seed of the Messiah was transmitted down a line of normal humans. Yes, some were kings—but many are more sinful than you or I could ever be. And God used them all for His purposes . . . just as God can use us, no matter what our sins and shortcomings.

Next week we’ll witness the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It starts with temptation by the devil . . . then Jesus goes right in to teaching and healing—though he is rejected in his hometown of Nazareth.

The web site will be fun, because it will include a photo of the actual pinnacle of the temple . . . and the brow of the hill at Nazareth . . . and the foundation of the synagogue at Capernaum . . . and Peter’s house.