In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar — Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was ruler of Galilee, his brother Philip ruler of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene —[1][2] 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert.[3] 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of a changed heart for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one shouting in the desert: ‘Get the Lord’s road ready, make his paths straight. 5 Every ravine will be filled in, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked places will become straight, and the rough roads smooth. 6 And all people will see the salvation of God.’”
7 So John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You nest of vipers! Who warned you to run from the coming anger? 8 Produce fruit that shows your hearts have really changed. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I’m telling you, God can raise up children for Abraham out of these stones. 9 The ax is already lying at the root of the trees. So every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 The crowds asked him, “What should we do then?”
11 He answered them, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the one who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He told them, “Collect nothing more than what you’re authorized to collect.”
14 Soldiers asked him too, “And what about us? What should we do?”
He said to them, “Don’t shake anyone down or accuse anyone falsely. Be content with your wages.”
15 The people were waiting expectantly, and everyone was wondering in their hearts about John — whether he might be the Anointed One. 16 John answered them all: “I baptize you with water. But someone stronger than I am is coming — I’m not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.[4] 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, ready to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”
18 So with many other appeals like these, he kept preaching good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler — confronted by John about Herodias, his brother’s wife,[5] and about all the evil things Herod had done — 20 added this on top of everything else: he locked John up in prison.
21 Now when all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit came down on him in bodily form, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, the one I love. In you I take delight.”[6]
23 Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,
son of Eli, 24 son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai, 26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri, 28 son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er, 29 son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, 30 son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David, 32 son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala, son of Nahshon, 33 son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, 34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor, 35 son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah, 36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech, 37 son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalalel, son of Cainan, 38 son of Enosh, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.
Notes
Note 1. Tiberius became emperor in AD 14, which puts his fifteenth year at about AD 28–29 (some reckon it from an earlier co-regency, which would move it a year or two earlier) — Luke’s most precise time-stamp for when the story begins. ↩
Note 2. This is Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great. The Greek title is tetrarchēs — literally “ruler of a quarter,” a lesser rank than king, marking a smaller territory held under Roman oversight. Herod the Great’s kingdom was divided among his heirs; the same title is applied to his brother Philip and to Lysanias in this verse. ↩
Note 3. Naming two high priests at once reflects a real situation. The Romans had deposed Annas around AD 15 and eventually installed his son-in-law Caiaphas, who held the office officially — yet Annas kept enormous influence behind the scenes and was still spoken of as high priest. ↩
Note 4. Removing and carrying a person’s sandals was work left to slaves — so lowly that, in the Talmud’s ruling, a student does every service for his teacher that a slave does for his master, except this one (Ketubot 96a). ↩
Note 5. Herod Antipas had divorced his first wife to marry Herodias, the wife of his own brother (Mark 6:17 names the brother Philip) — and the brother was still living, so the marriage broke Jewish law (Leviticus 18:16; 20:21). That is the charge Mark quotes John making to Herod’s face: “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” The historian Josephus independently records the marriage and John’s imprisonment and death at the fortress of Machaerus (Antiquities 18.109–119). ↩
Note 6. The heavenly voice draws on two lines of Hebrew scripture: “You are my Son” echoes Psalm 2:7, spoken of a king, while “in you I take delight” recalls Isaiah 42:1, spoken of God’s chosen servant. ↩