Luke 3

The Ministry of John the Baptist

1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. 5  Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;6  And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.10 So the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?11 He answered and said to them, He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, Teacher, what shall we do?13 And he said to them, Collect no more than what is appointed for you.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.15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not,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.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.18 And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.19 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philips wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,20 also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

The Baptism of Christ

21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.

The Genealogy of Christ Through Mary

23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph,25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah,27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er,29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim,31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David,32  the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,36  the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan,38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

LUKE 3

The Preaching of John the Baptist

(Matthew 3.1-12; Mark 1.1-8; John 1.19-28)

1 For 15 yearst Emperor Tiberius had ruled that part of the world. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herodt was the ruler of Galilee. Herod's brother, Philip, was the ruler in the countries of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene.

2 Annas and Caiaphas were the Jewish high priests.t
At that time God spoke to Zechariah's son John, who was living in the desert. 3 So John went along the Jordan Valley, telling the people, “Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven.”

4 t Isaiah the prophet wrote about John when he said,
“In the desert
someone is shouting,
‘Get the road ready
for the Lord!
Make a straight path
for him.

5 Fill up every valley
and level every mountain
and hill.
Straighten the crooked paths
and smooth out
the rough roads.

6 Then everyone will see
the saving power of God.’ ”
7  t Crowds of people came out to be baptized, but John said to them, “You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? 8 t Do something to show that you really have given up your sins. Don't start saying you belong to Abraham's family. God can turn these stones into children for Abraham.t

9 t An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

10 The crowds asked John, “What should we do?”

11 John told them, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn't have any. If you have food, share it with someone else.”

12  t When tax collectorst came to be baptized, they asked John, “Teacher, what should we do?”

13 John told them, “Don't make people pay more than they owe.”

14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us? What do we have to do?”
John told them, “Don't force people to pay money to make you leave them alone. Be satisfied with your pay.”

15 Everyone became excited and wondered, “Could John be the Messiah?”
16 John said, “I am just baptizing with water. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals.t He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

17 His threshing forkt is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. He will store the wheat in his barn and burn the husks with a fire that never goes out.”
18 In many different ways John preached the good news to the people. 19 t But to Herod the ruler, he said, “It was wrong for you to take Herodias, your brother's wife.” John also said Herod had done many other bad things.

20 Finally, Herod put John in jail, and this was the worst thing he had done.

The Baptism of Jesus

(Matthew 3.13-17; Mark 1.9-11)

22 t and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.”

The Ancestors of Jesus

(Matthew 1.1-17)

26 Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Josech, Joda;
27 Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel, Neri, 28 Melchi, Addi, Cosam, Elmadam, Er,

29 Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi;
30 Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonam, Eliakim, 31 Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, David,

32 Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon;
33 Amminadab, Admin, Arni, Hezron, Perez, Judah, 34 Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor,

35 Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah;
36 Cainan, Arphaxad, Shem, Noah, Lamech, 37 Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalaleel, Kenan,

38 Enosh, and Seth.
The family of Jesus went all the way back to Adam and then to God.