Luke
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberias Caesar, when Pontius Pilate
was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip was
tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanius was tetrarch of Abilene,
when Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God
came to
John, son of Zacharias, in the desert.
And he moved around the whole
Jordan region, heralding a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
This is as it is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice crying out
in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.
Every
valley will be filled in, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The
crooked ways will be straightened, and the rough roads made smooth.
All
mankind will see the salvation of God.’”
John said to the crowds who came to him to be baptized, “You brood of
vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming judgment?
Produce fruits consistent with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We are
descendants of Abraham.’ I am telling you that God could create children of
Abraham from these stones.
The axe is already being swung at the base of
the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped
down and thrown into the fire.”
“So what should we do?” the crowds asked him.
He answered, “If you
have two coats, give one to the person who does not have any, and if you
have food, do the same.”
Some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they
also asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
He replied, “Do not collect
any more tax than you have been ordered to.”
Some soldiers asked, “What
about us? What should we do?” He answered, “Do not demand money with
violence, or accuse anyone falsely, and be satisfied with your wages.”
The people were in a state of eager anticipation, wondering if John
himself was the Messiah.
John responded, telling everybody, “As for me, I
am baptizing you in water. But one is coming who is greater than I, and I am
not worthy to untie his sandals. He will baptize you in holy spirit
and fire.
With his winnowing tool in hand, he is ready to separate the wheat from the
chaff on his threshing floor. He will gather the wheat into his barn, but will
burn up the chaff with a fire which cannot be put out.”
John gave many such warnings as he preached the Gospel
to the
people.
But because John reprimanded Herod the tetrarch for marrying
Herodias, Herod’s brother’s wife, and for all the evil things Herod had done,
Herod added to all this evil by imprisoning John.
When all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized. As he
prayed, heaven was opened,
and the holy spirit came down upon him in the
form of a dove. A voice came from heaven, “You are My Son,
the one I
love. I am delighted with you.”
Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the
son, as people thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,
the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
the son
of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son
of Naggai,
the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the
son of Josech, the son of Joda,
the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son
of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,
the son of Neri,
the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
the
son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son
of Levi,
the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of
Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of
Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
the son of Jesse, the son of
Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
the son of
Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of
Perez, the son of Judah,
the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of
Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
the son of Serug, the son of
Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah,
the son of
Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of
Lamech,
the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son
of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,
the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son
of Adam, the son of God.
Luke