Bible Study Notes: St Luke's Gospel
Session 12: Chapter 3, 1-6
In the fifteenth year of the rule of Caesar Tiberius -
it was while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea; Herod, ruler of Galilee;
his brother Philip, ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis; Lysanias, ruler of
Abilene; during the Chief-Priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas - John, Zachariah's
son, out in the desert at the time, received a message from God. He went
all through the country around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of
life-change leading to forgiveness of sins, as described in the words
of Isaiah the prophet:
"Thunder in the desert!
Prepare God's arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!
Every ditch will be filled in,
Every bump smoothed out,
The detours straightened out,
All the ruts paved over.
Everyone will be there to see
The parade of God's salvation."
© The
Message
One of the things that will emerge as we journey through Luke’s Gospel is just how much he loved history. Today we shall see him identifying a turning point in history, a pivotal moment.
To him, the career of John the Baptist was a benchmark in history. Luke ranked John the Baptiser with the major historical figures of his time. Luke was not in the slightest reticent about placing John in the company of the most powerful people in his world.
Luke lists the Baptist in the company of the six principal political and religious leaders of his age.
- Tiberius Caesar – The second emperor of Rome.
- Pontius Pilate – The Roman governor of Galilee.
- Herod – The Jewish governor of Galilee.
- Philip – Herod’s brother and governor of Trachonitus.
- Lysanius – Tetrarch of Abilene.
- Ciaphas – High Priest of the Jewish community. (Annas was his father-in-law, the power that supported him).
Therefore, Luke takes an unknown young man from an obscure backwater of a Roman province and places him in an impressive assembly of VIP’s. Why does Luke do this?
Well, this should begin to tell us of the significance of John’s position. It is a bit like saying you were a frequent visitor at No 10 or at the Palace. Moreover, it is John’s message that Luke wants us to concentrate upon, because this message will have a major impact upon world’s history.
As a prophet, he will alert the world to the arrival of the world’s Saviour. This Saviour would shake the throne of Tiberius, rattle Pilate’s nerve, confront the Jewish governors and upset the dreams of the High Priest of Israel. John’s message announced a change in the very course of human religious history itself.
Once Luke has raised our awareness to the level of world history, he quotes John’s appeal to prepare for this new situation. Now that the guest list of emperors, governors and top priests swims into our minds, we are reminded, by John, of the special treatment these leaders receive.
‘Level the hills, fill in the valleys, repair the roads, smooth out the bumps, fill in the potholes’, shouts John’. Make everything just so for those in charge’.
Moreover, look here, if we do that for the world’s rulers, what ought we be doing for the world’s Saviour?
John does not put himself in such great company, but he does draw attention to this important moment in history. He tells us about a person who is more important than all the world celebrities, more important than Caesar or Caiphus. John is not interested in road gangs, physically easing the bumps for travelling dignitaries. He is speaking of opening a spiritual road to our hearts.
“Mend your lives. Take down the walls of selfishness. Fill in the hollows of self-pity. Be opening to the coming of Christ”. The imagery of preparing for the arrival of prominent people is surely fascinating, depending on their rank; security people, the local police and other sundry attendees often precede them. These images offer us a glimpse of what John the Baptist asks us to do when preparing for the coming of the King of kings.
We do not need the protection of Special Branch or MI5 but we do require the safeguards of a life morally renewed. We do not have to check our appearance in the mirror, but we do need to touch up the face of our souls so they look (and are) welcoming to the arrival of Jesus.
In the writings of St Augustine of Hippo, writing in the 5th century, there is a marvellous meditation (293,3) on John the Baptist contrasting John as a voice and Jesus as The Word, this is what he says; “John is the voice, but the Lord in the beginning was the Word. John is a voice for a time, but Christ is the eternal Word from the beginning”.
John calls himself the Voice crying in the wilderness. But a voice, of itself, is just sound. If the voice is to make sense, it must utter words. John the Baptist lets us know that the only way his Voice makes sense is because it speaks the Word, which is Christ.
John voice is temporary; Christ the word is eternal. John simply makes a sound. Christ provides the meaning. John’s sound reaches the ear of his listener. The Christ Word pierces the heart of the hearer. Sounds vanish; Word remains; voice and ear are but delivery systems to reach the heart.
The word and the voice are clearly identified with each other and many of those who came to see John clearly thought he might be the Messiah. His voice was powerful. However, John reminds them he is only a sound. The Word was Jesus. John was merely the voice that prepared people for the Word. He asked his listeners to empty themselves so that they could be filled with Christ. By his own witness of humility, he showed how this emptying took place. Next we will see how this was to be undertaken.
© Fr Michael Fuller: April 2008